Tag Archives: ICC

Full Frost Foundation?

Full Frost Wall Foundation?

Reader AARON in ROSEVILLE writes:

Assuming (not yet verified) that I don’t need a full frost wall foundation for my barndo, wondering about the pros/cons for full frost wall vs pier footings in southern MN. Obviously there is the cost difference, but when it comes to building performance(in the winter), would you recommend frost wall over pier footings? And are there any work arounds to improve the cold weather performance of a pier footing?”

Mike the Pole Barn Guru responds:
When we built our post frame barndominium in NE South Dakota 16 years ago, we could have utilized any foundation type we wanted. We opted for embedded columns and have had absolutely no regrets about our choice.

From a standpoint of both Code requirements, as well as performance over time, there is not a structural reason to use a full frost wall for a post frame barndominium.

Any heated structure should be meeting the most recent edition of ICC’s (International Code Council) 2021 IECC (International Energy Conservation Code), even if not required in your jurisdiction (usually due to either no structural permit requirements or not yet adopted).  You can look up your county’s Climate Zone at: www.codes.iccsafe.org/content/IECC2021P2/chapter-3-re-general-requirements. Once you know your Climate Zone, Chapter 4 will guide you through insulation requirements for roofs/attics, walls and floors.



In Minnesota, Code requires slab edges to be insulated down four feet with R-10 insulation. With post frame construction, you can rip 4′ x 8′ sheets of R-10 EPS in half lengthwise. Attach lengthwise to the inside of pressure preservative treated splash plank (aka skirt board or bottom girt) with top of insulation even with eventual top of concrete slab. Balance of requirement is solved by using another two foot piece horizontally at the bottom of vertical insulation (basically forming an insulation “L”). This does require digging a trench, however one would need to be dug (and far deeper) for a concrete foundation wall.

Now your challenge….how to insulate piers. Whether using embedded columns with a concrete footing/bottom collar, or full concrete piers with wet set brackets, you can build square forms out of EPS. It does mean you will have excess insulation on the under slab side of the pier, but it is a viable and cost effective solution.

Best way to ensure a successful outcome is with really great site preparation. If you would kindly visit our website www.HansenPoleBuildings.com and navigate to SEARCH in the upper right corner. Type in SITE PREP and hit ENTER. Up will come a plethora of relevant articles for your reading pleasure.

Enforcing Updated Building Codes Saves Money

Enforcing Updated Building Codes Saves Money

As a member of most every active barndominium group in the social media world, I read all too often how new or prospective barndominium owners proudly proclaim they are or will be building where Building Codes are not enforced.

Long time followers of my column may be tired of reading my preaching from a pulpit about how fully engineered, code conforming buildings should be mandatory. Well, there is a method to my madness.

Now there are going to be naysayers who disagree, however there is actual proof of long term savings.

FEMA just released its 2020 National Preparedness Report (https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_2020-national-preparedness-report.pdf) presenting an updated, risk-focused approach to summarizing state of national preparedness, pointing to enforcement of updated building codes as key to lowering risks of damages from natural disaster. “Improving the resiliency of physical infrastructure requires more stringent building codes and standards, as well as innovative programs, policies, and procedures that encourage adoption and implementation of higher building standards,” the report stated. “Recent standards developed by the ICC (International Code Council – they publish our country’s building codes) are the gold standard of building code requirements. Florida’s experience with updated building codes demonstrates these cost savings in practice. After Hurricane Andrew in 1992, widespread damage to buildings across the state prompted Florida to adopt some of the strongest building codes in the United States. After 10 years of enforcement, the new codes reduced windstorm losses by up to 72 percent and paid for themselves in avoided losses within eight years.”

Considering building a new barndominium? Make a choice not only for monetary reasons, but most importantly for safety. Whether building yourself or hiring a contractor – I implore you to only build (or have built) from fully engineered plans. If hiring an erection contractor, familiarize yourself with those plans enough to know right from wrong. Due daily self-inspections during assembly to ensure those plans are indeed being followed, especially important in jurisdictions not requiring permits, or not doing structural site inspections. Even when inspections are required, even best of inspectors can miss something, so it is prudent to have your eyes involved.

If you do not feel confident of your own abilities to perform inspections, enlist the services of your engineer or an architect to do them for you. This money is well spent to protect your most valuable assets – the lives of you and your loved ones.

Some Building Code History

Some Building Code History

I’ve reflected some in the past about Building Codes from history, where the generally accepted first code was in the Code of Hammurabi: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2013/07/engineer/.

In July of 64 A.D., a great fire ravaged Rome for six days, destroying 70 percent of the city and leaving half its population homeless. According to a well-known expression, Rome’s emperor at the time, the decadent and unpopular Nero, “fiddled while Rome burned.” The expression has a double meaning: Not only did Nero play music while his people suffered, but he was an ineffectual leader in a time of crisis. It’s been pretty easy to cast blame on Nero, who had many enemies and is remembered as one of history’s most sadistic and cruelest leaders—but there are a couple of problems with this story.

ibc-codeFor one thing, the fiddle didn’t exist in ancient Rome. Music historians believe the viol class of instruments (to which the fiddle belongs) was not developed until the 11th century. If Nero played anything, it would probably have been the cithara, a heavy wooden instrument with four to seven strings—but there is still no solid evidence he played one during the Great Fire. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote Nero was rumored to have sung about the destruction of Troy while watching the city burn; however, he stated clearly this was unconfirmed by eyewitness accounts.

When the Great Fire broke out, Nero was at his villa at Antium, some 35 miles from Rome. Though he immediately returned and began relief measures, people still didn’t trust him. Some even believed he had ordered the fire started, especially after he used land cleared by the fire to build his Golden Palace and its surrounding pleasure gardens. Nero himself blamed the Christians (then an obscure religious sect) for the fire, and had many arrested and executed. But while Nero may have been guilty of many things, the story of him fiddling while Rome burned belongs firmly in the category of popular legend rather than established truth.

In reality the fire was not the fault of Nero. Narrow streets, tall buildings, combustible building materials and common walled buildings contributed to the fire’s devastation.

Nero created a new urban plan, following the fire, one which featured wider streets, restrictions on the height of houses; no common walls of buildings and homes which were constructed with fire resistant material such as stone instead of wooden pillars.

Of course to many, building codes are unquestionable safety measures which prevent repeats of historic disasters. American’s relationship with building codes has always revolved around disasters, starting with the original Boston building code which outlawed thatched roofs and wooden chimneys in 1631. Fire safety also inspired new building codes after the disastrous fires in London in 1666 and Chicago in 1871.

Over the years, new codes were created and enforced to protect neighbors from unsafe structures and address the relationships between different buildings. By 1940, three regional code organizations had emerged in the United States. In 2000, the three organizations merged and consolidated into the International Code Council (ICC), which is still active today.

The ICC has been responsible for publishing and enforcing all building codes (known as I-codes), which address specific issues such as energy use, plumbing access, and fire escapes. Today, I-Codes continue to reflect the lessons we’ve learned the “hard way.” For example, utility outages during Hurricane Sandy prompted New York City to convene a special task force and create new codes to increase and maintain access to water and electricity in residential buildings.

There is a common feeling of resistance to having to figure out exactly, and follow local building codes. Unfortunately by bucking the code, people, their beloved pets and possessions are put at great risk.  The codes are written for the safety of all of us. Do yourself and your loved ones a favor: Find out what the code says for your next building, and follow it!