Welcome to Ask the Pole Barn Guru – where you can ask questions about building topics, with answers posted on Mondays.  With many questions to answer, please be patient to watch for yours to come up on a future Monday or Saturday segment.  If you want a quick answer, please be sure to answer with […]

ON SITE IN JAPAN: OBSERVATIONS OF A U.S. FRAMER My cousin Amy was recently visiting Japan and happened to share on her Facebook page an article written by her Dad, my Uncle Neil Momb, written about his adventures in building in Japan. Although my Uncle Neil was the only one of my Father’s siblings who […]

We don’t have network television access out here in the sticks where I live, so we see little TV except for Netflix. Our 19 year-old son Brent was out to visit one afternoon and started watch a program originally aired as a reality TV series in 2010 on the A&E Network. I suppose I always […]

Scott Norwood and Fire Stations My loyal readers are going to be amazed at how I manage to tie these two subjects into relating to pole buildings. To find out, please read on…… For those who are old enough to remember, the 1991 Super Bowl featured the Buffalo Bills and New York Giants. The high […]

As the Nail Turns…. Every once in a while I write something which “touches a nerve” for someone. Here is an, “Ask The Pole Barn Guru” exchange which got an engineer entertained: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/blog/2014/06/hangers/ And here is the feedback: “You are very knowledgeable on almost every topic I read, but from one PE to another I […]

Welcome to Ask the Pole Barn Guru – where you can ask questions about building topics, with answers posted on Mondays.  With many questions to answer, please be patient to watch for yours to come up on a future Monday or Saturday segment.  If you want a quick answer, please be sure to answer with […]

eHow.com: Discover the expert in you Or at least how eHow.com promotes itself on the ‘net. From the eHow.com website: “What do you want to do today? No matter what’s on your list, eHow can help. With more than 30 categories that cover just about everything, eHow is your one-stop online resource for life’s challenges. […]

Ondura® We’re always looking for new and different products to solve unique situations. One of those interesting challenges has been roofing which has Florida approvals, as most steel roofing has not been tested, so does not have approval numbers. Attractive and affordable, the Ondura® Corrugated Asphalt Roofing System is ideal for a variety of applications, including […]

After working on Eric’s self-storage pole building – I looked like I had brought a child’s play Star Wars lightsaber to a sword fight…..blood dripping down my face from being attacked by the blunt end of a flying 2×4 smacking me in my right eyebrow! Yes, safety is important, and although my hat was not […]

Eric’s storage building has 5040 square feet of enclosed area. This made for a big roof. A big insulated roof which had a reflective radiant barrier applied between the roof purlins and the steel roofing. Whatever type of insulation is chosen for this type of installation, if it is windy – it isn’t going to […]

Welcome to Ask the Pole Barn Guru – where you can ask questions about building topics, with answers posted on Mondays.  With many questions to answer, please be patient to watch for yours to come up on a future Monday or Saturday segment.  If you want a quick answer, please be sure to answer with […]

Prime Lumber is a grade description for a special product variation of two inch dimensional lumber intended for use where appearance is a consideration. For No. 2 PRIME, the grade is based upon #2 dimensional lumber characteristics except the holes, skip and wane are closely limited to provide a high-quality product. While PRIME lumber may […]

In the construction of Eric’s new self-storage pole building, my son got to experience first-hand the effects of wane! What exactly is wane? When a log enters a sawmill, it is first cut into boards. Before further processing, most boards cut from the outside edges of the log exhibit wither residual bark or jagged edges […]

Inside Foam Closure Strips to be exact. There are lots of little pieces involved when it comes to the assembly of a pole building, which the average lay person would have little or no knowledge of. Some of them don’t make a difference until the lack of them (or their failure to perform) becomes apparent. […]

¼” EE In my exploration of lumber grade stamps, 1/4″ EE was one which I was familiar with, but had no idea what the history was behind it. When I remodeled my 1909 home 24 years ago – it was for the most part down to the bare studs and floor joists. The lumber, having […]

Welcome to Ask the Pole Barn Guru – where you can ask questions about building topics, with answers posted on Mondays.  With many questions to answer, please be patient to watch for yours to come up on a future Monday or Saturday segment.  If you want a quick answer, please be sure to answer with […]

In yesterday’s article, I was explaining lumber grade stamps to my son, Brent. One part of the stamp which is not in the five “required” designations (grading agency, producing mill, product grade, species and moisture content) was the “HT”. HT designates the wood is heat treated lumber. Many countries require imported lumber to be heat-treated […]

Walk into your local lumber dealer – whether a big box store (aka The Home Depot® or Lowe’s®), a national lumber dealer (think ProBuild®, Stock Building Supply®, or 84 Lumber®) or the local mom and pop lumber seller and pickup any piece of dimensional lumber. On it will be a grade stamp – which is […]

My readers will recognize my 19-year-old son Brent’s name from recent articles on the construction of a pole building storage building here in Browns Valley. After two weeks of working together, I have learned something important (yes, 56 year old Dads can learn new things). Growing up, my brother Mark and I worked for Dad […]

X-treme Custom Hangar Doors Plattekill, New York is just a short drive north from New York City. Nestled in the trees along the highway is a unique airport, as it is home to aviators who build and fly experimental or otherwise unique aircraft. My first experience with the pilots who, for the most part, reside […]

Welcome to Ask the Pole Barn Guru – where you can ask questions about building topics, with answers posted on Mondays.  With many questions to answer, please be patient to watch for yours to come up on a future Monday or Saturday segment.  If you want a quick answer, please be sure to answer with […]

Over the years I’ve experienced many various clients who have constructed pole building kits as “bonding” experiences. These have included a couple in their early 80’s, five brothers who built a new shop for their Dad for Father’s Day, and a man and his 14 year old daughter. We’ve built two pole buildings with our […]

Self Storage & Twas the Week Before Brent Landed….. For regular readers – you read yesterday about my son joining our volunteer construction crew on the 5040 square foot self storage building. In the week before Brent’s arrival, we experienced some of the fun things which will endear anyone who has ever constructed their own […]

Children are interesting – especially as they arrive at adulthood and we start to truly recognize what “genes” they have inherited. My Dad was a builder and his father before him was a builder as well – not much question I had inherited the “builder gene” from them. Our nearly 21 year old daughter Allison […]

The following article appeared in the Madison Journal Today (Madison County, Georgia) June 7, 2014: “Madison County commissioners plan to exclude pole barns, carports and lean-tos from permitting requirements.  But working out the policy on making this happen has not been an easy matter. And the board will once again discuss the issue at its […]