Easier to Ask Permission, Than Beg for Forgiveness
Our actual client writes:
“I need you to please help me. I need a letter from engineering that states that the ceiling can withstand tongue and groove plywood being hung on it. We decided to keep part of the ceiling vaulted and open and are going to do blue pine tongue and groove wood there. The county is fine with it. As long as they have a letter from engineering that stated the ceiling will be ok with it (insulating with spray insulation under the tongue and groove).”
Had client expressed this desire initially, it could easily (and likely less costly than what they did order) have been engineered.
Here is my response:
Your building is designed, as ordered by you, with ceiling loaded trusses, designed for a 10 psf (pounds per square foot) dead load, including ceiling joists 24″ on center. This is reflected in your engineer sealed structural building plans.
This provides for load carrying capabilities and appropriate framing across your roof truss bottom chords.
Your building’s roof truss top chords (and subsequently purlins between) are designed for a 3.3 psf dead load. This is adequate only to carry weight imposed by roof steel, roof purlins and truss itself.
Loads not used on one chord, cannot simply be transferred to another chord. From experience of designing trusses for nearly five decades, I can attest to this.
In order to have a finished ceiling, supported by roof purlins (with slope of roof), a truss repair would be required to support this additional top chord load. Repairs would be detailed by engineer who sealed your roof truss designs. This could result in one or more of several outcomes – including (but not limited to) plywood gussets being added to some or all truss faces where steel connector plates are currently placed, “scabs” (dimensional lumber) being added to face(s) of truss members, or even another truss being added to what currently exists.
Beyond this, deflection criteria dictate roof purlins must be “stiffer” when supporting materials other than just roof steel. This is typically solved by adding another purlin half-way between each existing roof purlin.
Without ceiling joists installed between truss bottom chords, additional bracing will be required in order to properly brace trusses.
Some of these alterations may prove difficult to achieve in an ‘as built’ situation.
This story has a moral – similar to measure twice, cut once….think it through twice in advance, build it right once.
DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Does it come with engineered Seal drawings as part of the cost? RON in OMAHA 
DEAR TIM: Once our engineer has sealed the final plans for your building, we will prepare an exact materials list (down to the last screw) and it will be available at your online login. Most of the items you will find on the list cannot be found in lumberyards or big box stores (here are just a few):
DEAR ANGEL: Your dimensions happen to fit perfectly within those available for our ‘most practical dimensions’ discount: 
DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hello, I asked an insulation question on social media and it quickly turned into a debate among other members. In your opinion is there any way to stop the condensation drip on a porch we would like to cover with T/G, box in with soffits? This is a new post frame building with an offset porch. Initially we planned to leave framing exposed but due to birds and wanting a more finished look we would like to put a ceiling in place. Thank you. MEL in ISLAMORADA 
DEAR TARUNO: In answer to your question….maybe. With 25 foot tall walls, an eight-inch thick concrete wall may not prove to be adequate. We can incorporate ICC-ESR approved wet set brackets into top of your concrete, in order to attach columns. Walls would need to be checked, by our engineers, to assure they would have adequate amounts of sheathing to properly transfer shear loads from roof to ground. We are able to provide columns up to 60 foot lengths, so your wall height should not pose a challenge.
DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Is your company or you capable of interpreting customer wants into engineered drawings for permits compliance? MARTY in CALGARY 
DEAR POLE BARN GURU: How tall would a barn have to be to accommodate horses on the bottom and eventually a 2 bed 2 bath apartment in the loft? JUSTINE in LITTLETON 
DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Can I hire you to design a pole barn and get sealed prints for NJ without buying the kit from you? I have a fairly new pole barn on the property and would like to reuse that material for my new barn. SHANE in BRIDGETON
DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I see a lot of discussion about using the Sturdi-wall wet set bracket when using a concrete pier for posts. I was wondering if the Simpson CB (column base) is used in post frame construction? From their documentation it looks like that is what it was designed for. RON in HILO
DEAR POLE BARN GURU: What are the building code standards for the horizontal infill framing between the posts of a post frame buildings, in terms of timber size, horizontal/vertical on center distance. I have seen 2x4s and 2x6s used, usually 24″ o/c vertically. Horizontally, how far can they span horizontally? JOHN in BANDERA
Roof – order roof steel with an Integral Condensation Control (Condenstop or Dripstop) factory applied. Install a steel ceiling across truss bottom chords, blow fiberglass insulation in above steel ceiling. Vent attic at eaves with enclosed vented soffits and ridge.
DEAR AMANDA: Thank you for your interest in a new Hansen Pole Building. These would be included items:
There is a chance there is someone on their staff who can actually sort of do a material’s list for a pole barn. Keep in mind, there is not a “plan” they are working from, so no one is checking for adequacy of structural design. This list of pieces may, or may not, even be enough pieces to sort of put a building together. My experience is a list such as this will be inaccurate for quantities, will leave things out, add in a few unnecessary pieces and result in waste, confusion and a less than satisfactory end resultant.
