Roof Leaks: Where does condensation come from? When the weather turns cool in the fall, we get calls from customers with “roof leaks”, even when it has not been raining. These “leaks” are actually from condensation and are often reported as, “My steel roof is sweating”. Steel roofing does not sweat. Having no sweat glands, […]

Green Buildings: The Economics of Building with Wood Anyone can equip a building with a few energy efficient features and call their product “green”, but a true move to sustainability in low rise buildings means improving the building process itself. In an industry as fragmented as construction, doing so demands a major investment in time, […]

Roof Trusses: Planes, Trains & Automobiles Usually none of these get hung from the bottom chords of roof trusses, however lots of other things can be. Standard pole building truss designs will support only the extra weight of minimal lighting and electrical. Don’t panic, virtually anything can be supported from your pole barn trusses and […]

Mega Clearspan Buildings…Just Put a Post in It In my first managerial position in the roof truss industry, we worked out of an 80 foot wide by 120 foot long concrete tilt up building. This building had a row of interior columns down the middle, 30 feet on center. These three columns posed no challenge […]

We as a public don’t like “being told what to do” and often balk at agencies which regulate important parts of our lives, such as how we want to design a building.  However, there is a good reason they get involved.  The building code is to protect public health, safety and general welfare as relating […]

When Less is More – Economical Buildings The beauty of pole building construction includes being very affordable and being relatively easy to build. In the affordability area – a common misconception is to construct the building as “just a roof”, with the idea of walls being installed at a later date. And this will result […]

Back in the middle of March, Darlene T. made an inquiry to us about investing in a new pole barn. Now Darlene and her husband are newlyweds, having been married for just a year. Initially, she had considered a gambrel roof style, with a loft so the kids would have a place to stay when […]

I get asked nearly every day about the lifespan of pressure treated wood. Prior to expounding upon the virtues of pressure treatments, it would be helpful to know more about why untreated wood decays. With this information in hand we can see how current chemical treatment methods prevent wood decay. The following is excerpted from […]

I’m a voracious reader. A large portion of my daily reading is devoted to learning as much as I can about my industry and expanding my knowledge base. On LinkedIn, I am a member of the “Truss, Panel & Building Components” discussion group. One of the members, Gene Marcoux, from Florida, had postulated, “If we […]

“I’ve got a GREAT deal on a pole building for you. All you have to do is take it down, move it and reassemble”. Even if the price is FREE, is it a bargain or not? Let’s take a look at why this might not be such a great deal. Better check out the building […]

Come on now, be honest, we all have our fears and phobias. One of the most interesting ones I have found over the years with clients is “postsetaphobia”, or fear of setting posts. This particular phobia is defined as, “the fear of being able to properly set posts for a pole building”. Fear is False […]

Lumber is considered to be dry when it reaches a moisture content of 19% or less. When below this threshold, it becomes relatively dimensionally stable.  More importantly, it is naturally resistant to mold and other fungi which will attack wood. When lumber is rained upon, or allowed to sit in mud or puddles, it can […]

Two bills which fit in nicely with the strengths of pole building construction were introduced in the House recently. They would provide federal financial incentives to strengthen buildings against major storms. The Natural Disaster Mitigation Act, H.R. 2099, introduced by Reps. Thomas Rooney (R-Fla.) and Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and  the Safe Building Codes Incentive Act, […]

Obama Administration says “Wood is Good” The Obama Adminstration has officially endorsed wood as a green building material. The U.S.  House and Senate passed resolutions in 2009 and 2010 acknowledging the American wood industry sustainably manages an environmentally preferable natural resource, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilscak recently announced a strategy to promote […]

Pole buildings can be easily designed to withstand hurricane and tornado wind loads. The article below is from www.technewsdaily.com May 26,2011 and speaks to housing design under high winds.       Redesigned Roofs Withstand High Wind Events The tornado that stormed through Joplin, Mo., on May 22 shredded an estimated 8,000 buildings and stranded […]

Yesterday afternoon, one of our senior building designers sent me this instant message: “So what do you do with a customer who is being sold a bill of goods by his contractor? Starting from, client was told he needed to pour footings and build with 2×6 studs because pole buildings ‘move too much’. All the […]

Thanks to www.ocala.com May 24, 2011 for their article, “Florida Building Codes Limit Tornado Damage” While surveying tornado damage in Tuscaloosa, Ala., University of Florida researcher David O. Prevatt said he was struck by the city’s large number of old homes susceptible to storm damage. “We have to expect this sort of damage unless we […]

What do you mean they are not 2 feet apart? Back in the day (early 1990’s) I was on the National Frame Builders Association (NFBA) Board of Directors. One of my fellow board members from the Midwest wanted to take a peek at how pole barns were constructed in the West, so I invited him […]