This is Part IV in a four part series on Use and Occupancy. If you have just joined us now, it would behoove you to go back to Tuesday’s blog and get caught up by reading the first three parts before rejoining us for Egress. “1006.2.1 Egress based on occupant load and common path of […]

Go back two days to get up to speed for an example of determining the Use and Occupancy of a monitor barn example. Part III “SECTION 506 BUILDING AREA 506.1 General. The floor area of a building shall be determined based upon the type of construction, occupancy, whether there is an automatic sprinkler system installed […]

See yesterday’s blog for Part I. To continue the discussion on Use and Occupancy: Momentarily skipping a few chapters and going to Chapter 6 (because it would be too simple if the IBC was in order) the code book outlines different types of construction. Post frame buildings can fall under the following construction types: The […]

The Use and Occupancy Classification Challenge Part I Every building, regardless of how it is constructed has a Use and Occupancy Classification (sometimes more than one). In order to best enjoy this, you can play along at home by opening this free access link to the International Building Code (ICC): https://codes.iccsafe.org/public/document/IBC2015 Who Should Read This? […]

Reduce Heat, Garage Kits, and Updates to Aging Building DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I’m looking to build a 40×48 monitor style barn with a 16×48 loft in the center. I don’t plan to heat or cool the loft but would like to reduce the heat in the summer. My first plan is to use a […]

Mike address “headroom” needs for overhead garage doors. Reader JEFF in ROSEBURG writes: “If my roll up door opening is less than 2′ from wall height, 18″ is what I have, is there a roll up door that would work? Or is 2′ below wall height the absolute minimum?” Mike the Pole Barn Guru writes: […]

Insulating a Semi Trailer The beauty of being available to answer questions on the ‘net is one hears just about everything – even challenges which do not involve buildings! Here is a recent one asked by reader BOB in NORTH CAROLINA: “PolebarnGuru, Purchased a 53foot x 8.5ft dry van all metal trailer (like tractor trailer) […]

Public Works Pole Barns, and Labor Costs Many town/city jurisdictions in the United States have a Department of Public Works, which depending upon the individual municipality it may be responsible for a wide variety of activities including maintenance of streets and roads, maintenance and operation of drainage facilities, sewer collection lines, maintenance and operation of […]

Animal Shelters – a Building Problem Animal shelters have many challenges facing them in their quest to unite abandoned animals with good homes. Battling people’s preconceived notions about rescue pets, public ignorance over curbing animal overpopulation, lack of centralized funding for these non-profit shelters, and the staggering number of animals all contribute to a veritable […]

Proper Foundation and Slab, Two-Story Buildings, and Door Parts DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Dear Sir, I read the details of pouring a concrete slab after building the barn. I live in Montana with some pretty cold winters. If I were laying a slab for a conventional stick built structure i would be required to dig […]

Cool Metal Roofing for Post Frame Buildings Energy efficiency has leaped to the forefront of concerns for owners of new post frame buildings. Using cool metal roofing for post frame buildings can assist new building owners in reaching their goals. What is a Cool Roof? A cool roof is one which strongly reflects sunlight and […]

When I first began constructing pole barn (post frame) buildings, back in the early 1980’s there was only so much equipment which we could afford to outlay the cash to own. Equipment rental stores were our friends – always for a “two man killer” (read more here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2012/10/auger/) and occasionally for other tools such as […]

CODE REQUIREMENTS FOR ATTIC VENTILATION Historically, ventilation requirements in the International Residential Code (IRC) are applicable to one and two family homes, and have been based on the ratio of “net free ventilating area” (NFVA) that is the area of the ventilation openings in the attic to the area of attic space. The NFVA is […]

The Both Ends Open, Pole Barn Wind Load Challenge There are plenty of people who just do not understand the basic concepts of how wind loads are transferred through a pole barn (post frame building) to the ground. Included amongst these would be those who desire buildings which are enclosed on both long sidewalls and […]

Sliding Doors, Roofing Tar on Posts? and Condenstop! DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I have an arena with 12×12 openings at each end. I want to find a rolling door solution. I would like to have 6.5” doors that open left and right. I’m also interested in finding a door solution that instead of tan metal […]

Salt Bagging Pole Barns I would imagine most of us do not give much thought as to salt, which is rather surprising considering 255 million metric tons were produced in 2016 alone (over 20% from China)! The first time I ever really thought about salt (other than at the supper table or in a water […]

Moratorium on Pole Barns? The Port St. Joe, Florida commissioners will be holding a workshop to discuss accessory buildings, in particular pole barns. Commissioner Rex Buzzett brought the issue up at the previous meeting and moved to implement a moratorium on additional permits for accessory buildings until commissioners discussed the topic in greater detail. Mayor […]

Indoor Batting Cage Buildings Growing up in the 1960’s and early 1970’s in Spokane, Washington, we had the AAA minor league baseball club for the Los Angeles Dodgers in our town. On many a weekend we were entertained for a 50 cent bleacher ticket to be able to watch future major leaguers such as Bill […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Is it possible to have a full basement with a residential build? What would a basement do to overall cost percentage wise? NATHAN in OAK LAWN DEAR NATHAN: It is very possible to have a full basement beneath a post frame home. According to www.HomeAdvisor.com installing an unfinished basement will cost […]

Raised Floors Are an Opportunity for Post Frame Homes Three months after Hurricane Harvey churned through Texas, dumping 51 inches of rain and damaging an estimated 150,000 homes, the state’s most populous county took a bureaucratic step which has huge implications for how it will deal with the risk of future flooding. On December 5, […]

Why Property Owners Should Obtain Their Own Permit Back in the day, when I was a post frame building contractor, we always required our clients to obtain their own buildings permit. It wasn’t due to us being lazy, it was because if the building needed to be relocated on the site, or the permit office […]

In most cases one never considers the background of the people who will be doing plan reviews and field inspections for their new post frame buildings. For those with inquiring minds, I stumbled across this data, which I will share. In August 2014, the International Code Council (ICC) published “The Future of Code Officials: Results […]

Reader REBECCA in PEYTON posed this question: “What is minimum size you would recommend for two cars?” Mike the Pole Barn Guru writes: As my lovely bride tells people, “the cost of putting up a new building is deciding to build at all. Once one has decided to build, put those four corners as far […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: My daughter has taken up roping, and I would like to build a covered arena so she can practice year round. Note I said covered, not enclosed. I am not sure I can afford an enclosed arena, but can a covered arena. My question is, what size should this be? I […]

Considering a Post Frame Building as a “Bus Barn.” In Underwood, MN, school district chairperson Frank Fee recently toured the district’s new bus garage (aka school bus barn) and noted, “You’d never know it’s a pole barn”. Indeed though it is, with internal parking for 14 buses, it is heated, has an office and a […]