Pole Buildings in Medical Lake, WA: Shops, Garages, RV Storage & Barns

Pole buildings in Medical Lake, WA, for shops, garages, RV storage and barns on West Plains acreage. Raven Buildings designs and builds post-frame buildings in Medical Lake, Four Lakes and across the open ground between Medical Lake, Cheney and Airway Heights, with the slab, aprons and approaches poured by our own concrete crew.

Pole buildings we put up around Medical Lake

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

Built for West Plains snow, wind and frost

The City of Medical Lake doesn't post its design criteria online, so for lots inside city limits we confirm them with the City's Building Department. For lots in unincorporated Spokane County, these are the County's published figures:

• Ground snow load: 39 psf base, with a 30 psf basic minimum roof snow load. The County says some areas reach 150 psf, so we look up your parcel on the County's SCOUT snow-load map
• Wind: 110 mph in the County's design criteria table. Open West Plains ground gets real wind, so trusses, posts and bracing are designed for it
• Frost depth: footings go at least 24 inches below finished grade under the City of Spokane / Spokane County joint frost-depth policy

Every pole building we quote is engineered for your parcel's snow load and wind, so post size, embedment and truss spacing match your site instead of a generic plan.

Permits in and around Medical Lake

Where your lot sits decides who you work with:

• Inside city limits: the City of Medical Lake's Building Department issues building permits, and the Planning Department reviews them for zoning. The Building Department is at 124 S. Lefevre St., (509) 565-5024, and the City notes permits are paid by cash or check only
• Shop size on a city residential lot: the City's March 2026 Planning Commission presentation summarizes the current code as limiting a detached garage or shop to 80% of the house's square footage or 1,000 sq ft, whichever is less, and no taller than the house
• Proposed changes: the City's draft zoning update (draft Ordinance 1144) would instead cap accessory buildings at 17% building coverage of the lot and 24 feet tall, with 5-foot side and rear setbacks and no closer to the street than the house. We check which rules are in force when we quote
• Outside city limits (Four Lakes and the unincorporated West Plains): Spokane County Building & Planning issues the permit. Only one-story detached accessory buildings of 200 sq ft or less skip a building permit under the County's exemption list
• Rural County setbacks: in the County's rural zones, buildings sit at least 25 feet from the front property line and 5 feet from side and rear lines, plus a foot for each foot of height over 25 feet
• Electrical: permitted separately through Washington L&I

More detail is in our Spokane-area permit guide for shops, pole barns and garages.

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

Pre-engineered steel runs about the same installed in our market. Compare the two in our red iron vs. pole barn guide, or see sizes in our pole barn cost guide.

Why Medical Lake owners call Raven

• Local: we build across the West Plains, including metal buildings in Medical Lake
• Pole or steel: we build both, so you get a straight comparison for your site
• One crew for the concrete: no separate flatwork contractor to schedule

Get a Medical Lake pole building quote

Call 509-350-2016 or request a free quote with your size, door layout and address. See our pole building services.

Sources

• Installed pricing: Raven Buildings' current going rate for the Spokane area
• City of Medical Lake Building Department
• City of Medical Lake Planning & Zoning Department
• City of Medical Lake, March 2026 Planning Commission presentation: Building Coverage and Accessory Buildings
• City of Medical Lake, Draft Ordinance 1144 Zoning Districts
• Spokane County BP-06 Residential Building Permits (design criteria)
• Spokane County Building FAQ (snow load and jurisdiction)
• Spokane County SCOUT map, snow-load layer
• City of Spokane / Spokane County Joint Policy BUILD-07, Official Frost Depth
• Spokane County BP-25 Permit Exemptions
• Spokane County Zoning Code, Table 618-3 Lot Standards for Rural Zones