We are on day 4 of working on a garage for my oldest step-son’s father-in-law in Happy Valley Tennessee.  You might want to skip back to Monday of this week, and skim through to catch on my day by day account of building a garage. – Last I left you, we encountered a problem of […]

This week I am relating a recent day by day account of putting up a pole building for my oldest step-son’s father-in-law in Happy Valley, Tennessee.  Check back to Monday for the beginning of this string. On to day two on the jobsite…another sunny day.  (Read that as “oppressively hot and humid”.) Jake picked up […]

If you did not read last Friday’s blog – go back and catch up.  This one will make more sense! Since the posts for Steve’s new garage were already in place, the worst of the work – playing in the dirt, was out of the way. Even when I have set my own poles, the […]

While most Hansen Buildings clients are looking to construct their own buildings, a fair number don’t want to do the dirty work themselves. They are looking for a builder who can at least construct the building shell for them. I haven’t been a building contractor personally in over a decade. Over the past few years […]

Life has now ended….nothing worse could ever happen…..ever….send my money back. No – failure to get through an initial plan check is not a reason for suicide planning, or to be jumping up and down screaming. Whether the building (or just plans) were provided by us, or anyone else – the first step is to […]

When I was just a little tyke, my Mother used to watch Art Linkletter’s “House Party”. A highlight of his show was the segment, “Kids Say the Darndest Things”. I have my own version, “Potential Building Owners Say the Darndest Things”. Our Building Designer Lauri seems to be a magnet for these lately. Here she […]

Bob, one of our Building Designers, comes up with some truly great questions. I appreciate him keeping me thinking! Today Bob writes, “Any reason why a client in Louisiana would not be able to have a post-tension slab installed in one of our buildings? Apparently it’s a slab suggested in his area because of the […]

It is always a pleasure to be able to assist potential clients by answering their construction related questions. Client Randy asks: “I have gotten a bid for my building, but became aware that this will not be a “pre-fab” kit. My question is related to the cutting of the 29 gauge steel panels. What is […]

In 2000, I worked for a company who manufactured glu-laminated columns (or “glu-lams”) for post frame buildings. My job was to call on pole builders and companies which provided post frame building kits, to introduce the features and benefits of the product. I also interacted with lumberyards and wholesale lumber companies, in order to get […]

I was a general contractor for years, registered in multiple states. From time to time we would have clients question whether we had the capacity to perform. In other words, “would we finish the project as promised?” The states I was registered in all had contractor bond requirements, in order to secure a license. In […]

Lauri is one of the newer members to the Building Design team at Hansen Pole Buildings. Pole buildings, while having the appearance of being fairly simple, are actually remarkably complex structures and involve the proper interaction of literally thousands of components. Due to this, it is not surprising for a question to come up, which […]

I do not set out purposefully to learn something new every day, it just seems to happen. Today, Rachel, the most senior Building Designer at Hansen Buildings asked me if I had ever heard of a slip sheet. When I inquired of her further, she advised she was looking at a set of plans for […]

When I was a general contractor constructing pole buildings, we provided a fair number of concrete slabs in buildings. We always guaranteed one thing – the floor will crack! Not the answer people wanted to hear, but it was the truth. Concrete may be the longest lasting and most economical building material of all time. […]

I have been asked this question more than a few times, by potential do-it-yourselfers, who are considering constructing their own buildings. Jeff, one of the Building Designers at Hansen Pole Buildings, got asked this very same question again yesterday. I am certain most people ask this question, as they are considering how to go about […]

Yesterday I was having an ongoing discussion with a client about concrete finishing and his budget. From Elko, Nevada, the client was weighing whether he should hire a contractor to “turnkey” his new 30’ x 40’ pole building, or to construct it himself. In this instance, turnkey would include providing the design and materials, constructing […]

A raised heel truss is much like it sounds: the heel of a conventional metal plated roof truss, where the bottom chord intersects with (and bears on) the perimeter pole building wall columns and is fitted with a vertical member which literally raises the top chord of the truss. Now this is nothing new. Back […]

Steel roofed post frame buildings are not required to have ice and water shields installed beneath them (International Building Code – Section 1507.4).  However for most other types of roofing it is definitely a consideration, or even a requirement. IBC Section 1507.2.8.2 requires ice dam protection in areas where the average daily temperature in January […]

My maternal grandfather passed away at age 82, back in December 1990. Now the grandparents had been married for nearly 60 years, but grams still had lots of life in her. In 1991 Grandma Jerene started dating a widower from her church, Bob. Bob was a retired meteorologist – he had run the National Weather […]

We were at a vendor event for the DirectBuy in Beaverton, Oregon when a member approached us looking for advice on how to seal an existing concrete floor in her pole barn. It seems the floor is always damp. I’ve always recommended placing an insulated vapor barrier beneath any new interior concrete floor. I’ve had […]

I’ve designed probably a thousand indoor riding arenas in the past three decades. One thing I have never heard from a client is – my riding arena is just too big! As I have heard my lovely bride tell hundreds of people – the cost of building is having four corners, once you have them, […]

Happy 4th of July! On holidays, I take a day to relax, and “re-run” some of my most highly read blogs.  From over a year ago, today’s subject has been viewed close to 8,000 times.  Yes, that’s 8 thousand. So here you go, for what I consider one of the hottest topics in pole building […]

I will confess….I have never ridden a horse. My daughter Bailey has more than averaged out the hours for me, as she has probably logged at least an entire year of 24 hour days in the saddle over the past decade. I’ve been in countless riding arenas and have yet to see posted riding rules […]

My daughter Bailey is a professional horse trainer in Canby, Oregon (blatant plug for her here – https://www.baileymombtraining.com). Last weekend I watched her, and horses and riders she trains, at the TWHEAO (Tennessee Walking Horse Exhibitor’s Association of Oregon) Summer Extravaganza in McMinnville, Oregon. Own a horse or horses, ride frequently and don’t have an […]

I once heard an anecdotal story about a man who had a choice to stand in one of two lines – for brains, or trains. He had always wanted to be an engineer, so he picked the line for trains…. OK, so it wasn’t necessarily funny. If you’ve ever been involved with a commercial building, […]

If you didn’t read the last two days’ blogs, Part I and II of a three part series on how to design a woodworking shop, I’d advise you to back up a day or two and read them. To finish up on how to best design your woodworking shop… Design your building with adequate electric […]