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Pole barn design tool

30' x 40' pole barn, 10' eave, 4/12 roof, fully enclosed30' x 40' pole barnLocal approval not checkedDesign TBP-JH14-Y39P · Plan rev. 2
40'40'30'30'
100%
Floor
1,200 sq ft
Posts
19
Trusses
6
Steel panels
76

Drag sideways to turn the building. Scroll, pinch or use + and − to zoom.

Build this exact barn: $39

The post layout, every wall framed, the truss order sheet, the steel panel by panel and the cut list. One PDF, yours to keep.

About 150 to 225 labor hours in total, roughly 9 to 15 working days for a crew of two: a broad reference, not a forecast for your site.

Design, checks, materials and plan

Kind
Width (truss span)
Bays
Eave height
Roof purlins
2x6 at 24 in, uses 57% of the bending limit on a 8 ft bay
Trusses
6 spanning 30 ft, sized by the truss maker
Posts
19 x 6x6 PT, 4 ft in the ground
Post spacing (bay)

5 bays of 8 ft make it 40 ft long. A truss sits on every post line.

Roof pitch
Roof shape
Overhangs, walls and floorclosed, slab
Eave overhang
Gable overhang
Closed walls

An open wall gets no girts or steel, and its posts get knee braces.

Floor

Overhead door, 10' x 8'
  • Header 2-ply 2x8, uses 83% of its bending limit (95% most)
  • Needs 8' 10.25" of wall to the eave; the eave is 10'
  • Solid wall beside it: 10' and 10'
Walk door, 36 x 80 in
  • Solid wall beside it: 2' 6" and 34' 6"
Windows, 3 x 3 ft, on the sidewalls

Wainscot

A lower band of steel in a second color, with a trim at the joint and a girt behind it. Cosmetic: it changes no check.

Storage loft
Lean-to, left side
Lean-to, right side
Lean-to, front gable end
Lean-to, back gable end
Cupola

Bought ready-made and set on the ridge on its maker's base. Decorative or a vent; it adds no strength and is not checked as structure.

Where you build
Ground snow load (psf)

Your building department gives the ground snow load for your address. Above 30 psf the plan asks for a review; above 70 psf it needs an engineer.

Wind speed (mph, ultimate)

The ultimate design wind speed (ASCE 7) your building department uses for your address. It goes on the truss order.

Frost line (in)

How deep the ground freezes where you build. The post footings go below it.

Preliminary checks passed for the loads you entered. Local approval not checked.

Most checks screen the design against prescriptive post-frame tables. The purlins and door headers are calculated and kept at 95% or less of their limit. The trusses are sized by the truss maker for your loads.

Who decides what

Trusses
The truss design comes from the truss manufacturer you order from with the plan's truss sheet, often with an engineer's seal: ask for it if your building department needs one. Their drawing and bracing notes win over ours.
Footings
The plan sizes the pads for soil of 1,500 psf and the frost line you entered. If your soil, your site or your building department calls for it, a qualified professional designs the footings.
Approval
The planner checks are preliminary, for the loads you entered. Your local building authority sets the loads, reviews the drawings, issues the permit and inspects.

  • 10 passed
  • 1 to read
  • 2/2 spans

MaterialsAbout $14,100$10,599.78 at shelf prices + $3,478.00 estimated for trusses and concrete
Labor if hired, broad reference$6,000 to $18,0001,200 sq ft at $5 to $15/sq ft. A broad reference from published price guides, not a quote or a forecast for your site.

Exact sum $14,077.78, before sales tax, delivery, labor and site work.

Estimated range
$2,624 to $4,332 trusses, slab concrete
Slab by contractor
$6,000 to $12,000
Not included
tax · delivery · permits · site work · engineering · equipment rental
How we priced this

Materials at shelf prices$10,599.78

40 of 43 lines, each read at the store and on the date shown on its line, before tax and delivery.

Estimated from sourced ranges$3,478.00

3 lines (trusses and slab concrete), $2,624 to $4,332: the middle of published price ranges, kept apart from the shelf prices. The truss maker and the concrete plant quote the final price.

Materials, about$14,100

Shelf prices plus the middle of the sourced ranges; exact sum $14,077.78.

Labor if you hire it out$6,000 to $18,000

Median of the published figures $9,000 for 1,200 sq ft at $5 to $15 per sq ft (HomeGuide, Jan 2026: $5 to $10; Angi, May 2026: $5 to $15). A sourced range for erecting a post-frame shell (posts, trusses, steel), not a quote.

Slab by a contractor$6,000 to $12,000

Median of the published figures $9,000 for 1,200 sq ft at $5 to $10 per sq ft installed (HomeGuide, Jan 2026: $5 to $10). A sourced range for a plain concrete slab poured and finished by a contractor, concrete included, not a quote. It replaces the ready-mix line above if a contractor pours the slab.

Not included

Sales tax, delivery, permits, site work, engineering and equipment rental.

Where we read the prices

Shelf prices read at Summertown Metals price list, Summertown, Tennessee store, Oct 13, 2026; Home Depot, Hamilton Mill store, Oct 8, 2026; Summertown Metals price list, Hayden, Alabama store, Oct 13, 2026; Lowe's, Atlanta-Edgewood store, Oct 8, 2026; Best Buy Metals online store, Knoxville, Tennessee, Oct 13, 2026; Home Depot, Hamilton Mill store, Oct 13, 2026; Home Depot, Bronx Terminal store, Sep 30, 2026; and Summertown Metals price list, Hopkinsville, Kentucky store, Oct 13, 2026, before tax and delivery. Estimates are the middle of the published ranges in HomeGuide, roof truss prices by span (Jan 2026) and HomeGuide, concrete cost per yard (Jan 2026), read Oct 13, 2026.

Lumber
$2,879.45 13 lines
Trusses
est. $1,350.00 2 lines, 2 estimated
Steel and trim
$4,294.06 19 lines
Doors and windows
$1,713.18 3 lines
Hardware
$464.38 4 lines
Site
$3,376.71 2 lines, 1 estimated
Cut list
299 pieces

What you build from

Builder's plan

Your 30x40 pole barn. The drawings and material lists for it.

  • Dimensioned post layout
  • Cut list for your design
  • Supplier-ready shopping list

$39one payment
yours to keep

Every board, every cut, every step, drawn for this exact building.

  • 18 to 25 Letter sheets
  • 150 to 225 h labor
  • $14,100 materials, about
  • $6,000 to $18,000 labor if hired, a broad reference
  • The post layout: 19 posts dimensioned from one corner, hole and footing depth for your 36 in frost line, and the squaring check
  • Every wall framed: posts, skirt boards and girts with heights, door and window openings with their headers
  • The truss order sheet to hand to the truss maker: 6 trusses with span, pitch, spacing, heel and your loads
Post layout, a sample sheet from the 30x40 pole barn planPost layoutWall framing, a sample sheet from the 30x40 pole barn planWall framingCut list, a sample sheet from the 30x40 pole barn planCut listShopping list, a sample sheet from the 30x40 pole barn planShopping list

Sample sheets from the 30x40 pole barn plan; yours are drawn for this design.

Crew and skill
A crew of two who can frame: set posts plumb, bolt the trusses, screw down steel. Each step in the plan ends with a check.
Tools
A post-hole auger, a laser or water level, string line, a circular saw, a drill and an impact driver. Renting a lift for the trusses saves days.
Labor
About 150 to 225 labor hours, roughly 9 to 15 working days for a crew of two. A broad reference, not a forecast for your site.
Not included
Sales tax, delivery, permits, site work, engineering and equipment rental. Trusses are designed by the truss maker, who quotes the final price.

Materials about $14,100: $10,599.78 at shelf prices + $3,478.00 estimated for trusses and concrete. Exact sum $14,077.78, before sales tax, delivery, labor and site work. The plan is $39 on top; every line, with its store and date, is in the Materials box.

Take your exact quantities to the lumberyard, steel supplier and truss maker.

Design TBP-JH14-Y39P · Plan rev. 2 · Preliminary checks passed for the loads you entered · Local approval not checked

Plan error guarantee. If the plan has an error, tell us within 30 days: we send a corrected plan, or refund you if we cannot fix it. Not for a change of mind. Terms

Keep this page's link and the design comes back as it is.

The free summary has the 3D view, the sizes, the checks and the materials list.

How the design tool works

Start from the building you need. The frame, the checks and the materials list update as you change it, free.

  1. 01Pick the building. Pole barn, horse barn, carport or a barndominium shell. Set the width, length and eave height; every part follows.
  2. 02Set your loads. Snow, wind and frost line from your building department. Posts, footings, purlins and headers are sized for them.
  3. 03Read the checks. Every check names its rule and where it comes from. Amber means read it; red means change something first.
  4. 04One list to buy. Lumber packed onto the boards the yard sells, the trusses to order, steel panel by panel, trim, screws and concrete.

The rules behind the checks

Show the 9 rules
RuleCheckWhat passes
EMB-01Post depth48 in or below the frost line, whichever is deeper; 24 in more on open sides
FOOT-03Footing pads18 in across up to 24 ft wide, 24 in up to 36 ft, 28 in up to 40 ft; at least 8 in thick and half their width
PURL-05PurlinsOn edge, 24 in on center, sized for your snow on the bay span and kept at 95% or less of their limit (closer spacing or the next size when needed)
GIRT-01GirtsFlat on the posts, 24 in on center; 2x4 on 8 ft bays, 2x6 on 10 ft
ROOF-01Roof pitch3/12 or steeper for exposed-fastener steel
ED-01SnowUp to 30 psf ground snow without review; above 70 psf an engineered design
ED-02WindUp to 115 mph without review; 140 mph and up an engineered design
BRACE-01Open sides2x6 knee braces at 45 degrees, deeper on taller walls
STALL-01Horse stalls12 x 12 ft box stalls, aisle 12 ft (10 ft least)

From post-frame handbooks, extension publications, the building code and the makers' own specifications. The sources page lists them.

The builder's plan

The plan for the barn on your screen.

The post layout, every wall framed, the truss order sheet, the roof frame, the steel panel by panel and the cut list, for the building you design here. $39 once, from the Builder's plan box in the designer. If our plan has an error, we fix it or refund you.

Back to the designer
Designing
Free
Builder's plan
$39 once
Account
Not needed
Inside a new pole barn: trusses, girts and a workbench, the overhead door open on a fieldIllustration