Decks and Exterior Balconies of Post Frame Buildings Post frame buildings and residential construction have finally met and the marriage happily looks to be a long term one! Along with this marriage, post frame has to familiarize itself with structural areas which were previously unfamiliar. Amongst these are decks and exterior balconies. The 2018 IBC […]

I this weeks blog, the Pole Barn Guru talks about, rebuilding a pole barn, ideal post spacing and a frost wall. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hello, I recently disassembled a 36 x 100 pole barn and am rebuilding it at my house. It was covered with 2″ reinforced paper faced roll pole barn insulation with […]

Today we’d like to revisit the “Evolution of The Pole Barn Guru and his Building Philosophy” In my early years, tremendous quality was not necessarily the strong point. It was the ability to offer a very reasonably priced building and deliver it quickly. My buildings were pretty much the same as everyone else I competed […]

What to Do With an Old Dollar General® Pole Barn In the fall of 2016 the town of Reading, MI purchased the pole barn which had previously been the home of a Dollar General® store. The original plan was to convert the pole barn into a new city hall, but, after seeing the estimated price […]

Continued from yesterday’s Part I on overhead door R-values… Are the reported R-values even accurate? There’s another potential problem with the R-values reported by garage-door manufacturers: even if one accepts the fact the advertised R-values represent center-of-panel values rather than whole-door values, the numbers are still higher than most insulation experts believe are possible. Several manufacturers report […]

High R-value Overhead Doors for Post Frame Buildings When my lovely bride and I had our post frame building home constructed, energy efficiency was important for us. At the time Hansen Pole Buildings was ordering our overhead doors through my friend David Vance, owner of Rainer Building Products in Western Washington. I approached David with […]

Today the Pole Barn Guru answers questions about frost protected shallow foundations, repainting metal buildings and a kit in Hawaii. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: What type of frost foundation would you use if planning on doing a finished space in part of the building? ERIC in WINTERSET DEAR ERIC: I’d do a Frost Protected Shallow […]

What Size Posts Does My Building Need and How Deep Should They Be? Reader ANONYMOUS in BENTON writes: “1. If my building has 16 posts and posts are 12 feet apart do I need 4×6’s or 6×6’s? 2. If the plan shows 16 feet above grade how much do I need underground? 3. If the […]

Vinyl Gable Vents for Pole Barns Attic venting for post frame (pole barn) buildings is a challenge which can be resolved by the use of vinyl gable vents. Reader KEN in BERRYTON writes: “I have a pole barn with the ribbed siding, 3/4″ high ribs at 9″ spacing, with two smaller ribs in-between at 3″ […]

A Real Life Case for Pole Barn Bollards My long-time readers will remember my expounding upon why bollards should be strategically placed around post frame (pole barn) buildings where big things might hit them and go boom. In the event my earlier article did not thoroughly sink in, here is a real life example of […]

Splashwood™ Reader MIKE in ORLANDO writes: “Dear Pole Barn Guru, I bought a 38×42 Pole Barn kit from a reputable supplier. The posts are 8″ x 8″ – but do not have the AWPA markings that you describe in your Blog. These posts have a tag stapled to the end that says “SPLASHWOOD, Saltwater Splash […]

Today’s blog discusses double skirt boards, siding options and foundation plans. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: The pole building garage at the house I bought has two skirt boards. Can I remove the interior board to remove the dirt easier and put quikrete in its place. There is a 5” gap between the wall and the […]

My Pole Barn is a Sauna in Summer- and needs ventilation! “Hey there Pole Barn Guru, got a question about ventilation. Just bought a house with a pole barn on the property. I believe it’s only about a year old. 30 x 32.  It has no soffits or windows, only a standard garage door and […]

Why It Is Essential to Supervise Professional Installers In an ideal dream world, one would be able to hire a professional installer and know the job would be done right, without the need for hands on supervision. RYAN in ELLENSBURG recently contracted out the roof steel installation of his new Hansen Pole Building kit package […]

Isolating Pole Barn Poles From Concrete Slabs The fear factor – comes up again and again in construction. Today’s fear is a concrete slab being poured against the poles (columns) of an existing pole barn will cause the columns to decay. “We have a 25 year old pole barn with 12 main 8×8 poles sunk […]

Fear of Concrete Slab Cracking at Post Corners Nothing appears to add to the self-importance of a contractor more than instilling fear into the hearts and minds of their clients. If I had a dollar for every fear mongering story I have heard over the years, I would be a wealthy man! Hansen Pole Buildings’ […]

Post Frame Homes Proliferate Post frame homes have been a well-kept secret for decades. Well, not only is the bag the cat was in open, but the cat has also leaped out and is running rampantly! Here at Hansen Pole Buildings, we have noticed a significant surge in requests for quotes, as well as general […]

Today’s blog discusses a Garage Idea, Barn Doors, and Another Eave Height Question. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: 30’ wide x32’ deep garage 6×6 posts spaced 10’ apart except one side 16’ span. 2×8 headers doubled 2×6 side walls supporters on slab. 2×6 rafters with on 2’ centers with 2×6 connectors between rafters also on 2’ […]

Installing Joist Hangers on Opposite Sides of a Double Truss My friend and loyal reader LONNIE in COLORADO SPRINGS is one Hansen Pole Buildings’ client who truly puts thought into the assembly of his new post frame building. Lonnie writes: “I’ve been pondering and pondering this and I may have a solution that I want […]

Why Should Air Barriers Be Incorporated into Post Frame Construction? Energy efficiency of post-frame buildings has become a huge topic of discussion. Rather than trying to impress you, gentle reader, with my limited degree of knowledge, here are the words of an expert. The general public does not get to read Frame Building News. Here […]

Conditioned Post Frame Crawl Space Recently I had a reader ask about Conditioned Post-Frame Crawl Spaces, a subject I quickly did an internet search on, and found nothing. Dear gentle readers: In the event you should Google any post frame related information and cannot find the answer you are searching for, please drop me an […]

To continue from last Friday’s blog on adding a lean-to onto an existing pole building… Moving onto the design of the lean-to itself: The lean-to can be placed to either begin at the same height of the existing building eave, or the high side can be placed lower along the original building wall. If the […]

Today the Pole Barn Guru answers questions about calculating the height of a building, Building on and existing foundation, and Spray Foam Insulation. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I’m looking for over all height of a building with a 14’ eave? Thanks. DOUG in PILOT ROCK DEAR DOUG: The overall height determination starts with a clear […]

Adding a Lean-to on a Pole Barn In six years and nearly 1500 articles written it is hard for me to believe I have actually overlooked the topic of a lean-to being added to a pole barn! For the biblical readers amongst you, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find” […]

Geothermal Heating/Cooling for Post Frame Buildings I’ve opined upon geothermal heating and cooling for post frame buildings in the past (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2016/12/modern-post-frame-buildings-geothermal/). Reader STEVE in BOYNE CITY had some further questions and writes: “You said you pump (approx.) 55 degree liquid through pex in ”wells” in the ground (I think is how you put it) through […]