Welcome to Ask the Pole Barn Guru – where you can ask questions about building topics, with answers posted on Mondays. With many questions to answer, please be patient to watch for yours to come up on a future Monday segment. If you want a quick answer, please be sure to answer with a “reply-able” email address.
Email all questions to: PoleBarnGuru@HansenPoleBuildings.com
DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I bought a sliding pocket door but the installation instructions are missing. Installation tips from you will be greatly appreciated. ELUSIVE AT LAKE ELSINORE
DEAR ELUSIVE: It never ceases to amaze me at the variety of construction questions which get thrown my way. In over 15,000 pole buildings over more than 30 years, I’ve never before had a question about a pocket door, but am always happy to assist if I can!
Without knowing the manufacturer of your particular door, about the best advice I can give is to direct you to any one of many internet resources. Here is a link to instructions as provided by Popular Mechanics: https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/improvement/interior/4212294
I have a pocket door in my house (it’s been there a long time), and my step-son put one in his house recently, but I can tell you both of them are very different, so I’d hate to give you wrong directions, but Popular Mechanics should get you on the right track. Good Luck!
DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Question…Does Hansen sell mounting blocks for attaching exterior lights to the metal siding? We are looking to add an exterior light next to the entry door of the building as well as a motion light under the peak of the roof.
I’m running into 2 issues. The first is that the mounting blocks sold by our local Home Depot/Lowes are made for attaching to vinyl siding (they have the Dutch lap on the back). The second issue is that there is a rib running under the peak of the roof were we want to put the motion light and quite frankly I wasn’t sure how to handle that. I figured I would ask to see if Hansen sold some sort of mounting block that would help me get around one or both of my issues.
If not, do you have any suggestions on how to handle these issues? MUDDLED MATT
DEAR MUDDLED: There is not a mounting block made for steel siding. The best solution is to move the fixture so it can be attached on the “flat” surface of the steel between high ribs. I’ve also seen where lights were installed on the high ribs of the steel using long screws. You can spray foam behind it to keep out the critters.
