This story appeared in the Windsor, Ontario, Canada Star June 27, 2013:   “Firefighters had to use a metal cutter and giant airbags Wednesday to rescue a man trapped under a barn collapse. “Upon our arrival, there was one person that was trapped underneath the trusses,” said Essex Fire Chief Ed Pillon.”He was conscious, alert, […]

Things Which Scare the Pooh Out of Me And we are not talking about things which go bump in the night or hide in closets waiting to jump out. Hansen Buildings’ Designer Rick recently ran up against an interesting situation. One of the responsibilities of clients is to verify the code information with their Building […]

Thanks to a High School Student My eldest step-son Jake, started a Facebook Group for students where he taught Physics at Lenore City in Tennessee. One of his students shared this with the group: “Three professionals, a mathematician, a physicist and an engineer, took their final test for their job. The sole question in the […]

Well, It Sounded Good Anyhow On an Internet Forum, was being discussed insulation and condensation control of pole buildings. “Dave” posted: “If you spray foam the interior, for insulation and moisture barrier, there is a polyurethane foam that is rated for fire retardant qualities… and it stops air infiltration….” Dave sent me the link to […]

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 send from a “reply-able” […]

OK, I was web surfing again! My wife thinks I spend all of my time on the ‘net Facebooking….well, I actually do some real research. I found this post recently on www.garagejournal.com, in reference to a comparison between all steel and post frame (pole) buildings. The poster cited this as why he regrets not having […]

Hansen Buildings’ Designer Bob was out visiting a lumber yard recently, and he (being one who always keeps his eyes peeled) noticed a pole building design he had not seen before. Post frame construction yields itself easily to a myriad of different designs, many of which could not easily be done with other construction types. […]

Andy Hinds has been pounding nails into wood ever since he was a kid and gives his father the credit for passing along the carpentry skills. In a recent Atlantic article, Hinds reminisces about helping to build the family cabin in Montana: Dad built walls and sidewalks, installed woodstoves, laid tile, added electrical circuits and plumbing […]

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.  Email all questions to: PoleBarnGuru@HansenPoleBuildings.com DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Will the poles y’all use […]

For decades, the least expensive solution to bringing natural light into post frame buildings has been what is known as “eave lights”. Eave lights are typically short portions of translucent material installed usually in the upper portion of one or both eave sidewalls. Back in “the day”, opaque fiberglass (actually fiberglass reinforced plastic or FRP) […]

As a Wayne Dalton overhead door dealer, Hansen Pole Buildings now has new design options to offer to our valued clients. Thanks to recent enhancements, in several of their garage door lines, Model 8300 doors, part of Wayne Dalton’s Classic Steel line, now offer realistic Walnut and Golden Oak wood-grain color finishes in the Sonoma […]

Taking frequent pictures of a new pole building under construction on is something which just does not happen on a routine basis. These pictures could easily save a world of grief.  I personally believe building owners and contractors should be taking pictures more often than what I usually find is being done. A picture does […]

Eric, one of the owners of Hansen Buildings, was chattering with me today about the number of interesting telephone calls he fields. Many of these are probably due to this blog, as well as “Ask the Pole Barn Guru” – the weekly advice column for those with pole building questions, concerns, or who just are […]

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.  Email all questions to: PoleBarnGuru@HansenPoleBuildings.com DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I have erected a 125’x50′ […]

When we were kids, we (and all the extended family) went camping three times every summer – over Memorial, Independence and Labor Day weekends. Dad was always keeping his eyes open for old cabins. He knew many years ago newspapers were used for insulation, and he often scored on interesting tidbits of history in finding […]

The Following is an Actual Instant Message Conversation between Rachel, one of our in-house building designers and myself. Rachel: Builder on the phone. Rachel: He is wondering why we wouldn’t make the trusses smaller so all the pole lengths would the same? Polebarnguru: I have no idea yet what he is asking. Rachel: He says […]

Like the durability of steel roofing, but not the look of standing seam or through screwed steel? Look no further. Steel shingles are manufactured to provide a unique look in a durable, energy-efficient, recyclable roofing product. Believe it or not, there are consumers out there who want all steel has to offer, but don’t want […]

I’ve spent nearly four decades actively involved in the construction industry. From “gopher” on jobsites, framer, drywaller, sawyer in a truss plant, truss designer, salesman, forklift and truck driver, crane operator, general contractor, business owner and a litany of other job titles, I’ve covered a lot of turf. From experience I generally know how to […]

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.  Email all questions to: PoleBarnGuru@HansenPoleBuildings.com DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I’ve decided I’m going to […]

Greg, one of my blog readers, posted a comment online in regards to using ¼” foam fanfold insulation between roof purlins and roof steel. While I have seen this used, I have never done it myself, so I felt it was due time to get on my research tennies and find out more. Fanfold insulation […]

Consumers can protect themselves from unscrupulous, often unlicensed pole building contractors. By following the following suggestions, it minimizes the possibility of becoming a victim to this all too common problem.   Deal only with a licensed contractor. Many states, as well as smaller jurisdictions require contractors for construction services to be registered or licensed. The […]

When I was a pole building contractor, I always hated “prevailing wage” projects. It wasn’t just all of the obnoxious extra paperwork and record keeping, it was knowing the taxpaying public was being basically fleeced. Prevailing wage caused the pole building labor cost to be two to three times what it would have been, if […]

Deadbeat Building Owners Who Refuse To Pay Twenty years ago, I was partners in a post frame building construction business with the late Rod Sevy. Rod was generally a no nonsense guy when it came to clients who didn’t play straight. One of our building crews had just completed a pole building garage/shop in Northern […]

What Type of Screws Should I Use? Email all questions to: PoleBarnGuru@HansenPoleBuildings.com DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Screws.  I have used the common hex-head with steel/neoprene washer many times in the past.  I have had some of them rust, and over the 16 years one building has stood many of them now appear loose, washers not […]