International Residential Code and Tension Ties Reader DENNIS in TRAVERSE CITY writes: “ICC R602.10 is written to work with continuous foundations and vertical studs, not posts in holes and horizontal girts. How does a person translate bracing into post-frame language? An answer addressing tension ties would be helpful.” From the 2015 International Residential Code (IRC): […]

Raising Sections of Pole Barn Roofs Reader LONNIE in COLORADO SPRINGS has some ideas about how to raise sections of his new post frame (pole barn) building roof. For your reading pleasure, I will share: “My question is concerning the assembly of my Hansen kit. I’ve read your article about using winch boxes to raise […]

Building a Pole Barn Style Home Reader DAVID from NINE MILE FALLS writes: “I am building a pole barn style home. I am having a difficult time in finding what the requirements would be for post setting and post distance spacing in regards to a pole barn used for living spaces. I plan on using […]

I personally have a great deal of fun working with the majority of our clients, most of whom are truly wonderful. The most rewarding part is when those who have done the work themselves share with us what I refer to as “post frame satisfaction”. This satisfaction is in part due to the new building […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I bought a home that has a newer pole barn (40×56, laminated 6″x6″ posts 8′ o.c…. 12′ walls) and the entire barn is wrapped with bubble wrap between the metal and perlins / girts. Would it be acceptable to frame 2×4 walls, and place bat insulation in the stud spaces? I […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I like the idea of a 2-stall garage with second level for storage. Is a second level storage area more economical than increasing the square footage of the building? Lot less concrete. JOEL in INDEPENDENCE DEAR JOEL: Only in rare instances is it more cost effective to go up, instead of […]

Extreme Efforts to Match Post Frame to House Reader JOSH from POST FALLS and I have previously communicated. He is doing what I refer to a piecemealing – putting together his own building by making repeated trips to the local lumber yard (learn more about piecemealing here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2014/03/diy-pole-building/. Josh’s new post frame garage is adjacent […]

Roofing Before Siding If I am not mistaken, somewhere in the not too distant past I have expounded upon how I know a particular builder is or was a stick frame builder. How can I tell? The giveaway is they feel compelled to build the walls before the roof. I’ve listened to many experienced post […]

“How to Make a Post Frame Building Air Tighter” One of our clients who is currently constructing his building recently wrote:  “Chapter 21 Wall Steel page 142 indicates, “Install sidewall steel perpendicular to base trim (plumb), holding wall steel up 1/4” from level base trim surface.” With the ¼” gap there would be openings for […]

How to Frame a Roof Corner With a Dropped Top Chord End Truss Josh and I are becoming better acquainted with each other. Josh happened to not have invested in a Hansen Pole Buildings’ engineered post frame kit package and as such – didn’t have a source of Technical Support which could guide him through […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Do you build houses from the ground up? ERIC DEAR ERIC: We are not contractors, so we do not build anything for anyone anywhere. Our post frame building homes are designed for the average person who can and will read instructions to successfully construct their own home – even without the […]

Post Frame Hotels Over the years my lovely bride and I have spent many a night in one hotel or another in nearly every state in the continental United States. We’ve been in small ones and large ones, nice ones and ones which were not quite so nice. One thing which I noticed early on […]

Rehashing Eave Height Eave height on post frame buildings seems to be a challenge for some folks. At Hansen Pole Buildings, we do make some efforts to see to it our clients (or more often the builders some of them hire), actually build to the correct height. How important is it to get this correct? […]

Post Protector Surprise Reader CONNOR from INDIANAPOLIS and I recently had an exchange in regards to the holes of his new post frame building. Connor is proposing to use Post Protectors on the columns of his building. What he has yet to realize is there is going to be a hidden surprise with the use […]

Can I Build a Pole Barn on My Concrete Slab? I dove off from the turnip truck a long time ago, so I have seen a lot of strange things constructed over my nearly 60 year lifetime. Sometimes strange is good, usually not so good. What is remarkable are the structures which are constructed directly […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: My Plyco rollers are wearing prematurely since I added liner to my doors. Can I put a 3rd roller in the center of each leaf to spread out the additional load? BRAD in EL DORADO DEAR BRAD: If these are round Plyco trolleys, your door must be very heavy. I say […]

Can Wall Girts Be Installed Before The Trusses? In my travels over the years I have seen more than a few post frame buildings under construction. When I find one being constructed by a building contractor, if the wall girts are installed before the roof, it is an immediate giveaway to the builder having been […]

I Want The Bottom of My Poles At The Same Depth Reader CONNOR in CINCINNATI writes: “Dear Pole Barn Guru, I am putting up a 24’x32’x10′ pole barn to serve as a garage. Last weekend I augered my 24″ holes to accommodate 48″ post embedment plus a 10″ concrete footer. A ready-mix company is coming […]

Maximizing Barn Door Width for your pole barn. No different than encouraging folks to construct the largest building which will fit on their property and be within budget, when planning your new post frame building, maximize the width of doors to achieve the greatest functionality for your barn. Here is a case in point….. Reader […]

Are My Columns Too Small or Too Short? We receive and answer lots of questions. Even with a Construction Guide which extends over 500 pages, covering a plethora of topics and how to’s, there is always an unanswered question (sometimes two). One of our good clients recently sent a query to the Hansen Pole Buildings’ […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Do you have to use the same size posts on the end walls even if it is non load bearing? so if I use 6×6 posts that hold the trusses can I use smaller lumber on the non load bearing ends? Thank you. CAMERON in BOISE DEAR CAMERON: This is why […]

Rusted Roof on Old Pole Barn Reader DAVE in GRANDVILLE writes: “I have a technical question. I have a older Hansen pole barn that previous homeowners had built. Guessing 20yrs old +/-. Roof is showing approx 75% rusted with no paint left and all steel on bld. is 50% gone as well. I’m looking to […]

In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey nearly all Americans have seen video of the devastation across the coastal lowlands of Texas. Over and over photos of water logged drywall and carpets being torn out of homes which were flooded by epic rainfalls of biblical proportion were enough to churn my gut. Especially as so much […]

Post Frame Insulation in the Hot and Humid South Reader RICK in LUCEDALE writes: “Dear Pole Barn Guru, I am in the planning stage for designing a post frame house. I live in a “Hot and Humid” climate in the southern US. Joseph Lstiburek, a building science guru, suggests having an unvented roof for my […]

Post Frame Apartment Buildings I have thought about the possibilities of constructing apartments using post frame construction for years, however a recent query from reader DERRICK in CINCINNATI brought it to the forefront of my thoughts. Dave writes: “Can you build apartment buildings out of your products? Nothing fancy. Just affordable living in a rural […]