Thanks to Google, I get Email alerts when new articles appear on line about pole barns. Sadly, far too many of them are from online versions of newspapers and involve fires in horse barns. Usually, but not always, these fires were entirely preventable. My daughter Bailey (https://www.baileymombtraining.com/) is a professional horse trainer and she would […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU:  I have a full size tennis court, we want to put a pole barn on the tennis court (we don’t play tennis) The barn would be 30 x 60 obviously leaving an asphalt perimeter larger than the barn around the barn – how would you seal the edges where the barn […]

A prospective client recently posted this question about block foundations: “Our family farm was started around 1850. During this time there were 12-14 barns and 1 house. Most barns deteriorated due to bad roofing. But we’re talking about stuff that lasted 100 years and some longer. We still have 4 barns left and the house […]

A Hansen Pole Buildings client in California has just today approved the plans for his new post frame building and poses the question: “We are in a no frost area with no snow load, so why are the concrete piers so large and deep??” In response: “The column embedment (depth and diameter of the holes) […]

At Hansen Pole Buildings we get hundreds of inquiries daily for price quotes on pole buildings. Internally, we have a fairly automated system, which allows for our team of Building Designers to receive the input information from those who make inquiries. This morning, one of the Building Designers requested from me, more quote requests to […]

Manny recently contacted us for a quote on a new pole building kit package. His particular need is hay storage, which could be solved by the 24’x36’ two story pole building he requested a price on. Access would be via a split sliding door in each endwall, and the second floor is designed to support […]

Greetings…and WELCOME to my new blog Feature – Dear Pole Barn Guru! Starting today….each Monday I will post questions submitted to me about pole buildings and pole barn construction, products for use in pole buildings, along with my answers.  Scroll to the bottom if you have a burning question for the Pole Barn Guru, and […]

Thanks to Hansen Pole Buildings Designer Bob, for his inspiration on this post! Have you ever spent a couple of hours working on a craft project — or a presentation for work — and then fallen in love with the accomplishment? Do the colors picked for the PowerPoint background pop so beautifully you just have […]

The State of California has enacted legislation, which goes into effect January 1, 2014, in relation to window U-factors in new construction. Not in California? Beware, what starts in California, often migrates quickly to other locales. Please note: The term U-value is often incorrectly used ins tead of U-factor. Now what the hey is a […]

This article was a recent Internet rage: Subway customers are whipping out their measuring tapes after Internet postings that claim a short-shifting of the worldwide chain’s famous footlong sub, putting the Milford, Conn.-based company in the hot seat. The controversy began Tuesday in Australia, when a very precise customer, identified as Matt Corby of Perth, […]

In 2005, Hansen Pole Buildings supplied a new pole building kit to a client in Hernando, Mississippi. He opted not to construct his own building, instead hiring a builder who had constructed several of our buildings. Recently, the client called to ask some questions about his building – specifically who the manufacturer of the steel […]

True confession time….. (‘most everyone loves it when I fess up to something, don’t they?)…. I have never sold a double hung window to a client, installed one as a builder, or owned a building which had double hung windows. Whew – I feel so much better having gotten this off my chest. There are […]

This is so funny, I just had to share it!  Make sure you read this all the way to the bottom. This is a must for all the men out there who like to build things! The new nail gun, made by DeWalt can drive a 16D nail through a 2×4 at 200 yards. This […]

When the problem isn’t the problem…. Two recent fires in Chautauqua County, New York involving steel roofs have raised a potential problem for firefighters. Fire officials say the durable material used in roofing is becoming more common as building owners turn to alternative options. However, as highlighted with recent blazes in Sinclairville and Westfield, N.Y., […]

Project Superstorm Sandy For more than 30 years the trade group at F+W Media has served the construction industry. Now they are coming together to serve the Red Cross and those communities most devastated by Superstorm Sandy by creating the website www.projectsandy.net. The companies listed in this guide (including Hansen Pole Buildings) are well established […]

Hansen Pole Buildings is excited to be a stocking dealer of Silver Line® Windows manufactured by Andersen. Andersen Windows, Inc. is a part of Andersen Corporation; the largest window and door manufacturer in North America. The flagship Andersen® brand is the most recognized and most used brand in the window and patio door industry.  Andersen […]

  In September of 2011, one of the Hansen Pole Buildings Designers – Steve, quoted a proposed pole building to be built in Oakland County, Michigan. To be used to cover four indoor baseball batting cages, the building quoted was to be 50 feet wide, 80 feet long with a 20 foot sidewall. Among its […]

Is 2×6 lumber heavy? This is actually fairly important, not just to determine how many boards can be toted around a jobsite by one person, but also in calculating the dead loads which must be carried by structural members such as roof trusses and rafters. Like most things played around with by engineers, and other […]

First – my disclaimer, I am not a tax professional of any kind. If you feel any of the information in this post may be helpful in your circumstance, please share it with your tax advisor,  The educated advice of a professional may be utilized to make an educated decision if you are planning to […]

Made in the USA? I am a member of a LinkedIn discussion group, where the question was recently posed, “What are the challenges of selling “Made in the USA” products? After three plus decades and around 15,000 pole buildings, I can count on one hand with fingers left over, the number of times I’ve heard […]

What I Learned Today – Wood Preservative Hansen Pole Buildings’ Designer Rachel had an interesting story today. She reported, “A builder says he uses Borax around the bottom of the steel.  I thought this was strange and he didn’t say why he was using it.” Being the naturally curious sort, Rachel started researching on the […]

From Friday – Nothing is worse than a roof gone wrong. Leaks frustrate everyone involved, and are usually avoidable. Poor design and poor installation are equal factors in the roofs which just are not happy. If you missed my blog Friday –you may want to review it as the first part of my Rule for […]

Nothing is worse than a roof gone wrong. Leaks frustrate everyone involved, and are usually avoidable. Poor design and poor installation are equal factors in the roofs which just are not happy. Avoid Valleys Designing the roof of a pole barn? Then try to design a roof without any valleys. Valleys concentrate water and often […]

The story you are about to read is true, only the names have been changed, to protect the innocent. Now my name isn’t Friday, and today is Thursday. A busy Thursday, just like most, with the phones ringing and everyone scurrying to assist with clients. An incoming caller reported a “crime”. They had purchased a […]

Warming up to Ice and Snow Ice and snow build up in pole building rain gutters and along eave lines can cause ice dams. Ice building up along roof and gutters can cause water to back up under roofing, causing serious damage to the building’s interior. In some instances, ice buildup along eaves can put […]