Tag Archives: Instant Pricing Program

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 still very time consuming.

This graduated to a price grid – where I broke down common sizes of buildings so at least there was a starting point. Of course any changes in material prices resulted in having to recreate it (again manually).

Then along came my then trusty Kaypro computer – those floppy disks allowed for me to build pricing spreadsheets. If prices changed, all I had to do was make needed corrections, hit recalculate and then return the next morning and they would usually be done! Ah, the wonders of technology!

Luckily, things have changed dramatically when it comes to computers.

Reader BLAINE in RED OAK writes:

“Do you sell the software needed to design pole barns and garages or just design buildings for people?”

Thank you very much for your interest. We spent years looking for software to accurately correctly structurally design, price and do takeoffs for post frame buildings. We even went as far as investing in a few of them. Regardless of how well hyped up any of them were or are – not a one of them began to come close to meeting even a single one of these requirements. Even if we were to severely limit what we and our clients wanted to do with buildings to only a single wind and snow load and very few features, there wasn’t anything. With one we purchased, it was supposedly going to be customer tailored to fit our needs. It was so simplistic we were appalled – when we asked about buildings with or without overhangs we were told most people just throw them in for free!! This program wouldn’t include them.

As a result of this we assembled for ourselves an IT staff second-to-none and along with our third-party independent engineer we built what we consider to be by far our industry’s best possible design software – Instant Pricing™. We continue to expand upon it and add new features daily, it is frankly astounding as it will make changes as fast as I can hunt-and-peck.

But what exactly will it do?

Included in our system is Building Code and climactic (snow, wind, earthquake) data for nearly every jurisdiction in America. It can accurately structurally design any width, length or height rectangular building to a fraction of an inch. Odd roof slopes, no problem. Steps in rooflines, various building profiles – not just gabled roofs but also hips, gambrels, monitors, single and dual slopes, roofline extensions, attached sheds and porches.
Those “throw in for free” overhangs can now be open or enclosed, on one or multiple walls, with varying lengths. End overhangs can be flying gables (gradually tapered), widow’s peaks or turkey tails.

Choices are available for a myriad of roofing and siding combinations. Multiple floors, lofts or mezzanines can be included. This list goes on-and-on!

But it is far more than just an amazing pricing tool. It also generates quotes and invoices and is integrated with our client database. Material takeoffs are generated as well as purchase orders for materials!

Because it is so sophisticated and we make constant upgrades we feel it is not practical to release for public consumption at this time.

For those clients who are searching for an exactly right post frame building, we’d like to believe Hansen Pole Buildings is a right fit. Please give us a call today 1 (866) 200-9657, you will be pleased you did!

What Type of Barns Do You Sell?

And my response to the question would be, “What type of barn would you like to invest in”?

Here is the full question asked by JOEL in THOMASVILLE:

About Hansen Buildings“What type of pole barns do you sell? (Truss on post or truss on band)
Also what’s the spacing on the trusses? 2 foot, 4 foot”

 

 

 

I will preface my answer with this sage (since I am nearly 60) advice – focus on the design solution, not on how the design solution is arrived at. Please feel free to reread the bolded words repeatedly, as this is the clue to getting the most post frame building for your investment.

Exactly what is the design solution?

The design solution is what meets your needs for functionality. It doesn’t much matter if your new building is free, how the trusses connect, or what their spacing is, if the building does not meet with your needs.

This is where “The Ultimate Post Frame Experience™” comes into play. Let the experts help to guide you towards a new building which will perform admirably for you, your descendants and future owners of your building for years. Simple things such as getting the right sized doors for the building and spacing them properly to avoid damage to vehicles and equipment; getting a height adequate for your needs if you plan upon multiple stories or need headroom for a vehicle lift.

The design solution is the “sizzle”.

Back to the question at hand……

The most important answer is no matter how it is put together structurally ONLY invest in a building where the plans exactly meet with what you are building and a wet sealed by a RDP (Registered Design Professional  – architect or engineer). If a highly trained professional with years of schooling and internship hasn’t done the structural design, then who did?

If I had my personal druthers, I would most typically recommend a building with widely spaced sidewall columns – most often 10 to 14 feet on center.

But isn’t this a long distance?

In the global scope of life – no.

What this DOES do is it minimizes the number of holes which need to be dug (digging holes is the least fun part of the job). It also allows for much easier addition of a sidewall door – think about it, if posts are say eight foot on center, it doesn’t allow for even an eight foot width overhead door (which eats SUV mirrors anyhow) to be added without cutting a column off!

In most cases, widely spaced columns, which directly support ganged (two or more) trusses connected face-to-face, is going to provide the greatest structural integrity, fewest individual parts to handle and be easiest and quickest to construct.
The Hansen Pole Buildings’ Instant Pricing™ program, does allow for all structural options to be checked – it will do single or double trusses directly bearing upon columns, or trusses paced upon truss carriers (truss on band) at either two or four foot on center. As the new post frame building owner – go for the design solution and allow the “how” to the experts!