Hansen Pole Buildings Designer Rick and I were having a discussion about the amount of headroom needed for a horse riding arena which would be for hunter/jumpers. I referred him to a previous article I had written on the subject: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/blog/2014/02/riding-arenas/ Rick used to play some serious polo, against folks like the Busch brothers (yes, […]

There are a certain percentage of folks who live in a dream world where hiring a Building Contractor to “turnkey” their pole building project makes life all good and happy. They hire a contractor to provide the materials, as well as the labor. Back in my early days of owning M & W Building Supply, […]

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” […]

What if the Golden Gate Bridge Had Been Hot-Dip Galvanized? For those of you who are reading my articles for the first time, I will warn you – I am a little bit of a structures nut. I really want to know about how things work and are assembled, and why. Besides being a structures […]

Post-Frame Building Design Manual Back in 2000 the then National Frame Builders Association (now National Frame Building Association – NFBA www.nfba.org) published the ground breaking first edition of the Post-Frame Building Design Manual. In the foreword, then NFBA President James T. Knight so aptly wrote: “The movement of the post-frame building into the commercial marketplace […]

Upgraded Building at No Additional Cost If you seriously believe this drop me a note – I have some swampland for sale! There are three parts to anything being invested in – price, quality and service. The tough part is, the purchaser is only going to get two of the three. Here is an actual […]

A couple of years ago Hansen Pole Buildings Designer Rick and I had a discussion about interesting people I had done pole building projects for. (Read more about them at: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/blog/2013/03/pole-building-11/). One person I had left off my previous list was famous Pacific Northwest sculptor and artist Harold Balazs. While most folks outside of the […]

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” […]

What I get to do every day is nothing short of fun. My life is full of interesting questions from many different angles. Today’s opportunity is compliments of Hansen Pole Buildings Designer Rachel who writes, “Guy called asking on the vapor barrier.  I know we have discussed this before but I want to make sure […]

Available Space, Budget and Imagination I’ve always said these three things – available space, budget and imagination are the only limitations when it comes to pole building design. Available space – I’ve now been personally involved in around 16,000 pole buildings. Yes, for those who are curious, it is a lot of pole buildings. After […]

My first exposure to tongue and groove lumber was when I managed the prefabricated metal plate connected wood truss manufacturing facility at Lucas Plywood and Lumber back in 1979. I’d relocated from Northern Idaho to Salem, Oregon to take the position. (Read more about Lucas Plywood and Lumber here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/blog/2011/06/theres-no-education-like-real-life-business-experience/) The most common method of […]

A Tape Measure Idea The design upon which most modern spring tape measures are built was patented by Alvin J. Fellows in 1868. But even a better mousetrap doesn’t always catch on immediately. In 1922 Hiram Farrand received another patent and within a few years the Farrand Rapid Rule was being mass produced and was […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: What’s more energy efficient when building a house with steel siding versus Hardieboard siding? QUESTIONING IN QUEBEC DEAR QUESTIONING: Hardiepanel® is a registered trademark and product of the James Hardie Company. It has an R value of 0.34 per 1/2 inch of thickness. Steel siding panels have a negligible R value, so […]

Exterior Landings for Egress Entry Doors Picture this….. From inside of your new pole building, you open an entry door (person/man or similar descriptor) door and step out onto…..mud? Sorry, but this scenario is not going to meet with the requirements of the Building Codes. From the 2012 IBC (International Building Code): 1008.1.5 Floor elevation.  […]

Regardless of what side of the climate change argument one is on – it has been snowing in Massachusetts this winter. A lot. Late January’s Winter Storm Juno alone brought up to 36 inches of snow in some parts of Massachusetts. https://www.weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-juno-snow-totals-wind-gusts As if Juno wasn’t enough, another storm followed – leaving so much snow […]

Back in 2007, we designed and provided a pole building kit package for Chris W. in North Carolina. Chris’ building is 40 foot wide by 50 feet long enclosed with a 14 foot eave height. Along one sidewall his building has a 20 foot wide roof only shed, with a 10’ low eave. In order […]

Curl-Lok™ Sheet Steel Doors Back in 1991 my brother and I built a 100 unit self-storage facility just north of Athol, Idaho on Highway 95. Through a series of unfortunate events, I ended up as the “don’t want to be the owner” of the property until I sold it to the current owners (www.FarragutStorage.net). I […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: How long will a pole barn house last? Should I pour concrete in with the poles? Should I put sleeves on the bottoms of the poles? Question from Karen Sasakwa, OK DEAR KAREN: A properly treated pressure treated timber should outlast the lifetime of any of us here on the planet today. […]

Plans, plans, plans…. As one might imagine, with about two hundred new clients contacting us every day, we have some conversations amongst ourselves which are frankly at the least – interesting. I listened in on a discussion between Hansen Pole Buildings’ Designer Matt and Managing Partner Eric recently. Matt, “I have a lead that the […]

Loafer’s Sports Bar and Grill Back in one of my earlier lives, I spent a fair amount of time hanging out in the Baltimore area, as a good friend of mine was going to school at the University of Maryland – Catonsville and I had scored a significant number of $198 round trip air passes […]

A very common statement is: “I love my building, but hate my doors.” Don’t put cheaply made inferior doors on a great building. Not all door companies offer the same quality! Hansen Pole Buildings has provided a significant number of pole building hangars located all across the country. By far, the most prevalent choice by […]

I don’t often share multiple photos of our client’s workmanship, however this case is worth the exception as this pole building is exceptionally well done and has a fair number of features which make it more than just a rectangular box. The 100 foot long building features a center 30 foot width clearspan, with a […]

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” […]

Thin Hair and a Flat Forehead In my most recent past life (a.k.a the 1990’s) I was a post frame (pole) building contractor based in Spokane, Washington. At one time we had as many as 35 crews constructing buildings in six states. Even though I jokingly tell people this is why my hair is thin […]

From the Client Mailbag… Lots of good stories out there and I have been in the mode to share stories lately. Here is one which went through our Technical Support Department recently: “Today I visited the building inspector. I was confirming my intentions of building a Hansen designed structure. The reason is I already have […]