DEAR POLE BARN GURU: How does one construct a sliding barn door?  SHIRLEY IN FAIR GROVE DEAR SHIRLEY: The best answer to your question is Chapter 27 of the Hansen Pole Buildings Construction Manual. Here it is in three parts, Part I:  Most Common Mistakes: Expecting the door frame to be shipped pre-assembled. Installing siding […]

While I am on an Overhead Door Rant I have been blessed to be the father of a herd of children – my youngest two, Allison (age 22) and Brent (age 21) will both be seniors in college this Fall. Yes, I am hearing the cheers from loyal readers who have reached this milestone. They […]

What Real Life Technical Support Sounds Like Many of us have had situations where we needed to contact a company we have purchased a product from for some technical assistance. I know when I have done so, every once in a while I am thankfully surprised to have the person I am dealing with actually […]

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 […]

Auntie Em! Toto! It’s a Twister! It’s a Twister! Our The Wizard of Oz heroine Dorothy (played by Judy Garland) never utters these words in the movie, although many of us believe she did. The movie it does come from is 1980’s Airplane! where Johnny Henshaw-Jacobs (actor Stephen Stucker) shouts it out while tangling himself […]

For some reason, I have always liked framing hammers with wooden handles. Always felt far more comfortable in my hand than composites or steel handles. Hickory handles beat synthetic materials for strength, and also have the benefit of less vibration. Wood transfers less vibration than metal. Some hammers have a fiberglass shaft core or a glass […]

Proper Post Frame Entry Door Installation Check screws holding jambs to header and threshold for tightness. Place door assembly into rough opening with door jamb outside edge flush with girt outside edges (outside edge of door jamb 1-1/2” past outside of columns). Square up door assembly so clearance gaps between panel and jambs are uniform. […]

Entry doors are just not thought of very often – we walk in and out of them every day, yet don’t often consider what goes into seeing they work properly and are maintenance free. Below is a how to guide on proper entry door framing. Here are some common entry door mistakes: Not inspecting for damage at […]

However it did not quite get assembled the way we had planned for! We would not even have known about it, other than Ritchie Wallace of Wallace Brothers Construction (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/find-a-builder/oregon-contractors/portland-or-contractor/) was contacted by the client, who is now interested in adding onto the length of the building. According to a July 2015 article in Time […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Why in your manual is there a difference in overhang dimension of the roofing material on page 118 and page 369. One says 2 ¼-2 ½ “ and the other says 1 ½-1 ¾ “? I used the 1 ½-1 ¾” overhand since I have a 12” overhang. Thank you for […]

Considering hiring a contractor to provide materials and labor for your new pole building? Or maybe you are one of the smart ones and are going to purchase a pole building kit package and hire a builder to assemble some or all of it for you. Here has been my advice to readers: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2013/07/contractor-6/ Long […]

From a February 22, 2016 article by Mike Grant in the Washington, Indiana Times Herald: “A fire early Sunday morning destroyed a camper home near Washington. The Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department was called out around 2:46 Sunday morning to a fire in a camper that was parked inside of a pole barn at 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” […]

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 have to thank those readers who contribute questions so good, it is impossible not to share them as articles. Remodeling and repurposing  of pole barns is becoming a popular subject, as the buildings will, in all likelihood, outlive their original owners. Here is one meritorious recent submission: “Hello, I love all the information on […]

This is more about the amount of detail which is incorporated into the Hansen Pole Buildings’ Construction Manual, than it is about the installation of outside closures, read below, and then I will explain why. “Place a Ridge Cap piece centered on building peak. Make a pencil mark at lower edges at both building ends, […]

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. […]

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 […]

When the Stars are Out of Alignment In post frame (pole) building construction, the stars do not have to align in order for all things to work out happily (and easily). Some things DO have to align, and an important one – at least when it comes to getting through screwed steel roofing to work […]

I admit, when I first entered the post frame (pole) building business – I was clueless on a good day. My only “training” was picking the brain of an old time pole barn builder, George Evanovich. George was a nice enough guy, but it didn’t take me long to realize when it came to details […]

Stairs – One step at a time… When I was working for Coeur d’Alene Truss in the 1970’s, I would physically go measure buildings (when requested) to make sure the building being framed, matched the plans which had been provided for the truss takeoff. One of my favorite framing crews only asked me out to […]

New Guides to Wood Construction in High Wind Areas My long time readers will probably recognize the name Dr. Frank Woeste, as he has appeared in a plethora of my articles. When it comes to wood design, and especially post frame buildings, Frank is at the top of the game. For the curious, here is […]

Along with this photo came the message: “The Contractor I hired to put up the building will be sending you video from his cell phone sometime today. In the meantime I have taken two photos: one of the gable end and the other of the side wall. The side wall panels are perfect and the […]

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 […]

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 […]

How to Properly Vet Pole Building Suppliers Whether planning a single car garage or a post frame (pole) building larger than an acre, your hard earned money is going to be invested in it. Even if you decide a Hansen Pole Building is not the right fit for you, it is important to both the […]

If you didn’t read my blog yesterday – it might help you to back up a day and read where the following blog got started. I nice young gentleman asked me to help him with his boy scout Eagle project – constructing an equestrian barn. So back up a day – then continue here after […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: What is your method for spacing the poles on a pole barn, how do you line up the locations of each pole on a wall? This is for my boy scout Eagle project, a 32x36ft pole barn to be used for equestrian therapy. ANXIOUS IN AUSTIN DEAR ANXIOUS: The best advice […]

How to Calculate Fascia Trim Dimensions Justine (aka Hansen Pole Buildings’ wizard of deliveries) and I were discussing this subject today, so it makes for a good time to share! In most cases, pole buildings with sidewall (eave) overhangs have fascia boards. These are most generally 2×6, 2×8, etc., depending upon snow loads as well […]

How to: Pitch Break from Steeper to Flatter with Steel Roofing Pitch breaks occur at a transition between steeper (towards peak) and flatter roof slopes (towards the eave). Exercising care, this will be a painless and leak free area. Lots of things are going to occur at the junction between the two roofs. In order […]

How Do I Make It Taller? One of our clients called in earlier today as his builder is beginning construction of his new pole building kit package. He has invested in a 14’ eave height building, and while his tallest door is 10 feet high, he has now decided it may be important to have […]

Every once in a while I surprise people and actually pass out some worthwhile real life scenario information. Today it is going to be a “how-to”: trimming an overhead door. Here is the picture – the client hired a contractor to construct their building and ended up completing the building themselves. The new pole building […]

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” […]

As always, I enjoy finding real life solutions to client’s challenges. One of the Building Designers, Rick, of Hansen Pole Buildings posed this to me today: “Another thing came up yesterday, got a guy that wants everything, and is on a cost crunch, nothing new there, but one item that he wants is parallel chord […]

Strive for a higher standing in life? For many people the way to stand taller is to include a loft in their new building. What exactly is a loft? It is a building upper story or floor directly under the roof. In many cases it is roughly synonymous with “attic”, however an attic typically constitutes […]

One of our Building Designers asked me the other day if a 10% “shrink factor” should be used when advising how much concrete it takes to pour a concrete slab on grade. This particular Building Designer “in a previous life” had been a building contractor.  It had been his practice to always order 10% more […]

Fiberglass insulation is difficult to write about. In my opinion just about everyone knows about this topic or how the product works. There just isn’t much sizzle to the topic. I would hate to work for an advertising agency or public relations firm having to write about this stuff on a weekly or monthly basis! […]

This is not like Where’s Waldo?, or Where in the World is Carmen San Diego? The relationship of the top of a concrete slab inside your new pole building, to the grade surrounding the building is critical not only during construction, but also in the lifetime of performance of your building. Hansen Pole Buildings services […]

I read a fair number of blogs relating to the construction industry. Recently one of them was talking about the proposed removal of an 80 year-old pine tree leaning precariously over their house. This resulted in a call to an arborist (on a sidebar, I have near my home a business “The Affordable Arborists”, which […]