This Wednesday the Pole Barn Guru answers reader questions about the possibilities of building a dog kennel with post frame construction, they type of foundation required for a post frame building, and what possible kennel designs Hansen has done.
DEAR POLE BARN GURU: would it be possible to do a dog kennel in a pole barn. Can air conditioning be used in a pole barn? In other words could a pole barn be properly insulated to be efficient enough to make it worth it? RICHARD in NAPLES
DEAR RICHARD: Absolutely. Fully engineered post frame buildings make for your most economical and easiest to super insulate permanent structures. We have had a plethora of animal uses for our buildings beyond just dogs – from exotic birds to giraffes! Hundreds of our clients from all over America climate control their Hansen Pole Buildings for their primary residences even.
DEAR POLE BARN GURU: What Type of foundation if any is required for pole barn are the polls augured into the ground, and if so, to what depth? Usually we have a frost up here of 42 inches of poles cemented in after they are placed. JOHN in LEDYARD
DEAR JOHN: We’ve provided roughly a hundred fully-engineered post frame buildings to our New England state clients. Our son is completing his doctorate at UMass Amherst and will be getting married in Connecticut in May, so I do have a certain familiarity with your area. With embedded columns they, along with a concrete bottom collar, become your foundation. This is a Building Code approved structural design solution, used on a plethora of buildings every year. As for depth of holes to prevent frost heave, unless columns and embedment are thermally isolated, Building Codes require bottom of footings to be at frost depth or deeper. Specifics for your particular building will be included on your engineer-sealed structural plans.
DEAR POLE BARN GURU: What type of kennel designs have you done in a 36×48 or a 30×60? GERARDO in BLUFFTON
DEAR GERARDO: We have provided a plethora of various dimension fully engineered post-frame buildings to our clients who are going to use them as kennels. In all cases, our clients have actually done their own interior layouts. Due to so many different footprints being provided, I would guess actual layouts are as varied as their owners.
Starting with your door end (which I will assume is uphill), I would add enough fill so this end could have holes dug to 40″, filling balance of site accordingly. All fill should be compacted in no less than six-inch lifts to a minimum of 90% of Modified Proctor Density (you may need to invest in a Geotechnical Engineer to verify compaction).
o model Building Codes – IRC (International Residential Code) for one and two family dwellings and their accessory structures, and IBC (International Building Code) for all other buildings. Neither code has a requirement for full foundation to support pole (post frame) buildings. I would encourage you to reach out to your local Building Official to ask for further information – it is possible your village or township may have enacted a specific ordinance, to this case, if so – request a written copy of the approved document and please forward it to me for review. In most instances, no such ordinance exists and, if so, this ‘requirement’ cannot be legally enforced.
DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Are they hurricane proof? LINDAONGLEY in DAVENPORT 
DEAR LUCAS: Fully engineered post frame buildings adapt themselves very handily to being erected over a full, partial or walkout basement. We can engineer to have wet set brackets placed in concrete, concrete block or ICF foundation walls, or can provide post framed Permanent Wood Foundation walls. We encourage our clients with basements to utilize clearspan wood floor trusses, to create wide open spaces in basement levels, as well as to allow for utilities to be run through floor trusses, resulting in flat finished ceilings.
You should replace all nails with screws of a larger diameter than nails and 1/2″ greater in length. Look for screws with EPDM washers (not neoprene rubber). If you find a location where water leaks have caused wood deterioration and screws are not “biting” place a wood ‘filler’ in hole – we’ve heard of people using wooden match sticks for this purpose, however would recommend ripping some small squares (roughly 1/8″ square) out of Douglas Fir using a Table Saw.
DEAR CRAIG: While it might be possible to raise a portion of the roof, it should only be done with involvement of a Registered Professional Engineer who can make a determination of adequacy of what you have, and what would need to be done to insure structural adequacy. Chances are good columns in area to be taller will need to be larger in dimension to properly withstand wind loads.
DEAR POLE BARN GURU: 
DEAR TONY: 
DEAR LLOYD: There is no structural reason to pour a “rat wall” between columns (
