This article, by my friend Sharon Thatcher, was originally published in the  September 2016 issue of Rural Builder magazine and appears unedited. I’ve opined upon many of these areas in previous articles, however here Sharon ties it all together: You may be the best builder on the planet, but if you use inferior products your stellar reputation […]

Calling For The Wall Steel Stretcher In our last episode, the dilemma of how to get a smooth roof plane was solved, to the apparent joy of all involved. However up cropped a new challenge, contributed to by us however pretty much on the builder and this is why. You may recall the eave height […]

Yes, it happens. My long time readers will recall I owned two prefabricated light gauge metal plate connected wood truss plants in a not too distant past. And yes – this may come as a surprise – truss people are not perfect. In this particular case, we had set out what we needed explicitly as […]

Sharing the Blame Welcome to 2017! As you may recall, 2016 ended with me sharing an email from a builder who is constructing a new Hansen Pole Building and may possibly be a legend in his own mind. Our company policy, when a challenge arrives, has always been to begin by looking to see what, […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: What is the widest free span I can get in a pole barn? I live in zip 54474 for snow loads. Needs to have a door opening of 14′. LES in ROSHOLTDEAR LES: It would be very practical to have a clearspan of up to and including 80 feet. In some […]

The Builder Knows More Than We do…. After Hansen 18k Plus Buildings Very few things in life frighten me. Among them are heights (growing up in a family of framing contractors and having vertigo issues were not a good mix) and builders who tell me, “I can build anything”. This last one usually sets off […]

Some Temporary Holiday Cheer Back in May of this year I wrote about how the neighbors of a new post frame barndominium had ganged up under the auspices of their HOA Requirements to try to force the demolition of the building under construction. (You can read about it here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2016/05/not-mess-hoas/). Well, the building owners have […]

Modern Post Frame Buildings and Geothermal Over the past few years, there has been a trend towards building modern climate controlled post frame buildings for homes and commercial use, but the HVAC Systems in these buildings remains outdated. Most climate controlled post frame buildings are still being built with inefficient gas or propane furnaces, coupled […]

ASCE/SEI 7 Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures The times, they keep a changing, and as they do Building Codes and Building Design becomes increasingly more complex. My long time readers have read my preaching about why all buildings should be designed by Registered Design Professionals (RDP – architects or engineers) to insure […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Can you supply me with a copy of the sparrow barn in Texas plans It is a wedding venue I would like to copy. JAMES in HAMPTON DEAR JAMES: Certainly we can, stamped by a registered professional engineer, and custom designed for your climactic loads – and for free. They come […]

Design Wind Speed Changes with Building Code Editions Every three years a new version of the International Building Code (IBC) is printed, which brings with it the latest and greatest information for building design as approved by Code Officials. State and local permit issuing jurisdictions then can either adopt or amend the Code as they […]

How to Cut and Install Base Trim at a Corner In yesterday’s column, I mentioned how the base trim was improperly installed. Back in the 1990’s when I was constructing buildings, one of my building crew chiefs shared this trick with me. When properly done, it eliminates the ability of critters to climb up inside […]

They Say a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words There are not a thousand words invented to describe the true awfulness of this building. To my loyal readers, I know I have occasionally ranked on pole building poor workmanship done by builders, however this one may very well rate close to the top of the […]

New in the Hammering World     Estwing AL-Pro When the latest and greatest comes around, I try to be on top of providing information to my valued readers, many of whom have become trusted friends. Here is a new one for your reading enjoyment! Best known for its single-piece steel hammers Estwing is about to […]

40’ x 60’ Used Pole Building – $14000 (Silverton)  SERIOUSLY? The following ad appeared in the Salem, Oregon Craigslist December 6, 2016 in for sale > farm & garden – by owner: “I have a nice fully enclosed 14 foot tall pole building. It is fully disassembled and ready for transport. All the metal is […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am considering using pole barn construction to add on to an existing metal building I have I also already have a 24×34 foundation were I want to put the add on. This will be a residential building. Would you recommend using drill in slab brackets to connect the post to […]

When Buildings Fall Down, People Can Die It was a busy Friday morning in downtown Sioux Falls, South Dakota on December 2nd of this year. About 10:30 a.m. near the corner of East 10th Street and South Phillips Avenue, Boyd McPeek was inside the Coffea coffee shop, when the 1916 building across the street collapsed. […]

BUILD magazine Just announced – Hansen Pole Buildings, LLC has been selected by BUILD magazine in their Engineering Leadership awards. According to Dominic Lloyd, Feature Executive at BUILD (www.build-review.com/build-rewards/), “Hansen Pole Buildings LLC has stood out from the thousands of potential contenders due to your creative movements, dedicated team and brilliant quality of production and […]

Breaking Through Rock in Holes Post frame (pole) buildings are maybe the easiest to construct and most affordable permanent structures known to human kind. Once the holes are dug and the columns are set, it is pretty well nothing but go-go-go. The intangible is what is happening below the surface of the ground. When I […]

Another great question from a reader! DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hello, I bought my house from you a few years ago and know that you all have a very good engineering group. I was wanting to see if they could come up with a plan to retrofit an existing pole barn for wind uplift. The […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am building a pole barn 50 foot clear span wide, and 70 foot long, 16 foot to the eve. I am using 4×4 metal uprights on 20 foot spans, red iron purlins and stringers, and 4×4 metal welded all around the top. I am using conventional wood trusses engineered for […]

Are Two Stories the Solution? Another great question from a reader, which requires a lengthy answer. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I was wondering if it possible two have a 2-story structure with 2 garages + some storage on the ground floor and a small office with bath and small kitchen on the 2nd floor (in […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am building a pole barn 50 foot clear span wide, and 70 foot long, 16 foot to the eve. I am using 4×4 metal uprights on 20 foot spans, red iron purlins and stringers, and 4×4 metal welded all around the top. I am using conventional wood trusses engineered for […]

Over the past 36 plus years in the post frame building industry, I’ve personally sold, delivered and/or specified pretty easily at least 10,000 sliding doors. I am certain someone has provided more, most probably far less. Very, very few of them have ever been with glass in the doors. Sherri in Kansas recently asked, “Do […]

Another great and well thought out question, which is best answered at length. Dear Pole Barn Guru: The construction manual states that concrete slab floors should be poured so there is 3-3/4” of skirt board left exposed above the slab. What do you do if you want or need to have a typical slab slope toward […]