Pole Buildings in Colville, WA: Shops, Garages & Ag Buildings

Pole buildings in Colville, WA, built for Stevens County snow and a 30-inch frost line. Raven Buildings designs and builds post-frame shops, garages, hay and equipment barns and ag buildings in Colville and around the Colville Valley, with the slab and aprons poured by our own concrete crew. Inside city limits we build to the City of Colville's design criteria; outside them, to Stevens County's.

Pole buildings we put up around Colville

• Shops and garages: post-frame shops with roll-up doors, walk doors, windows and wainscot where you want them
• Hay, livestock and equipment barns: open-sided or enclosed bays for tractors, hay, trailers and logging or farm equipment
• RV and boat storage: tall sidewalls and wide doors for motorhomes and trailers
• Concrete in-house: shop floors, aprons and approaches from the same contractor. See our Colville concrete page

First question: city or county?

A Colville mailing address (99114) can be inside the city or out in unincorporated Stevens County, and the permit office depends on which:

• Inside Colville city limits: the City of Colville Building Department issues building permits, at 1044 N. Lincoln Street (509-684-5096)
• Outside city limits: Stevens County Land Services issues them, through its Building and Planning divisions
• How we check: we pull your parcel number before we quote, so the design loads and paperwork match the right office

City of Colville: design criteria and permits

The City publishes these structural design criteria:

• Roof snow load: 40 psf
• Wind: 85 mph (3-second gust)
• Frost depth: 30 inches, measured from finished grade to the bottom of the footing
• Weathering: rated severe, with ice-shield underlayment required on roofs
• Winter design temperature: -5 degrees F
• Permit exemption: only one-story detached accessory sheds and similar buildings with 200 sq ft or less of roof area skip a permit, so any real pole shop needs one
• Inspections: required to finalize a permit, and a permit left with no activity for 180 days is closed without inspection
• Electrical: all electrical work is permitted and inspected by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries

Stevens County (outside city limits): design loads and permits

• Codes: the County enforces the Washington State Building Code, and its building pages list the 2021 codes as effective July 1, 2024
• Frost depth: the Stevens County building ordinance sets a 30-inch minimum for footings exposed to outside temperatures
• Snow load: the County doesn't publish a single countywide figure. Washington engineers set the site's ground snow load from ASCE 7 or the SEAW snow-load guidance (WABO/SEAW White Paper 8), and the County's building official has the final say, so your building is engineered for your parcel
• Site Analysis first: the Planning Division's Site Analysis checks zoning setbacks and plat restrictions, and the site plan has to show the distance from the building to every property line
• Does a pole barn need a permit? Per the County's Building FAQ, anything with plumbing, habitable space or commercial use does. A residential utility building over 200 sq ft or on a permanent foundation may be exempt if it's at least 20 feet from every property line and any structure with habitable space, but only after the Site Analysis confirms there's no plat restriction requiring permits
• Timeline: the County says plan reviews take about 2 to 3 weeks, and March through November is its busiest season

How we build a post-frame building for this climate

• Ground-contact posts: the residential code requires wood in contact with the ground, or embedded in concrete that's in contact with the ground, to be pressure-preservative-treated lumber rated for ground contact (IRC Section R317)
• Below the frost line: post footings go below Colville's and Stevens County's 30-inch frost depth so frost heave doesn't lift the building
• Engineered trusses and purlins: sized for your parcel's snow load, with roof pitch and snow guards planned around doors and walkways. Our Spokane County snow load guide explains how ground snow becomes roof snow
• Metal roof and siding: see our PBR vs. R-panel vs. standing seam guide

What an installed pole building costs

Raven's going rate for an installed pole building is about $60 to $75 per sq ft. Electrical, plumbing and utility hookups are not included and are extra.

• 30x40 (1,200 sq ft): about $72,000 to $90,000 installed
• 40x60 (2,400 sq ft): about $144,000 to $180,000 installed
• Always extra: electrical, plumbing and utility hookups
• Varies by site: grading, gravel, driveway approach and how far utilities have to run

Pole buildings and red-iron steel buildings run about the same installed in our market, so the choice usually comes down to clear span, height and use. Compare them in our red iron vs. pole barn guide, see sizes in our pole barn cost guide, or look at metal buildings in Colville.

Why Colville owners call Raven

• North-country experience: we build across Spokane County and up into Stevens County, including pole buildings in Deer Park and Mead
• One crew for building and concrete: footings, slab and aprons without juggling a second contractor
• City or county: we handle the City of Colville or Stevens County paperwork that fits your parcel

Get a Colville pole building quote

Call 509-350-2016 or request a free quote with your size, door layout and address or parcel number.

Sources

• Installed pricing: Raven Buildings' current going rate
• City of Colville Building/Planning FAQs (design criteria and permit exemptions)
• City of Colville Building Department
• Stevens County Building FAQs
• Stevens County Building Codes / Ordinance
• Stevens County Building Code Ordinance 02-1984 (frost depth)
• 2021 International Residential Code, Chapter 3 (Section R317, protection of wood against decay)
• WABO/SEAW White Paper 8, Snow Loads in Washington