Tag Archives: steel sliding doors

Pole Barn Guru on Crossbuck Doors

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 have a client in Akron, Indiana with a new horse arena.  The new horse arena has custom crossbuck doors on it, but the owner does not like them due to overall weight, and that they are constructed with a plywood backing.  The plywood baking is a problem because my client waters down the sand inside the barn and that moisture is starting to warp the doors.  If you would, can you provide me with information on how you construct your custom crossbuck doors?  Do you have an option that would eliminate all wood and reduce the weight?

The door sizes are as follows: (2) 10’x10’ (1) 16’x14’ Please feel free to give me a call to discuss. ARCHITECT IN AKRON

DEAR ARCHITECT: We actually do not construct custom crossbuck doors ourselves, we purchase them from third party vendors – who use plywood on the inside of the doors (appears to be pretty much an industry standard). While they look very lovely from the street, the issues your client has raised, along with the extreme cost make them less than the idea choice for most applications. The best option, for most people, is to use a steel framework door which has 29 gauge steel siding screwed to the outside face of the framework – it will be lightweight, won’t twist or warp and is affordable.

Mike the Pole Barn Guru

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I’m building a barndominum and would it be ok to pour a flat slab and have the sheet metal come down over the edge of slab? BARNDOMINIUM BUILDING

DEAR BARNDOMINIUM: As long as the bottom edge of the steel (or any base trim) is at least four inches above the highest point of the outside grade, it should not be an issue. In most instances, a 2×8 pressure preservative treated splash board is installed to a level point with the highest point of grade even with the bottom of the splash board. (You can read more about concrete slab installation here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/blog/2012/09/concrete-slab-3/)

The steel siding will later be attached to the outside of the splash board, with the bottom point of the base trim drip edge being at four inches up from the bottom of the splash board. This allows for any exterior concrete landings, sidewalks or driveways to be poured against the splash board, without being against the steel.

Mike the Pole Barn Guru

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hello, I have an existing 6×6 pole building with a center clear span of 20ft., two side bays of 12ft. each and a thick cement slab. I would like to raise the center clear span by 4 feet. Would it be reasonable to bolt taller poles to the existing center ones and then add new trusses to those? EAGER IN ENUMCLAW

DEAR EAGER: The operative word in your request is probably the term “reasonable”. What you have in mind is at the best a major undertaking which should only be considered after review from a qualified RDP (Registered Design Professional – engineer or architect), who can evaluate your circumstances thoroughly from a site visit. Your Building Department is going to require engineer sealed plans and calculations for any proposed project of this nature, so you might as well start off on the right foot, in the event you actually decide to move forward with this project.

And a quick word for those planning on “putting up a pole barn”….make sure you plan for any possible future additions/changes.  What may seem “tall enough” now, may not be down the road (taller RV, combine, adding in a vehicle lift, etc.).

Mike the Pole Barn Guru

How to Replace Skylights

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 have fiber glass roof light panels and they are leaking and damaged. I need new skylights. They have to match my old steel panels. Do you know where I can get some? HICCUP IN HINCKLEY

DEAR HICCUP: This is an ongoing issue with people who used fiberglass panels in roofs for skylights. The information you are seeking maybe found by reading: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/blog/2014/09/skylights-2/

Mike the Pole Barn Guru

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Do you sell just the large rolling track style doors? AIRY IN ALASKA

DEAR AIRY: Although our prime business is providing complete post frame (pole) building kit packages, we can supply just the components for sliding doors. We are happy to help you – Please be aware – there will be a considerable amount of freight in shipping a sliding door package to any location, and even more so in your case – Alaska. Please send any sliding door package assembly requests to Eric@HansenPoleBuildings.com

Mike the Pole Barn Guru

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I’m planning on having a pole barn built to be used as a shop building for my business. I want to insulate the roof and walls. The walls are easy, but I am not sure how to economically insulate the roof. The roof is supported by a pair of trusses bolted to each side of the pole (actually a 6 by 6 pressure treated post). Purlins are 2 by 6’s placed 24 inches on center, running parallel to the ridge. There is a vapor barrier “insulating blanket” (really very thin) on top of the purlins under the steel roofing panels. It is there to prevent condensation and subsequent raining inside the building.

One idea would be to nail 2 inch thick foil faced foam panels to the underside of the purlins, then 1 by 3 strapping nailed 16 inches o.c. perpendicular to the purlins, to create a three-quarter inch air space between the foam panels and the half-inch drywall nailed to the strapping. I’ve specified the roof be built to support the weight of the drywall.

Do you have better and or cheaper ideas? WANTING IN WASHINGTON

DEAR WANTING: Although it has little to do with insulating your building, I’ll start with a structural concern – instead of placing trusses on each side of the columns, I would recommend they be nailed face-to-face without blocking between, then placed into a notch cut into the tops of the columns. The trusses then actually act as a pair, as opposed to two individual trusses spaced apart. This greatly reduces the possibility of a catastrophic failure due to one individual truss failing, as the probability of the two joined trusses having the exact same weak point is infinitesimally small.

Moving forward – typically columns (and trusses) in your part of the country are spaced every 10 or 12 feet. If 2×6 roof purlins are to be used, they will not be able to carry the weight of the drywall without undue deflection.

Let’s go to simple, better and easy. In your proposed version, a large area is being created above the plane of the bottom chord of the trusses and below the drywall – where all of the heat is going to rise to. You will have to heat a large volume of space, which is not able to be utilized.

Instead – specify the trusses to be fabricated with a raised heel (see https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/blog/2012/07/raised-heel-trusses/). Install 2×6 ceiling joists at 24 inches on center between the roof truss bottom chords, using a Simpson LU24 or similar hanger at each end. Install 5/8” gypsum wallboard across the underside of the ceiling joists. Blow in cellulose or fiberglass insulation, or use unfaced batt insulation above the drywall.

Be sure to include specifications to ventilate the dead attic space: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/blog/2014/02/pole-building-ventilation/

These steps will allow you to climate control the least amount of space, with the least cost to achieve the insulating system.

Mike the Pole Barn Guru