This was the tag line for some PSA commercial on the telly when I was a child. Always figured I could spin it into an article at some point in time. Here is the dilemma: From our client: “Got all the trusses & purlins up & it’s really starting to look like a building.  That’s […]

My long time readers have heard the stories of my framing contractor father and uncles. My dad was the oldest, and I cannot begin to count the number of times he spoke highly of his younger brother Gil’s abilities to walk up nearly anything. Dad would tell stories of Gil walking up beams set at […]

One of my loyal readers asked this question in regards to a previous blog post: “We have a pole barn/shed which is 50 X96 plus an additional 16 leant-to tied to posts which creates a total building size of 66 X96. Question is, Can I take out the knee braces on the side with 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” […]

Sometimes Things Go Tragically Wrong Construction safety is nothing to overlook. Even the most experienced among us can make errors (read a very personal story here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2011/07/dont-take-a-fall/) Tuesday, September 8, 2015 an under construction building in Queenstown, Maryland had some challenges. Here is the story: “Two construction workers were flown to the University of Maryland […]

A Truss Story… I began my career in the prefabricated metal plate connected wood truss industry back in 1977 at what was then Spokane Truss, now it is a ProBuild truss plant. From there my next stop was their sister plant Coeur d’Alene Truss (now Coeur d’Alene Builders Supply). In my two plus years with […]

Square Cut or Plumb Cut Back in the 70’s, when I first entered the prefabricated metal connector plated wood truss industry, I was a sawyer. Sawyers are the folks who operate the component saws which precision (hopefully) cut all of the components prior to assembly. The people I worked for over the first few years […]

When my now lovely bride (always lovely) first had me visit her home in South Dakota, I couldn’t help but notice her nicely sized 32 foot square stick framed garage. Like most stud framed buildings, it had light weight metal connector plated wood roof trusses manufactured from 2x4s. Like many garages, this one was unheated. […]

Butt Cuts, not Cracks In a past life, when I was far younger, I was a newbie in the prefabricated metal connector plated wood truss industry. My first job was as a sawyer, I was the guy who trimmed all of the components prior to their assembly into trusses. Although my employers had what at […]

Universal Forest Products Double Hinge Plate Having spent a generation in the truss industry, very tall trusses always posed a challenge – both in how to fabricate, as well is in shipping. Granted I once fabricated some 17 foot tall trusses, then couldn’t legally deliver them to the jobsite! Universal Forest Products https://www.ufpi.com may have […]

We Don’t Always Do Things Perfect, But We Do Listen Part III Last summer Hansen Pole Buildings Supplied a pole building kit package to a client who experienced a few challenges and took the time to address them. Here is the email I was responding to: (Items #1-3 were addressed on the last two days’ […]

When NOT to Measure 5-1/2 Inches for a 2×6 My lovely bride is an RN (Registered Nurse) by training and profession. In medicine 100mg is 100mg, not 87.5mg and someone’s heart rate might be 80, not “somewhere between 80 and 120”. Wrapping her head around why a 2×6 is 1-1/2 inches by 5-1/2 inches just […]

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” […]

My Truss Framing Does Not Match the Plans Every good set of pole building plans should have at least one page upon which is drawn a “cut through” view or cross section of the building. To read about what should be depicted on this page: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/blog/2011/10/pole-building-plans-101-interior-section-elevation/ or actually view an example at: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/sample-plans.htm. One of […]

The Importance of Temporary Truss Bracing Back in my early days in the prefabricated metal connector plated truss industry, one of my clients was the congregations of a church along Highway 95 in Hayden, Idaho. The project was for an entirely new building, with the work being done by primarily volunteer help, under the supervision […]

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” […]

Pole Building Roof System – Dressed Up!! For years I sat in church on Sunday mornings with my children and admired the magnificent trusses which supported the roof. Built from glulams with the joints connected with bolted steel brackets – they were nothing short of fabulous. To me (coming from a background of construction and […]

Most of us don’t think too much about the floors we walk upon – unless they are not level, squeak when we walk on them, or are too bouncy. Traditionally wood floors have been framed with dimensional lumber (2×6, 2×8, etc.), usually spaced 16 inches on center. Often floor joist span limitations are not based […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU:Currently constructing building and the roof trusses are not built according to engineered plans. Plans call for 2*10 and these trusses are 2*6. Builder has purchased additional materials to reinforce the trusses. Now the steel is going up today and found that the 2 11’10” clay endwall pieces are missing. Builder also […]

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 […]

Roof Trusses are structural frameworks, generally two-dimensional, whose members are almost always assembled to form a series of inter-connected triangles, Perimeter members of the assembly are called truss chords and interior members are called truss webs. Metal plate connected wood trusses (MPCWT) are composed of wood members joined with metal connector plates (also known as […]

At least in my generation we were raised to believe the experts – whether it be doctors, attorneys, or building contractors really knew what they were doing. I know I have the expectation and I believe our clients expect the same from us – as they should. I recently wrote about an article my Uncle […]

A prospect client in Michigan wrote to tell me pole buildings were, “too expensive, going with a box beam barn instead.” Two thoughts leaped into my head, first – pole buildings are so efficient it is hard to believe there could be a more economical choice, and secondly – what the heck is a “box […]

Long ago, in a Galaxy far away…..no not Star Wars, but one of my “past lives” in the 1980’s at M & W Building Supply. It was an early Fall Monday morning – the first day at work for my then brother-in-law Jimmie Ballinger (Jimmie and I were married to sisters). Jimmie had decided he […]

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 year before I started my prefabricated metal-plate connected roof truss career with Coeur d’Alene Truss in 1977, they had provided hundreds of 60 foot span trusses for a cabinet manufacturing plant. The building was being erected by an experienced contractor who had an excellent reputation for quality. For my future employer, this was their […]

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I have a question regarding truss loads, specifically ceiling loads, for a pole barn.  I know you have touched on this before, but I was hoping for a little more detail. I recently purchased a property that came with an existing pole barn, and other than a few material ratings I […]

Truss Bracing In The Way? Thirty three years ago, when I first dipped a toe into the post frame industry, roof truss bracing was pretty much an afterthought. Even though I came to pole buildings from the prefabricated metal plated truss business, bracing (especially of bottom chords) was pretty much a subject left up to […]

I have to give a lot of credit to Building Department plan checkers and field inspectors. They have to know a lot of stuff, about a myriad of different areas of construction. Even one who is an expert at what is written in the Building Code itself, would be only fluent in a small portion […]

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” […]

This story appeared in the Windsor, Ontario, Canada Star June 27, 2013:   “Firefighters had to use a metal cutter and giant airbags Wednesday to rescue a man trapped under a barn collapse. “Upon our arrival, there was one person that was trapped underneath the trusses,” said Essex Fire Chief Ed Pillon.”He was conscious, alert, […]

The Following is an Actual Instant Message Conversation between Rachel, one of our in-house building designers and myself. Rachel: Builder on the phone. Rachel: He is wondering why we wouldn’t make the trusses smaller so all the pole lengths would the same? Polebarnguru: I have no idea yet what he is asking. Rachel: He says […]

Identifying Tempered Glass Email all questions to: PoleBarnGuru@HansenPoleBuildings.com DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Can you tell me if there is any method to identify glass as being tempered or not without breaking it? Many thanks in advance. SIMPLY SOPHIE DEAR SIMPLY SOPHIE: All glass including mirrors used in hazardous locations as defined in the IBC 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.  Email all questions to: PoleBarnGuru@HansenPoleBuildings.com DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am having trouble determining […]

Pole Buildings and Insulation When designing a high-performance pole building – whether it be residential or commercial, the heating and cooling loads need to be shaved everywhere they can be. Thermal bridging creates hot spots or cold spots in the building envelope, and this makes a difference for heating and cooling costs—as well as for […]

While I have used metal plate connected pre-fabricated wood floor trusses in pole buildings (including one of my own buildings at home), they are not the norm. In the construction industry, much debate has been ongoing in regards to Section R501.3 of the International Building Code/International Residential Code: “R501.3 Fire protection of floors. Floor assemblies, not […]

I’ve been in the prefabricated roof truss industry in one fashion or another (sawyer, salesman, truss builder, forklift operator, crane truck driver, truss designer, general manager and owner) for 36 years. Yes, it is a very long time. Over this time span, the roof truss industry has evolved from trusses which were pretty much designed […]

Ceiling Loads Considering a new pole building? An important question to ask is, “What will the cost be to upgrade the roof trusses to support the weight of a ceiling”? Most post frame (pole) building trusses are not designed to support the dead weight (things which are permanently attached to the building) of anything other […]

Roof Truss Repair A builder writes: “The previous owner of a pole building I’m working on cut out several internal webs from three consecutive roof trusses to create storage space in the attic. There’s no sign that this has caused any structural problems so far, but I’d like to replace the missing members and fasten […]

Hansen Buildings new feature for each Monday is “Ask the Guru” where you can submit questions for Mike the Pole Barn Guru to answer on future Monday blogs. Email the Guru at: PoleBarnGuru@HansenPoleBuildings.com DEAR POLE BARN GURU:  I purchased one of your pole building kit packages late last summer, and have just finished constructing it. […]

A client writes: “I recently purchased one of your pole barn kits to use as my home garage.  We have begun construction and have all the framing and the roof on.  I recently contacted my building designer about potentially getting the metal lining material for the ceiling and walls.  My designer told me that I […]

My life with roof trusses began in Spokane in the spring of 1977. I spent the first two plus years of my career in Spokane and later Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, before being hired to manage a roof truss plant in Salem, Oregon. Having never been exposed to anything different, my assumption was all prefabricated roof […]

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 […]

I have been asked this question more than a few times, by potential do-it-yourselfers, who are considering constructing their own buildings. Jeff, one of the Building Designers at Hansen Pole Buildings, got asked this very same question again yesterday. I am certain most people ask this question, as they are considering how to go about […]

Having grown up the son of a framing contractor, then working framing for my father and uncles as a teen, I take for granted everyone knows what trusses are. When my first daughter, Annie, was just a wee tyke, she used to fold napkins into triangles – she told me she was, “building trusses”, like […]

Collateral loads are additional dead loads hung from the building, such as sprinkler systems; drop ceilings, HVAC equipment, lighting etc. These are the loads which are most often overlooked or neglected in the design of a new pole building. Many times, it is just no one having made the client aware. Most building sales people […]

Most every truss company makes sure every jobsite delivery includes a packet of BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative) standards. Usually all truss drawings are included in this packet, with a large orange warning sheet in the cover asking installers to ‘Read the Safety Documents’. Frequently the information is in a big zip-lock bag so it […]

Coming from a background in the prefabricated roof truss industry, knee braces have always bothered me. What is a knee brace?  I’m not talking about the type you wear for a dislocated or arthritic knee joint. A knee brace is an inclined diagonal lumber member connecting to and extending from the sidewall columns, usually several […]

As noted yesterday, damaged trusses warrant a repair design by a professional…a licensed engineer.  This is not something for “guesswork” or scabbing on a bunch of lumber.  First the forces of where damage occurred need to be analyzed, and then only an engineer with solid experience in repairing damages should be engaged to elicit the […]