My lovely bride and I have been married for heading on 15 years. To some, this may seem like a lot, to my grandparents and great-grandparents (who were together for 50 years and more) – hardly a drop in the bucket.

In most relationships, success (or lack thereof) is created by communication. Lots of clear, concise dialogue makes for a happy marriage (whether a marriage of two partners in matrimony, or between client and pole barn provider). Don’t talk so much, or don’t pay attention to what the other party is saying, and a rocky road can result.

This morning I received some clear communication from a client:

“Purchased a 40 x 60 pole building from your co in 2005. Most of the building is fine. I contacted the company approximately 2-3 years ago with two problems; 1. The insulation has gone south and is falling from the roof and secondly, the paint on the south east of building has faded from green to almost a grayish white. I contacted your company and was told (after a couple of weeks or more) that you would sell me more insulation at your cost and I could put it in. As for the roof your company said that a representative from the manufacturer would be in contact so as to examine the roof. That was 2-3 years ago and nobody has contacted me or followed through on these problems. As you know the computer is a very good tool at times like this, and I assure you I intend to use it to relay my story on the net covering pole barns and buildings. I feel this will stop potential customers from dealing with such problems with your company. I have since taken pictures that I fully intend to post on the internet.  I regret to take this action and will wait 7 days for your response before proceeding. Any suggestions?”

Well, my first suggestion would be we do not have to be threatened to get action. In fact, we believe so much in the buildings we provide, we will put the information out ourselves!  Any client who writes in order to have a problem solved, we appreciate kind, considerate and “moving forward” efforts.  We most definitely will do everything we can to see their issue is solved in a timely manner.

Go do in internet search for “pole barn (or pole building) problems (or horror stories)”. You will find a few of them – and in regards to a select few providers or builders – lots of them. To the best of our knowledge, there is not a single derogatory posting about Hansen Pole Buildings anywhere on the internet. After providing thousands of pole building kit packages since 2002, this says something about the integrity of our company and the quality of our products.

Getting back on track…..

The original building kit package included reflective roof insulation manufactured by a Canadian company which is no longer in business (and was closed prior to the client’s notification of an apparent issue). Upon doing some research, the best guesses as to why the originally supplied insulation was delaminating (the inside white vinyl facing was flaking off) was due to either the adhesives used in fabrication by the manufacturer, or improper storage of the product onsite by the purchaser.

Having used this manufacturer’s product in thousands of buildings, we had only ever received a handful of concerns with this issue. As the client reports, we did (and still would) offer to supply replacement insulation manufactured by our current supplier (which is produced using a better adhesive).

Sidebar: the originally provided and installed insulation still is working as an effective condensation control, it just flakes off pieces of the white vinyl.

The steel for this client’s building was produced by Fabral® and is their MP-Panel™, which comes with a 25-Year limited paint warranty. From the warranty at www.Fabral.com:

“Fade or change in color in excess of five (5) units of color difference (“NEBS” units) for vertical siding panels ad seven (7) units of color difference (“NBS” units) roof panels for a period of ten (10) years when measured in accordance with the standard procedure specified in ASTM D-224 (latest) paragraph 6.3, on a washed test area.

NOTE: Most coated surfaces, when exposed to the sun, will fade to some degree over a period of time. Five NEBS units is a noticeable, but not usually objectionable, degree of color change. Colors may also darken or change hue rather than fade, particularly on exposure in polluted environments. The NBS units are intended to apply to color change in either direction in comparison with the original or unexposed color. It is understood that fading or color change may not be in uniform if the surfaces are not equally exposed to the sun and elements.”

Under the terms of the warranty, the building owner was to have notified Fabral® “in writing” within 30 days after the discovery of the defect. Although the building owner did not provide Fabral® with proper notice, one of their representatives had been to the building, shortly after the initial contact was made (we keep notes in a client’s file on every inquiry of this sort). It is possible the client does not recall this visit, or the resulting communication from Fabral®, as it was determined then, the fade rate of the paint was within the allowable limitations.

I’ve written before about paint fade: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/blog/2014/04/paint-fade/

Morals of the story: when offered a solution by a supplier, either accept it, or offer a counter offer – don’t just stew on it or rehash it; as often as possible send and receive important communications in writing; and when ordering painted steel in which fade rate is critical – invest in the best available paint system, Kynar.

For more reading about Kynar®: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/blog/2014/05/kynar/