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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

I recently spoke with a prospective client in California. This particular gentleman is an electrical contractor, and fancies himself as being fairly handy. He is considering doing the construction of his new pole building kit himself, however was terrified by the prospect of having to set the building columns. Being honest, we all have our […]

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the […]

Before I constructed my first commercial pole building, for myself, I would have had no idea what a Knox Box  was. Prior to then, if I would have had to venture a guess, I would have assumed it was the container for Knox® Brand gelatin. A Knox-Box®, known officially as the Knox-Box® Rapid Entry System, […]

Considering construction a post frame building for commercial use? If so, many jurisdictions offer a pre application conference which will greatly ease the overall permit process, as well as providing a total view as to all of the requirements necessary to be met. Why should I go through a PAC? In my humble opinion, if […]

Considering repainting steel panels? Steel roofing and siding is designed to provide decades of maintenance free use. There are cases where clients feel the need to change colors, which can be done, following the process outlined below for repainting steel panels. Any building panel surface to be repainted must be prepared and treated properly to […]

This is a true story, about the construction of an all-steel building; however the events could spell the doom of any building project – regardless of the structural framework. Shifting Piers Geo-technical engineers were called out to a jobsite to investigate why it was the concrete piers supporting an under construction all-steel building were unstable. […]

Construction is a Complicated Business The conditions always change – different clients, different materials, dealing with workers, subcontractors and vendors and a myriad of different governmental agencies each doing the push-me, pull-me with incomprehensible mountains of paperwork and requirements. Contractor High failure rate Those who are not prepared or capable of meeting these demands may […]