Why Your Church May Be Too Small Your church too small? Maybe you just don’t know it? More and more congregations are looking towards post frame (pole) buildings as a design solution to their growing membership. Post frame buildings offer more space for dollars invested and, let’s face it congregants like to see their contributions […]

Single-Pane Windows When I was first in the post frame (pole barn) building industry almost 40 years ago windows were hardly ever a chosen option, and when they were, they were always single-pane windows. Why? Because the buildings were probably never going to be climate controlled and the single-pane windows were cheap. And, as we […]

Post Frame Homes Proliferate Post frame homes have been a well-kept secret for decades. Well, not only is the bag the cat was in open, but the cat has also leaped out and is running rampantly! Here at Hansen Pole Buildings, we have noticed a significant surge in requests for quotes, as well as general […]

Put the Architect in Charge? I spent several years paying off my college student loans from Architecture school, so I do have a profound respect for architects who have been able to make a living practicing their trade. This, however, does not mean I feel the intervention of an architect is appropriate in all situations […]

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 […]

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 […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am installing re-bar hairpins prepping for a pour in a Hansen pole barn. My question is about the inside poles. I have on rebar per outside pole. Do i put two rebar hairpins on the inside poles?   Thanks ALCUIN in LAVEEN DEAR ALCUIN: The purpose of the rebar hairpins […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: We live in Pacific county in Washington state and wondering what size of truss pole we would be looking at needing for a 60 ft truss. We are in a wind exposure “C” and trusses will be on 12′ centers. The building we are planning will be 60’w x 48’d with […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Could you tell me the pitch of the roof…for small pole barn…..front wall is 10 foot high…back wall is 8 foot high…rafter span is 13 feet. HERBERT in HAMPTON DEAR HERBERT: Roof slopes are expressed as the number of inches of rise per 12 inches of run. 24 inches of rise […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: If I wanted a pool table in 2nd floor I’d assume we might be pushing the floor limit at 40psf? NEIL in CLEVELAND DEAR NEIL: As a general rule of thumb, a slate pool table is going to add a dead load of roughly 100 pounds per foot of length. On […]

Sometimes prospective clients educate themselves just enough to be dangerous – most often dangerous to their own pocket books. I much more prefer a client who comes to us looking for a design solution and assistance in best fitting a building around their needs for today and the future. This is rather than one who […]

Inflation in the marketplace. In 1991 my younger brother Mark and I ventured out into what for us was a brave new world – we were going to be post frame (pole) building contractors. Having spent the decade of the 1980’s selling post frame building kit packages, we had over 6000 buildings of experience behind […]

Modern Post Frame Buildings and Geothermal Over the past few years, there has been a trend towards building modern climate controlled post frame buildings for homes and commercial use, but the HVAC Systems in these buildings remains outdated. Most climate controlled post frame buildings are still being built with inefficient gas or propane furnaces, coupled […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am considering using pole barn construction to add on to an existing metal building I have I also already have a 24×34 foundation were I want to put the add on. This will be a residential building. Would you recommend using drill in slab brackets to connect the post to […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am building a pole barn 50 foot clear span wide, and 70 foot long, 16 foot to the eve. I am using 4×4 metal uprights on 20 foot spans, red iron purlins and stringers, and 4×4 metal welded all around the top. I am using conventional wood trusses engineered for […]

Undertaking a commercial building development is a big step for many businesses and it’s an investment which shouldn’t be taken lightly by any means. Unfortunately, too many commercial developments are rushed into for one reason or another—time constraints force the project ahead and before you know it, you’re left with a project coming in overtime […]

During each 3-year-cycle of the International Building Code (IBC) and International Residential Code (IRC), there exists an opportunity to propose modifications and improve the codes to recognize new and innovative construction.  During the final two weeks in April, the code proposal hearings were held in Louisville, Kentucky where several hundred proposals were discussed and considered […]

I’m not nearly as entertaining as Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman of the Discovery Channel’s MythBusters, but I do my part to entertain and enlighten those who are considering a new building. Somehow it seems the biggest myths are those propagated by the all steel building industry, where I have stepped up to set the […]

Hansen Pole Buildings’ Designer Mike Houska has been working with a client from a rural area near the Great Smoky Mountains. Mike sent this to Hansen Pole Buildings’ co-owner Eric, “See attached quote for xxx@xxxx.com. I had sent previous quote with end shed, overhangs, & windows but he then sent a competitor’s quote without those options. […]

Your Package is a Considerable Amount More! “I like your package a lot but it seems to be a considerable amount more than my other quotes. I have attached the one I received from 84 Lumber. A couple of things are a little different but the bottom line is considerably less. Please let me know […]

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 celebrated my 35th year in the pole building industry in January. I’ve learned a lot and forgotten probably even more in this time. One of the things I have learned is, when quoting any particular post frame building, no one is ever $100 less. They are always $3000 or $5000 less and it is […]

Back in the early 1990’s, when I was building pole buildings, we had constructed a monitor barn for some clients in the Libby, Montana area. For those who are not familiar with the term “monitor barn” it is a main gabled roof, with side sheds or “wings” on each eave side. The height of the […]

Eight Nifty Tricks to Save Money When Building a Pole Barn (reprised) This is Part II of a two part series on pole barn savings through material and feature choices. Bret Buelo of Wick Buildings® wrote an article by this title last year, some of the items I agree with, some not so much. This […]

Eight Nifty Tricks to Save Money When Building a Pole Barn (reprised) Bret Buelo of Wick Buildings® wrote an article by this title last year, some of the items I agree with, some not so much. I will offer my “take” on his points. “1. Spacing of your columns. Builders typically space columns anywhere between six […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Good morning, Mike … I have a question for you. I’m trying to decide between a 30×40 barn and a 60×40 barn. It would have a gambrel roof with a loft. 16′ wide sliding door in the center of the short ends. All other things being equal, what is the cost […]

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” […]

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 […]

Why True Pole Barn Price Shoppers are Never Satisfied I’ve learned a few things in my close to 40 years as a business owner or manager. One of the most important is, there is always some other provider who is willing to sacrifice quality and/or service to sell at a lower price. If everyone was […]

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” […]

Builders – Paying for Convenience Most of us are fairly willing to pay a few extra dollars for convenience. We know it costs us an extra dollar a gallon for milk at the C-Store, but it was right there, we didn’t have to drive two minutes out of our way, find a parking spot, and […]

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” […]

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” […]

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 or Saturday segment.  If you want a quick answer, please be sure to answer with […]

We don’t have network television access out here in the sticks where I live, so we see little TV except for Netflix. Our 19 year-old son Brent was out to visit one afternoon and started watch a program originally aired as a reality TV series in 2010 on the A&E Network. I suppose I always […]

Labor Costs Whether a DIYer (Do It Yourselfer) or looking to hire a contractor, it seems everyone wants to get an idea of what contractor costs are to erect their new pole building. Now I have my very own idea of what is fair. In my mind, labor at 50% of the cost of materials […]

At Half the Price… Every once in a while there is an exchange with a potential client which I cannot resist sharing. This one is about pole barn prices…at half the price of! In this particular case, as the request came in at 7:39 a.m., I was afterwards wondering if the inquiry came after 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” […]

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 […]

When the construction industry imploded in 2008, pole barn builders and suppliers stripped their pole buildings down to the bare essentials (or, in some cases, to less than the bare essentials). This was done in an effort to make the pole buildings more affordable and to not be underpriced by another provider or builder. Even […]

Knowing the Competition Better Than They Know Themselves Hansen Pole Buildings provides post frame building kit packages. Lots of them and in all 50 states! As such, we have lots of clients provide quotes from our competitors, with the idea we will meet or beat the pricing – of lesser featured or poorer quality buildings. […]

What Is The Price Per Square Foot? If one thinks about this question for very long, they might recognize the absurdity of this question. It would be about as practical as going to buy a new car….and asking the price per pound. Or shopping for a new computer….and asking the price per gigabyte of memory. […]

As many of you readers know, Hansen Pole Buildings has a policy of assisting 501(c) (3) organizations. If you are not aware, here is an earlier post which explains how we can assist: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/blog/2013/08/charitable-organizations/ Most of North America was touched by the tragic tornados which devastated the Moore, OK area earlier this year. Companies such […]

In your opinion, what is the single most disruptive force in construction today? This question was recently posted to the Building Products Professionals group on LinkedIn.  The most appropriate response (in my estimation) was, “The usual comment of the purchaser, “keep the quality with you, give me the lowest price”.” Regardless of their use, post […]

While the inspiration for this posting came from an article written about a 4-H Barn at a Minnesota county fairgrounds, it could speak for hundreds, or even thousands of similar livestock barns scattered in fairgrounds across America. “The century-old red wood barn stood bent with age, its rotted walls crumbling and its fractured roof ready […]

From time to time Hansen Pole Buildings is contacted by individuals who are looking for a “price break” for being charitable organizations. Popular examples are for helping military veterans, terminally ill children or animal rescue shelters. While the great majority of these requests seemingly are for good causes, there are so many requests and, in […]

When I was a pole building contractor, I always hated “prevailing wage” projects. It wasn’t just all of the obnoxious extra paperwork and record keeping, it was knowing the taxpaying public was being basically fleeced. Prevailing wage caused the pole building labor cost to be two to three times what it would have been, if […]

Deadbeat Building Owners Who Refuse To Pay Twenty years ago, I was partners in a post frame building construction business with Rod. Rod was generally a no nonsense guy when it came to clients who didn’t play straight. One of our building crews had just completed a pole building garage/shop in Northern Idaho. After reviewing […]

Very few post frame building kit package providers service more than a very small geographic area. While this may give them an intimate knowledge of a local marketplace, how buildings are most often constructed in their area, and expectations from Building Officials – it does come with some risks. In the event their local economy […]

The ‘net is a scary place More “True Confessions” from the Pole Barn Guru….I am a ‘net surfer. Yep, I scour the internet for almost anything I can find on construction related topics (especially pole building related). I have Google Alerts set up so I get notified of almost anything new posted regarding pole buildings, […]

Right to Work Laws seem to have certain logic behind them – worker freedom is safeguarded by not forcing workers to join a union, in order to get a job. Currently a great deal of attention is being paid to state battles over union power, with Right to Work proposals receiving plenty of press nationally. […]

Pole Buildings & Internet Sales Tax Hansen Pole Buildings sells pole building kit packages and materials directly from our website. We collect sales taxes from clients who are building in South Dakota and Washington states, but not from people who live in other states. Under the law, states can only require businesses to collect sales […]

When it comes to the purchase of a new pole building kit package, there are really only three major areas to cover – quality, service and price. Everyone wants to feel they have gotten a good value when they make a major investment, whether it is a vehicle, a house or a new pole building. […]

Pole Barn Contractors I recently read this posting on an internet forum: “Who can build a good pole barn in this area? Looking to build a building and need someone that can build a sturdy pole barn.”  In my mind, this is a reasonable question. And (most importantly) the person posting the question is looking […]