Category Archives: About The Pole Barn Guru

Airtight Post Frame Homes and Barndominiums

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/12/2019
Airtight Post Frame Homes and Barndominiums

Back in my 1990’s post frame building contractor days, we constructed a shop for a client near Moscow, Idaho. We probably didn’t ask enough questions up front and our client didn’t provide enough information to adequately prevent what was initially quite a challenge. After we had completed construction of this building’s shell, our client poured […]

Read more

A Contractor for Your Barndominium Part III

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/08/2019
A Contractor for Your Barndominium Part III

A Contractor for Your Barndominium (Part III) Miscellaneous Topics: Do Not Change Your Plan Once your plans have been permitted, do not make changes. This allows openings for expensive “Change Orders,” and will have an allowable timeline effect. In cases, this will require you to resubmit to your local jurisdiction and could involve months of […]

Read more

A Contractor for Your Barndominium Part II

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/07/2019
A Contractor for Your Barndominium Part II

A Contractor for Your Barndominium (Part II) Liquidated Damages For most people, you are financing your barndominium and have logistical issues prior to being able to occupy. Negotiate a hard date for project completion, using a start date based upon Building Permit approval. After this completion date, you will assess builder a monetary penalty for […]

Read more

Winch Boxes – Episode V

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/01/2019
Winch Boxes – Episode V

Winch Boxes – Episode V Hey if George Lucas can have his second Star Wars movie be Episode V, why not me? Back on task, with winch boxes. Most of you have Googled them overnight. I can hear you nodding your heads. Thought you could Google anything and get an answer, didn’t you? Me too, […]

Read more

Winch Boxes- A Post Frame Miracle

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 10/31/2019
Winch Boxes- A Post Frame Miracle

Winch Boxes – a Post Frame Miracle Back in my M & W Building Supply days we had provided a pole barn kit package to a client in Woodburn, Oregon. One of Jim Betonte’s Farmland Structures post frame building crews was doing erection in our client’s back yard. Our office received a hostile phone call […]

Read more

Overhead Door Header Problems

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 10/17/2019
Overhead Door Header Problems

Overhead Door Header Problems (and More) Reader MITCH in NASHVILLE writes: “I recently purchased a property that the previous owner had just built a 30×50 pole barn on. It has foil faced double bubble on the roof and walls. I need to heat and possibly cool the space. What are the options for insulating the […]

Read more

Where to Invest in a Pole Barn

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 10/11/2019
Where to Invest in a Pole Barn

Is This Where You Want to Invest Your Hard Earned Dollars? This excerpt is from an online publication called “Insiders” who promotes to provide advice from local experts. It happens to be from a “Do-It-Best” in Northwest Oregon: “And if you’re still thinking of installing a pole barn, come in and see us. We have […]

Read more

Hansen Buildings Instant Pricing

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 10/10/2019
Hansen Buildings Instant Pricing

Hansen Pole Buildings’ Instant Pricing Program™ Back in 1980, when I was first exposed to pole barns, in order to give a potential client a price quote, I had to do a manual breakdown of all of the components necessary to assemble their building. Luckily, most buildings were fairly simple rectangular boxes, but it was […]

Read more

What is Return on Investment of Adding a Barn?

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 10/02/2019
What is Return on Investment of Adding a Barn?

What is Return on Investment of Adding a Barn? Reader STACY in HOBE SOUND poses an interesting question: “What is the national average ROI of adding a barn?” In the 1980’s my family and I lived in what was probably the nicest area of Salem, Oregon. Many of our neighboring homes (and ours) had been […]

Read more

Room in a Barndominium Part 2

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 09/12/2019
Room in a Barndominium Part 2

Great Room (487/481/680) We like the open feeling of a great room, especially with 16 foot high ceilings and a huge bank of windows across our South facing wall. Ours is well over 1000 square feet. For our lifestyle this was far more practical than separate Dining (148/196/281), Living (256/319/393), Family (311/355/503), Rec (216/384/540) and/or […]

Read more

Room in a Barndominium

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 09/11/2019
Room in a Barndominium

Room In A Barndominium I read plenty of chatter in Facebook barndominium groups where people want to see other’s floor plans. In my humble opinion – this is a mistake. Building your own barndominium, shouse (shop/house) or post frame home from scratch gives you probably a once in a lifetime opportunity to craft a home […]

Read more

Planning for Lighting in a New Pole Barn

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 09/06/2019
Planning for Lighting in a New Pole Barn

Both of my post frame buildings outside of Spokane, WA have no windows on the garage/shop level. This means when inside, with doors closed, it is dark – one is forced to rely upon electricity or radar to navigate. Reader KRISTI is preparing to build her new pole barn and had some questions about how […]

Read more

Post Frame Indoor Swimming Pool Considerations

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 08/27/2019
Post Frame Indoor Swimming Pool Considerations

In my past life I lived with my family in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Hot summer days filled with sunshine were about as rare as access to nearby lakes – close to zero. Having grown up spending summers at my maternal grandparents’ lake cabin, swimming has always been part of my life. A frequently told fable […]

Read more

Avoiding Mechanic’s Liens

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 08/22/2019
Avoiding Mechanic’s Liens

Avoiding Mechanic’s Liens From Post Frame Subcontractors and Suppliers When I owned my first post frame building kit package supply company – M & W Building Supply, I made an error early on and extended credit to post frame building contractors. It didn’t take me long of getting burned to realize it was essential for […]

Read more

How Much Room Will Stairs Take?

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 08/16/2019
How Much Room Will Stairs Take?

 I am an advocate of avoiding stairs in post frame buildings. They both take up space and reduce accessibility to upper level(s) of your building. It is less expensive to construct a post frame building on one level, rather than multi-levels.    I happen to live in a barndominium (actually more technically speaking a shouse […]

Read more

A Place for a Post Frame Barndominium

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 08/01/2019
A Place for a Post Frame Barndominium

You and your loved ones have decided to take a plunge – building your own barndominium, shouse, or post frame home.  But where? Other than formulating a rough budget for building (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/07/how-much-will-my-barndominium-cost/) your journey is realistically at a standstill until you have acquired a place to build. It is easy to idealize what it’s like […]

Read more

Borrowing for a D-I-Y Barndominium

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 07/26/2019
Borrowing for a D-I-Y Barndominium

Barndominiums, shouses and post frame homes all fit into a similar category to me. This category heading would be titled, “Living in a Post Frame Building”, although other construction types may be used, post frame is going to give most bang for your investment. What if you want to D-I-Y construct your own post frame […]

Read more

Nailing in Screws with Gas Nailer

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 07/18/2019
Nailing in Screws with Gas Nailer

Thoughts regarding nailing in screws. It was late 1990. I had inherited my grandparents’ lake cabin in Northeast Washington and decided to remodel it into a year-around residence. As part of this process, installing a new steel roof was of utmost importance. Of course, by the time we got around to reroofing, it was starting […]

Read more

Barndominium is Popping Up Everywhere

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 07/05/2019
Barndominium is Popping Up Everywhere

Back in 1981 Barbara Mandrell recorded and released a hit song written by Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan, “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool”. Well Barbara certainly has it over me in the looks department and I doubt I will ever have a Top Ten hit with, “I Had a Barndominium When Barndominiums Weren’t […]

Read more

How to Assemble a Cupola Kit

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 07/04/2019
How to Assemble a Cupola Kit

Cupolas are often an afterthought when it comes to a new post frame (pole barn) building or barndominium. In a previous article, I discussed how to determine proper size, spacing and quantity of cupolas (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2015/09/cupola/). Cupolas as a kit can be easily assembled – without a requirement for specialized skills. My lovely bride put one […]

Read more

Gambrel Barndominium Done Differently

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 07/03/2019
Gambrel Barndominium Done Differently

What I Would Have Done Differently With Our Gambrel Barndominium When we built our gambrel roof style barndominium 15 years ago we were in a position financially where we could have done most anything we wanted to. Our property was over two acres in size, so available space was not a determining factor. After having […]

Read more

Maximizing Post Frame Gambrel Space

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 07/02/2019
Maximizing Post Frame Gambrel Space

Maximizing Post Frame Gambrel Usable Space With Trusses Hansen Pole Buildings’ Designer Rachel and I recently had some discussions in regards to maximizing post frame gambrel truss useable space.  Most often gambrel roofs are supported by one piece clearspan gambrel trusses. Largest downside to this type of truss system is lack of bonus room width. […]

Read more

Barndominium: Building Kit or Building Shell?

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 06/27/2019
Barndominium: Building Kit or Building Shell?

Barndominium: Building Kit or Building Shell? This was a recent post from a Barndominium discussion group I am a member of: “Kit vs shell; I’m defining a kits as coming with everything like insulation and metal studs (the next step would be mechanical trades) whereas shell would be dried in with nothing. Kit companies would […]

Read more

A Shouse in Andover?

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 06/26/2019
A Shouse in Andover?

Shouse (from www.urbandictionary.com):  “A portmanteau of “shed” and “house”; A structure that outwardly resembles a shed (typically having a roll-formed steel-sheet exterior) that is primarily used as a dwelling / house. Though not required to fulfill the definition, a shouse generally has garage(s) incorporated into the structure.” I did not even realize I was shousing before it became […]

Read more

New Pole Buildings Cost Money

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 06/19/2019
New Pole Buildings Cost Money

New Buildings Cost Money As I recently mentioned, I have joined several Barndominium Facebook groups. It has proven to be enlightening and has given me a great deal of information towards authoring a book or books on Post Frame Barndominiums. In asking for input on chapters for my endeavor, I had one person respond with: […]

Read more

Don’t Make Mistakes on Horse Stall Doors

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 06/07/2019
Don’t Make Mistakes on Horse Stall Doors

Don’t Make Mistakes on Horse Stall Doors Horse owners please join in, this one is for you: Picture, if you will, your dream barn. You know how many stalls, feed rooms, tack rooms, etc., are needed and how much space they will take up. You have the exterior down pat, but you may not have […]

Read more

Shipping Post Frame Building Kits to Canada from U.S.A.

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 06/06/2019
Shipping Post Frame Building Kits to Canada from U.S.A.

Canadians frequently ask about shipping our post frame building kit packages. This should be of assistance: YRC Freight is the only transportation provider to maintain a dedicated full-time staff at primary border crossings between United States and Canada. YRC Freight takes complexity out of cross-border shipping. They make sure your post frame building shipment moves […]

Read more

Monitor Barn Truss Challenge

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 06/04/2019
Monitor Barn Truss Challenge

When All Else Fails a Monitor Barn Truss Challenge. Monitor style buildings are a popular post frame building design (for background on monitor barns please read: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/building-styles/monitor-building-designs/). In most cases, design, ordering, delivery and construction of monitor buildings goes off without a hitch. On rare occasions a hitch glitch happens – so when all else […]

Read more

Feedback Needed From RDP’s and Building Officials

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 05/31/2019
Feedback Needed From RDP’s and Building Officials

I am asking for feedback from RDP’s and Building Officials because: There is a method to my madness. Seriously. I want to make sure we are doing things 100% correctly. In my humble opinion there are currently numerous post frame buildings being constructed where wall girts do not meet Code or acceptable engineering practice. I […]

Read more

Be Safe When Fiberglass Insulating Your New Pole Barn

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 05/30/2019
Be Safe When Fiberglass Insulating Your New Pole Barn

Recently I read a thread in a discussion group where a person posting was not going to use closed cell spray foam insulation in their pole barn due to safety precautions needed when installing. This got me wondering just how safe or unsafe installing fiberglass insulation is, so I started doing research. Fiberglass insulation, also […]

Read more

When a Contractor Ignores Building Plans

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 05/02/2019
When a Contractor Ignores Building Plans

I realize this may come as a surprise, but there are more than a few times I have discovered building contractors have made errors in building assembly due to failure to examine the provided building plans. Shocking. Our client STEVE in HINES writes: “Good morning, my building is framed, sided and roofed. However, yesterday we […]

Read more

2019 NFBA Frame Building Expo Recap

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 04/18/2019
2019 NFBA Frame Building Expo Recap

NFBA’s (National Frame Building Association) Frame Building Expo is an annual event for post-frame industry builders and suppliers. It provides educational sessions, a trade show and an ability to interact with fellow members of our community. Below is an article I have submitted to F+W Media (www.fwmedia.com) publishers of Rural Builder and Frame Building News […]

Read more

Pole Barn Guru Blog Review

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 04/10/2019
Pole Barn Guru Blog Review

This is the third year the Pole Barn Guru blog has been in competition for the Best Construction Blog. Last year this blog was second in the world, tying for first in quality, however losing the popular vote. Part of this process is a review of each blog by Mark Buckshon of Construction Marketing Ideas […]

Read more

Steps to Minimize Snow Load Failures

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 04/03/2019
Steps to Minimize Snow Load Failures

The following article will appear in April 2019’s Component Manufacturing Advertiser magazine (www.componentadvertiser.com). Early every year NFBA (National Frame Building Association) holds its annual Frame Building Expo – where thousands of post-frame builders, design professionals and vendors meet for three days filled with break-out sessions, guest presenters and of course a trade show. In 2019’s […]

Read more

Can You Provide Just Trusses for My New Pole Barn?

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 03/12/2019
Can You Provide Just Trusses for My New Pole Barn?

Back in my owning a roof truss manufacturing plant days, we sold trusses to a building contractor, who was uninsured, and new building owner neglected to insure building. When it collapsed due to builder error (building also was not engineered), our insurance company ended up paying for a replacement building as it was ruled we […]

Read more

Dress for Winter Post Frame Success

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 02/26/2019
Dress for Winter Post Frame Success

Dress for Winter Post Frame Building Success My most recent winter-time post frame building experience was a few years ago when my lovely bride and I assisted her brother Mark with construction of his 36’ x 48’ shop. Temperatures hovered around zero as we shivered our way towards getting a roof installed. Given frigid temperatures […]

Read more

Hansen Pole Buildings Pictures

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 02/19/2019
Hansen Pole Buildings Pictures

Hansen Buildings Pictures Today’s blog courtesy of one of Hansen Buildings’ owners, J.A.Hansen. Pictures! I know I can speak for myself and the rest of the Hansen Pole Building staff when I say we love to get pictures emailed to us showing the completed kit, the new building in all its glory. We get tons […]

Read more

Build Safe in Winter Weather

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 01/25/2019
Build Safe in Winter Weather

Build Safe in Winter Weather Post frame building construction lends itself well to winter weather building, as concrete pours are minimized to just a minimal amount around building columns. Once columns are poured, time for full speed ahead – or as much full speed ahead as can be garnered in frigid weather. Prior to my […]

Read more

Cement Versus Concrete

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 01/17/2019
Cement Versus Concrete

Cement versus Concrete Scraping a chalkboard (also known as a blackboard) with fingernails produces a sound and feeling most people find extremely irritating. Basis of this innate reaction to sound has been studied in the field of psychoacoustics (branch of psychology concerned with perception of sound and its physiological effects). In response to audio stimuli, […]

Read more

Concrete Apron Around a Pole Barn

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 01/16/2019
Concrete Apron Around a Pole Barn

Concrete Apron Around A Pole Barn My lovely bride and I live in a post frame (pole barn) home along South Dakota’s Lake Traverse. Long time loyal readers of this column have seen photos of it more than once. For those who have missed out, our home was featured on NFBA’s (National Frame Building Association) […]

Read more

Multi-Story Pole Barns

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 01/01/2019
Multi-Story Pole Barns

Multi-story Pole Barns Hansen Pole Buildings has developed a reputation for taking potentially challenging post frame (pole barn) building projects and developing them from concept to fruition. This leads many clients, with an interest in multi-story pole barns, to our doors. My own post frame building home, along Lake Traverse South Dakota side, features both […]

Read more

Connecting Trusses Not Dots

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 12/27/2018
Connecting Trusses Not Dots

Connecting Trusses Not Dots This feature is probably not overly mentioned, however as most structural failures involve connections, it probably should be. FEATURE: Double trusses notched into sidewall columns and connected with Strong-Drive® SDWS TIMBER Screws BENEFIT: Trusses placed in a notch cannot slide down columns and Strong-Drive® SDWS TIMBER Screws resist uplift forces without […]

Read more

Wall Girts Are Not Sexy

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 12/20/2018
Wall Girts Are Not Sexy

Wall Girts Are Not Sexy Thought I had forgotten about Features and Benefits? Guess again! My 1990’s salesman Jerry was proud of his ability to rattle off a litany of features, without explaining to clients benefits of any of them. This one feature I can imagine meant little or nothing to clients, as wall girts […]

Read more

Avoiding Pulling a Building Permit?

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 12/13/2018
Avoiding Pulling a Building Permit?

Avoiding Pulling a Building Permit? You have a densely treed rural location or have no neighbors, so you have made a decision to avoid pulling a building permit for your new post frame building. Think again – YOU. WILL. BE. CAUGHT. All too often we hear from clients who invested in Hansen Pole Building kits […]

Read more

Starting from the Ground Up- UC-4B Treated Columns

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 12/06/2018
Starting from the Ground Up- UC-4B Treated Columns

Starting From the Ground Up- UC-4B Treated Columns Decades ago, when I began training a sales staff for Momb Steel Buildings (my 1990’s post frame construction company) I developed an outline we called, “From the Ground Up”. Just as implied by its name, this training went through features and benefits of a typical post frame […]

Read more

Customers Didn’t Care About Pole Barn Features

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 12/05/2018
Customers Didn’t Care About Pole Barn Features

Customers Didn’t Care When I originally dove into pole barn kit package sales in 1980 it appeared customers didn’t care about features or benefits of our buildings. If they did, they certainly were not asking me! Advertising was simple – newsprint (regional farm paper and free shoppers). Our ads listed dimensions (width, length and eave […]

Read more

Benefits Rather Than Features

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 12/04/2018
Benefits Rather Than Features

Do you own a piece of technology which has amazing features which you don’t begin to use (or understand) much more than a small portion of? I know I do. Technology has bombarded us with devices such as cellular telephones, which have outpaced most users’ needs. Unless a feature actually does something I can use, […]

Read more

Guest Blog Specifics

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/29/2018
Guest Blog Specifics

Guest Blog Specifics. This column has been recognized multiple times as a top construction industry blog – second World Wide for two consecutive years! It also has a significant readership, with articles having been read as many as 1/4 million times. Due to this popularity, I receive numerous requests to guest blog. Who should consider […]

Read more

Pole Building Rooftop Decks

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/02/2018
Pole Building Rooftop Decks

Post Frame Roof Top Decks Question: Can decks be constructed upon a post frame roof top? Answer: Yes, and it may prove far simpler than one might expect. Our typical request from clients generally revolves around having a very slightly sloping roof and to use EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) rubber as roofing over plywood. […]

Read more

What is a Building Official?

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 10/30/2018
What is a Building Official?

What is a Building Official, and what is their Scope of Work? The average potential new post frame owner (as well as most building contractors) has little or no idea of what a Building Official’s scope of work truly is. Sean Shields and Kirk Grundahl, P.E. (Professional Engineer) recently published an article in SBC Magazine […]

Read more

Why Most People Should Not Order Trusses

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 10/03/2018
Why Most People Should Not Order Trusses

Why Most People Should Not Order Trusses These posts are a part of what I do, to advise people so they will hopefully avoid making costly (or even fatal) errors. Now prefabricated trusses are great and wonderful things. However, most people lack expertise necessary to know right from wrong when purchasing highly engineered components. As […]

Read more

Fairgrounds Pole Buildings

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 09/28/2018
Fairgrounds Pole Buildings

Fairgrounds Pole Buildings (Photo by Patricia Guthrie/Whidbey News Group) A new position, Island County Fairgrounds’ director, was created by Port of South Whidbey since it assumed fairgrounds ownership in March 2017. This directorship position was subsequently filled by Larry Lehtonen. Island County Fairgrounds’ original structure, a pole building, was built in 1937. Lehtonen takes a […]

Read more

Planning Your Equestrian Riding Arena

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 09/25/2018
Planning Your Equestrian Riding Arena

Planning Your Equestrian Facility   Those of you loyal readers who actually read links in this article are going to see our daughter Bailey Momb’s name frequently. 2018 Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration made for me being a proud dad with Bailey riding to a World Grand Championship (link has results): https://twhnc.com/content/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/RESULTS-TUESDAY-EVENING-8-28-18.pdf.   Moving forward, reader […]

Read more

Domestic Cat Pole Barns

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 09/19/2018
Domestic Cat Pole Barns

Domestic Cat Pole Barns I know my loyal, long time column readers think I am stretching way out there when I start writing about domestic cat barns. Reality being stranger than fiction, one of them exists! Now neither our mom, nor any of our grandmothers were crazy cat ladies with housefuls of feline friends. Even […]

Read more

Boat Storage Pole Barns

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 09/18/2018
Boat Storage Pole Barns

Boat Storage Pole Barns Summertime growing up Newman Lake, Northeast of Spokane, Washington – nearly to Idaho was where my younger (and only) brother and I usually could be found. Our grandparent’s lake cabin was located there, as was our parent’s ski boat. Interstate 90 did not yet connect Coeur d’Alene, Idaho to Spokane, so […]

Read more

A Sad Pole Barn Tale

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 08/30/2018
A Sad Pole Barn Tale

A Sad Pole Barn Tale I so like happy ending stories, however this sad pole barn tale doesn’t appear to have an immediate happy ending – although over  20 years some victims might see some or all of their hard earned money returned. I’ve previously written about this case, however it has grown exponentially since […]

Read more

An Advance Article Preview for The Advertiser

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 08/29/2018
An Advance Article Preview for The Advertiser

Besides being a semi-regular contributor to Rural Builder magazine, I have also had articles published in several other lumber and wood truss periodicals. I’ve been asked to write an article for The Advertiser (https://www.componentadvertiser.com/), which I share with you below: Increase Your Post Frame Sales Nearly every U.S. and Canadian metal plate connected wood truss […]

Read more

Secrets of a Pole Barn Salesman

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 08/28/2018
Secrets of a Pole Barn Salesman

Secrets of a Pole Barn Salesperson Back in 1980 I was a pole barn (post frame) building industry newbie. So new, I considered myself to be rather clueless. Then I was working for a now long defunct company, Mac Truss in McMinnville, Oregon. I’d pick the brains of anyone who was willing to listen to […]

Read more

Post Frame Scissor Trusses

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 08/21/2018
Post Frame Scissor Trusses

Post Frame Scissor Trusses I’d spent summers working for my dad and uncles framing buildings and being low man when it came to a totem pole of laborers, I did my fair share of strong back, weak mind work – such as setting trusses. As a teenager, I had not given much thought to complexities […]

Read more

Mike the Pole Barn Guru’s World

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 08/07/2018
Mike the Pole Barn Guru’s World

Mike the Pole Barn Guru’s World When I began this blog back in June of 2011, I surmised getting to a total of 100 articles would be a stretch, but yet a worthy goal. Well, I have surprised even myself… welcome to article number 1500! What amazes even me – how many possible topics have […]

Read more

Evolution of The Pole Barn Guru and his Building Philosophy

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 07/20/2018
Evolution of The Pole Barn Guru and his Building Philosophy

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 […]

Read more

How to Install a Steel Roof Over Shingles

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 06/05/2018
How to Install a Steel Roof Over Shingles

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 […]

Read more

My Cousin Did Not Buy a Pole Building From Me

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 05/31/2018
My Cousin Did Not Buy a Pole Building From Me

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 […]

Read more

Construction Marketing Ideas

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 05/22/2018
Construction Marketing Ideas

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 […]

Read more

Manure Storage Pole Barns

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 05/15/2018
Manure Storage Pole Barns

Manure Storage Pole Barns Here is a combination which seems doomed from the get go: young man, girl 60 miles away from said young man’s home, late night darkness, a crotch rocket, slow speed zones, Idaho Highway patrol and unfamiliar roads. After our youngest son had surgery to repair his broken hip, Dad had very […]

Read more

Hangar Doors in Eave Side of Buildings

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 05/08/2018
Hangar Doors in Eave Side of Buildings

Hangar Doors in Eave Side of Buildings Reader KEN in ZEPHYRHILLS writes: “To facilitate use as an aircraft hangar can the sliding doors be located on the side rather than the end walls?” I have been involved in more than a fair number of airplane hangars, starting way before my days in the post frame […]

Read more

Hansen Pole Buildings is Number One

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 05/04/2018
Hansen Pole Buildings is Number One

We Are Number One  Hopefully you can survive the obnoxious YouTube commercial at the beginning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04854XqcfCY. Unlike the champions in Queen’s iconic 1977 hit “We Are The Champions”, Hansen Pole Buildings has merely won, from BUILD Magazine, their “Award for Outstanding Pole Barn Kits – USA” for 2018. It isn’t the world, however we like […]

Read more

Japan and Hansen Pole Buildings

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 05/02/2018
Japan and Hansen Pole Buildings

As I keyboard this, it is the seventh anniversary of the passing of my Uncle Neil Momb. I had reminded his daughter, my cousin Amy, of how I loved her Dad’s ability to make profound statements with a smile. Back in 2014 I wrote a couple of articles about my uncle’s adventures in building in […]

Read more

2018 Architecture Awards

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 04/19/2018
2018 Architecture Awards

2018 ARCHITECTURE AWARDS For the second consecutive year Hansen Pole Buildings, LLC has been nominated for BUILD News’ Architecture Awards. Pretty heady stuff, however it seems after 16 years of promoting building excellence and delivering “The Ultimate Post Frame Building Experience™”, our hard work and due diligence is paying off. From BUILD News: Shaping the […]

Read more

Insulating a Semi-Trailer Truck

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 03/22/2018
Insulating a Semi-Trailer Truck

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) […]

Read more

Public Works Pole Barns, and Labor Costs

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 03/21/2018
Public Works Pole Barns, and Labor Costs

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 […]

Read more

Salt Bagging Pole Barns

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 03/09/2018
Salt Bagging Pole Barns

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 […]

Read more

Why Property Owners Should Obtain Their Own Building Permit

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 03/01/2018
Why Property Owners Should Obtain Their Own Building Permit

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 […]

Read more

When Jurisdictions Push the Fine Line

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 02/20/2018
When Jurisdictions Push the Fine Line

From a February 1, 2018 article by Lois Swoboda at www.apalachtimes.com: “At the Jan. 9 county planning and zoning advisory board meeting, and the Jan. 16 county commission, County Attorney Michael Shuler performed the first public readings of a proposed ordinance governing the use of metal structures and pole barns as single family residences.. The […]

Read more

Best Construction Blog

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 02/14/2018
Best Construction Blog

Best Construction Blog? For certain I know in my heart of hearts this blog is absolutely the best in the post frame (pole barn) building industry….no one, I repeat no one has penned over 1400 articles and answered over 2300 questions from readers in post frame building blogs, like I have. Time to take it […]

Read more

Insulating a Post Frame Home Crawl Space

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 02/01/2018
Insulating a Post Frame Home Crawl Space

One of our clients has been erecting a post frame home in Colorado Springs, which is over a crawl space. Here is our discussion in regards to insulating the crawl space. “While I have your ear, I had asked you a question earlier about getting the code required R30 in the 2×6 floor joists of […]

Read more

Rock Climbing Holds and Pole Barns

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 01/24/2018
Rock Climbing Holds and Pole Barns

What do Rock Climbing Holds have to do with Pole Barns? Among other things my late cousin Kim Momb was an avid rock climber, before he became world famous as a mountaineer. (Read about some of Kim’s exploits here: https://www.everesthistory.com/climbers/kimmomb.htm). Well Kim was a rock climber way before it became popular and a proliferation of […]

Read more

Temporary Bracing to Avoid Under Construction Mishaps

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 01/09/2018
Temporary Bracing to Avoid Under Construction Mishaps

Temporary bracing in post frame buildings come without a prescription – there is nowhere which spells out “do it this way and all will be good”. There are some things which can be done to minimize the potential of mishaps similar to the one in the photo. Buildings in their framing stages are the ones […]

Read more

My Response: Why We Need Building Codes

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 12/14/2017
My Response: Why We Need Building Codes

My Response: Why We Need Building Codes As promised, here is my response to the Coeur d’Alene Press article of December 5, 2017 (exactly as I wrote in the comments portion following the newspaper article regarding adoption of building codes): I will first qualify myself – I attended the University of Idaho in architecture. I […]

Read more

How to Keep the Water Out of a Pole Building

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 11/24/2017
How to Keep the Water Out of a Pole Building

How to Keep the Water Out of a Pole Barn The post frame (pole barn) building has moved from the farm to suburbia. With the transition in building uses, having water flowing into a post frame business or residence is far less than desirable. Dear Pole Barn Guru: My parents lived in a pole barn “lodge”. […]

Read more

Post Frame Satisfaction

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 10/17/2017
Post Frame Satisfaction

I personally have a great deal of fun working with the majority of our clients, most of whom are truly wonderful. The most rewarding part is when those who have done the work themselves share with us what I refer to as “post frame satisfaction”. This satisfaction is in part due to the new building […]

Read more

Stilt Houses

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 09/21/2017
Stilt Houses

In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey nearly all Americans have seen video of the devastation across the coastal lowlands of Texas. Over and over photos of water logged drywall and carpets being torn out of homes which were flooded by epic rainfalls of biblical proportion were enough to churn my gut. Especially as so much […]

Read more

A Wood Floor in a Garage

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 09/12/2017
A Wood Floor in a Garage

A loyal reader writes: “Hi. Good morning! As I read your post about a wood floor in a work shop, it reminded me of my research into a garage with a wood floor. I have often wondered, can this be done? So I ask you, can this be done? I am not a rich man, […]

Read more

Pole Barn Economy of Scale

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 09/06/2017
Pole Barn Economy of Scale

When building a pole barn, economy of scale can be your ally. Hansen Pole Buildings’ Designer Doug passed along to me this message from a client of his: “The last quote was for a 45′ x 42′ building with 2 garage doors and one person door. The new quote was for a 18′ x 42′ […]

Read more

So You Want to Become a Post Frame Building Installer?

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 08/10/2017
So You Want to Become a Post Frame Building Installer?
So You Want to Become a Post Frame Building Installer? I’ve dealt with a broad variety of post frame building installers over the years. Just like our clients, they come in all shapes and sizes, as well as all levels of price and quality. One of the better pole builders I have encountered was a […] Read more

Pole Barn Footings

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 08/04/2017
Pole Barn Footings

Some things in life amaze me – magicians are one of them. I have no idea how the do what they do, but I am totally fascinated by them (you can read about my college experience with a magician here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2014/08/lumber-bending/). One of the other things which amaze me are how clients will invest tens […]

Read more

Best Agricultural Building Supply Company

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 07/25/2017
Best Agricultural Building Supply Company

Best Agricultural Building Supply Company – Midwest USA The awards just keep rolling in as Hansen Pole Buildings has been named the Best Agricultural Building Supply Company in the Midwest USA by Build-News! Now we would like to believe we do a pretty fair job at providing “The Ultimate Post Frame Building Experience™” to our […]

Read more

Progress in Technology: Easy Build Pole Barn Buildings

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 07/20/2017
Progress in Technology: Easy Build Pole Barn Buildings

Progress in Technology: Dirt Late Model Auto Racing I am not as mechanically challenged as my lovely bride would have people believe. Modern technology has taken some things to the point where the average person just cannot do the work. Personal case in point, here is the story: I have been riding motorcycles since not […]

Read more

Sometimes There Are Just Not Words: Hansen Building Disaster

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 06/27/2017
Sometimes There Are Just Not Words: Hansen Building Disaster

Sometimes There Are Just Not Words to Express…  Building Disaster How horrifically a build can be botched.   In a scene from 2013’s box office flop The Lone Ranger – Tonto (played by Johnny Depp) and the Lone Ranger (played by Armie Hammer) the heroes get themselves buried in the sand up to their necks. […]

Read more

Why We Do Not Recommend Any Builders

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 06/14/2017
Why We Do Not Recommend Any Builders

Hansen Pole Buildings receives numerous requests every day from potential new post frame building owners, who are looking for a builder (in my terms technician) who can assemble their building kit. I am going to do both of us a favor and explain why we do not recommend any builders. Hansen Pole Buildings is a […]

Read more

Lifesaving Bollard

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 05/17/2017
Lifesaving Bollard

The Day a Bollard Saved my Family’s Lives According to the sum of all knowledge (Wikipedia): A bollard is a sturdy, short, vertical post. Although it originally described a post on a ship or quay used principally for mooring boats, the word is now used to describe posts installed to control road traffic and posts […]

Read more

2017 Architecture Awards

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 04/27/2017
2017 Architecture Awards

Hansen Pole Buildings, LLC has been nominated for BUILD News’ 2017 Architecture Awards. Pretty heady stuff, however it seems after 15 years of promoting building excellence and delivering “The Ultimate Post Frame Building Experience™”, our hard work and due diligence is paying off. From BUILD News: Shaping the built environment is a tough challenge for […]

Read more

Hansen Buildings Testimonial

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 04/25/2017
Hansen Buildings Testimonial

Totally Unsolicited Hansen Buildings Testimonial When I was actively selling post frame buildings, I became adept at asking for written testimonials. They were actually quite easy to get. Immediately after the client has invested in his (or her) new post frame building, I asked them these four questions: Why did you invest in a new […]

Read more

Propel Electric Door Openers

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 04/15/2017
Propel Electric Door Openers

I’ve written in the past about our oldest daughter, Bailey. Bailey is a professional horse trainer (Tennessee Walkers) and is well respected within her industry at the now ripe old age of 27. She is a smart lady – she wanted overhead doors with electric openers on the sliding doors of her barn aisleways.. Why? […]

Read more

Indoor Basketball Courts

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 04/13/2017
Indoor Basketball Courts

(Rob Hammer photograph) Our youngest son, Brent, will be graduating from Gonzaga University (Spokane, Washington) in May with a degree in Kinesiology. Some of you may recognize the name Gonzaga as the team which just came within a minute or so of being the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) men’s basketball champions. Kinesiology means Brent […]

Read more

Airplane Hangar Exposure C

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 04/12/2017
Airplane Hangar Exposure C

Why Your Airplane Hangar is Probably Exposure C I had the joy of growing up “hanging out” (pun intended) at airplane hangars and doing a lot of flying including having my hands on the controls of a Cessna 182 for many hours before I became a teen. One thing for certain about airplane hangars – […]

Read more

Insulating an Attic Bonus Room

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 03/31/2017
Insulating an Attic Bonus Room

Attic bonus rooms seem to be the rage – Hansen Pole Buildings does more than a few of these and the trend seems to be increasing in popularity. With this comes how to properly insulate an attic bonus room. There are more than a few challenges when it comes to utilization of attic space for […]

Read more

How Post Frame Building Lumber is Born

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 03/15/2017
How Post Frame Building Lumber is Born

I’ve been blessed with being able to have extensive tours of two very sophisticated lumber mills. The first being the Seneca Sawmill in Eugene, Oregon. Seneca Sawmill Company is one of the largest producing single-location sawmills in the United States. Their mills are capable of producing over 650 million board feet per year of premium grade […]

Read more

Blog Review by an Expert

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 03/10/2017
Blog Review by an Expert

I’m a seat of the pants journalist – my training was as editor of the Post Falls High School newspaper back in 1975! This blog is one of several finalists in the 2017 Best Construction Blog competition. In the event you have been entertained or have learned from my articles, your vote would be appreciated […]

Read more

Best Construction Blog Nominee

Posted by The Pole Barn Guru on 02/02/2017
Best Construction Blog Nominee

Best Construction Blog? For certain I know in my heart of hearts this blog is absolutely the best in the post frame (pole barn) building industry….no one, I repeat no one has penned over 1200 articles and answered over 600 questions from readers in post frame building blogs, like I have. Time to take it […]

Read more