It didn’t take me long to figure out a building is basically just a structural framework with control layers. Yeah, there’s also electrical, plumbing, mechanical systems, and finishes, but the heart of a building is the stuff which holds it up and which moderates the flows of heat, air, and moisture between in and out. […]

I don’t watch much television. Other than it having limited entertainment value, we live in the sticks – so satellite or cable are really our only choices for any sort of reception. Being frequently on the road, and being busy people, we just can’t justify the expense. So, when I found images of the Food […]

In 1990, I had sold my first business – M & W Building Supply Company of Canby, Oregon and had retired to the city of my birth Spokane, Washington. At the time of my return, Spokane County had enacted an ordinance which greatly restricted the ability of home owners to use their own property as […]

Post frame (pole) buildings are unique in their ability to be constructed without having to pour a concrete slab floor. Often clients will opt to design their buildings without this floor, with the intention of saving money by pouring the floor at a later date. There are some times when this becomes a case of […]

Please, Don’t Let This be You I’ve preached for years about thoroughly checking out anyone or business thoroughly before committing to a large investment. Here is how to check out pole building suppliers: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2015/01/pole-building-suppliers/ And builders: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2013/07/contractor-6/ Apparently not everyone who is looking for a building contacts us, or at the least follows my advice. […]

It seems I am always reading – looking for new content to entertain, inform and enlighten the loyal readers of this column. One of the columns I read is “Ask The Builder” where readers send their questions to Tim Carter looking for advice – much like my Monday, “Ask the Pole Barn Guru” column. Recently, […]

I’ve spoken a lot about the re-purposing of pole buildings for uses other than what was originally intended. Barns become homes, shops, businesses, etc. Here is one which I had never considered, from an October 25, 2015 article first published in www.dailyitem .com and written by Eric Scicchitano (photo by author). “A motorist was flung […]

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 answer with a “reply-able” […]

You have gone to great lengths to get every detail right in your new post frame home. You chose the right company for the design and to provide the plans and materials, the right finishes and colors. But have you chosen the right structural wood components? Are they protected from the threat of fungus, rot and […]

When I ran the prefabricated metal connector plated truss manufacturing plant for Lucas Plywood and Lumber in Salem, Oregon – one of the better framing contractors in town was a builder named Scott Rose. Scott was reliable, did great work and was very reasonably priced with a caveat…..he claimed his middle name was “extra”. As […]

October 17, 1989 at 5:04 p.m. Pacific time, I was the owner of M & W Building Supply Company in Canby, Oregon. At the same time, one of our sales people – Randy Oglevie, was talking on the phone to one of his clients in the San Francisco Bay area. Randy’s client was standing out […]

Why We Don’t Give Out Free Building Plans for Obtaining a Building Permit If I had a dollar for every client (or prospective client) who asked if we would supply them with free building plans to obtain their building permits, I could, at the very least, take a great vacation. I’ve warned people in the past […]

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 answer with a “reply-able” […]

The vinyl windows for your new pole building are delivered and upon inspecting them you find small square holes on the exterior frames of them. While the first thought may be, “Won’t those little holes let cold air in (or warm air out), the reality is these are the window’s weep holes. They are designed and […]

Winds and Stick Frame Construction This first appeared at www.ValleyNewsLive.com on Monday Oct. 12, 2015: “High winds caused a building under construction to fall in Fargo Monday. Parts of a building in the 300-block of 39th Street south, near the Flying J truck stop, fell apart after 1:00 p.m. Monday. City building inspectors say they […]

SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels) are nothing new. The idea for using stress skinned panels began in the depression era with research and testing done primarily by Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin, as part of an USFS (United States Forest Service) attempt to conserve forest resources. Engineers from Forest Products Laboratory weren’t the only ones […]

Snow Load Duration Factor Wood is a natural, fibrous non-homogeneous material.  Because of this wood has several unique characteristics.  One of these properties is duration of load.  This is the ability of wood to resist higher stresses when loads are applied for a short duration of time.  In other words, wood has a higher strength […]

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 answer with a “reply-able” […]

I’m a pretty calm guy. It takes a lot to get a fire stoked under me, but the City of Williston, North Dakota could eventually get me there. And here is why…. The Williston city commissioners are considering making a pole building moratorium on any new metal or pole structures permanent. In my humble opinion, […]

Judy Hansen is a Registered Nurse, who generally worked in smallish hospitals in the area around Browns Valley, MN. Primarily working in or being a nurse manager for 24 years – she pretty well did it all, including delivering her share of little ones into the world. One of her favorite positions was working at […]

My only sibling, younger brother Mark, spent years in the construction industry. Among them were being top selling Building Designer at M & W Building Supply (when I owned it) in Canby, Oregon  and my partner in the post frame (pole) building construction business at Momb Building Systems. Mark is pretty sharp at keeping his […]

The answer is – yes! Back in the late 1960’s in Spokane, Washington Joseph “Joe” Mazzie started Pacific Metal Buildings. Joe is from my father and uncle’s generation and, being in construction (and living in the same general area of town) they were acquainted. Joe developed a reputation as a shrewd businessman, as well as […]

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 answer with a “reply-able” […]

Safe disposal of hazardous chemicals can be a challenge for businesses, residents and landfills. Plymouth County, Iowa came up with a solution, which involved the construction of an approximately 60 by 70 foot pole building. The Regional Collection Center (RCC) encompasses an about 30-by-60-foot space inside. The remaining space is for landfill storage. An about […]

Ritzville, Washington lies along the Interstate Highway between Spokane and Seattle. In the heart of wheat country, it is also home of some huge, cone shaped piles of stored wheat. For many years, I had my lovely bride convinced the wheat piles were there because Ritzville was the home of Nabisco Ritz crackers. Eventually I […]