The desired level of soil compaction is best achieved by matching the soil type with its proper compaction method.  Other factors must be considered as well, such as soil compaction specs and job site conditions.  Since granular soils are not cohesive and the particles require a shaking or vibratory action to move them, vibratory plates […]

Ready to get your head deeper into the dirt?  Stick with me here and I’ll explain at the end why this is so important. Here we go…. The Proctor, or Modified Proctor Test, determines the maximum density of a soil needed for a specific job site.  The test first determines the maximum density achievable for […]

When I think of water and soil, I can’t help but think of the Tower of Suurhusen in Germany.  This one leans even more than the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy.  But it’s why it leans which interests me.  Built in 1450, it probably would have never leaned, if not for changing the moisture […]

This is day two in several where I am discussing all kinds of issues with site preparation, mostly what to do with the…dirt. So what actually is soil? Soil is formed in place or deposited by various forces of nature – such as glaciers, wind, lakes and rivers – residually or organically.  The important elements […]

Caught your attention, didn’t I? Every building project starts from the same place – the dirt. In order to achieve a quality outcome, it takes a quality beginning.  It’s hard to believe, but there is a lot of “stuff” to cover about dirt.  Stick with me here for the next several blogs and we’ll take […]

The best time to insulate your new pole building…is at the time of construction. There are many building features which are more easily done at time of construction, but sometimes the old pocketbook only stretches so far. At the very least, if you can prepare your building for future “additions” of features such as additional […]

I’ve personally used and experienced wonderful results with a product referred to by the trade name BIBS®.  You can read more about it on the internet:  www.bibs.com I know I’m going to sound like a commercial talking about how great this stuff is, but I honestly have no affiliation with the company producing it. I […]

If you didn’t read my yesterday’s blog – you may want to prior to reading today’s, which is the “rest of the story” on metal building insulation, commonly known as “MBI”. My first experience installing MBI was not a fun one, in any sense of the word “fun”. What no one warned us about were […]

It was a cold morning….and I was working on one of the first pole barns I had ever built. With the roof all framed up, it was time to install the roof steel, or so I thought. In a pile, on the ground, were bags of something white, about as large as an oversized water […]

Insulation is one of the topics, once brought into conversation, seems to make most folks’ eyes glaze over.  Many know enough to ask about R Value, and understand “the higher the better”.  Or so they think.  Sometimes you need to stop a minute and go back to the source of what I call “the need”.  […]

Let me in…Let me in! A fair number of pole buildings end up with enclosed attic spaces. An enclosed attic is one where the bottom chord (lowest horizontal or in the case of a vaulted ceiling – slightly sloping) has a ceiling attached or suspended from it. In the event this is going to happen […]

Yesterday I started talking a little bit about one of the hardest things to choose on a building – colors. This is one of those subjects where I feel totally out of my element, but because we get so many folks asking “what color should I choose for….?”, I feel I can share some of […]

If we are going out for an evening on the town, my wife won’t let me pick the clothes I am going to wear.  While I am sure it has something to do with my inability to match colors, even I sometimes wonder about colors people choose for their pole buildings. Several years ago we […]

Ten years ago when we first started our internet based business, we set up an ACH option for customers to make payments on their pole building kits.  I can still remember the first gal we offered payment by ACH to.  From memory in talking to her son, the elderly lady who was actually paying for […]

Today‘s guest blog is written by a fellow Rotarian of mine, Rich Wilson, who is an Insurance and Financial Services Agent for Farmers Insurance out of Coeur d ‘Alene, ID. So you want to build a pole building structure behind your home.  So how does pole building insurance work? It’s always best to check with your […]

We all know what Assume Means… Bob is a builder in Northern California. He made a request for a quote on a building recently, via the Hansen Pole Buildings website. The building he had in mind was to be 30’ wide x 80’ long. Bob told me the roof snow load was 100 pounds per […]

To close out the past two weeks’ blogs of discussing the different views of pole building plans and what to expect from your building department, there is one more subject we should discuss…those little details which make all the difference. Plans are most often drawn in ¼” = 1 foot scale.  Details are drawn in […]

Details! Details! Details! To close out the past two weeks’ blogs of discussing the different views of pole building plans and what to expect from your building department, there is one more subject we should discuss…those little details which make all the difference. Plans are most often drawn in ¼” = 1 foot scale.  Details […]

Who needs elevation drawings and what are they?  This is one question to be sure to ask your building department prior to having your plans drafted.  I’ve been talking about plans since beginning of last week, and I did refer to endwall and sidewall framing plans as “elevations”.  However, these were the framing plans for […]

Last week and up through today I have been talking about building plans, how to tell if they are “good ones” or not, before you buy your building.  Whoever you buy a pole building kit from should be able to show you a set of sample plans prior to you plunking down a huge chunk […]

If you have not yet read the previous 6 or 7 blogs – it would be helpful at this point to back up a bit and read them in order, or at least enough so you get a good idea of what is included on a good set of building plans. We deal with all […]

This is day number five in talking about building plans, so if you have not read the blogs, you may find them well worth your time. Today I am looking at sidewall elevations.  Right off the bat I’m going to have you click here to take a look at a sample: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/sample-plans.htm Be sure to […]

Blog #97 Building Plans – Endwall Elevations This is day 4 in discussion of building plans, which pages show what features and how to “read” them. Endwall elevations are most often where sliding doors, overheads and entry doors are placed.  Not always, as some folks use the sidewall as the “front” of their building.  It […]

This is Day 3 in my discussion of building plans (i.e. blueprints) with today’s focus on the Interior “section” elevation.  When you cut open an apple, what do you see?  Just a flat one dimensional view of what is inside of the apple. This is exactly what we do with the Interior Section on your […]

This is day 2 talking about the specific pages of building plans – what they should include, and how to “read” them. I divert to my lovely bride for this next analogy, because she is the “farm gal”.  She tells our clients when they look at the Roof Framing Plan to pretend they are up […]