Building Material Prices Increase in November, Led by Lumber Among lumber and wood products, commodities with highest importance to new residential construction were general millwork, prefabricated structural members, softwood veneer/plywood, softwood lumber and hardwood veneer/plywood. Highest year-over-year percent change (across all input goods) in November was softwood lumber, at 13.7% higher than November 2023. This […]

This Wednesday the Pole Barn Guru answers reader questions about the chance shelves in a storage space could hurt the integrity of the building, his opinion on the effects of spray foam on steel panels, and placement of glulams on endwalls for load transfer. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I’m creating storage space in post framed […]

The Advantages of Post Frame Construction My friend Randy Chaffee wrote this and it is deserving of being shared. Let’s dive into post frame (Pole Barn) construction. It’s a game-changer when it comes to durability, cost-effectiveness and speed. Forget the old days of just housing livestock or farm equipment. Today’s post frame structures are the […]

Easier to Ask Permission, Than Beg for Forgiveness Our actual client writes: “I need you to please help me. I need a letter from engineering that states that the ceiling can withstand tongue and groove plywood being hung on it. We decided to keep part of the ceiling vaulted and open and are going to […]

Today’s Ask the Guru answers reader questions about insulating a shed used for vehicle storage and a “workshop to piddle in,” the addition of eave light panels to a structure, and if it is possible to build a small building to house a well. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Thank you in advance for your time […]

Effects of Snow and Wind Loading on Building Cost My premise, with clients, has always been I wanted their building (in an event of a catastrophic event) to be last one standing. This resulted in my clients often ordering above minimum code requirements for snow and wind loading. My curiosity taking advantage of my available […]

Minimizing post frame ice dams November 1996 in Northern Idaho will probably forever be known as “Ice Storm”.  About six weeks prior to this event, my construction company had completed a post frame building just south of Sandpoint. When massive snow and ice storms hit, our client kept his new building warm by use of […]

Let’s Not Uplift I learn new things every single day, much in part to loyal readers, the Hansen Pole Buildings’ Building Designers and our clients. Column uplift seems to be a repeating point of contention for me, as it is (in my humble opinion) poorly addressed, if not totally ignored. Reader Dan has some uplift […]

This Wednesday the Pole Barn Guru answers reader questions about options for insulation of an existing steel building, financing options for a post frame home, and adding a ceiling to an existing barn. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I have a preexisting steel building with no insulation. I am looking for affordable methods to insulate the […]

Unless someone reincarnates Nikola Tesla (and he is sane) chances are good energy costs are not going to decrease. Air sealing your post frame barndominium or shouse increases your comfort by reducing drafts and cycle time your heating and cooling systems are running. Air sealing your barndominium reduces humidity increasing comfort levels. A drafty barndominium […]

From a December 6, 2021 story by Oxford Hills Sun Journal report Melissa Seamans: OSSIPEE, NH — “As much as I hate to come to the Commissioners with bad news, the cat’s already out of the bag. We had a problem with the pole barn. It went over on us this weekend. I don’t exactly […]

This week the Pole Barn Guru answers reader questions about building an attached ADU (additional dwelling unit) with a shared wall, the Guru’s thoughts on the best option to insulate a space, and whether specific design choices are possible in a post frame home. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: We are planning to build a shop […]

Will ICC Adopt a Pole-frame Appendix? Reader MATT in PIERRE writes: “Is there any possibility that the ICC will adopt an appendix related to pole-frame buildings. We require engineering in our local jurisdiction at this time and it would be much simpler for customers who want to build a pole-barn if there was a way […]

This Wednesday the Pole Barn Guru answers reader questions about plans to build a 4 plex, running romex wiring in a post frame structure, and the installation of foam board on walls and a better method for wall insulation. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hello. I’m curious if you could help me with plans to build […]

NEW Hansen Pole Buildings “Getting It There” I have always looked at what we do as being akin to logistical wizardry. When one considers it takes thousands of individual components to create even a modestly sized post frame buildings, it is a miracle anything ever gets built! Until now, we relied upon our third party […]

NEW Hansen Pole Buildings’ Floor Systems I admit to having become easily enamored, early in my prefabricated wood truss career, by floor trusses. To me, they were not only things of beauty, but also made framing a very quick process. But, I had been exposed to them even before then. My 16th summer, I spent […]

NEW Hansen Pole Buildings’ Shed and Wing Rafters For most people, provided their main building eave height is adequate, placing an attached shed roof on one or both sides seems to be a simple task. With monitor (also known as raised center) style rooflines, shed (wing) roofs are placed on each sidewall, with high end […]

NEW Hansen Pole Buildings’ Ceiling Joists Because Hansen Pole Buildings provides true double trusses to eliminate possibilities of a single truss failing due to loads beyond design (read more about double trusses here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2018/09/true-double-trusses/), for ceiling applications, joists must be placed between roof truss bottom chords. For those of you who question reliability of widely […]

NEW Hansen Pole Buildings Roof Purlins and Connections Hansen Pole Buildings has always utilized what is known as recessed roof purlins, where purlins are placed between roof truss top chords. Top of roof purlins and top of trusses are at same height and purlins were connected with typical standard joist hangers. This resulted in clients […]

NEW Hansen Pole Buildings’ Prefabricated Roof Trusses Until now, Hansen Pole Buildings has always outsourced roof trusses. When America’s great housing crunch hit in 2007-2008 roughly 2/3rds of all prefabricated wood truss manufacturing plants closed permanently – there just was not business for them. As building recovered, capacity was not increased as quickly as needs. […]

NEW Hansen Pole Buildings’ Wall Girts Clients (actually usually their choice of building erectors), have voiced concerns about our use of bookshelf wall girts. These concerns are from one or more of these areas: Too time consuming, spacing, too hard to hit with a screw, girts sag, too much thermal transfer. I have previously addressed […]

NEW Hansen Pole Buildings Connections For decades wood-to-wood connections for post-frame building construction have been with nails. Usually lots of nails, or (for non-engineered construction) not nearly enough. Hansen Pole Buildings’ engineers have always specified 10d common hot-dipped galvanized nails for connecting 1-1/2” thick wood members to other framing members. Great part for strength, yet […]

NEW Hansen Pole Building Splash Planks and Bottom Sills Call it what you want – Splash Plank, Bottom Girt, Grade Girt or Skirt Board, this decay resistant (or at least we sure hope so) resistant member is in contact with or located near soil’s surface. Portions of it remain visible from building exterior upon completion […]

NEW Hansen Pole Building Columns in Brackets Even though our glu-laminated columns are pressure preservative treated entirely through, there are some people who are just not convinced of longevity of properly pressure preservative treated wood in ground. We have a solution for you. There is only one commercially available with any significant moment (bending) resisting […]

NEW Hansen Pole Building Roof Supporting COLUMNS Since Hansen Pole Buildings’ inception we have primarily provided solid-sawn timbers for roof supporting columns. Due to cost and availability challenges, we have only included true glu-laminated columns, when required by structural necessity or as a request from our clients. Now solid-sawn columns have not come without their […]