The versatility of pole barns is a large part of their appeal. While pole barn garages or those designed for animals are popular, they’re just as good for having some fun! A pole barn man cave (or she shed) is a great place to house your favorite games, a private home bar or just a place as a small getaway when you’re feeling cramped in your home.
Building your perfect man cave will include unique benefits that appeal to you, but there are some general tips that will be useful for anyone thinking of starting their own pole barn project.
Plan Your Utilities Before the Build
Most pole barn man caves are going to need some essentials: electricity and plumbing being huge parts of the average man cave you shouldn’t overlook. But it’s important to plan these in the early stages.
The first thing is to make sure you have an idea how you plan to run these to and from your outbuilding. Afterwards, you’ll want to make sure that your interior design allows for a reasonable layout for installing plumbing and running the necessary wiring.
If you try to figure these things out at the end, it may require busting open drywall to properly install. It’s always easier to update your plans than it is to rebuild your pole barn!
Don’t forget that every city and county has a set of building codes you must obey. Again, it’s easier to do it right from the get-go than to fix problems down the road.
Ventilation & Temperature Control Matter
A cave is intended to be shelter from the elements. You don’t want scorching summer days or frigid winter ones to discourage you from your private retreat! So like plumbing and electricity, you want to ensure you leave space for runs through the walls and roof for heating and cooling.
Not every man cave will need a fully-equipped heating and cooling system. But if your goal is maximum comfort, it’s great to have.
Depending on your hobby of choice, ventilation is also going to be key to your design. Car enthusiasts, artists or anyone who’s hobbies involve machinery or chemicals will want to make sure aren’t trapping fumes inside. Windows can only do so much, you’ll want to consider how the air flows and even look into exhaust systems.
Decide Early on Open Floor Plans or Segmentation
Like planning for utilities, it makes sense to decide on how many interior rooms you want, or if you intend to have an open floor plan. Pole barns come in all sizes, and at DIY Pole Barns, you can customize yours to be big enough for an entire horse arena!
Ask yourself a few questions:
- What will I be using my pole barn man cave for?
- What kind of tools, machinery or equipment will I be using inside?
- Is there enough room to use devices or equipment safely?
Do some rough measurements and see what makes sense. An open floor plan offers the most general space, but using interior walls to help define your man cave can make it more comfortable to use, especially when you have friends over. But you don’t want to create a room that’s too small, especially if you plan to use it as a place to work on hobbies.
Barn Orientation Matters!
No matter how you plan to use a pole barn, the orientation for building it will always matter. The barn facing primarily impacts your man cave’s relationship with the sun. Do you want to get a lot of sun? Or would you prefer to minimize the sun?
Similarly, if you prefer to get the afternoon sun where you plan to relax in your pole barn man cave, you could plan to have more windows on the west and setup your entertainment or hobbies in that area.
Lastly, don’t forget about access! If you plan to move vehicles in and out of your man cave, or if you have big devices or machinery to bring in, make sure the main door is accessible! While having it in the back might sound nice in planning, you don’t want to have to maneuver around it every time you have to pull your hobby muscle car in and out of the barn.
Install Proper Insulation
A man cave is typically intended to be used all year long. If you want to stay comfortable inside even through the coldest months of the year, you’ll want to plan how you insulate your pole barn too!
There are plenty of options for insulation, what you use is up to you. The important thing is that you don’t skip this step. Especially if you plan to install heating and cooling, you don’t want to lose all the heat due to lack of insulation. It would increase your bills quite a bit!
If you want more information, read our guide on pole barn insulation options!
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