All-in-One Door Seal Kit The following article was originally produced and published at www.Builderonline.com, who is solely responsible for its content. This story is being republished to raise awareness of information publicly available online and the accuracy of author’s claims has not been verified. As such, we cannot vouch for the validity of any facts, […]

You want a new pole barn, so you put together some plans, order up some materials, have them delivered and start building. In all of this excitement something was overlooked – acquiring a Building Permit! Reader SHELBY in COLORADO writes: “Hello, My name is Shelby, my father and I are trying to build a pole […]

Master Seal® Flow Cone Washers Master Seal® washers are assembled to a wide variety of Leland Industries fasteners, including diaphragm screws utilized in Hansen Pole Buildings. Flow Cone Washers (US Patent #4292876) utilize vulcanized Grey or Black EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer) to special dished dome galvanized washers. This EPDM flows up into a cone […]

The Pole Barn Guru helps with installing insulation in wet seasons, properly treated posts, as well as a solution to embedded posts when bedrock is present. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hello. I am ready to install the insulation and metal on our pole building’s roof. I remember reading how it is important to install the […]

Foundations – Post Frame Keeps It Simple Post frame (pole building) construction affords a plethora of savings for a new building owner, chief amongst these are foundation simplicity. I’ve previously expounded upon foundation savings in post frame construction as compared to stick frame buildings: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2011/10/buildings-why-not-stick-frame-construction/. Today I will add some graphics to reinforce (pun intended) […]

Animal Control Shelter Pole Buildings Pole (post frame) buildings are ideal structures for animal control shelters. They can be constructed with a minimal financial outlay as compared to other building systems. They can be assembled by volunteers and ready for occupancy in a short time frame. Wide clearspans allow for total flexibility of interior spaces […]

Help! My Overhead Door Jambs Are Rotting! I am fairly certain this problem occurs more often than I hear about. Reader DAVID in ROLLING PRAIRIE writes: “Enclosed are two pictures showing my pole building’s overhead door. One picture is the inside door jamb that is decaying from water damage and the other one is a […]

Gordon Miller photo Pole Barn Ignorance After spending pretty well my entire adult life in some facet of my industry, it becomes amazing to me to find pole barn ignorance. Other than recent immigrants to our country, and maybe those who have never traveled outside of urban areas most everyone should have some inkling as […]

The Pole Barn Guru addresses questions about frost heave, a sliding door dilemma, and plans on climate control. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hello. Do you have any information regarding how to avoid frost movement with Pole Barn Building designs in stony ground and cold climates such as Norway? There is a building nearby that had […]

Post Frame Roof Top Decks Question: Can decks be constructed upon a post frame roof top? Answer: Yes, and it may prove far simpler than one might expect. Our typical request from clients generally revolves around having a very slightly sloping roof and to use EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) rubber as roofing over plywood. […]

500 Year Storm and wind exposure. Allstate® Insurance has a TV commercial featuring actor Dennis Haysbert. Haysbert sits in an open field and questions why there have been 26 “once in 500 years storms” in last decade, when term alone implies they should only happen every 500 years. View Allstate® commercial here: https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=crmas&p=Allstate+once+in+500+years+storm+commercial#id=1&vid=b134fa05aba0ff046debaea22891c23d&action=click IBC (International […]

Ceiling Vapor Barriers in Post Frame Construction A ceiling vapor barrier or no, in post frame (pole building) construction? Good question. For most of my life I have lived where it tends to get chilly in winter. Here in Northeast South Dakota it can not only be chilly, but downright frigid. It has been drummed […]

What is a Building Official, and what is their Scope of Work? The average potential new post frame owner (as well as most building contractors) has little or no idea of what a Building Official’s scope of work truly is. Sean Shields and Kirk Grundahl, P.E. (Professional Engineer) recently published an article in SBC Magazine […]

The Pole Barn Guru assists with questions about pole size, the “right” sized building, and a picture is worth a thousand words. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I have a question on a pole barn.  I’m thinking of 50 by 60 and about 14ft high or so.  On the 4/4 poles, how far apart should they […]

Ask The Builder Tim Carter just celebrated his 25th anniversary of his “Ask the Builder” syndicated newspaper column. When I began writing “Ask the Pole Barn Guru”, I was unaware of Tim and his column. To commemorate this event, Tim penned this article: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/sep/29/ask-the-builder-reflections-on-25-years-writing-ab/. There are some highlights of Mr. Carter’s I totally agree with […]

Plywood Siding Z-Flashing My first full time construction job was as an MEI (Momb Enterprises, Inc.) slave working for my framing contractor father and his brothers. 1970’s found T1-11 plywood siding to be very popular (as were disco balls) and we installed plenty of it. Where walls were higher than available panels of T1-11, one […]

Moisture from condensation can be a major issue in initially poorly thought out pole barns. Reader MATT in SHAKOPEE writes: “Hi. I am having issues with moisture in my pole barn. It is getting to the point that mold is starting to show up on the walls and cement floor. The barn is about 28 […]

Examining a Light Steel Truss Frame Building I have never owned or assembled a light steel truss frame building. A gentleman named Stan Floyd worked for me as a salesman when I owned M & W Building Supply. Stan’s dad had fabricated light steel truss frame buildings in Arkansas and Stan was interested in developing […]

Today the Pole Barn Guru answers questions about “rafter” spacing, how to best dispose of old posts, and where to run electrical wiring. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Can I place rafters 48” apart on 24 x 40 pole barn with steel roof? DAVE in BAY CITY DEAR DAVE: I will interpret your “rafters” to be […]

Mortarless Masonry Exterior Options for Pole Buildings Today’s guest blogger is Jim Weidner, Commercial Project Manager for Rochester Concrete Products. Throughout the years, pole (post frame) buildings have evolved. At one time, pole buildings were constructed for a person’s shop, garage, or just a storage building. Those uses still remain, but now pole buildings are […]

Avoiding Condensation When Insulating Existing Pole Barn The last thing people want to have to deal with would be condensation dripping in their pole barn. When an originally unheated cold storage building becomes repurposed to be climate controlled, possible condensation poses some new challenges. If you are reading this article and plans are to construct […]

How to Frame a Reverse Gable Porch Reverse gable porches are an excellent way to protect any door from effects of weather – specifically rain and snow. I personally feel they are an underutilized great feature. For more reading about reverse gable porches: http://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2015/07/reverse-gable-porch/. Today’s article has been sparked by reader DARRELL in ATLANTA who […]

Closing Top of Corner Trims I am so enjoying Hansen Pole Buildings’ client RYAN in ELLENSBURG. Ryan has been assembling his own new post frame building and really cares about his end result. He asks good questions, open to advice and doing a very nice assembly. Ryan recently wrote: “I’m working on putting all the […]

Today the Pole Barn Guru answers questions about installing buildings, adding on to an existing structure, and custom designs. DEAR POLE BARN GURU: If we purchased from your company do have does it come with installing in Hedgesville WV. Thank you. BRENDA in HEDGESVILLE DEAR BRENDA: Our buildings are designed to be able to be […]

Lean To, Or Not to Lean To? Over my post frame building career I have seen a plethora of buildings designed with an enclosed clearspan enclosed space plus a shed roof (or lean to) for one or both sides. Most often just a roof, a lean to provides shade and not much else for whatever […]