Planning The Pole Barn Siding

Planning how the pole barn siding will piece together is a very important part of the planning stage.  I wish I had known a little better how the metal went together and what the exact dimensions of all the different pieces were.  I looked over the installation guides online to get a feel for how it worked, but I suppose there isn’t anything quite like old fashioned personal experience.  I could have spent more time figuring it out, and had I done that it would have been a little easier at the installation phase but it all worked out.

Materials

I used 29 gauge Fabral galvanized steel roofing panels for the roof and pole barn siding.  I bought my panels from metalmart.biz as they were a little bit cheaper and had the colors I wanted.

One key element I missed in planning the pole barn siding is the panels are 3 feet wide but they overlap each other about ¾ inches.  Since my shed was 24 feet long I was planning for 8 panels at 3 feet each to cover the wall not realizing that there would be 7 places where panels overlap essentially cutting out 3/4ths of an inch at each seam which meant I was about 5 and 1/4inches short of covering the entire wall.  We were able to force the corner pieces to fit and it ended up okay but if I were to do it again I would either build the shed 5 ¼ inches shorter in length or add an additional 30 inches to make the metal fit nicely.  Sorry this image is a little blurry.

Another detail you will want to be aware of when planning your pole barn siding is the ridge cap for the roof.  I didn’t think about the ridge cap being designed specifically for a certain roof pitch so I had to force my ridge cap  to fit the steeper pitch of the pole barn shed.

Tools

Some of the tools you will (definitely) want when working with your pole barn siding are:

Aviation snips

Skill saw with abrasive blade

Leather gloves

Impact drill (for installing)

Aviation snips are a life saver when working with pole barn siding.  Don’t get regular tin snips for this you will regret it.  Make sure you get some nice ones that are spring loaded.  These are the ones I bought and I love them.  They are Milwaukee brand and they cut pole barn siding like butter.

A skill saw with an abrasive blade with save your hands and your time if you have to make a lot of straight cuts for metal of the same length.  I needed to cut off 6 inches from 16 panels of pole barn siding for the roof and doing it with the skill saw and abrasive blade meant I could cut several panels at a time and cut them faster than I could cut one with the snips.

Leather gloves are a must as the metal is really sharp especially after cutting it with the snips or skill saw.  These are the gloves I like, they are leather on the palm and fingers and a mesh on the outside so they flex well and fit well while being durable.

An impact drill isn’t necessary, a normal drill will do, but man they make the job so much nicer.  They don’t torque your wrist and it is easier to sink the screw in just enough to snug up the rubber washer compared to a regular drill (not to mention you may burn out the motor on your regular drill later when you are installing your pole barn shed garage door…. Just sayin’)  This is the impact drill I now have and I love it.  It is small but super powerful and feels really good in your hand.

If you have any questions let me know by commenting below!  Check out the next part planning the pole barn electrical.