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Order of Construction for Smoothest Path

Order of Construction

Reader DANIEL in SAINT JOSEPH writes:

“Hi Mike, I am looking to start building in the next year or two on my up north Minnesota cabin land. I was planning on doing my own general contracting to save. In what order would you recommend I schedule the subs to do their work and when should I begin finding the subs? I already have the septic and well installed for my camper.”

Mike the Pole Barn Guru writes:

Here is a general construction sequence. In most instances, you want to line up your subcontractors 6-12 weeks prior to needing them. Further ahead, seems to make it difficult to get return calls. A great source of more reliable subs, is by contacting your nearest Home Builders Association and asking for referrals.

1. STAKE LOT
First step of home building is locating your new home on its lot. This will usually involve a surveyor who will come out and accurately drive stakes to locate your home on lot. They will be used by excavators and foundation subcontractors to guide their work.

2. OBTAIN PLANING, ZONING AND BUILDING PERMITS (Where required)

3. TEMPORARY UTILITIES
You will need to have water, electric power, and toilet facilities available during construction process.

4. CLEAR AND ROUGH GRADE
Clearing is removal of trees and undergrowth from actual construction site and yard areas. Rough grading is moving dirt around to establish approximate drainage patterns, yard areas, drive and walk levels, etc. you hope to achieve. Properly compact any fill in no greater than six inch lifts.

5. WELL
If you are going to have a well, you might as well dig it up front so you will have water available for construction.

6. LAY OUT BUILDING

7. DIG HOLES FOR COLUMNS OR PIERS
Call for hole inspection (where required)

8. SET COLUMNS IN HOLES OR INTO WET-SET BRACKSET Backfill per plan

9. INSTALL
a)SPLASH PLANKS
b)TRUSSES AND/OR RAFTERS
c) Purlins and all other roof framing (including ceiling joists and bracing)
d) roof steel and ridge cap (or sheathing, felt and roofing)
e) any raised wood floor framing and floor sheathing
f) Girts and all other wall framing

10. CALL FOR FRAMING INSPECTION (where required)

11. INSTALL
a) Weather Resistant Barrier over wall framing
b) Entry doors, sliding doors and windows
c) All steel wall trims except corners
d) Wall steel and corner trim

12. SEWER AND WATER TAPS

If you are connecting to municipal water and sewer, this is where pipes are laid to house and actually connected (tapped into) water and sewer mains.

13. UNDER SLAB UTILITIES
Any plumbing and electrical needs to go under concrete slab is installed here.

14. UNDER SLAB VAPOR BARRIER, UNDER SLAB AND PERIMETER SLAB INSULATION, PEX FOR RADIANT FLOOR HEAT

15. SLAB FLOOR

16. ANY STAIRS RESTING ON SLAB FLOOR
Get these in now so that the subs working inside can get from one floor to the other without depending on ladders.

17. GARAGE DOOR AND EXTERIOR LOCKS
Some people wait until end to get garage door in. But we think having it in place creates a good place to store materials and equipment during construction. Installing exterior locks means whole house is secure.

18. BACK-OUT FRAMING

This is a general category including interior room partition, soffits for wall cabinets, and drywall nailers.

19. FIREPLACE AND CHIMNEY
A prefabricated fireplace should be installed before roughs (below). A prefab will have a framed chimney. A masonry fireplace and chimney can be installed before any brick veneer.

20. ROUGH HVAC
HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) sub is first of three “mechanical” subs (plumbing, electrical, HVAC) to come to job. He will install duct work for your HVAC system and possibly furnace. He comes first because stuff he puts into walls is biggest and most inflexible.

21. ROUGH PLUMBING

Next comes plumber to install his pipes.

22. ROUGH ELECTRICAL

Codes call for house to be “dried in” before wiring is installed. With exterior windows and doors in place and roof on, it’s time. For roughs, electrician will put in boxes (switch, outlet, and lighting) and will pull wires into them. Cable, telephone, speaker wires, etc. are also installed at this point.

23. ELECTRIC & GAS METER SET
You’ll need these in place to get some heat in house for drywall installation.

24. GUTTERS AND DOWNSPOUTS
It’s good to get water away from house as soon as possible.

25. WALL INSULATION

Once everything else is in walls and rough inspections are completed, it’s time to insulate your home.

26. TEMPORARY HEAT
With meters set (above), HVAC sub can get some temporary heat going. This will be critical for getting drywall joint compound (mud) to dry in a timely fashion. Carpet sub also needs a warm home so carpet is installed at a temperature comparable to normal living conditions.

27. DRYWALL
Sometimes called “Sheetrock®.” This will be “hung” (screwed to wall girts, studs and ceiling joists), taped (at joints), and “mudded” (joint compound applied) . . . after the in-wall plumbing, HVAC, electrical, and insulation have been inspected!

28. ATTIC INSULATION

29. CABINETS
Base and wall.

30. INTERIOR DOORS AND TRIM

Trim materials installed here may include door casing, base mould, window stool and apron, window casing, chair rail, crown mould, built-in cabinets, stair railing parts, and others. This step also includes hanging doors.

31. PAINT AND WALLPAPER
First coat of paint is usually sprayed. Get it in before hard wood floors are installed.

32. HARDWOOD FLOORS
Now it’s time to install your hardwood floors.

33. COUNTER TOPS
Counter tops are next. this may involve a different sub than one who installed cabinets.

34. VINYL AND CERAMIC TILE
Vinyl floor coverings and ceramic tile are installed. Two different subs.

35. SAND ANF FINISH WOOD FLOORS

This is first of two finishes. The last is done just before you move in.

36. APPLIANCES AND SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

This would include all of your major appliances – washer, dryer, range, oven, refrigerator, as well as any other special equipment you have specified.

37. FINISH ELECTRICAL
Here is where electrician comes back to install switches, outlets, light fixtures, ceiling fans, door bells, etc. He will also hook up appliances, furnace, air conditioner, doorbell, and so forth.

38. FINISH PLUMBING
Plumber will install sinks, lavatories, toilets, and all faucets.

39. FINISH HVAC & FINAL HEAT
Your heating sub will install registers and get furnace and air conditioning running properly.

40. SHOWER DOORS AND MIRRORS
Install shower doors. Hang mirrors.

41. CARPET
Now it’s starting to feel like home!

42. HARDWARE AND SCREENS
Typically, this is door, window, and closet hardware. Window screens.

43. DRYWALL REPAIRS
You may need to get drywall subcontractor back out to patch some dings caused by other subs’ work. This is normal.

44. CLEAN UP
This is final interior clean up.

45. FINAL PAINT
Touching up drywall repairs and so forth.

46. FINAL WOOD FLOOR FINISH
This should be your last inside job before moving in.

47. RETAINING WALLS
These outside home building jobs can be going on while work proceeds inside.

48. WALKS, DRIVES, AND PATIOS
You should wait until drywall has been delivered, because drywall trucks are VERY heavy, and could damage your flat work

49. SEPTIC TANK AND DRAIN FIELD

Same as above on timing with regard to drywall delivery. Septic tank holds waste and allows microbic action on solids. Drain field is where effluent leaches into soil.

50. FINISH GRADING AND LANDSCAPING
Final finished grades are established to ensure proper drainage away from home, and to prepare yard for landscaping. Trees, shrubs, grass, etc. are installed.

This entry was posted in Constructing a Pole Building, Pole Building How To Guides, Pole Barn Planning and tagged columns, HVAC, backfill, septic systems, electrical, retaining walls, fireplace, base mould, landscaping, insulation on June 30, 2026 by Rick Ochs.

Rebates, A Column and Bracket Purchase Request, and Delivery to AK

This Wednesday readers “Ask the Guru” about “any rebates or deals available” with a purchase of two buildings, the purchase of only columns and brackets- nope, and a delivery to Soldotna, Alaska.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: If I purchase 2 buildings, do you have any rebates or deals available or do you give a break on shipping? ANNIE in LEWISTON

DEAR ANNIE: Freight/shipping is always based upon number of stops and weight. There are economies of scale playing into place when ordering and having shipped two buildings to a single location, so it will be more economical than ordering one building now and a second at a later date. You will also have a benefit of us providing more buildings to Pacific Northwest clients than to any other region, so if your two buildings are less than full truckload for weight, some other client will be sharing freight costs with you.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Can I buy just the laminated post and footing brackets. GREG in WALESKA

DEAR GREG: Thank you for your interest. Our wholesale distribution center is not set up for sales of individual components on a retail basis, we process only complete building packages. You will find us to be highly competitive, due to our tremendous buying power – where we typically purchase via railcar and our lumber quality is unsurpassed.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Do you deliver to Soldotna, AK? JEFFREY in KEARNEY

DEAR JEFFREY: For our many Alaska clients, we deliver to Port of Tacoma for materials to be reloaded and shipped via container or barge.

This entry was posted in Barndominium, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Pole Barn Planning, Footings, Building Interior, Budget, Columns, Pole Barn Homes and tagged post frame kit, Purchase rebates, sales rebate, Alaska, delivery to Alaska, columns, brackets on May 6, 2026 by Rick Ochs.

Overhead Door Opening Dimensions

I have probably been involved directly with somewhere around 50,000 sectional steel overhead doors in my career. One thing in common about all of these doors, they all require an opening.

In my (and most door installers) ideal dream world, every overhead door opening is perfectly plumb on each side as well as having a perfectly level upper jamb. However, we live in a real life world, where columns on each side of overhead door openings tend to not always be 100% straight. Sometimes these columns were not placed plumb initially, other times they warped, twisted, cupped or did other nasty things (as lumber tends to do), making for potential challenges.

Early in my career, an installer who had placed a plethora of overhead doors in post frame (pole) buildings recommended to me to plan upon finished openings being two (2) inches less in width and one (1) inch less in height than actual call out dimensions of door. This allows for door panels to overlap (again, in our perfect world) an inch on each side, as well as above. With at least five (5) inches of solid wood on each side of any given opening (3-1/2” if a 4×6 plus 1-1/2” of jamb), there is yet plenty of wood available to mount tracks to.

What are advantages of planning for an overlap? If one or both side columns are out of plumb, this allows for as much as an inch of error before reliance upon a vinyl weatherstop to seal up opening. Same goes for top jamb being level.

Columns on each side of door openings do have a 2x jamb attached to them. Done properly (back to my ideal dream world) shims can be placed between an out of plumb, warped or twisted column and jambs to achieve a more close to vertical opening. In most instances (especially those involving ‘professional’ building erectors) this shimming process is ignored entirely and jambs are (for sake of expediency, lack of knowledge, or just not caring) nailed up directly to columns with little or no thought as to future challenges.

Residential overhead door panels are typically exactly door “call out” sized. A 10’ wide x 8’ tall door (as an example) will be exactly ten feet wide and exactly eight feet tall. A perfect finished opening will hence be 9’10” wide by 7’11” tall. Commercial door panels are two inches greater in width and net out an inch greater in height, so ordering a 10 foot wide overhead door, means you will receive 10’2” door panels. Hence, commercial overhead door openings will be equal to call out dimensions of door.

This extra inch of overlap also provides a much tighter seal against wind infiltration and with insulated door panels – less of a heat loss or gain (depending upon the season).

On a semi-related subject, I will encourage readers to always specify wind load rated sectional steel overhead doors. For extended reading, please see: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2014/12/wind-load-rated-garage-doors/.

This entry was posted in Columns, Sectional Doors, Lumber, Pole Building How To Guides, Pole Barn Planning and tagged weatherstop, columns, plumb, overhead door opening, door jamb, column warped, column cupped, door column twisted, overhead door dimensions, overhead door panel overlap on August 21, 2025 by Rick Ochs.

NEW Hansen Pole Building Roof Supporting COLUMNS

NEW Hansen Pole Building Roof Supporting COLUMNS

Since Hansen Pole Buildings’ inception we have primarily provided solid-sawn timbers for roof supporting columns. Due to cost and availability challenges, we have only included true glu-laminated columns, when required by structural necessity or as a request from our clients.

Now solid-sawn columns have not come without their own set of challenges.

Pressure treatment: go visit your local big box store or lumber dealer and take a gander at treatment tags on their 6x6s. In order to be used structurally in ground, Building Codes require them to be UC-4B rated. In most instances, what is ‘on hand’ is only UC-4A and has 1/3rd less treatment chemical retention than what is mandated by Code. Usually UC-4B has to be special ordered (along with ‘special’ higher pricing) and results in lengthy delays. Cut off an end of a pressure treated 6×6 and note treatment chemicals do not penetrate completely. In an ideal dream world, where lumber does not check or split, this would not be an issue – however we do not live in such a world.

Strength: bending strength is a product of Sm (Section modulus – depth squared x width divided by six) multiplied by Fb (Fiberstress in bending). Sm for a 6×6 is 5.5 x 5.5 x 5.5 / 6 = 27.729. Fb for #2 SYP (Southern Pine) posts and timbers is 850, while #2 Hem-Fir (found in Western states) is 575 x 0.8 (this is Ci, incising factor read more here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2014/08/incising/) = 460.

27.729 x 850 = 23,570, while 27.729 x 460 = 12,755. More about this later in this article.

Weight: Pressure preservative treated timbers are not kiln dried after treatment. They have been thoroughly saturated with water borne chemicals. It is not unusual for a pressure treated 6×6 to weigh 10 or more pounds per lineal foot (making a 20 foot long timber 200 pounds)!

Dimensional stability: as these timbers naturally dry, they tend to do things like warp, twist and split. None of these make for an ideal end use product.

What about glu-laminated columns?

Pressure treatment – each individual 2x member (or ply) is treated completely through. As SYP is being treated, wood does not have to be incised. All treatment meets UC-4B requirements and kiln drying after treatment makes each member capable of being FDN (Permanent Wood Foundation) rated.

Strength – most glu-laminated column producers have 3ply 2×6 columns rated at a Fb of 1900. Hansen Pole Buildings felt, if we were going to provide all glu-laminated roof supporting columns to our clients, we wanted to offer absolutely strongest columns, without question. We negotiated n exclusive contract with Richland Laminated Columns, LLC of Greenwich, Ohio, to produce our columns from ultra high-strength MSR (Machine Stress Rated read more here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2012/12/machine-graded-lumber/) lumber. This results in an end product with a Fb value of 3000 or 157% stronger in bending than what is typically found elsewhere!

Because finished dimensions are after planing, our 3 ply glu-lams have a Sm of 18.058. Take this value times 3000 = 54,173 or 229% greater in bending strength than a 6×6 #2 SYP and 424% greater than #2 Hem-Fir. Rather than having to use 6×8, 8×8, 6×10 or even 6×12 columns, these 3ply 2×6 columns will often replace them and STILL BE STRONGER!

Weight: a 3ply 2×6 glu-lam, having been dried to 15% or less in order to be able to be glued, weighs just over five pounds per lineal foot. This makes a 20 foot long column nearly 2/3rds less in weight than a 6×6!

Dimensional stability: with proper storage and handling, glu-lam columns remain straight without warp or twist.

But aren’t these glu-lams going to be EXPENSIVE?

No, we found by contracting to purchase a minimum of a quarter-million board feet of glu-lams, we were able to cut costs by as much as 75% or more (depending upon market) below what we had been paying for them previously. Our cost is now even far below what we had been paying for solid-sawn 6×6 columns! In fact, what we saved on columns alone, more than pays to have entire building packages shipped to most continental United States locations!

By investing in huge quantities, we now have inventory on hand to fulfill most building orders immediately and even custom dimensions in a matter of weeks.

Call 1.866.200.9657 TODAY to participate in “The Ultimate Post-Frame Building Experience”.

And, don’t forget to watch for our next article!

This entry was posted in Columns, Lumber, Post Frame Home, Pole Barn Design, Barndominium, Pole Building How To Guides, Pole Barn Planning, Pole Barn Structure and tagged post frame buildings, glulam columns, columns, post frame columns, glulaminated column, Hansen Buildings on November 5, 2024 by admin.

Posts, Trusses and Costs, Slab Thermal Movement, and a Name

This Wednesday the Pole Barn Guru answers reader questions about use of one’s own posts, metal vs wood trusses, and cost of trusses, sealer for slab thermal movement, and what the proper name of a garage, storage, and living quarters would be.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: The barn is to be built in 78594. 60x40x15 with 12′ side extensions.
1. I want to use my own posts for the frame.
2. What trusses can be obtained (metal vs wood) for the roof?
3. What would the trusses cost for the barn in material? LESLIE in SEBASTIAN

DEAR LESLIE: In answer to your questions…

1) Why would you want to use your own posts, when we have available and affordable stronger glulaminated columns than anywhere else in America? https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2024/04/new-hansen-pole-building-roof-supporting-columns/

2) Having spent well over four decades deeply involved with prefabricated wood trusses, I have some direct experience. As far as cost – because we manufacture wood trusses in our plant and ship them with your lumber, they are more cost effective than steel trusses. Our steel trusses are manufactured in Tennessee, so you have two sets of freight costs. If freight was not a factor, it is probably a toss up for costs.

Wood trusses are subject to very strict quality control standards. Every span, of each and every order, must have quality control reports to document correct size, grade and species of lumber as well as correct thickness and dimensions of steel connector plates. Random third-party quality control inspections are done, to verify trusses being produced meet or exceed what is specified on engineer sealed truss drawings. Steel trusses, somehow have escaped this level of quality control (even though Building Codes specify third party inspections must be done).

3) We only provide trusses along with our complete building packages, please call Brenner at (605)432-8981 Monday morning to further discuss your building wants and needs.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am getting ready to pour a concrete slab in my 24’x30′ pole barn. I calculated the thermal contraction along the 30′ length to be just over 1/8″. Would it be a good idea to install a foam sill sealer type material onto the inside of the grade boards to accommodate any thermal movement of the slab? DAVID in WESTFIELD

DEAR DAVID: I would be placing R-10 rigid insulation vertically (at least down two feet), attached to inside of my pressure preservative treated splash, with top of insulation even with where top of slab will be. As far as thermal movement goes, this is why expansion joints are placed at 24 to 30 times thickness of slab. As an example a nominal four inch slab (3-1/2 inch actual), should have expansion joints every seven to eight feet.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: O great pole barn genius, what would I want to store an RV, also be at least a 2 car garage, and workshop, with a couple finished rooms for living quarters? What’s that beast called, and what should I budget for it low/high in KY? KIM in PAYNEVILLE

DEAR KIM: Thank you for your oh so kind words, I am humbled. As far as naming it – yours would be my first choice, some would call it a barndominium (especially if it has a kitchen and bathroom), others a shop house. Fully engineered post frame, modest tastes, DIY, budget roughly $75-85 per sft for conditioned spaces, $35 for all others. Does not include land, site prep, utilities, permits. Your Hansen Pole Buildings’ Designer, Brenner Carlson will be reaching out to you to provide some firm numbers.

This entry was posted in Constructing a Pole Building, RV Storage, Pole Barn Planning, Barndominium, Trusses, Concrete, Shouse, Building Interior, Shouse, Budget, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design and tagged Post-Frame, slab insulation, concrete sealant, trusses, shouse, columns, RV Storage, barndominium on September 25, 2024 by Rick Ochs.

Can This Building Be Saved?

Can This Building Be Saved?

Reader BRAYTON in NORTHEAST WASHINGTON writes: “I’ve been previewing your website and am glad I found it!

Question:

I have been contacted recently by a potential client who had a 40′ x 60′ pole building constructed. The original contractor walked off the job. This client wants me to fix the building.

Here’s the situation:

The trusses are sheeted with OSB on one side of the gable trusses. The trusses are leaning toward one gable end. They appear to be warped and seem to have been installed this way. I figure this because the gable ends are not leaning as much as the trusses. The roof purlins are mounted to purlin blocks on top of the trusses and have joints meeting at each set of double trusses (the trusses are mounted on either side of the post).

The trusses were not braced laterally across the bottom chord, nor cross-braced at either gable end. There are missing wall girts and there doesn’t appear to be any bolts and/or hardware attached. The structure sat through a north eastern Washington winter like this. Half of the OSB roof sheathing was installed this spring, when the contractor walked.

The posts are not in line. The posts at the gable ends are inset from the wall posts. The owner states the posts were backfilled with sand. The existing soil has a lot of clay/dirt.

So, is this building salvageable? I was considering temporarily bracing the trusses, removing the roof sheathing, loosening the purlins at one end, and then truss by truss attempt to plumb them – bracing them as I go.

If you have any suggestions, I’d appreciate it.

Thank you.”

Thank you for your kind words. We would be interesting in talking more with you about future builds (please reach out to Rachel@HansenPoleBuildings.com 1.866.200.9657 Friday). Yes, it can be fixed. It will not be cheap – personally I would look at quoting either an hourly or daily rate, plus any equipment rental, as you will have no idea what you are getting into, until you are there. I’d think if you get it stripped down to framing, you could properly align columns (make sure to check if it is even square). Get one endwall straight and plumb, then adjust purlins bay-by-bay, as needed, to straighten each set of trusses.

This entry was posted in Rebuilding Structures, Budget, Pole Barn Questions, Professional Engineer, Pole Barn Design, Columns, Constructing a Pole Building, Barndominium, Pole Barn Structure, Trusses and tagged truss bracing, purlins, columns, trusses, Saving a building, post frame building on July 9, 2024 by Rick Ochs.

Insulate a Post Frame Building, Ventilation, and Column Sizes

This week the Pole Barn Guru answers reader questions about the most economical way to insulate a pole barn style building, advice on ventilation, and the best column size for a building in Michigan.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hello, I am looking at either building a pole barn style or hybrid Steel column, post and joist with 2×6 purlins and girts. If I were to place 1/2″ sheathing on the walls and roof, install 30 felt paper then my metal on the walls and roof, what would be the most economical way to insulate it. It will be my hobby shop not a living space. ROBERT in OCEAN PARK

DEAR ROBERT: All of these recommendations are based upon meeting energy code requirements for conditioned buildings. Washington State will be a stickler for these.

1/2″ sheathing and felt is probably not your best design solution (besides being expensive).

Roof – order roof steel with a factory applied Integral Condensation Control https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2020/09/integral-condensation-control-2/

Order trusses with raised heels (deep enough to not compress blown in attic fiberglass insulation) https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2012/07/raised-heel-trusses/

Order trusses designed to support weight of a ceiling and install one. Blow in R-60 fiberglass above ceiling. Vent eave and ridge in correct proportions https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2023/06/274512/

Walls: From out-to-in:

Steel siding; Weather Resistant Barrier (Housewrap); 2×8 bookshelf wall girts; R-30 unfaced Rockwool batts; 6mil clear plastic vapor barrier; Interior finish

Slab: If using radiant floor heat, R-10 under slab and at slab edge. Otherwise R-10 rigid boards down two feet, then out two feet.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I have an 18×20 metal building (my house) that’s covered with spray foam insulation at 1.5″ on the walls and 2″ on the inside roof. The entire space will be conditioned. I am now reading that I may need to ventilate the space. I thought the purpose of the spray foam was to make it air-tight as a closed envelope system. So, can you explain what I need to know about venting? Also I have a large attic fan I am wanting to install in the wall. It has louvers on it to hopefully seal the air and water out. I plan to use it to blow hot air out when I come home instead of cooling while at work. Then turn on the AC. Also plan to use on days that’s it’s not terribly hot as a method of cooling the whole house like my grandparents did. I live in East Texas so I won’t be able to do this too often. Is this ok or should I scrap this idea? Can I expect the louvers to seal good enough? With this would I need a mechanical ventilation system? Thank you for your awesome help. I’ve been reading your advice for years. CINDY in TYLER

DEAR CINDY: Thank you for your kind words and for being a loyal reader. Your solve is for your HVAC vendor to design and install a system to remove excess humidity from your interior air, otherwise you can expect to have some nasty condensation issues in your home.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: What size posts should be used for 30′ x 40′ x 10 with 6/12 pitch in southern lower Michigan??? Storage/ garage / shop. STEVE in MARSHALL

DEAR STEVE: Looking at your most recent quote for a 30′ x 48′ truss bearing columns would be 6×6 solid sawn. We will be converting all of our roof supporting columns to glulams in a few months, then it would become 3ply 2×6 glulams.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Heating, Trusses, Barndominium, Ventilation, Footings, Insulation, Building Interior, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Pole Barn Planning and tagged moisture barrier, insulation, vapor barrier, HVAC, spray foam, attic fan, post frame insulation, columns, pressure preservative treated columns on July 3, 2024 by admin.

Engineer Sealed Drawings, Materials Lists, and Footing Sizes.

This Tuesday is another bonus “ask the Guru” discussing questions about engineer sealed drawings, a materials list for a post frame garage with sideshed, and footing size questions.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Does it come with engineered Seal drawings as part of the cost? RON in OMAHA

DEAR RON: Every building we provide comes with full sized blue-prints sealed by an engineer registered in your state and includes verifying calculations. There is no extra charge for this service, as we believe all buildings should be engineered.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Can I get a breakdown materials list for 42×42 x10′ pole barn garage with an 12×82′ lean to shed attached to the side. TIM in PARKERSBURG

DEAR TIM: Once our engineer has sealed the final plans for your building, we will prepare an exact materials list (down to the last screw) and it will be available at your online login. Most of the items you will find on the list cannot be found in lumberyards or big box stores (here are just a few):

Glulam columns made from 2400msr lumber
Splash Planks & Sill plates: 2x #1 UC-4B Pressure treated FDN rated
2×6 2100msr girts or purlins (in most instances)
Structural screws for wood-to-wood and hanger to wood connections
Kiln Dried Douglas Fir 2×4 through 2×10 #2 and #2 premium girts and purlins
Simpson PFDS ‘slip on’ purlin hangers
Prefabricated wood roof truss with all lumber at least #2 grade
Powder coated diaphragm screws with EPDM gaskets

Hansen Pole Buildings are the strongest and highest quality – because we care enough to be best.

https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2024/04/things-hansen-pole-buildings-does-better-than-any-other-post-frame-building-provider/

One of our Building Designers will be reaching out to you to further discuss your exact wants and needs, or call 1.866.200.9657

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am building my 30x60x12 post frame house. What depth and width is the best for my pier footings and is it necessary to finish it with a bell auger? Also, my post frame house will be made out of composite roof and LP siding. So that’s it another factor to take into consideration for the bearing weight of each column on my footings. And is 10′ bay a good spacing between each column for the weight of this roof and siding? Also, when it comes to pouring the floor, I have found nothing online about how to pour my slab at the pier footings with a rat ledge. ANGEL in SEALY

DEAR ANGEL: Your dimensions happen to fit perfectly within those available for our ‘most practical dimensions’ discount: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2024/04/things-hansen-pole-buildings-does-better-than-any-other-post-frame-building-provider/

In most instances, our engineers are going to specify a 40″ hole depth. Diameters will be based upon live and dead loads and will be again properly accounted for by our engineers. You will not need to use a bell auger. With shingles and LP siding, deflection criteria of framing members becomes crucial, our engineers account for that as well. While 10′ bays work, 12′ is more typical and results in being able to handle fewer components, speeding in assembly.

With post frame construction, your internal slab is poured up against a pressure preservative treated splash plank – so top of slab is above exterior grade by 3-1/2″. This will be true whether using embedded columns or columns attached to wet-set brackets in piers.

This entry was posted in Concrete, floorplans, Footings, Professional Engineer, Lumber, Pole Barn Questions, Columns, Pole Barn Design, Pole Building How To Guides, Pole Barn Planning, Barndominium, Trusses and tagged materials lists, MSR Lumber, footing depth, glu-lam, columns, engineer sealed plans, sealed plans, concrete piers, footing size on June 11, 2024 by Rick Ochs.

A BONUS PBG for Friday May, 17th– Roof Insulation, Column Sizing, and a Moisture Issue.

A BONUS PBG for Friday May, 17th– Roof Insulation, Column Sizing, and a Moisture Issue.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hi Mike. I built a post and beam shop and am trying to figure out how to insulate the roof on the second floor. The bents are true sawn 6×6 on ten foot centers (building is 40 feet long and loft is 16 feet wide). I used true 4×4 purlins on top of the 6×6 bents. I put 5/8 OSB over that, underlayment, then metal on top. I put a ridge vent system in. Now I’m looking at insulating the roof from the inside. I really have no air passage ways as the purlins run horizontally. My thought was to use 3 inch owens corning foam leaving a one inch gap to the OSB. I read your piece on closed cell spray foam for unvented roofs but mine is already vented. Can you give me any advice please? Thank you. MATT in ATHOL

DEAR MATT: While your idea is noble, it is impossible to place foam boards to completely eliminate warm, moist air from getting through cracks and seams. Eventually moisture will be trapped against underside of your OSB and there the fun (not really) begins. You really need to block your ridge vent and use closed cell spray foam. This article is in regards to another person in a similar circumstance: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2023/10/properly-insulating-between-roof-purlins/

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am planning to build a 48 x 48 Monitor style pole barn that I intend to use for RV storage in the middle and living space above the center section. Will 6″ x 6″ posts be adequate spaced 12 ft apart or should I use 8″ x 8″? TIMOTHY in MARION

DEAR TIMOTHY: Your building columns will be sized by our engineers based upon building heights and loads carried. I would suspect our 3 ply 2×6 glulaminated columns produced from 2400msr lumber (roughly 50% stronger in bending than any other readily available columns) will be likely to adequately carry imposed loads.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: When vinyl backed fiberglass insulation is installed on a metal roof, and is enclosed with rib closures and the roof extends 2″ over the purlin, should water still be able to reach the fiberglass? If so, should the fiberglass be replaced? Would this be something the contractor would be responsible for? Thank you. MARY in GREENEVILLE

DEAR MARY: Properly installed water should not reach fiberglass. If you see any fiberglass at juncture of wall and roof steel, then it was not properly installed. During installation, last roughly four inches of fiberglass should be removed from vinyl, then vinyl folded back over fiberglass. Folded edge should be even with outside of beveled eave strut (eave girt/purlin). If improperly installed contractor should at the least remove roofing to allow fiberglass to dry, then reinstall correctly.

This entry was posted in Roofing Materials, Barndominium, Pole Barn Planning, Ventilation, Building Drainage, Building Interior, Columns, Insulation, Lofts, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design and tagged moisture barrier, glulaminated column, insulation, treated column, spray foam, columns on May 17, 2024 by Rick Ochs.

Order of Construction

Order of Construction

Mike the Pole Barn Guru writes:

2. OBTAIN PLANING, ZONING AND BUILDING PERMITS (Where required)

3. TEMPORARY UTILITIES
You will need to have water, electric power, and toilet facilities available during construction process.

5. WELL
If you are going to have a well, you might as well dig it up front so you will have water available for construction.

6. LAY OUT BUILDING

7. DIG HOLES FOR COLUMNS OR PIERS
Call for hole inspection (where required)

8. SET COLUMNS IN HOLES OR INTO WET-SET BRACKSET Backfill per plan

10. CALL FOR FRAMING INSPECTION (where required)

11. INSTALL
a) Weather Resistant Barrier over wall framing
b) Entry doors, sliding doors and windows
c) All steel wall trims except corners
d) Wall steel and corner trim

12. SEWER AND WATER TAPS

If you are connecting to municipal water and sewer, this is where pipes are laid to house and actually connected (tapped into) water and sewer mains.

13. UNDER SLAB UTILITIES
Any plumbing and electrical needs to go under concrete slab is installed here.

14. UNDER SLAB VAPOR BARRIER, UNDER SLAB AND PERIMETER SLAB INSULATION, PEX FOR RADIANT FLOOR HEAT

15. SLAB FLOOR

16. ANY STAIRS RESTING ON SLAB FLOOR
Get these in now so that the subs working inside can get from one floor to the other without depending on ladders.

18. BACK-OUT FRAMING

This is a general category including interior room partition, soffits for wall cabinets, and drywall nailers.

21. ROUGH PLUMBING

Next comes plumber to install his pipes.

22. ROUGH ELECTRICAL

23. ELECTRIC & GAS METER SET
You’ll need these in place to get some heat in house for drywall installation.

24. GUTTERS AND DOWNSPOUTS
It’s good to get water away from house as soon as possible.

25. WALL INSULATION

Once everything else is in walls and rough inspections are completed, it’s time to insulate your home.

28. ATTIC INSULATION

29. CABINETS
Base and wall.

30. INTERIOR DOORS AND TRIM

31. PAINT AND WALLPAPER
First coat of paint is usually sprayed. Get it in before hard wood floors are installed.

32. HARDWOOD FLOORS
Now it’s time to install your hardwood floors.

33. COUNTER TOPS
Counter tops are next. this may involve a different sub than one who installed cabinets.

34. VINYL AND CERAMIC TILE
Vinyl floor coverings and ceramic tile are installed. Two different subs.

35. SAND ANF FINISH WOOD FLOORS

This is first of two finishes. The last is done just before you move in.

36. APPLIANCES AND SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

This would include all of your major appliances – washer, dryer, range, oven, refrigerator, as well as any other special equipment you have specified.

38. FINISH PLUMBING
Plumber will install sinks, lavatories, toilets, and all faucets.

39. FINISH HVAC & FINAL HEAT
Your heating sub will install registers and get furnace and air conditioning running properly.

40. SHOWER DOORS AND MIRRORS
Install shower doors. Hang mirrors.

41. CARPET
Now it’s starting to feel like home!

42. HARDWARE AND SCREENS
Typically, this is door, window, and closet hardware. Window screens.

43. DRYWALL REPAIRS
You may need to get drywall subcontractor back out to patch some dings caused by other subs’ work. This is normal.

44. CLEAN UP
This is final interior clean up.

45. FINAL PAINT
Touching up drywall repairs and so forth.

46. FINAL WOOD FLOOR FINISH
This should be your last inside job before moving in.

47. RETAINING WALLS
These outside home building jobs can be going on while work proceeds inside.

48. WALKS, DRIVES, AND PATIOS
You should wait until drywall has been delivered, because drywall trucks are VERY heavy, and could damage your flat work

49. SEPTIC TANK AND DRAIN FIELD

Same as above on timing with regard to drywall delivery. Septic tank holds waste and allows microbic action on solids. Drain field is where effluent leaches into soil.

50. FINISH GRADING AND LANDSCAPING
Final finished grades are established to ensure proper drainage away from home, and to prepare yard for landscaping. Trees, shrubs, grass, etc. are installed.

This entry was posted in Constructing a Pole Building, Pole Building How To Guides, Pole Barn Planning and tagged backfill, septic systems, electrical, retaining walls, fireplace, base mould, landscaping, insulation, columns, HVAC on March 7, 2023 by admin.

Uneven Ground, Granting Wishes, and Recommendations

This Wednesday the Pole Barn Guru discusses foundation for a uneven ground with 4-5′ “fall” in the back, granting three wishes, and recommendations for building/footing/slab.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hey thank you for time. I am wanting to build a 50×100′ shop. I have uneven ground and about a 4-5′ fall in the back. What is the best foundation for a post frame building for that situation. Any help would be greatly appreciated! ANDREW in APPLING

DEAR ANDREW: I would go with an ecology block (read more here https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2015/04/ecology-blocks/) retaining wall several feet beyond my building footprint. Then backfill with suitable fill compacted in no less than six inch lifts. This would allow for construction on a flat level site with embedded columns.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Please grant me 3 wishes o guru, you are better than a genie!!! Do you have a crew put the building together? Do they put the grounding strap on the ground and on the building? Do you have pictures of the workshops? KEITH in PORT CHARLOTTE

DEAR KEITH: Thank you for making me smile! I will answer as many questions as you need answers for.

We are not building contractors. Currently (and for the foreseeable future) there is a nationwide shortage of building erectors. Many high quality erectors are booked out into 2023. We would strongly encourage you to consider erecting your own building shell.

For those without the time or inclination, we have an extensive independent Builder Network covering the contiguous 48 states (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/find-a-builder/). We can assist you in getting erection labor pricing as well as introducing you to potential builders.

A CAUTION in regards to ANY erector: If an erector tells you they can begin quickly it is generally either a big red flag, or there is a chance you are being price gouged. ALWAYS THOROUGHLY VET ANY CONTRACTOR https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2018/04/vetting-building-contractor/
Your electrician will (should) properly ground your building.

Please click on any of these photos at https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/gallery/ to open gallery to more photos in same categories.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: If I’m a belt and suspenders overkill kinda guy, what’s your recommendation on a pole barn construction/footings/slab. I would like to use steel instead of 4×4 posts if that isn’t a bad idea. JOHN in LITTLE ROCK

DEAR JOHN: 4×4 posts would not be adequate for even a very small post frame building. I would avoid steel due to its unforgiving nature (everything has to be spot on), challenges of thermal conductivity and connections between structural steel and wood. My preference (in my ideal dream world) would be glulaminated columns, embedded in ground, with a mono-poured concrete footing/bottom collar. This would provide greatest strength and reliability at an affordable price point.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Planning, Building Contractor, Concrete, Footings, Lumber, Insulation, Columns, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Constructing a Pole Building and tagged site slope, uneven ground, sloped site, contractors, DIY building, slabs, footings, columns, foundations, builder referrals, Post-Frame on August 24, 2022 by admin.

Overhead Door Opening Dimensions

I have probably been involved directly with somewhere around 50,000 sectional steel overhead doors in my career. One thing in common about all of these doors, they all require an opening.

This extra inch of overlap also provides a much tighter seal against wind infiltration and with insulated door panels – less of a heat loss or gain (depending upon the season).

This entry was posted in Lumber, Pole Building How To Guides, Pole Barn Planning, Columns, Sectional Doors and tagged column cupped, door column twisted, overhead door dimensions, overhead door panel overlap, weatherstop, columns, plumb, overhead door opening, door jamb, column warped on April 14, 2022 by admin.

How to Best Use Roof Steel Already Owned

How it is people end up owning steel roofing (or siding) when they do not have a structure to put it on has always been somewhat of a mystery to me.

Reader TIM in IRON RIVER writes:

“Hoping to build 40’x56′ post frame structure with 2′ overhang and 4/12 pitch using steel roofing I have on hand. That said it looks like I need roof lengths of 23′-1 1/4″ long to get that 2′ overhang. I have plenty of 20′-8″ and 2′ steel roofing and when combined with overlap I’ll be short (20′-8″ + 2′ minus 4″ overlap = 22′-4″) approximately a 9″ overhang. We do get plenty of rain here so the more overhang the better. For a 4/12 pitch how much overlap should I have for two adjoining roof pieces? Is there a vent gap at peak and if so how big of gap? Would 9″ overhang be sufficient for a rainy area to maintain building longevity? I guess I could go shorter on the 40′ width in order to use one single roof piece and to attain 2′ overhang. Your thoughts please.”

Mike the Pole Barn Guru responds:

If at all possible I try to avoid steel panels overlapping steel panels along their run.

Why?

Because all panels have been run through an identical set of dies, they are not designed with ‘outer’ panels having slightly larger ribs in order to accommodate a smooth lap transition. From experience, this overlap will attempt to “grow” on you as you go along your roof.

Most steel manufacturers recommend a minimum end lap of 12 inches. All overlaps should be made so as to center on a roof purlin. A 3/32″ x 1/2″ butyl endlap sealant should be applied on the bottom panel just below the centerline of the purlin where lap will occur. Due to the probability of panels not lying smoothly, sidelap sealants may also be needed.

Roof panels from each side should be held down from the peak of the roof by several inches (generally no greater than four with standard ridge caps) to allow for ventilation.

With all of this said, if it fits on your property, you should consider going to say 36′ x 60′ (or 72′), with 18″ overhangs to best utilize material you have and eliminate any overlapping splices. With 18″ overhangs on ends also, three foot width panels will lay out nicely without having to rip a panel when getting to building ends. Either of these building lengths will work out well for framing material usage with double trusses aligned with columns every 12 feet.

This entry was posted in Roofing Materials, Pole Building How To Guides, Steel Roofing & Siding, Ventilation, Pole Barn Questions, Building Overhangs and tagged sidelap sealants, Ventilation, double trusses, columns, steel panels, roof peak, butyl endlap sealant on September 22, 2021 by admin.

Sheets of Tin, Girt Style and Post Preferences, and Eastern Red Cedar

This Monday the Pole Barn Guru answers reader questions about the “how many sheets” of tin, and the cost of steel roof panels, what type of girt style or posts Mike would prefer, and the efficacy of Eastern Red Cedar for use as posts for a pole barn.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I’m thinking about building and pole barn 24×32 and 10ft height. I was wondering how many sheets of tin I will need and how much I will need for the roof. If you know how much money would it be? SCOUT in BEAR LAKE

DEAR SCOUT: As steel panels are three feet in width, you may want to consider walls being a multiple of three to maximize material efficiency and minimize waste. 24′ x 36′ would be an example. When you invest in a fully engineered post frame (pole barn) building kit package, all of the steel panels will be calculated for you and displayed on a layout sheet on your building plans. We also ensure you are provided with all trims and closure strips to properly seal your building, as well as using screws with EPDM washers – long enough to not pull out in wind events, and of a larger diameter to prevent screw slotting over time. By use of EPDM for washers (rather than rubber) they come with a manufacturer’s warranty backing up their performance to outlast your steel panels. We do not provide steel panels only.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Sorry for so many questions. Which type of girts do you prefer / recommend? Standard, bookshelf or commercial? Do codes typically allow you to build your own 6×6 laminated posts, or do you have to order them from a manufacturer? DAVID in DECATUR

DEAR DAVID: I would prefer you ask me questions, rather than regret later on not having asked. My #1 goal is to assist you from making decisions you will later be sorry you made – whether you invest in a new Hansen Pole Building or not.

If you think you will ever insulate your building’s walls and want a smooth finished interior surface, then commercial girts are an absolute best solution (I have used them on my own personal buildings).

There are many versions of ‘laminated’ columns. My personal preference is true factory built glu-lam columns, they have a tremendous strength to weight ratio, are light weight to work with, very straight and are a fully engineered product. You can field build columns, however their assembly (nailing patterns and any splices) should be designed by your building’s engineer for structural adequacy.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I have an overabundance of Eastern Red Cedar on my property. Most of them are just about fence post size but quite a few are 10″ or more. Our ground is super rocky and we have very little sapwood the middle is almost totally red. Can I use these for posts in my pole Barn if I cut off the sapwood or mount them above the concrete slab. ROGER in IRONDALE

DEAR ROGER: Untreated Cedar, left exposed to weather in above ground situations probably has an expected lifespan of roughly 10 years (https://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/bridges/documents/tdbp/decayres.pdf) and Mother Earth News places life expectancy of Red Cedar in ground at 15-20 years. While you may have better results, it is not something I would or could recommend when properly pressure preservative treated columns are readily available and will outlast any of our lifetimes.

Above ground, Cedars are far weaker in design capacity than commonly used structural species such as Southern Pine. Add to this, Building Codes require lumber used for structural purposes to be grade stamped.

Best use is probably for short lived fence posts.

This entry was posted in Columns, Lumber, Pole Barn Questions, Roofing Materials, Pole Barn Planning and tagged posts, glulam columns, columns, Roof Steel Size, Roof steel quantity, roof steel costs, Girt styles, eastern red cedar on April 19, 2021 by admin.

It’s All About the Posts!

Trimming Posts, A Taller Building, and Post Treatment:

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Trimming posts or adding Shims? My pole barn kit uses steel trusses that sit on top of the posts and bolt to their sides. If I set two or three posts lower than the rest, can I just add a shim the top (using PT plywood or similar) to match the heights of the other posts, rather than cutting the tops of the other seven or eight posts?
How much mismatch is acceptable? Would a 1/4″ difference in the tops of the posts be acceptable or noticeable? MIKE in ORLANDO

DEAR MIKE: I will give you my answers however prior to implementation of anything I advise, you need to be contacting the RDP (Registered Design Professional – architect or engineer) who designed your building and sealed the plans to get his or her approval.
In my humble opinion, using a non-compressible shim in order to make up the difference should be a non-issue.
As to the acceptable mismatch, structurally the ¼” difference will not make a difference, however there is a good chance it will be noticeable to the naked eye, especially along either the eave girt or fascia board. The closer you can get to perfect, the better the result will be and the happier you will be with it.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hello guru! We have a project on the way, and were thinking that our building the way it is engineered is going to be too short for our needs. What kind of risks, be it enforcement or safety would we run into if we increased the building height 2′? BRAD

DEAR BRAD: From a practicality standpoint all of your columns will be two feet too short, as will the wall steel. From an engineering standpoint going two feet taller changes the required sizes (dimensions not just lengths) of some of the columns. If you want taller overhead doors, then you have yet another issue.

The risks – safety – you would now be putting up an un-engineered building, which would be under designed for the loads being imposed on it and could collapse, causing injury or even death. Enforcement – if they catch you, you would have to do field modifications to bring the building up to Code.

If you are serious about making it taller, we can work with you to come up with the least expensive fixes and material swaps. The sooner you decide, chances are the less expensive it is going to be, however there would be a non-refundable deposit involved as we are going to put in some serious hours on this whether you decide to go forward or not.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: If PCP is not good for health and longevity on a pole house replacement pole. 2 each at 30’….what treatment do you recommend on a DF pole? JOE in KAILUA

DEAR JOE: If you are using Douglas Fir, then the pressure preservative of choice is ACZA. You could also use ACQ, however it is very corrosive to steel fasteners, so you would want to have products with a very high level of zinc in the galvanization process, or use stainless steel parts.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Structure, Professional Engineer, Columns and tagged columns, post treatment, taller building, trimming posts, posts on April 30, 2018 by admin.

Roofing Before Siding

If I am not mistaken, somewhere in the not too distant past I have expounded upon how I know a particular builder is or was a stick frame builder. How can I tell? The giveaway is they feel compelled to build the walls before the roof. I’ve listened to many experienced post frame builders in my career, as well as having constructed a few (hundred)post frame buildings myself.
The verdict – for best results, frame the roof and install the roofing prior to any wall framing being done.

Why?

First point is, if by some odd chance the columns at the base of the building are not exactly where they ought to be, the roof can easily be squared up still. It is relatively easy to move the tops of columns which are not framed to or sided. This allows for the column tops to be placed where they should have been at grade level.

Secondly, all of the roof purlins in interior bays can be precut to exactly the same length (in most cases), or at the very least an entire bay can be done at a time. If the column spacing varied between sidewalls and columns tops were not where they should have been, it would take custom cutting to length every roof purlin all of the way across the building. Neither fun, nor time efficient.

Third, without siding installed, it is relatively easy to square up each roof plane to make installing the roofing as painless as possible. Once either the steel roofing or roof sheathing with shingles is installed, the roof planes will be affixed where they should be.

Fourth, much easier to drive a pre-mix concrete truck around the perimeter of the building and chute the concrete in for a slab on grade floor. No framing or siding to get in the way, only widely spaced columns.

Am sure there are more reasons than just these, however the factors stated should be enough to convince any builder (or DIYer) to give it a try and see if in the end, the result isn’t far happier

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Questions, Roofing Materials, Steel Roofing & Siding and tagged purlins, columns, roofing before wall framing on October 12, 2017 by admin.

Are My Columns Too Short?

Are My Columns Too Small or Too Short?

We receive and answer lots of questions. Even with a Construction Guide which extends over 500 pages, covering a plethora of topics and how to’s, there is always an unanswered question (sometimes two).

One of our good clients recently sent a query to the Hansen Pole Buildings’ wizardess of all things shipping, Justine, which I share now:

“Hi Justine, I received delivery of the columns for my building on Friday. After inspection, I had 2 questions that I’m hoping you can clarify for me because I don’t know if there is an issue with them. I also want to apologize in advance, because I know these questions are pedantic and probably nothing to worry about, I just want to make sure there’s no problem here since I haven’t been involved with the kind of construction that requires inspections before. 🙂

The building plans seem to have a slightly larger dimension than what was delivered. I’m sure the engineering has allowed enough safety margin that this won’t be a problem, I just don’t know if it’s going to be an issue on an inspection. For example, the corner columns are shown on the blueprints at 5 3/8″ x 4 1/8″ but the columns that were delivered are 5 1/4″ x 4 1/8″. So, you see it’s only 1/8″ on the long dimension of the column, but I don’t know if an inspector will have a problem with that. The same 1/8″ undersize dimension is true on the corner, endwall, sidewall, and shed columns.

I was under the impression that the length of the columns was a minimum length and not a nominal length that might be slightly less than that. It could also be that I have a misunderstanding about how the columns are spec’d. What I found is that the 14′ columns are all actually 14′ 1″, which is great, however all of the 24′ columns are actually only 23′ 10 1/4″ when measured to the shortest of the three laminated boards. They are all right at 24′ when measured to the longest of the laminated boards. This is only a concern of mine because I’m in the process of getting the site leveled out, but I’m currently at about 12″, which is cutting things pretty close on some of the columns. So, I didn’t know if the manufacturer made a mistake or if I just need to correct the way I measure them. My main concern is around ensuring I have full weight bearing on the notched post, which will only happen if I notch them at least 11″ down. I’ve attached a photo to show how I’m measuring them.”
To which our Technical Support Department cheerfully responded:

Thank you very much for sending us your concerns.

#1 You are going to find the dimensional lumber (2×4 through 2×12) provided can vary as much as 1/4″ plus or minus from the anticipated “ideal” dimensions. It is part of the randomness of dealing with an organic product (wood) which has to be milled. It is also why we are only able to use 40% of Pult (the ultimate strength of a material in a wood assembly) when engineering calculations are produced. In looking at the calculations for the long columns in the center of your building, for example, they are stressed to 92% using the “call out” dimensions. Using a Sm (Section modulus – depth of lumber squared x width of lumber divided by 6) of the 1/8″ under size, reduces the actual Sm by 1.64%, which would mean the member would be stressed to 94% under maximum design load.

#2 Column lengths do vary slightly due to the material lost in finger jointing. On the 20′ eave raised center section, with the bottom of the column at 32″ below grade, the amount of column needed would be 22’8″. With a column length of 23’10-1/4″ you could have as much as 13-3/4″ of grade change and still have plenty of column.

If you do happen to have a foot of grade change, it would be my recommendation to have the site brought closer to level before setting columns. Good compactable fill is not inexpensive. Reducing the grade change from 12″ to say four inches, as an example, saves 27 yards of fill across just the footprint of your building.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to this department further with any technical questions.

This entry was posted in Columns, Lumber, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Building Department, Pole Barn Planning and tagged columns, dimensional lumber, glu-lam columns, pole barn columns on September 26, 2017 by admin.

Poles for Pole Barns

Some days it seems there are nearly as many possible design solutions for pole barn “poles” as there are pole barns!

Here is a brief overview of the organic (think coming from trees) ones. For the sake of brevity, I will limit this article to only applications where the columns are embedded in the ground.

Old utility poles – not a good choice for many reasons:

https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/blog/2012/11/utility-poles/

https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/blog/2012/11/used-utility-poles/

Solid sawn pressure preservative treated dimensional lumber or timbers.

Be wary of trying to recycle old treated wood if it has been treated with an oil based preservative:

https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/blog/2012/11/pcp/

Structural joists and planks are lumber which is two to four inches thick and five inches and wider. These would include 2×6, 2×8, etc., as well as 4×6, 4×8, etc. Structural joists and planks are graded under a more stringent set of grading rules than either “Posts and Timbers” or “Beams and Stringers”.

Beams and Stringers are five inches and thicker, rectangular with a width more than two inches greater than their thickness. These would include dimensions such as 6×10 and 6×12.

Posts and Timbers are 5×5 and larger, where the width is not more than two inches greater than the thickness. Besides 5×5, it includes 6×6, 6×8, 8×8 and similar.

So isn’t a #2 grade a #2 grade regardless of size? Well, sort of…..larger pieces of lumber are given a #2 grade, with more defects (like larger knots). Correspondingly, the strength values are not the same. Using the measure of Fb (fiberstress in bending) and arbitrarily picking Hem-Fir as a species, a #2 6×6 has a value of 575, 6×10 is 675 and a 4×6 1105!

Regardless of the dimension of the lumber or species, proper pressure preservative treating is essential:

https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/blog/2012/10/pressure-treated-posts-2/

Putting together individual pieces.

Multiple joists and planks can be joined to form a column, either spliced or unspliced.

In an unspliced scenario, building heights are normally limited to 16 feet, as generally it is difficult, if not impossible to purchase pressure preservative treated 2×6 or 2×8 in lengths longer than 20 foot.

I’ve discussed nail-laminated columns previously:

https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/blog/2013/08/nail-laminated-posts/

Glu-laminated columns.

Some interesting glulam reading: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/blog/2014/04/titan-timbers/

These afford a Building Designer a plethora of structural options which cannot be achieved by the use of other alternatives. With a high strength to weight ratio, and typically being very straight – in markets where they are available, they can be a wonderful alternative, especially for taller buildings, or cases involving high wind and/or snow loads.

With so many options and alternatives, how is a consumer to know what poles are best?

My vote is for the overall design solution which best meets your individual needs for creation of space and access and egress. As long as the design is structurally sound and Code conforming, at the end of the day it does not matter what the individual pieces were used to build it.