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 […]

Why Are Humans so Resistant to Change? For something which is built into our human DNA, change is something most humans find uncomfortable. Strange when one looks at the history of evolution – we love new things and we normally like improvements around us. Jumping into the Wayback Machine, roughly 25 years ago, as a […]

Steel wrapped poles Hansen Pole Buildings Designer Alan came up with a new client concern recently. His client lost his last barn to a fire, so the client’s idea for his new pole barn is to wrap the poles with light gauge steel, in order to keep them from burning. Of course Alan and I […]

Most contractors didn’t become contractors because they love to communicate. If they did they would be like Bob Villa and have their own TV show. Sometimes what they say seems completely obvious to them, but makes no sense to you. Of course most of what I say seems completely obvious to me, but makes no […]

I was once at a get together at a friend’s house. It was crowded, with about twice as many people as the space comfortably fit (must have been a good party). Being as it was a casual event the kitchen became the hub of activity, with food and drink preparation, cooking, chattering and of course, […]

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 a 40′ L […]

Very few post frame building kit package providers service more than a very small geographic area. While this may give them an intimate knowledge of a local marketplace, how buildings are most often constructed in their area, and expectations from Building Officials – it does come with some risks. In the event their local economy […]

Tornado! What We Didn’t Learn in Moore On the afternoon of May 20, 2013, an EF5 tornado, with peak winds estimated at 210 miles per hour (mph), struck Moore, Oklahoma, and adjacent areas, killing 23 and injuring 377 others. The tornado was part of a larger weather system which had produced several other tornadoes over […]

When Mike the Pole Barn Guru blog was first begun two years ago, I had it in my mind it might be possible to write on say 100 or so topics, provided I really put my mind to it. For those who are keeping track, this happens to be blog #500!! And yes, there are […]

Contractor Contracts Good fences make for good neighbors. Good contracts make for good relationships between a builder and the building owner. Think about it – a contractor without a contract is just a worker and his or her word. Even the most honest person would be hard-pressed to keep track of all the conversations which […]

Can I Build on Bedrock? Email all questions to: PoleBarnGuru@HansenPoleBuildings.com DEAR POLE BARN GURU: It looks like on two of my pole footings (24 x 36 barn) I’m going to hit bedrock about 2.5 feet down into my 4′ footing.  Is my only option to rent a jack hammer and keep chunking away at the […]

According to TKProduct.com: “Drying shrinkage is an inherent, unavoidable property of concrete. Shrinkage of plain concrete drying is .72 inches per 100 feet from its plastic state to a dried state with 50% relative humidity, this shrinkage will take place when the moisture leaves the concrete.” Now this research, on my part, was triggered by […]

I bet they wished they’d followed the Call 811 rule! I live on lake, in the mountains. My lot, much like those of my neighbors, is narrow and deep, with lots of grade change from lake to back of the lots. Nearly two decades ago, I wanted to construct a pole building on the back […]

The ‘net is a scary place More “True Confessions” from the Pole Barn Guru….I am a ‘net surfer. Yep, I scour the internet for almost anything I can find on construction related topics (especially pole building related). I have Google Alerts set up so I get notified of almost anything new posted regarding pole buildings, […]

True confessions time (yes, I know people love it when I confess)…..I do not watch television. Gasp. When apparently popular series’ such as “Friends” and “Seinfeld” ended, I truthfully went, “Huh”? Having never seen an episode of either, the events were meaningless to me. It appears I may have been missing out on something…..the DIY […]

Identifying Tempered Glass Email all questions to: PoleBarnGuru@HansenPoleBuildings.com DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Can you tell me if there is any method to identify glass as being tempered or not without breaking it? Many thanks in advance. SIMPLY SOPHIE DEAR SIMPLY SOPHIE: All glass including mirrors used in hazardous locations as defined in the IBC and […]

“Here at xxxxxx (pole building company) we represent the top quality building companies in the business and build every building with pride. Our trusses are set on 4’ or 5′ centers, unlike many post-frame builders that set their trusses on 8′ or 10′ centers in order to cut costs. The trusses are an important part […]

Right to Work Laws seem to have certain logic behind them – worker freedom is safeguarded by not forcing workers to join a union, in order to get a job. Currently a great deal of attention is being paid to state battles over union power, with Right to Work proposals receiving plenty of press nationally. […]