The National Frame Building Association (NFBA) began 45 years ago when a group of Midwestern post-frame (pole) builders gathered in Chicago to mount a challenge to pending changes in the Indiana building code which would have threatened the post-frame industry. This group, along with interested engineers and architects, was able to prove the structural reliability […]

I’ve come to face a reality – the great majority of people are dimensionally challenged. And it is OK if you might be one of them. I’ve worked with dimensions and sizes of all sorts and shapes since I was a teenager swinging a hammer (and being go-fer) on the buildings my Father and Uncles […]

When I lived in “the Hood” in Salem, Oregon in the early 1980’s, my neighbors and I all had Yamaha street motorcycles. For some reason, we got into riding through the multiple story city parking structure, very fast. Part of the “rush” was the building was designed for vehicles no greater in height than 6’8” […]

Turn On the Water I was recently reading a news story online about a fire which destroyed a pole building located in a Midwest industrial park. The large building was owned by a semi-trailer delivery company, and was a total loss of all contents including their offices. What really caught my attention was a quote […]

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 Polebarn Hotel Looking for uniqueness in a pole building?  Located on Polebarn Road in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, UK, this one might be near the top of the list. Polebarn House was first occupied in 1789 by John Clark, a local mill owner, and his family. The house was designed to show off his wealth and […]

Ridge vent without soffit vent One of the most overlooked areas of pole building construction is proper ventilation. Lack of proper pole building ventilation becomes even a greater issue when an enclosed attic space is present. The International Building Codes require any dead attic space to be ventilated. Without adequate ventilation, moisture from condensation will […]

Great Ideas May Not Always Bring Great Results Much ado has been made about alternatives to CCA (Chromated Copper Arsenate) pressure preservative treated lumber. CCA has been used to pressure treat lumber since the 1940s. Since the 1970s, the majority of the wood used in outdoor residential settings (as well as pole buildings) has been […]

I enjoy Hansen Pole Buildings’ Designers who really like to sink their teeth into a subject. This morning Rick asks me, “Have you ever done a cost comparison on spray foam roof insulation vs the costs of condensation barrier, ceiling load trusses, joists, drywall ceiling and blown in insulation?” The entire question was brought about, […]

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 learn new things every single day. I learned this one when Hansen Pole Buildings’ Designer Rachel shared this with the staff last week: “Spoke to my customer Marion last night and he couldn’t say enough good things about our building.   He lives in his building until he can build his house.  He said they […]

As my long time readers know, I am a proponent of having a high quality housewrap between framing (or sheathing) and siding for any pole building which will be climate controlled. I also try to keep abreast of new products and innovations. Here is one which sounds good, but may not deliver. After two years […]

Whether the backyard is large, or small, it often ends up being the target landing zone for the pole building which needs a place to be. Usually, those with large lots are at an advantage, unless huge setbacks, weird easements, or strange zoning laws mess up ideas, before they can be brought to fruition. Before […]

Once again, we do the research, so you don’t have to! My loyal readers will recognize I have researched some things which maybe no one will ever care about. From my perspective – if it makes a difference to even one person, then it was worth the work. Recently one of our clients asked for […]

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” […]

This is just wrong – in so many ways…. As my loyal readers know, I try to read every posting I can on the ‘net regarding pole buildings. Sadly, more than a few of them are downright scary. These are excerpts from a recent chat room posting: “I built this barn last year. I did 80% […]

Galvanization refers to the coating of steel with zinc.  This is done to prevent rusting of the steel. The value of galvanizing stems from the corrosion resistance of zinc, which, under most service conditions, is considerably greater than steel. The zinc serves as a sacrificial anode, so it cathodically protects exposed steel. This means even if […]

Being in the pole barn blog writing business, I hear from and get a lot of feedback from clients, and potential clients. I’d like to share this with my kind readers: “Dear Sir;  I do appreciate you’re candid effort to offer such a deal, but I am going to be gone starting Dec 27 and […]

On one of my blog postings back in mid-December 2013, we used a photograph of a new Hansen Pole Building which was being used for a wedding. Astute blog reader, happy client and groom Brian spotted the photo and sent me a nice response via my Facebook. Congratulations are in order to Brian and his […]

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” […]

Don’t Itch the Scratch Back in the day (July 1988 to be more precise) I had purchased a brand new black Jaguar XJ6. This was one seriously beautiful car. The first night I took it home, it had to be parked in the driveway, as the garage space had not been rearranged to allow room […]

MAN LAND This was written by Cheryl PaPania (and posted on Facebook), who is an expat living along the coast of Ecuador with her husband Don about his “man-cave” pole building: “January of 2007 my husband, (Don) built a workshop to store his tools, equipment, etc. and also have a place to work out of […]

Break out the Marshmellows… I get Google Alerts for any articles with pole barn or pole building in them. Pretty much every day there are one or more stories about barns burning down (think of how many houses burn down every day in the USA and a barn a day is insignificant). As sad as […]

Getting Screwed, a Powder Coated Screw Story Thank you to our Guest Blogger today-from our Boss –   Eric Graff  – owner of Hansen Buildings Hansen Buildings is very proud that we are one of very few pole building kit suppliers offering our customers powder coated screws. There is nothing more unsightly to me than 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” […]