Now I need to Cover my mill, Will this work

[sst04]

Plan is to build a roof over my mill and be able to mount my winch in the rafters for pulling the logs onto the mill.

The Dimenstions will be around 30x10.

I have 4 green power poles around 15 or 16ft long for the support.Would be burried and concreted about 5 feet deep.

I was thinking that to run the 30ft span I could mill enough full size yellow pine 2x10x16 to be able to double them up(bolted and nailed togeather).  Notch would be cut in the pole for the 2x10 to set in. 

(A Style)Rafters would be made of 2x6 on bottom and span the 10ft and sit on top of the 2x10, and 2x4 for the part where the tin will fasten too.

Winch will be mounted in rafters, with a pully mounted directly above mill.  probably onto a piece of channel.


The main question is, will the doubled up 2x10 be enough to span that far, and withstand the pulling from the winch.

[WDH]

I don't think that two 2x10's doubled as a beam can span 30'.  I have spanned 20' that way, but I had to put a plywood sandwich together where the plywood was in between the 2x10's.  I got in touch with my county building inspector, and he suggested that to me.  Since i had to get a building permit in my county anyway, it was better to get the inspector bought in on the front end.  That was for a carport, not a sawmill shed.  Maybe the 2x10's with the plywood sandwich will work if you have the right corner braces.

[Holmes]

If you build it that way you may find that the winch will pull the roof to the log. ;D If you can shorten the span to slightly larger than the longest log you can mill say 20' and quadruple up 2x12s in a plywood sandwich you may start to get close to handling the load. This structure needs to be very strong in all directions. When you try to winch a log up you will also be pulling the building sideways. You will need cross bracing, post buried  4 or more feet in the ground and other measures for your own safety. Holmes

[Dodgy Loner]

I agree with WDH and Holmes . You can't span 30 ft with a doubled 2x10, even if you don't plan to attach a winch to it. Adding a plywood strip in between the 2x's will add to the strength, and when you connect them, use ample amounts of construction adhesive plus screws. The adhesive results in a stiffer assembly than nails or bolts.

Generally, the reason you would sandwich the 1/2" plywood between 2x10s is to get a full 3 1/2" thickness for framing walls. I did this when removing a 14' span of load-bearing wall in my house one time. I'm sure the doubled up 2x10s alone would have been strong enough to support the roof, but if I had not added it my beam would have been 1/2" thinner than the rest of the stud wall.

[jdtuttle]

Price out a gluelam beam. The lumber yard has the load calculations. Or buy a couple girder truss's. The price may surprise you.
Jim

[sst04]

Ok, so spanning the 30ft is out. No problem back to the drawing board.

I really would rather not have to purchace anything for this project except for tin.

So,What If I add a knee brace that comes from the pole at a 45 angle and extends about 5 or 6 feet onto the 2x10 or even 2x12s, that would cut the 30 ft down to around 20 ft. 

If I made the knee braces out of a 4x6 or something would that maybe work.



Also the winch will not be pulling the dead load of the Logs, it will be rolling them.

[WDH]

The 2x12's with a plywood sandwich and knee braces that extend out to support five feet on the beam on each side would carry the span I believe, not sure what the winch will do to it. 

[Magicman]

I once sandwiched ¼" steel plate between two 2X12's.  Talk about a strong beam.   ;D

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

I once sandwiched ¼" steel plate between two 2X12's.  Talk about a strong beam.   ;D

Even thinner sheet metal sandwiched into the beam joint will provide more stiffness than you would anticipate...

Herb

[PineNut]

There is a 24-foot beam supporting the upper part of one end of my house. It consist of two 2 x 12 with a ½" steel plate sandwiched between them. Since the 2 x 12 were only 20 ft long, they have a splice in them. That beam is solid. I believe that it could be extended to 30 ft. But due to the splices, I probably would make it 4 pieces of 2 x 12. That ½ x 11 steel was very heavy and until it was sandwiched in the wood, very flexible.

[Larry]

Years ago builders used double 2 x 10's or 12's to span 16' for a double garage door.  Every one I saw sagged.  Later on they used the sandwich trick and for the most part that worked ok.  Think the standard today is double 12" LVL's.

I would use some kind of truss for a 30' span.

On your power poles only plant the factory treated butt end into the ground.  Any other way and they will rot out in 10 years.

[jdtuttle]

I once sandwiched ¼" steel plate between two 2X12's

This is called a flitch plate & is very strong if done correctly. The bolts must be sized and spaced correctly. Here is a site with more info.
http://www.structuremag.org/article.aspx?articleID=399
jim

[ljmathias]

If you have a truss manufacturer near by, then see if they have a pre-made floor joist close to the right length; if not, they can whip you up a truss that will do it and the engineering is free (at least it is here).  Talk about strong: I built a pole barn with a 60' span and the trusses only needed to be supported on the ends.

Lj

[sst04]

Thanks guys for all the suggestions!   After thinking about this and everyones suggestions, I think I am going to tripple the 2x10s or 12s, Cut the length of the shed to 27ft and still add the Knee braces, which will cut the span down to 17ft.  I will bolt and glue the beams together and bolt them to the poles.

It really will not bother me if it saggs, I just dont want it to break :-\

I hope this structure will not be in this spot for more than 3 years, hopefully I will have my house built.  When it is done, I hope to build a Permanant building for the mill.

[hackberry jake]

Around here you can buy used steel web trusses from chicken houses for real cheap. They're normally either 32' or 40'. On my mill shed I used a hickory 6x10 to span 16' with knee braces cutting it down to 12'. My structure is permanent though.

[zopi]

Build the building like any other, and mount a piece of stout steel tubing in the ground, build yerself a little crane out of that...that way, when you wind up cutting a heavy timber the crane can lift it off the mill and onto a timber cart or whatnot...it will also pull logs to mill...

[park ranger]

I'm in the process right now in putting up a garage and I asked the same thing.  I thought 4"x12" glue lams would go 24' , 12' on center but the lumber yard checked with the glue lam supplier and they said it needed to be 5"x16" (good grief).  So I would look for a steel truss.  Eric

[5quarter]

   I would scrap the overhead hoist altogether in favor of a second carriage at the opposite end of your mill that that does all your lifting and turning. Too much engineering, labor and maybe expense. For the cost of casters, some good steel and a 1500# winch you'd be in business. add about 3' to the end of the saw bed in order to not lose any length capability. doesn't have to be perfect...just a place to park it when not in use.Using a snatch block and double line and there will be nothing the lift carriage won't be able to turn. just my 2 pence.

[Woodchuck53]

Morning all. I know there are some that knock it but I use salvaged trailer house frame I-beam for a lot of uses. Its easy to fit and strong. At $2.00 a running foot cheap to use too. I would stick with the 12" or you could take a 12" and weld a 10" to the side for more strength if not double up on the 12" altogether. What ever you decide then it is over with. If you need to hide it you can bolt a 2x4 running the length on the bottom and then trim it any way you want. Just a thought.

I have the new garage/ game room support at 20 feet with 4" pipe and it is carrying everything well. The garage is 40' wide. My gallery has a few pictures of this.

Stay safe.