Pole Building Quotes: I Didn’t Fall of the Turnip Truck Yesterday

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 12/07/2012
Pole Building Quotes: I Didn’t Fall of the Turnip Truck Yesterday

Those of you, who have gotten pole building quotes from Hansen Pole Buildings, have recognized while our prices are not always they lowest, they are very competitive. We like to believe we always offer the best possible building value, every time.  And my words of caution when folks say we are “not the lowest” are, […]

Read more

Seat of the Pants Pole Barn Engineering

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 12/06/2012
Seat of the Pants Pole Barn Engineering

I continue to be baffled as to why it is pole building owners (and pole barn builders) all too frequently lose all sense of reality when it comes to proper pole barn engineering design. Case in point: “I’m adding a loft to a section of our pole barn (which was professionally constructed 10 years ago […]

Read more

Pole Barn Builder -Things One Sees on CraigsList

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 12/05/2012
Pole Barn Builder -Things One Sees on CraigsList

“Pole barn builder” read the title of the ad “I am looking to contract a licensed pole barn builder for a few jobs that I have in xxxxx. I can provide materials or if cost effective, you could supply the materials. I would also like to affiliate with an experienced concrete person. Please provide your […]

Read more

Vapor Barrier – An Unforgiving Pole Building Mistake

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 12/04/2012
Vapor Barrier – An Unforgiving Pole Building Mistake

One of the beauties of post frame (pole barn) construction, is they are very forgiving during construction. A virtual plethora of errors can be made, and overcome, leaving a fine looking and well-functioning building. There is one error, which is one of advance planning rather than installation skill, which is not so easy to rectify. […]

Read more

Insulated Overhead Doors

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 12/03/2012
Insulated Overhead Doors

Back in the days when I was building pole buildings (I had up to 35 crews constructing them), we frequently had our overhead sectional steel overhead doors hung by a professional door installation company. Several months after the completion of one particular building, we received a call from the client, who told us his overhead […]

Read more

Pole Barn Package on Ebay

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/30/2012
Pole Barn Package on Ebay

eBay I’ve purchased things on eBay before, as have many Americans. Sometimes there are some great buys to be found, other times, not so great. While browsing today I came across, “Pole Barn Package – 36×48 – 2’ OC Rafter Placement Horse Barn Garage”. Condition is listed as new and the starting bid is listed […]

Read more

Happy Horse Barn Ventilation

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/29/2012
Happy Horse Barn Ventilation

If common sense was common, then articles like this one would not have to be written. One of the least expensive in upfront cost is also the most cost saving, when it comes to horse health and veterinary bills. Sadly, it is most often either an afterthought, or a “never even thought of” for horse […]

Read more

Horse Barn Blues…in the Key of E

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/28/2012
Horse Barn Blues…in the Key of E

When it comes to barns, horse owners know exactly what they want. However what they want, and what will best meet the needs of the horses and the pocketbook, are often not the same. In over three decades, I had literally thousands of requests for horse barns with living quarters incorporated. These pose a myriad […]

Read more

Pole Buildings Hurricane Protection

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/27/2012
Pole Buildings Hurricane Protection

For pole building owners in high wind or hurricane areas, there are some tips which can be taken advantage of to reduce or minimize potential damage in the event of a catastrophic wind. Hurricane protection is something to think about when the wind is not blowing. Does the building have windows? If so, then an […]

Read more

Tap…Tap…Tap…Nail Guns!

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/26/2012
Tap…Tap…Tap…Nail Guns!

Tap…tap…tap…OUCH! Growing up as the son (and nephew) of six framing contractor brothers, I drove probably a few more nails by hand than the average teenager. My Dad was big on any technological improvements which allowed for more efficient use of time. As such, we were probably one of the first framing companies to use […]

Read more

Reasons to Buy Used Utility Poles for Pole Barns

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/23/2012
Reasons to Buy Used Utility Poles for Pole Barns

Here are the top three reasons – Money, Availability, and Recycling/Reusing. Trying to save a few bucks on your pole barn and don’t care about longevity or ease of use, then used utility poles may be the answer. Most people, who are going to invest an average of $50,000 into a new building, prefer to […]

Read more

Steel Thickness: Just When I Think I Have Heard it All

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/22/2012
Steel Thickness: Just When I Think I Have Heard it All

As Holidays are for family – today I am spending it with….my lovely bride in Ecuador! Sometimes you just gotta get away – and relax!  As is my habit, I take holidays “off” from writing, so today is a “rerun” of a blog…usually one which had a high readership.  This one had over 10,000- so […]

Read more

How Long Will Utility Poles Last?

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/21/2012
How Long Will Utility Poles Last?

If I had a dime for every time, over the last three plus decades, I have had a potential client even bring up using old telephone (utility) poles for constructing a new pole barn, I would be retired and sitting on the beach in Ecuador now! Pole buildings are designed with the thought of being […]

Read more

PCP Treated Poles

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/20/2012
PCP Treated Poles

I first became involved in the post frame (pole) building industry over three decades ago, in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. At the time, many of the region’s pole barn builders were buying the lumber for the pole buildings they were selling to consumers from Withers Lumber in Brooks, Oregon. The “special” thing about this […]

Read more

Be on the Lookout for More Pole Buildings!

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/19/2012
Be on the Lookout for More Pole Buildings!

The post-frame construction market has the potential to grow to $8.9 billion by 2016, up from $6.4 billion in 2011, finds a new report by FMI Corporation, a management consulting firm in Raleigh, NC. The report predicts the residential/suburban and light-commercial markets will be the fastest growing segments of the post-frame market in the next […]

Read more

Wind Speed: Really Cool Website

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/16/2012
Wind Speed: Really Cool Website

More buildings fail due to high winds, than high snows. To assist in avoiding new buildings meeting a similar fate as the straw house in “The Three Little Pigs”, the Applied Technology Council (ATC) offers a free web-based tool which finds location-specific wind speed using the GPS coordinate system. This utility interpolates wind speeds to […]

Read more

Concrete Floor Sealer: Fabreze Won’t Cure This

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/15/2012
Concrete Floor Sealer: Fabreze Won’t Cure This

When Judy, the principal owner of Hansen Buildings, purchased the 20 plus year old 10,000 square foot pole building used as a shipping warehouse for Hansen Pole Buildings, little did she know it came along with a hidden “gift”. The previous owner had let his dogs run loose in the building, and the dogs did […]

Read more

Homeowners Association Horror

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/14/2012
Homeowners Association Horror

Halloween has passed, but the horrors still lurk everywhere.  This is one of those Paul Harvey type tales which has “….and the rest of the story…”. One of our clients is going to be constructing a new Hansen Pole Buildings kit. His hurdle – his local HOA (Homeowners Association). Even though it added significantly to […]

Read more

Drip Stop

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/13/2012
Drip Stop

When the temperature and humidity conditions reach the dew point, moisture can condense on the underside of steel roofing. This condensation has the potential to cause water damage and other problems inside of pole buildings. Some of the Hansen Pole Buildings steel suppliers are now offering an internationally patented CCM (Condensation Control Membrane) which can […]

Read more

What House Wrap is Good For

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/12/2012
What House Wrap is Good For

Over the past three decades, house wrap has become a staple feature on millions of buildings. Wrapping a wood framed building in a protective envelope is a good building practice which helps combat a building’s worst enemies: water, moisture and air infiltration. House wrap behind a building’s siding is an excellent secondary defense against the […]

Read more

Glazing: Tempered Glass

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/09/2012
Glazing: Tempered Glass

I know people whose only idea of glazing comes in a box of Krispy Kremes. For others, it is how their eyes felt when the “last round” was called for. In this article – I want to talk about glazing, as in windows. More specifically, about the need for tempered glass. There are lots of […]

Read more

Pole Building Sales: Is Rudeness a Requirement?

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/08/2012
Pole Building Sales: Is Rudeness a Requirement?

Two months ago, we delivered a pole building kit package to one of our clients in…let’s just say “one of the fifty” U.S. States.  Could have happened from any one of them. One of our requirements is for our clients to inventory all materials and report any shortage or damage within 48 hours of receipt. […]

Read more

Concrete: Why Not Bag It?

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/07/2012
Concrete: Why Not Bag It?

Rachel, one of the Hansen Pole Buildings Designers recently took a call from a client who was disappointed because we did not provide the concrete for their new pole building kit package. Most people are familiar with Sakcrete® readi-mix concrete. There is probably not a lumberyard in America which does not have it available for […]

Read more

Mona Lisa Smile: Concrete Cookie

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/06/2012
Mona Lisa Smile: Concrete Cookie

Client calls into our office at the end of the day Friday and talks with Sheila. He tells her his Building Official will only accept his new pole building construction with holes 48 inches deep, with a six inch thick concrete cookie in the bottom of the hole, and no concrete backfill around the columns. […]

Read more

All Steel Buildings: Non-expandable Building Frames

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/05/2012
All Steel Buildings: Non-expandable Building Frames

All Steel Buildings: Non-expandable Bearing Frames I learn at least one new thing every day. Seemingly whether I try to or not, which makes it ever so much more interesting. I’ve deduced this – when I stop learning, I am dead. This morning, Eric (one of the owners of Hansen Pole Buildings), asked me, “non-expandable […]

Read more