How to get your pole barn ready for winter

Clear the gutters and move water away

Water does more harm to a post-frame building over a winter than cold does, so start there. Once the leaves are down, clear the gutters and downspouts of leaves, sticks and pine needles. A clogged gutter spills water right at the base of the wall, and in a freeze it backs up and builds ice along the eave.

Then walk the outside. Downspouts should empty onto splash blocks or extensions several feet from the building, not beside a post. The ground should slope away on every side; where it has settled or washed toward the wall, add soil so water runs off. Keep mulch and dirt below the bottom of the steel and off the treated skirt board, and trim branches that hang over the roof before winter wind and ice bring them down.

Check roof screws, trim and closures

Before the first snow, make sure the fasteners are tight and the panels secure. Most pole barn roofs are held down by screws that seal through a rubber washer. Over the years, sun cracks the washers and the steel’s expansion and contraction can back screws out, and a loose, missing or overdriven screw is a leak waiting for the next thaw.

Do most of the looking from the ground with binoculars. Check the ridge cap, the trim at the eaves, gable ends and corners, the foam closures at the eave and ridge that keep birds and insects out, and the boot around any vent pipe. Replace a bad screw instead of cranking it tighter, going up a size where the hole is stripped. Never walk a metal roof that’s wet, frosty or dusty, and if yours is steep or high, hire it out.

Seal the doors and windows

Look for daylight around every door and window. Worn weatherstripping and cracked caulk let in cold drafts, rain and mice, and they’re cheap to fix: new seals and a tube of caulk cost little next to what they keep out, and in a heated shop they lower the heating bill.

On overhead doors, check the bottom seal and the weatherstrip along the jambs and header, keep the tracks clean, and test the opener’s auto-reverse; leave springs and cables to a door technician, since they’re under high tension. On sliding doors, clear gravel and ice from the bottom guides, make sure the rollers run freely, and latch the doors so wind can’t work them back and forth. A sweep under the walk door closes a favorite mouse entrance.

Control condensation with insulation and ventilation

Condensation is easy to mistake for a roof leak. When warm, damp air inside meets cold roof steel, water forms on the underside and drips, often after a clear, cold night. Good airflow carries that moisture out, and proper insulation with its vapor retarder keeps warm, damp air off the cold steel while it cuts heating costs. Fall is a good time to make those upgrades, before the building is closed up for the season.

Find the moisture first. A new concrete slab gives off water as it cures, a gravel floor over damp ground adds more, and wet vehicles, animals and unvented propane or kerosene heaters all put water in the air. Keep ridge, gable and eave vents open, run a dehumidifier in a closed, heated space, and patch torn vapor-retarder facing with the tape made for it. Pull out insulation that’s soaked or sagging; it won’t dry well in place. If you’re planning a new building, ask for condensation control in the quote; our pole barn cost guide explains the options.

Know the snow load your roof was built for

Your roof’s trusses were designed for a set snow load, and every building we put up carries a snow-load rating based on what its region requires. County design tables set those numbers: Kent County, Delaware, uses a ground snow load of 25 psf (pounds per square foot), Talbot County uses 30, and Wicomico, Worcester and Somerset counties use 20.

Trouble comes from snow that piles up unevenly or gets heavy: drifts on a lean-to roof below a taller wall, wet snow, or rain soaking into snow already up there. If you see a sagging purlin or truss, hear cracking, or a door suddenly binds in its frame, get people and animals out and call a builder. Don’t climb onto a snowy metal roof; pull snow off a low edge with a roof rake from the ground.

Metal roofs can shed snow in sheets, all at once, so keep cars, animals and walkways clear of the eaves after a storm. Don’t plow snow against the walls, where it pushes on the steel and melts into the skirt board. In high wind, keep the big doors shut: wind rushing into an open building pushes up on the roof from inside.

Keep mice and other pests out

Mice move indoors in the fall, and a building full of stored things suits them. They come in through gaps at the base of the walls, under doors, around pipes and wires, and at open eaves. Close those gaps with closure strips, door sweeps and copper mesh or sealant, and keep brush, firewood and junk piles away from the walls.

Then take away the food. Keep feed, seed, birdseed and pet food in metal bins with tight lids, clean up spills, and set traps or bait stations where pets and children can’t reach them, following the label. Check stored cars, mowers and equipment, where mice nest in engine bays and air filters and chew wiring. While you’re down low, look for termite mud tubes on posts and the skirt board; Kent County’s design table lists termite damage as a local hazard, and Maryland’s Shore counties list it too.

Store things inside the right way

Get stored equipment ready before you close the doors. Drain water from pressure washers, sprayers, hoses and pumps, add stabilizer to the fuel in engines you won’t run, put batteries on a maintainer, and winterize RVs and boats the way their manufacturers direct. If the building has a hose bib or sink, drain the line or protect it from freezing. If the camper or boat is sitting outside, see our RV and boat storage buildings.

Treat the building with care too. Don’t pile heavy loads against the walls: girts and steel panels aren’t built to hold back feed, lumber or gravel. Don’t hang hoists or racks from trusses that weren’t designed for them. In a horse barn, stack hay dry, off the floor and away from the walls with air around it, since damp hay can heat and catch fire. Keep propane cylinders outside, heaters well clear of anything that burns, and a clear path to every door.

Have it checked once a year

Once a year, and after any big storm, have someone who knows post-frame buildings look over the roofing, siding, doors and structural connections: the truss-to-post connections, the headers over big doors, knee braces and the base of every post. Look for split wood at bolts, rusted fasteners, steel that has pulled loose and gaps that weren’t there last year.

A little attention in the fall heads off the repairs that cost real money, like a rotted door jamb, a soaked insulation blanket or a stripped screw that leaks all winter. If we built your building and something looks like a workmanship problem, call us at 302-399-4420; our work carries a 5-year workmanship warranty. If you’re planning a new one, start a quote and we’ll build these details in from the start.