153 Free DIY Pole Barn Plans and Designs That You Can Actually Build (2024)

Are you running out of storage space on your property, or do you need a livestock shelter?

Then you need abarn.

Pole barn or post-frame barn is a type of barn that is the easiest and cheapest to build because it doesn’t require a foundation and complicated structures. This is perfect if you don’t want to hire a contractor or if you don’t want to spend a lot of money.

On this page, you will find a collection of 153 pole barn plans for any purpose: livestock shelter, horse, storage, garage, or anything else. Most of them are in PDF format, so you can save it to your PC if you need it later.

…but first, read these books:

Barns, technically, are building construction. You can’t build barns mindlessly like nonbuilding projects such as benches or tables. There are things you need to understand first.

That’s why I highly recommend you to read these books first:

This book is a must-have for anyone who wants tobuild a pole construction building. If you never touched any of that subject, this is a great place to start.

Read this book ›

If you’re looking for professional outbuilding plans, this book has you covered. There are 20 plans available with step-by-step instructions.

Read this book ›

Now, let’s get started with the free pole barn plans:

1-15. Iowa State University Pole Utility Barn Plans

This first site has 15 pole barn plans to choose from. If you need a large one or even a smaller one these plans will probably do the trick for you. All you have to do is browse through the pictures and hit the download button to be on your way to building your next viable storage place. So if you’d like to browse through a variety of plans to get a feel for the project this site can certainly help you with that.

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16-29. Iowa State UniversityGrain Storage Plans

Do you have a lot of animals on your land? If so, then you most likely need a large space to store hay and grains to feed them. These plans will serve that purpose well. If you aren’t quite sure what you are looking for, well, there are no worries there as this site provides 14 different plans to choose from.

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30-42. State of Oregon Storage Building Plans

This site offers a variety of different plans, too, that will fit into most any need you have. If you like the idea of a traditional pole barn they offer six different plans. However, if you aren’t sure you want to go with the traditional style, that’s okay too. They’ve got different plans that include garages with storage areas as well. This is a great site for anyone that is still in the researching stage to ponder.

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43. How to Build a Pole Barn Video Series

This is a great video series for someone needing step by step details on how to build a pole barn. The man that does these videos is in the process of building a pole barn/garage as a place to keep his tractor. In this first video, he shows you how to layout the barn and prepares the land for the build. It is a great visual and hopefully will help build confidence for those that are a little unsure about taking on such an ambitious project.

44. The DIY Pole Barn

I love this article about how to build a pole barn. It covers everything you need to know and points out all of the economical benefits this type of shelter can provide to any farm or homestead. I had actually read this article a while ago when my husband and I began contemplating building our own pole barn.

It helped me to really understand what type of project I was taking on and gave us lots of ideas on how to build ours for the lowest cost.

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45-67. Univ. of Tennessee GeneralBarn Plans

Again, if you are unsure of what type of pole barn you’d like to build then this site is probably going to be for you. The reason is that it packs 23 pole barn plans into one easy to sort through space. You can decide if you want a traditional style pole barn (which is what we chose) or you can go for one that is a little non-traditional meaning a garage-style. Whatever works for you, you can hopefully find here.

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68-85. Post-Frame Barn Plans

So maybe you need a pole barn that will hold a little more than old bee supplies (that would be us); an old tractor (us again); and other odds and ends that you simply need to keep your land running. Maybe you actually would like to put livestock in it. Well, that can be done too. This site provides 18 different plans for just that.

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86-92. NDSU Pole Barn Plans

This site has a wide variety of plans but since today’s post is about pole barns they offer seven options for that. Again, whatever your specific need might be you will hopefully find the plans to match. If you are comfortable reading plans then these should be no problem.

If not, then just take your time and read all of the small print to make sure that you are fully understanding what they are calling you to do. Other than that, you should hopefully do well.

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93. The Breakdown To Building A Pole Barn

I love this article on pole barns. It breaks everything down into baby-steps to help even the most amateur carpenter have a successful build of a pole barn. It offers great visuals and gives you a solid picture of what your end result might look like. If you are a visual person (like myself) then you will probably appreciate the effort the author put into pictures. It makes understanding the plans and steps a little easier.

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94. The Open-Front Clear Span Barn

I really like this pole barn. I just love the way they look. It is nice how the author took the time to offer a detailed picture of what the plans are calling you to build. This particular barn can be used for livestock or storage (whatever your preference) and it comes with easy to download plans. Since this pole barn is so versatile, it could be a great fit for just about anyone.

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95. Building A Pole Barn Tutorial Series

This site offers a detailed 31 step-by-step guideon how to build a pole barn. It also gets very technical, you’ll learn not only how to build the barn but also site selection, soil bearing capacity, foundation, and more.Hopefully, it will not only give you an idea of the steps to take to build one but also give you an idea of what you’d like your finished product to look like.

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96-99. Horse and Garage Barn Plans

These plans are not what you would imagine with a typical pole barn. They are more like a traditional barn with a pole barn awning attached. I personally like the looks of them. I think they are gorgeous to look at. So if you aren’t quite sold on the traditional pole barn then here is an additional option for you to ponder.

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100-109. Ontario Animal and Storage Barn Plans

I’m full of plans today, huh? This site offers your traditional pole barn plans. But they also offer a few non-traditional barn plans as well. They offer plans for storage along with plans for livestock. So go ahead and browse. You might be surprised what you come across and decide would work for your property.

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110. Pole Frame Garage

These plans are gorgeous. I had never really considered a pole barn garage. I’m not sure why but after seeing these plans, I’ll nevernotconsider it again. This garage would not only add lots of storage to your property but lots of good-looks too. So give it a glance. You’ll be glad you did.

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111. The Run-In Shed

This is a great option for storing things like grain, hay, or other things that have a tendency to clutter your property (like old bee equipment and scrap wood, in our case.) It isn’t super fancy but offers great storage space. This design looks rather simple to build and the plans appear thorough too.

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112. The Hay Barn

This is an absolutely beautiful barn. Needless to say, it’ll store lots of hay. The only caution I would offer in building this barn is if you are new to building or are not comfortable with reading plans yet, this might not be the place for you to start. The plans are very detailed but also appear a little confusing right out of the gate.

Now for your master builders, you’ll probably take one look and know exactly what they say and build a gorgeous masterpiece on your property. So just use your good judgment.

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113. The 16×20 Pole Barn

These are free pole barn plans. Yes, free! That always makes this one worth giving it a second look. It is a 16×20 pole barn. It comes with a detailed materials list; great visuals to help you see what the final project should look like, and with a tools list and timeline. This might be a good option for the master builders and the newbies too.

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114. 12×16 Barn Shed

These plans are also free. They are to build a 12×16 barn shed which can be used as an either/or in this case. If you need to store animals or other farm-related items or livestock in it, it should work. If you just like the look and need storage then it would work for that too. This one also comes with a detailed materials list and other necessary lists to help make this build easier.

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115. The Drop Down Pole Barn

This is a how-to on building the traditional pole barn. You’ll just need to click on the drop-down menus to read how to build it. The site tells you how ideal these barns are for the equine industry and other farm-related uses. But it also directs you on how to use them as a garage or even in a more commercial industry. So it is up to you how you choose to use your pole barn.

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116-153. LSU AgCenter Barn Plans

We’re not quite done yet. I saved the biggest for the last. LSU AgCenter has 38 free barn plans for any purpose and size, from livestock shelter, storage, and utility barn. They’re all in PDF format, so you can save it to your PC if you need them later.

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