Please note, I use “client” rather than “customer”.  A customer is someone who buys a commodity from a shop.  A client is a person or company receiving a service from a professional person or organization in return for payment. Unfortunately, too many future barndominium, shouse and post frame building owners are either unable or unwilling to […]

Whether your post frame building will be a garage, shop, commercial building or barndominium wainscot an extremely popular option is wainscot. Roughly 25 years ago I had an 80’ x 150’ x 20’ post frame building erected for my prefabricated wood truss manufacturing business. Whilst a great deal of thought went into this building’s design, […]

With the proliferation of barndominiums, shouses and post frame homes there is always someone looking for a cheaper answer. I have found cheaper generally gets me exactly what I paid for – cheap. Well for some, cheap may be living in a Quonset hut. Considering a Quonset building for your new home? Consider resale value […]

Building Codes Apply to Shouses Recently I shared with you, my faithful readers, a Park Rapids Enterprise article penned by Lorie R. Skarpness as Nevis, Minnesota attempts to deal with a shouse. https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/12/a-shouse-in-the-news/ Below is Lorie’s update from January 18, 2020: “The discussion of a proposed shouse (a word that means a shop with living […]

Actual Brick Considerations for Barndominium Wainscot With post frame buildings becoming a ‘rage’ for use as homes, barndominiums and shouse (shop/houses) alternatives to dress them up are quickly arising. Amongst these options are clients looking to have actual brick wainscot, as opposed to using a different color of steel siding, thin brick, or other cultured […]

Where Should the Top of Barndominium Slab Be? Loyal reader DANIEL in OWENSVILLE writes: “Mike, First I want to say thanks for all that I have learned from your Blog. I am confused on a couple of points you made concerning floor height… “Occasionally we have clients who ask why they can’t run the concrete […]

In most parts of our country (and probably most other developed countries), it will be a necessity to acquire a building permit in order to construct a new barndominium, shouse (shop/house) or post frame home. Easiest way to find out is to contact your local authorities to find out if indeed this is your case. […]

In my last article I discussed limiting deflection for barndominium floors. Today I will take this one step further with a floor truss design solution. Most of us don’t think too much about floors we walk upon – unless they are not level, squeak when we walk on them, or are too bouncy. Traditionally wood […]

This week the Pole Barn Guru answers questions about “plans only” purchases, proper use of moisture barriers when adding insulation to an existing building, as well as the possibility or building a two story post frame house. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Do you offer just the plans? I own a sawmill and would like to […]

Barndominiums, shouses (shop/houses) and post frame homes have become a true ‘thing’. As they have developed from bootlegged boxes to serious planning being given to them, there has been a rise in people wanting them over full or partial basements, crawl spaces and multiple floors. In nearly every case, these floors are made of wood […]

Avoiding Oil Canning With Standing Seam Steel for Barndominiums and Post Frame Buildings As post frame construction grows by leaps and bounds into post frame homes (barndominiums and shouses), more clients look to them for upgraded features. Standing seam roofing may appeal to some who appreciate the aesthetics of no visible screw fasteners. Standing seam […]

Barndominium Warrantees Regular readers of my articles are aware I have joined and regularly read and contribute to every Facebook and Linkedin group about barndominiums and post frame buildings I possibly can find. My goal always is for people to get their best possible value for their investment, even should they somehow decide Hansen Pole […]

Ganged Wood Trusses and Closed Cell Spray Foam Post Frame Condensation Control Ganged wood trusses are most usually two individually fabricated metal connector plated roof trusses, fastened together with either nails or even better Simpson Drive Screws (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2017/03/simpson-drive-screws/), so they work together as a conjoined pair. True doubled trusses (not two single trusses spaced apart […]

Today’s Pole Barn Guru discusses finding a builder or DIY, posts in the ground or use wet set brackets, and whether or not to remodel or to rebuild a new structure. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Thank you for this great website. I have learned so much reviewing the blog articles. I will definitely buy one […]

Flash-and-Batt Insulating Barndominium Walls We’re in a seemingly never ending cycle of racing towards net zero post frame homes, shouses (shop/houses) and barndominiums (read more on net zero post frame here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/01/net-zero-post-frame-homes/).  One possible design solution involves what is known as “flash-and-batt” where two inches of closed cell spray foam insulation is applied to steel […]

How Not To Sheetrock Your Barndominium Gypsum wallboard (aka Sheetrock or drywall) is used as wall and ceiling covering of choice for nearly every barndominium, shouse (shop/house) or post frame home. It affords a plethora of advantages over other interior finishes – for many, it is about cost savings. For others it is fire protection […]

What to Consider in a Post Frame Garage Door Today’s guest contributor is Irene Trentham, Content Marketing Strategist of Arizona’s Best Garage Door and Repair Company, a locally-owned enterprise specializing in installing new garage doors and repairing defective ones for Phoenix Arizona area residents. She loves to do camping, hiking and yoga and to spend […]

What is Something Worth? I can be overly anal. Sometimes I have to really work hard to get around it – I purposefully have conundrums on my desk and for some perverse reason I feel comfortable in them.  I inherited my maternal grandmother’s counting gene. Even into her nineties, if I called her up and […]

Every few years it seems there arises a need for young (remember I am only 62 years young) men to head into forests and become loggers. I have been there personally – there is just something manly about hacking down some snags with a chain saw! Myself, there is a sudden rush when a tree […]

Exciting Times for Post Frame Construction Welcome to 2020! My fifth decade of post frame buildings and I could not be more excited. 40 years ago today if you would have told me I was going to embark in an exciting career in post frame buildings I would have looked at you quizzically – and […]

A Shouse in the News! Casual readers might not understand what a shouse even is. My lovely bride and I happen to reside in an 8000 square foot shouse (combination shop and house) in Northeast South Dakota. (The shouse in this article is not our house.) Whether shouse, barndominium or merely post frame (pole barn) […]

Spray Foam for Barndominiums – Is a Thermal or Ignition Barrier Required? Although it’s certainly not used in every green building project, spray foam insulation has become a popular way to build an air-tight (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/11/airtight-post-frame-homes-and-barndominiums/) barndominium, shouse (shop/house) or even just a well-insulated post frame building. Early on building codes hadn’t caught up with how […]

Our shouse (shop/house) has radiant in floor heat on its lower level and we love it! (read about it here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2012/08/radiant-floor-heating/) I encourage anyone who is building a barndominium, shouse, post frame home or even a garage or shop to at least have Pex-Al-Pex tubing placed in any slab-on-grade concrete floors (research Pex-Al-Pex here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/05/pex-al-pex-tubing-for-post-frame-concrete-slabs/). […]

Pole Barn Guru’s Ultimate Guide to Post Frame Building Insulation When it comes to insulating any building (not just post frame ones – like barndominiums) there is a certain point of diminishing returns – one can spend so much they will never, in their lifetimes, recoup their investment. Here my ultimate guide to post frame […]

Performance Bonds for Post Frame Buildings and Barndominiums Don’t get me wrong, most post frame and barndominium building contractors are honest folks who just love to make their clients happy. I, for one, get tired of reading horror stories of folks who have been ripped off by those who are not so scrupulous. And every […]

Common questions we hear from barndominium, shouse (shop/house) and post frame home owners are, “Why are my new windows leaking?” or “Why do I have condensation inside of my windows?” In fact, many new barndominium owners think their windows are defective and need to be replaced in an effort to cure this problem. To answer […]

I read and hear more and more tales of woe from people unable to find qualified building contractors. I am currently one of them – while I live in Northeast South Dakota, I also still own a lakefront home on Newman Lake, in Washington. My step-daughter Lindsay is living there currently and it needs a […]

Post frame (pole) buildings are a Code conforming building system. In my humble opinion, jurisdictions can legally restrict a building’s aesthetics, however restrictions upon a proven structural system appear to be a restriction of fair trade. It would be fair for a jurisdiction to prohibit a certain type(s) or even color of building skin (roofing […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Properly Placing Post Frame Building Purlins Overhanging Lowered End Truss Even professional post frame building erectors have challenges with concepts like properly placing purlins when they overhang a lowered end truss.  What could be so difficult, one might ask, you just space them the same as all other purlins, right? Well, sort of. End trusses, […]

Let’s start with a definition of Design Pressure. According to AAMA (American Architectural Manufacturers Association), WDMA (Window and Door Manufacturers Association), and NAFS (North American Fenestration Standard), Design Pressure (DP) is a rating identifying loads induced by wind and/or static snow a product is rated to withstand in its end-use application. So basically, DP is […]

Like a bunch of little kids exploring differences in body parts – “You show me yours, I will show you mine.” Barndominium, shouse (shop/house), post frame home want to be owners are not far removed from here when it comes to floor plans. In numerous Facebook groups I see this request over and over! Each […]

Planning for a South Carolina Post Frame Home A barndominium, shouse (shop/house) and post frame home wave is sweeping across America. There are numerous articles available on Hansen Pole Buildings’ website – just click on SEARCH (upper right of any page) and type in BARNDOMINIUM and hit ENTER and relevant articles will appear for your […]

Partially Enclosed Buildings (and Why It Matters) I have previously written how a fully enclosed building could be less of an investment than a three sided building – even though a fourth wall has been added: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2014/03/three-sided-building/ For those of you who neglected to click and read my previous article, consider your building as a […]

Volatile Organic Compound Ratios Today’s guest blogger is Cheryl Barneski. Cheryl’s background is as an Owner Operator Long Haul Division of the Class 8 Industry. CDL END X or HazMat and Tanks. She is a Certified Hole Watch, Lock Out, Tag Out Safety Watch in Chemical Plants and is also Certified Entry Level I.S.O Meter […]

When it comes to planning for a new post frame home, shouse (shop/house) or barndominium, there are a myriad of questions and concerns to be answered and pondered. Or, at least I hope you are – rather than just stumbling in blindly! Reader NICK in NORTH CAROLINA writes: “Hi, I’m looking into options for building […]

Why would anyone building a pole barn, barndominium, shouse or post frame home need to be concerned about treating for termites? Isn’t pressure preservative treated wood going to solve any potential long range problems from pesky termites? Regardless of whether you build a post frame (pole) building, stick frame, steel frame or even concrete building […]

Your First Tool to Construct Your Own Barndominium Whether you are contemplating constructing (or having constructed) a barndominium, shouse (shop/house) or just a post frame home – there is one essential tool you should invest in long before you consider breaking ground. Even if you have hired this world’s greatest General Contractor who will do […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

With barndominiums, shouses (shop/houses) and post frame home building on a brisk upswing, a considering factor is how to insulate new homes. Becoming as close to (or reaching) net zero (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/01/net-zero-post-frame-homes/) as possible should be a goal of any efficient post frame home design. Rather than me just blathering about what my opinions are, I […]

 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 […]

Spray foam insulation has become increasing popular for achieving high R value building shells. One downside of spray foams has been they are not being fire resistant. I was pretty excited to read this on a post frame building contractor’s website: “Installing foam insulation can either be sprayed or foamed-in-place. Foam has the ability to create an […]

In my humble opinion (and in one word) – no. I have opined in past articles as to what Code is applicable to post frame (pole) building construction: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2018/10/what-building-code-applies-to-post-frame-construction/. Recently Louisiana engineer Steve M. Sylvest (www.sylvestengineering.com ) sent an email to Structural Building Components Association addressing challenges with non-engineered structures, particularly residences. Again, I stand […]

Continued from yesterday’s blog, an article by Jesse Lohse in SBC Magazine:   System Design Understand Load Path Gravity Lateral Uplift MEP conflicts Initial Designs Roof System Walls Floor System(s) Foundation Broad Analysis for construction documents System Design Once an initial conceptual design is complete, an engineer will turn their attention to system design in […]

In our last episode, we were escaping odors produced by mushroom people – now let us move forward to getting a clearer vision and a view from your new post frame barndominium’s windows! Once you have narrowed your choices down to a handful, ideally you can watch each site over a year’s time – as […]

Adding on to post frame building length sounds like it should be such a simple process – unscrew sheets of steel and just build away, right? Nope. Long time reader ROB in ANNAPOLIS writes: “I feel like you have answered this somewhere in the past, but when I search past “Ask the Guru” I get […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

As the Architect Turns In our previous episode, we left Dan tied to railroad tracks in front of a speeding train…. Well close, we left Dan with a post frame building designed by an architect, with some serious structural connection problems.  Now I am a guy who watches Science Channel’s “Engineering Catastrophes”. I would just […]

The Pole Bar Guru reviews an oops from an architect in today’s blog. Back in 2017 Hansen Pole Buildings was contacted by a gentleman I shall call “Dan” who had an interest in a post-frame home or ‘barndominium’.  For those not familiar with this term: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2014/02/barndominium/. I have to admit, Dan spoke with a Hansen […]

Polycarbonate panels to be used for eave and/or gable end triangle “lighting” or ridge caps should not be used within living areas of post frame homes and barndominiums. They do often afford a cost effective method of getting natural lighting into accessory areas such as unheated shops and garages, barns and equipment storage buildings. Recommended […]

Storing Lumber for Your New Post Frame Building Ideally, use lumber promptly. Otherwise store in a cool, dry location, avoiding direct sunlight and preferably indoors where humidity variations will be minimal. Dry lumber Unlike green lumber, keep kiln or air-dried lumber away from moisture, otherwise product may lose value added by careful seasoning. Dry lumber […]

General Material Storage I have recently signed up to join several barndominium groups on Facebook. If you are unfamiliar with this term, here is a detailed explanation: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2016/04/the-rise-of-the-barndominium/. Overnight I have had an ‘ah-ha’ moment where a light bulb turned on and I decided to take a plunge. I am going to write at least […]

Ignorance is Bliss and Sometimes Architects are Happy Portions of this article (in italics) are from “County explores options for new Highway building” April 29, 2019 by Nathan Bowe at www.dl-online.com A city plow truck goes by the main shop building at the Becker County Highway Department complex in Detroit Lakes. www.dl-online.com File photo Dear […]

Fluropon® Roofing Coating  I have extolled virtues of Kynar® (PVDF) paint for post frame buildings previously: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2014/05/kynar/. Fluropon® is a trade name for Valspar’s PVDF factory applied steel roofing coating (paint) system. Sherwin-Williams acquired Valspar  in 2017. At NFBA’s (National Frame Building Association) 2019 Expo I cornered Sherwin-William’s representative for further information on Fluropon®. Please […]

PEX-AL-PEX Tubing For Post Frame Concrete Slabs Long time readers will recall my prior article on PEX tubing for post frame concrete slabs: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2016/08/pex-tubing/. I caught up with my friend Les Graham of Radiant Outfitters at the recent NFBA (National Frame Building Association) Expo in Louisville, who I volunteered to do a nice video in […]

Monitor barns have a tall center portion (usually clearspanned with trusses) and lower single slope (knowns as sheds or wings) roofs on each side. Barns may actually be a misnomer, as many monitor style post frame buildings are used for things like homes and event centers. Reader DANIELLE in SUMMERSVILLE writes: “Is there a minimum […]

I happen to live in a post-frame home. It was designed to be lived in from day one, so we did not face obstacles in having to convert a pole barn. Reader DAN in SIDNEY writes: “I have an existing pole barn that has no current foundation. It looks like 6×6 pt poles right into […]

Today’s PBG addresses slab insulation, vapor barriers and sliding doors at an entry. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am starting a project finishing a Hansen pole barn in a suburb of Minneapolis. My question is in regard to the floor. I assume there was no insulation under the slab, I have yet to confirm this, […]

In todays blog, the Pole Barn Guru discusses stilt homes, ductwork in attic, and post frame house design options. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Pole Barns for Stilt Construction – Just read your Kitty Hawk story – And FEMA backs you up. From FEMA-DRs-4085-NY Foundation Requirements and Recommendations for Elevated Home – Piles can be used […]