My long time readers have heard the stories of my framing contractor father and uncles. My dad was the oldest, and I cannot begin to count the number of times he spoke highly of his younger brother Gil’s abilities to walk up nearly anything. Dad would tell stories of Gil walking up beams set at […]

In the days of my youth, my father and uncles were the largest (and best) framing contractors in the Spokane, Washington area. There was a time when (at least to the builders concerned) a particular field inspector was coming off as being arbitrary in his enforcement of the Building Code. The situation got to be […]

Skylights in steel roofs, whether FRP (Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic), Polycarbonate or Lexan pose enough structural problems to warrant not using them. Here is another reason, which I had not considered, but there is a valuable safety reason presented in this article by Gregory Havel appeared January 11, 2016 in Fire Engineering®. Skylights on the roof […]

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” […]

Welcome to part three of our three part series on determining the most effective building weather resistant barriers. Let’s take a look at the best weather resistant barrier choices: BETTER CHOICES While the textured housewraps listed above do a good job of keeping water off the sheathing and from entering the house, if you want more […]

Welcome to part two of our three part series on determining the most effective building weather resistant barriers. Let’s take a look at a few weather resistant barrier choices: WHAT NOT TO USE Don’t skimp on the weather resistant barrier “WRB”—either the product you use or the care you take to install it. Any WRB […]

How to Determine the Most Effective Weather Resistant Barrier for a Building With more and more post frame (pole) buildings being used for residences, offices and other conditioned buildings – weather barriers (think Housewraps) have become a hot topic. Matt Risinger wrote the article below for the Journal of Light Construction, and whilst it is […]

High profile folks with lots of photos of their pole barns online make for easy targets. Gus Van Sant has always marched to the beat of his own drummer, mixing unconventional movies like “Even Cowgirls Get The Blues,” “Drugstore Cowboy” and “My Own Private Idaho” in with more commercial fare like “Good Will Hunting,” “Finding Forrester” […]

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” […]

Building Officials Are Your Friend Back in 1972 the late Jim Croce recorded and released the song, “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim”. As recorded, the refrain goes like this: “You don’t tug on superman’s cape You don’t spit into the wind You don’t pull the mask off that old lone ranger And you don’t mess […]

Gross Misrepresentation? Okay, so the title is a play on words – which you shall come to see shortly. Hansen Pole Buildings’ Designer Dave Gross (get it) has been discussing a post frame building kit package with a client in Washington state. The client has also gotten a quote from a company from San Antonio, […]

Why I Truly Love Competitor’s Websites When my bride and I were first married, we did the bulk of our grocery shopping at the closest supermarket – an Albertson’s. Not long afterwards, a Safeway was built across the street. My wife commented upon how this must have upset Albertson’s. To the contrary, I replied, healthy […]

One of the most surprising things about steel is that it has an expansion coefficient nearly equal to that of modern concrete. If this were not so, it would cause problems because of additional longitudinal and perpendicular stresses as the temperature changed following setting. Although rebar has ribs which bind it mechanically to the concrete, it […]

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” […]

Welcome to Ask the Pole Barn Guru – where you can ask questions about building topics, with answers posted on Mondays & Saturdays.  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 […]

Hansen Pole Buildings has seen a dramatic increase in the number of post frame buildings which utilize either a partial or full second or third floor, or bonus space within attic trusses. Seemingly the average pole builder, or pole building supplier, has a limit knowledge of what is involved in the proper structural loading of […]

They say the church is not a building. It’s the people. Here is an article which addresses this very subject: https://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.ssf/2015/12/after_their_church_closed_pari.html Over the years, Hansen Pole Buildings has designed and provided numerous buildings for church communities across the country. These are buildings which were purposefully designed to meet the needs of the particular congregation, from […]

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” My long time readers recognize my ability to tie seemingly […]

This is a real life message from one of our clients: “So I went to put in my foam closures today and I don’t have enough. There is a gap on both the top and bottom of the wainscoting. The building dimensions are 24’x24′. So 4 sides at 24′ is 96′ – 12′ garage door […]

Welcome to Ask the Pole Barn Guru – where you can ask questions about building topics, with answers posted on Mondays & Saturdays.  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 […]

Welcome to Ask the Pole Barn Guru – where you can ask questions about building topics, with answers posted on Mondays & Saturdays.  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 […]

My friend Domenick Buonamici is an American expat who lives in Ecuador. He also writes about his experiences in Ecuador. When this one passed by me, I couldn’t help but relate it to common similar mistakes we see here in the United States. I see it all the time here on the coast of Ecuador. […]

In my career, I’ve designed a plethora of wood floors for post fame buildings. I’ve never yet has a client question me about one of the things which may later seem very important – how much will my floor deflect? Post frame building buyers naturally take for granted wood floor system in a new pole […]

While it is impossible to get around the fact lumber is an organic substance, and therefore has inherent variability, it has always been used as the primary raw material of the residential construction industry. In fact, the growing reliance on the structural design properties of lumber by the US housing industry led to the development […]

I have to thank those readers who contribute questions so good, it is impossible not to share them as articles. Remodeling and repurposing  of pole barns is becoming a popular subject, as the buildings will, in all likelihood, outlive their original owners. Here is one meritorious recent submission: “Hello, I love all the information on […]