Tread Softly When Subdivision Covenants Meet Your New Pole Building I’m on the Libertarian side with my beliefs people should have the right to do with their own property as they best see fit. However in the situation below, the new pole building owner invested in a piece of property fully aware of the restrictions […]

Cardboard (or Plastic, Foam, Metal) Eave Baffles The model building codes (IBC and IRC – International Building Code and International Residential Code) require enclosed attic spaces, in most cases, to have ventilation. The most efficient ventilation design solution is to have enclosed vented soffits at the eaves as an air intake, and a vented ridge […]

Today the PBG attempts to assist with finding some instructions, the correct frost depth, and nailing schedule for OSB. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: A friend of mine gave me a cannonball track and hardware setup for my pole barn garage. I have looked everywhere for INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS. I cannot find anything on line. Can you […]

Continued from yesterday’s blog: (1) Storage – if you ever believe anyone might ever in the future desire to climate control then provision should be made for making it easiest to make future upgrades. At the very least a reflective radiant barrier (single cell rather than wasting the money for the extra approximately 0.5 R […]

Pole Barn Insulation, Oh So Confusing How to best insulate any building can be confusing – with pole barns being right there with any other structural system. “Best” also has to include a balance between the upfront investment and the long term savings, throwing in the wild guess as to what future costs of heating […]

Plastic Under Roof Steel? Reader Loren is persistent, he wanted to ask a question in regards to placing plastic under roof steel to prevent condensation, however the wonderful world of technology was making it a challenge. Thinking – Loren emailed me directly. Here are Loren’s own words: “I’ve been trying to submit a question to […]

Beware of Your Neighbors When Planning a New Post Frame Building Even though your new post frame building may be entirely legal within the parameters established by your permit issuing authority, sharing planning with your neighbors might avoid upset neighbors and legal costs. From a May 8, 2018 story by Mike McKnight at www.wowt.com: “A […]

Today Mike advises on the Post Frame construction of Roof Only Hay Barns, and the need to use a Registered Design Professional. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: You have a page showing roof only hay barns. There are two photos, one which shows a partially enclosed hay barn. I am very interested in this for my […]

Please Let Me Engineer Your Post Frame Building For Free Because I am not a Registered Design Professional, I can’t engineer your new post frame building for you. And, if I was, I most certainly would not be doing it for free. Typically an engineer should be compensated somewhere in the area of 8 to […]

Standing Seam Steel Roofing Used as Siding You ever Google something and find there is no relevant information about it? I didn’t believe it was possible until I tried a search for “Standing Seam Steel Roofing Used as Siding”. I’ll wait here patiently until you are back from trying it yourself. Not much information is […]

Cool New Tool? In the world of tools, there is rarely a better mousetrap. However this steel cutting tool may or may not be an actual Cool New Tool: https://coolnewtools.com/products/nibble-metal-cutting (Author’s disclaimer: I have never used this product and this is not an endorsement. I do not receive a kick back in the event you […]

How to Install a Steel Roof Over Shingles Absolutely true story, with me as part of it! My lovely bride bought a raw weed covered property along the South Dakota shore of Lake Traverse in the early 1990’s. For a home, she had a double wide manufactured home set up on the property. A few […]

Mike the Pole Barn Guru discusses The Idea of Heating the building in the future, Post Heave, and Interior Housewrap. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hi Pole Barn Guru, I am getting ready to order a kit for a new 38×40 pole barn in Southern Ohio. Initially it will be cold storage, but the idea of heating […]

Insulation is the hot (pun, intended) topic. Everyone seems focused on energy efficiency in their post frame buildings. Reader CHRIS in TRAVERSE CITY got my head spinning on it once again: “I recently purchased a property with a 24×30 pole building (metal siding, wood trusses and 3 tab shingle roof). I would like to insulate […]

My Cousin Did Not Buy a Building From Me I truly love my cousin Randy. In the past few years he and his lovely bride have had a home and a post frame shop constructed on their farm southwest of Spokane, WA. Through a set of unfortunate circumstances Randy did not get a Hansen Pole […]

Trump’s Tariffs Driving Up Pole Building Costs (Includes information from an April 24, 2018 article at www.villages-news.com Florida by Marv Balousek) “Federal tariffs on steel and aluminum imposed several weeks ago by the Trump Administration already are having an impact in Wildwood. The tariffs were blamed Monday night for increasing the cost of a steel pole barn […]

Hopefully most, if not all, of my loyal readers are those who have concerns when it comes to investing in a new post frame building (I do know some of you just enjoy my slightly skewed sense of humor, or find my writings otherwise entertaining). For those of you who are avid kit shoppers, I […]

Today Mike the Pole Barn Guru answers questions about Retro Insulation, Cost of a Hipped Roof, and Slab Prep! DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Retro Pole barn wall insulation: should a person put plastic or some sort of vapor barrier against outside tin on interior, then put fiberglass blanket up? Which Is a better option faced or […]

Gambrel style rooflines are often enticing, they offer the feeling (however not the reality) of getting added space for free. Building your own gambrel barn trusses might appear on the surface like a way to make this even a greater savings. This was prompted by an inquiry from reader DON in WAYNE. Don writes: “I […]

I had a question posed of me recently which included: “Where will the water go when the screws back out of my steel roofing”? While I answered the question at hand, I didn’t actually get into the why this might happen, or the solutions. How to avoid the potential problem completely……use the right part, properly […]

Ways You Can Integrate Cost-Effective Heating Into a Self-Build Thank you to today’s guest blogger is Chrissy Nicholson Only 65% of homeowners in America have mortgages and with an average down-payment of just under $13,000, it’s not surprising consumers are looking for alternate ways to own their own homes. One of the most cost-effective ways of owning […]

Construction Marketing Ideas Reviews This Column Construction Marketing Ideas holds an annual competition for the best blog in the construction industry, world-wide. This column happens to be one of only 17 selected to compete – win or lose, it affirms the message is being shared effectively. My thanks to Mark Buckshon for his review, which […]

An Engineer wants to Learn More, Roof Steel Replacement, and the ideal Building Height to Accommodate an RV! DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I’m a licensed engineer in KY. I would like to learn more about pole barn design. Do you have any references that you would recommend? James in KY DEAR JAMES: The NFBA Post […]

3M™ VHB™ Tape Reader WILLIAM in DYER writes: “I’ve been researching pole buildings, and the weak point for putting one up seems to be the screws and washers.  Have you looked into using 3M™ VHB™ tape instead of screws and fasteners for attaching the metal exterior sheeting? What are the pros/cons of tape only? Thanks.” […]

Reader JIM in HOODSPORT writes about condensation issues: “New Completed 40’ x 60’ pole barn with 16’ side walls and 24’ peak. Walls and ceiling insulated, 60’ long ridge roof vent. Full cement Pad with plastic vapor barrier under it. Cement was 60 days old when barn was completed.. rained just about every day. No […]