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Double Sliding Barn Doors, Condensation Control, and Sealed Plans

This Wednesday readers “Ask the Guru” about costs of a metal “welded” sliding barn door frame, insulating a building with double bubble insulation to avoid condensation, and a question about our sealed plans for a new building.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Double sliding metal barn doors, 10′ wide by 12′ height. Metal welded frame. Appropriate cost please. TIMOTHY in CAT SPRING

DEAR TIMOTHY: Thank you for your interest. Our sliding metal barn doors are screwed together, rather than welded, as this makes for ease of shipping. We do only provide them with an investment in a complete building package – as shipment of only sliding door components would be cost prohibitive.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Recently purchased a property with a 24′ x 32′ pole barn. Has a steel roof and walls. Girts and purlins are covered with double bubble. I plan on using this as a workshop with heat and air conditioning to make it more comfortable. The concrete slab has 6 mil poly under it. The interior is completely unfinished. I plan on installing OSB and painting it. But prior to that I would like to add insulation. My concern is condensation. Do I use a vapor barrier, vapor membrane (like CertainTeed), or no vapor barrier on the walls? What about the ceiling? Building has soffit vent and a ridge vent. MICHAEL in LEWISBERRY

DEAR MICHAEL: Control of condensation should always be taken quite seriously.

Provided your building’s double bubble has been properly installed and all seams are sealed, it is a vapor barrier (and a minute insulation, under R-1). In order for your walls to properly dry to building interior, use an unfaced insulation like Rockwool (as it is unaffected by moisture) with no interior vapor barrier. Painting interior of OSB may create an unintended vapor barrier surface.

For your ceiling, once interior finish has been installed, blow in insulation, taking care to leave no less than an inch of continuous air space above it and below any roof purlins or underside of double bubble.

Keep an eye on interior humidity levels, as you may need to mechanically dehumidify.

 

building-plansDEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am building a 40’W X 60’L pole barn with treated 8″ X 8″ posts. I need a design approved with a Pennsylvania seal on it. Do your plans have seal on them? JAMES in McKEAN

DEAR JAMES: Every building Hansen Pole Buildings provides includes site specific structural plans sealed by a engineer registered in the state building will be constructed in and comes with sealed verifying calculations. Our engineers will only seal plans when we are providing materials, this assures materials as specified are actually being provided.

 

 

This entry was posted in Lumber, Professional Engineer, Insulation, Columns, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Constructing a Pole Building, Pole Barn Planning, Barndominium, Ventilation, Building Interior and tagged , , , , , , on by .

Stamped Engineered Plans, No Foundation, and Economical Builds

This week the Pole Barn Guru answers reader questions about Hansen providing stamped engineered plans, buildings with “no foundation,” and if a two story or single story structure is more economical to build.

building-plansDEAR POLE BARN GURU: Do you supply stamped engineering plans for building inspection purposes? DOUG in BENEZETTE

DEAR DOUG: Every building we provide comes with site specific, engineer sealed plans showing every member, its location and connection, as well as engineer sealed verifying calculations.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I see buildings with no foundation what is the code for pole barn foundations in Michigan? ANTHONY in GLADWIN

DEAR ANTHONY: IRC and IBC codes allow for post frame (pole barn) foundations to be columns either embedded in ground (properly pressure preservative treated, with sufficient means to disperse weight across bottom of holes, usually via a concrete footing) or attached to ICC-ESR approved wet set brackets poured into concrete piers.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Which would be more economical, to build a 40x64x12 post frame shouse with attic trusses over a 40 x 32 section for an upstairs or to build a 40 x 72 x 12 with no upstairs needed? BETH in CADIZ

DEAR BETH: All on one level will be more economical. Attic trusses do not come cheap, plus you lose the space wasted by stairs. One level also affords accessibility for those with limited mobility.

 

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Screw Placement, a Future Build, and IRC Engineering in WA

This Wednesday readers “Ask the Guru” about the placement of screws through the high ribs of steel roofing, exploring options for a future build, and required engineering for post frame in Skagit County, WA.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hi all, not sure if this is the right place to have this discussion, but I just had a metal roof put on. My contractor put the screws through the ribs. I realize that this used to be a way to do it, but it does not seem to be the best way to do it nowadays. So, my question is, should I ask him to screw in flat sections too? Or, do I just roll with it until it develops problems? I do not want to add more screws to the flat section if that will just make the problem worse. Our distributor sent very long screws with the roofing metal, so my guy just assumed it was meant for the rib…Any help or advice would be appreciated. Obviously a very frustrating situation! And, for what it is worth, I live in a very flat, windy area. Not much wind break. JUSTIN in MT. VERNON

DEAR JUSTIN: I would add proper screws, in flats, as should have been done originally. It will not hurt (other than it will look like your roof has a lot of screws) and may relieve some of the potential for slots to form around screws in high ribs. Of course your best solution – replace roofing and do it right.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hi there, I’m currently exploring options for a future build and wanted to learn more about your pole barn kits to determine if this is the right route for my project. I’m particularly interested in understanding the approximate cost of a 2,000 square foot pole barn kit, along with what’s included in that package. Additionally, I’d appreciate any insight you can share on the full build-out process. Specifically, I’d like to get a sense of the total cost when factoring in the foundation, interior build (such as framing, insulation, plumbing, electrical, etc.), and any other essentials needed to complete the space. I understand you may focus primarily on providing the kits, but any guidance or recommendations you can provide would be very helpful. The location of the potential build is Anderson, South Carolina. Looking forward to hearing from you and learning more. Best regards ARIANA in ANDERSON

DEAR ARIANA: Thank you for reaching out to us. Our building kits typically include all structural components needed to “dry in” your building – this would be framework, roofing, siding, doors, windows, any raised wood floors. Each of our buildings comes with site specific (your building and its openings, on your site) engineer sealed plans (with verifying engineer sealed plans). This is your assurance your barndominium will withstand appropriate climactic loads and perform admirably for generations. For fully engineered post-frame homes and barndominiums, modest tastes, total DIY, budget roughly $75-85 per square foot for conditioned spaces, $35 per square foot for other spaces. This does not include cost of land, site prep (including driveways and roads), utilities or permits. If you hire a General Contractor to “turn key” – expect to pay double to triple this amount. Act as your own General Contractor and hire out subcontractors, savings usually run 20-30% less than hiring a GC. Your building shell investment is roughly a third of your finished DIY investment.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Skagit County Planning and Development Services says: “Is engineering required for a post frame building? Yes, engineering is required. There is no provision in the International Residential Code (IRC) for prescriptive post frame construction. “Do the plans and kit come with an engineer’s stamp that I can submit to the Planning department for a building permit? Thanks, ED in BOW

DEAR ED: Every building we provide comes with site specific (your doors and openings, at your site) engineer sealed plans, with engineer sealed calculations. We have provided well over 1000 buildings in Washington State with dozens of them being to clients in Skagit county.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Homes, Barndominium, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Building Department, Roofing Materials, Constructing a Pole Building, Pole Barn Planning, Professional Engineer and tagged , , , , , , , , on by .

Easier to Ask Permission, Than Beg for Forgiveness

Easier to Ask Permission, Than Beg for Forgiveness

Our actual client writes:

“I need you to please help me. I need a letter from engineering that states that the ceiling can withstand tongue and groove plywood being hung on it. We decided to keep part of the ceiling vaulted and open and are going to do blue pine tongue and groove wood there. The county is fine with it. As long as they have a letter from engineering that stated the ceiling will be ok with it (insulating with spray insulation under the tongue and groove).”

Had client expressed this desire initially, it could easily (and likely less costly than what they did order) have been engineered.

Here is my response:

Your building is designed, as ordered by you, with ceiling loaded trusses, designed for a 10 psf (pounds per square foot) dead load, including ceiling joists 24″ on center. This is reflected in your engineer sealed structural building plans.

This provides for load carrying capabilities and appropriate framing across your roof truss bottom chords.

Your building’s roof truss top chords (and subsequently purlins between) are designed for a 3.3 psf dead load. This is adequate only to carry weight imposed by roof steel, roof purlins and truss itself.

Loads not used on one chord, cannot simply be transferred to another chord. From experience of designing trusses for nearly five decades, I can attest to this.

In order to have a finished ceiling, supported by roof purlins (with slope of roof), a truss repair would be required to support this additional top chord load. Repairs would be detailed by engineer who sealed your roof truss designs. This could result in one or more of several outcomes – including (but not limited to) plywood gussets being added to some or all truss faces where steel connector plates are currently placed, “scabs” (dimensional lumber) being added to face(s) of truss members, or even another truss being added to what currently exists.

Beyond this, deflection criteria dictate roof purlins must be “stiffer” when supporting materials other than just roof steel. This is typically solved by adding another purlin half-way between each existing roof purlin.

Without ceiling joists installed between truss bottom chords, additional bracing will be required in order to properly brace trusses.

Some of these alterations may prove difficult to achieve in an ‘as built’ situation.

This story has a moral – similar to measure twice, cut once….think it through twice in advance, build it right once.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Design, Barndominium, Constructing a Pole Building, Pole Barn Planning, Pole Barn Structure, Trusses, Building Interior, Professional Engineer, Lumber, Pole Barn Questions and tagged , , , , , on by .

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.

Gambrel HomeDEAR 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

Lumber OffloadingDEAR 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 Pole Barn Questions, Columns, Pole Barn Design, Pole Building How To Guides, Pole Barn Planning, Barndominium, Trusses, Concrete, floorplans, Footings, Professional Engineer, Lumber and tagged , , , , , , , , on by .

Ballpark Figures, Blueprint Costs, and Condensation Drip

This Wednesday the Pole Barn Guru answers reader questions about ballpark figures to estimate costs of a barndominium, the costs for blueprints for a 40x60x20 building, and what the best way to stop condensation drip on a post frame building would be.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I’ve got a very general question, hope you can help. Is there a very ballpark figure for estimating a barndominium? As in square foot to dollars. My current house is 2500 sqtf. on two acres. I’d like less house on larger property. Currently negotiating with a friend for 7 acres. Need a ballpark figure on construction in order to decide if it’s just a pipe dream. Thanks JIM in MONEE

DEAR JIM: Thank you for reaching out to me Jim, message me any time with questions. Fully engineered post frame, modest tastes, totally DIY, move in ready, budget roughly $70-80 per sft of floor space for living areas, $35 for all others. Does not include land, site prep, utilities, permits. If you hire a General Contractor to do everything, expect 2-3x as much.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I’m looking to some blueprints for a 40x60x20 pole barn it will have 2 10×12 doors on the gable end wall. I want a 2 foot over hang. I want to sheet the roof with 5/8 cdx and walls with 1/2cdx. How much would the blueprints cost? MICHAEL in COOS BAY

DEAR MICHAEL: Thank you for reaching out to me Michael. Our engineers will only seal plans when we provide the materials, as it is the only way they can guarantee materials they specify will actually arrive onsite. Please send your specifics to Caleb@HansenPoleBuildings.com along with your site address and best contact number. You will find we are very competitive and have provided hundreds of fully engineered post frame buildings to our clients in Oregon.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hello, I asked an insulation question on social media and it quickly turned into a debate among other members. In your opinion is there any way to stop the condensation drip on a porch we would like to cover with T/G, box in with soffits? This is a new post frame building with an offset porch. Initially we planned to leave framing exposed but due to birds and wanting a more finished look we would like to put a ceiling in place. Thank you. MEL in ISLAMORADA

DEAR MEL: As it is already existing, your quickest and easiest is to do 2″ of closed cell spray foam directly to roof steel underside.

 

 

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Questions, Porches, Pole Barn Design, Building Overhangs, Pole Barn Heating, Roofing Materials, Constructing a Pole Building, Pole Barn Planning, Barndominium, floorplans, Ventilation, Budget, Insulation and tagged , , , , , , , on by .

Post Frame Possibilities, Engineer Sealed Plans in Canada, and Horse Barn Apartment

This Wednesday the Pole Barn Guru tackles reader questions about the possibilities of post frame wall height with columns atop a concrete wall, interpreting client needs into engineer sealed drawings, and the scope of a barn to accommodate horses on the main level and an apartment above.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Could I build tall (25 ft) walls with poles at 6ft on center on top of an 8″ thick concrete wall, with anchors as required? I have never built with pole system; always stick framed, but I need the larger spans for tempered glass walls. Thanks for your advice. TARUNO in LA HONDA

DEAR TARUNO: In answer to your question….maybe. With 25 foot tall walls, an eight-inch thick concrete wall may not prove to be adequate. We can incorporate ICC-ESR approved wet set brackets into top of your concrete, in order to attach columns. Walls would need to be checked, by our engineers, to assure they would have adequate amounts of sheathing to properly transfer shear loads from roof to ground. We are able to provide columns up to 60 foot lengths, so your wall height should not pose a challenge.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Is your company or you capable of interpreting customer wants into engineered drawings for permits compliance? MARTY in CALGARY

 

DEAR MARTY: This is exactly what we do for roughly a hundred new clients every day, seven days a week, in all 50 U.S. states. Unfortunately for you, we do not currently have Candian Building Codes programmed into our system.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: How tall would a barn have to be to accommodate horses on the bottom and eventually a 2 bed 2 bath apartment in the loft? JUSTINE in LITTLETON

DEAR JUSTINE: Before we get too deep into this, some things to consider: living above horses you will be faced with dust, odors, noise, insects and rodents. Most jurisdictions will require a two-hour fire separation between living and barn spaces, this means you have to have outside stairs and all structural supports for second floor need to be two-hour fire protected as well. You will have stairs to negotiate. Insurance is going to be very expensive. On to your question: Horses should have 10 feet of headroom, then thickness of your floor, 8 feet (or more) of ceiling height for your living space, then thickness of your roof system (raised heel trusses to blow in full depth of insulation from wall-to-wall will be nearly two feet thick). When all is said and done, you are looking at roughly a 22 foot eave height. https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2020/05/how-tall-should-my-eave-height-be-for-two-stories/

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Planning, Pole Barn Apartments, Concrete, Footings, Barndominium, floorplans, Building Interior, Professional Engineer, Columns, Lofts, Pole Barn Questions, Horse Riding Arena, Pole Barn Design, Building Styles and Designs and tagged , , , , , , , , on by .

HOA Restrictions, Plans Only Option (sorry, no) and Site Prep

This week the Pole Barn Guru addresses reader questions about the possibility of adding a brick exterior to a pole building to satisfy HOA restrictions, if Hansen provides a sealed plans only option so a reader can reuse parts of current building, and geotechnical concerns about site prep and dirt for post frame construction.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I live in a HOA restricted area that states exteriors must be brick or brick veneer. I purchased the neighboring lot in order to build a 3/4 bay shop on that lot. Is there a way to brick veneer the exterior of one of your buildings? It has to closely match my existing house. Can email you more pictures if that would be helpful. CHAD in JEFFERSONVILLE

DEAR CHAD: HOAs are always a challenge (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2016/12/hoa-requirements/). There are a plethora of ‘thin brick’ options available (please Google “Thin Brick”) any of them can be readily applied to a properly engineered post frame building. I say ‘properly engineered’ as building and wall deflection needs to be limited in order to prevent cracking of veneer.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Can I hire you to design a pole barn and get sealed prints for NJ without buying the kit from you? I have a fairly new pole barn on the property and would like to reuse that material for my new barn. SHANE in BRIDGETON

DEAR SHANE: As some of our components are proprietary, our engineers will only seal plans when we are providing materials.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: The person that will be doing the dirt work for the foundation asked me a question concerning the columns in the ground. He asked if the column will require certain type or quality of dirt, or if there are any samples taken to determine the depth. I have read on your website about all the factors that are taken into consideration when determining the depth of the hole and size of the columns, but I don’t remember seeing anything about soil samples. Thank you in advance for your time. ALLEN in CABOT

DEAR ALLEN: In an ideal dream world, our clients would have a geotechnical engineer do an onsite evaluation of soil strengths and forward to us.

Without this information, our engineers use presumptive load-bearing values found in IRC (International Residential Code) Table R401.4.1 and IBC (International Building Code) Table 1806.2. From decades of experience, these values end up being very conservative in relationship to actual geotechnical testing results.

Most important, if you are bringing in fill, is for it to be adequately compacted in no greater than six inch lifts.

One of our previous clients had some site preparation questions answered for his particular circumstances, his experience may prove helpful to you: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2017/02/building-site-preparation/

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Pole Building How To Guides, Pole Barn Planning, Pole Barn Structure, Pole Building Siding, Footings, Alternate Siding, Rebuilding Structures, Professional Engineer and tagged , , , , , , , , on by .

Sealed Plans, Column Brackets, and Plans for Engineering Project

This week the Pole Barn Guru answers reader questions about Hansen Buildings providing engineer sealed plans, use of Simpson Strong-Tie column brackets in post frame, and plans of a Hansen Building for use in an independent building project for an engineering student.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Do you sell just the plans for pole barns? I am going to build a pole barn with Lumber sourced from a local saw mill. I need to find engineered plans for it for the building permit. Please let me know if this is possible. JAKE in TOOELE

DEAR JAKE: Thank you for reaching out to us. Our engineers will only seal plans when we are providing the materials, as it is their only way to guarantee materials specified actually get shipped to jobsite. Sourcing lumber from a local sawmill could be problematic from an engineering standpoint, as all wood will need to be grade stamped by an approved agency in order to have building engineered.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I see a lot of discussion about using the Sturdi-wall wet set bracket when using a concrete pier for posts. I was wondering if the Simpson CB (column base) is used in post frame construction? From their documentation it looks like that is what it was designed for. RON in HILO

DEAR RON: Simpson Strong-tie CB parts are rated for uplift loads, but not moment (bending) loads, hence should not be used for columns subjected to bending forces.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am currently a third year engineering student at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, and am doing an independent project with **** **** Farm SLO. **** **** SLO is a nonprofit that recently received a grant to purchase residential pole building (#10-0813). For my independent project I am researching, designing, and building a rain water catchment system, grey water catchment system and other modifications to the barn. In order to do this I need the complete blue prints of the barn. Is there a place I can access these blue prints/ CAD? If you need any further information please let me know. MARY in SAN LUIS OBISPO

DEAR MARY: Our archivist is researching availability of those plans. Meanwhile, it may be possible for one of our Building Designers to create a Sketchup, if this would prove helpful. As **** **** SLO is a qualified non-profit, we do offer a discount for them. Please advise Caleb@HansenPoleBuildings.com as to who we should be working with at **** **** to assist in moving this project forward.

 

 

This entry was posted in Professional Engineer, Columns, Pole Barn Homes, Lumber, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, floorplans, Constructing a Pole Building, Pole Barn Planning, Pole Barn Structure, Footings and tagged , , , , , , on by .

Insulate a Building, Truss Carrier Bolts, and Code Standards

This week the Pole Barn Guru answers reader questions about the proper way to insulate the walls of a metal building, advice on bolting truss carriers, and advice about, “building code standards for the horizontal infill framing” on a post frame building.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I would like to insulate the interior walls of a metal building so they could be finished with plywood or drywall so I could use the building as a cabin. The ceiling is insulated with fiberglass, but the walls are not. What is the proper way to insulate/frame the interior walls? BRIAN in COLUMBIA

DEAR BRIAN: The proper way would have been to have had your walls framed using commercial bookshelf wall girts https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/09/11-reasons-post-frame-commercial-girted-walls-are-best-for-drywall/.
You can still do this – using 2×4 #2 girts bookshelf style between the columns (hold girts flush to inside of columns).

I would recommend using rock wool batts, as they are unaffected by moisture https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2013/03/roxul-insulation/, with a well-sealed 6mil clear visqueen vapor barrier on the inside.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am building a pole shed with 12′ side walls I have already poured a cement slab 10’x42′ next to the back wall I have installed [5] 6×6 poles with cement pads underneath them I am going to be measuring today for where to bolt on a truss carrier, do I measure 12′ up from the cement slab to mark where the truss carrier goes? TODD in ELK MOUND

DEAR TODD: Height of your truss carrier should be delineated on your engineer sealed, site specific, structural building plans. Typically, post frame buildings are measured by eave height, not ceiling height. https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2012/03/eave_height/

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: What are the building code standards for the horizontal infill framing between the posts of a post frame buildings, in terms of timber size, horizontal/vertical on center distance. I have seen 2x4s and 2x6s used, usually 24″ o/c vertically. Horizontally, how far can they span horizontally? JOHN in BANDERA

DEAR JOHN: Code requirement is wall girts must meet with minimum jurisdictional design criteria for wind speed and exposure (for reading on Exposure see https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2022/06/wind-exposure-and-confusion-part-iii/).
Deflection must be within limits specified in IBC Table 1604.3.

Externally mounted wall girts rarely meet deflection criteria https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2012/03/girts/
In most instances, bookshelf wall girts are a best structural design solution: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2011/09/commercial-girts-what-are-they/
Ultimately, building from a fully engineered set of site specific plans will ensure your wall girts are properly designed to resist imposed loads.

 

This entry was posted in Building Department, Constructing a Pole Building, Pole Barn Planning, Trusses, Professional Engineer, Pole Barn Homes, Insulation, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design and tagged , , , , , , , on by .

A Basement Foundation, Vapor Barrier for Arena, and a Hansen Kit

This Wednesday the Pole Barn Guru answers reader questions about building a post frame building on a basement foundation, insulation vs a reflective radiant barrier, and a question about what is include in a Hansen Building kit.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Is it possible to erect one of the pole barn kits on a basement foundation? LUCAS in LANDISBURG

DEAR LUCAS: Absolutely – if you are planning a poured concrete, concrete block or ICF foundation, you will want us to provide wet set brackets to be placed in top of your walls when they are poured. We also offer an option of a Permanent Wood Foundation.

Here is some extended reading: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2020/02/barndominium-on-a-daylight-basement/

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hey can you enlighten me on this product and if you are still using it in pole barn applications, I am considering a riding arena and need especially if commercial a vapor barrier and some added R-Value I am looking at the R-22 product.

Thanks,

Any information would be helpful Insulation4less.com doesn’t seem to have a phone number and very difficult to contact.

Saw Your Page:
https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/tag/prodex/

ROBERT in ROCHESTER

DEAR ROBERT: Thank you for reaching out to us. If you will note, in reference to our page where you found us, Prodex is a Radiant Reflective Barrier (RRB) – it is NOT insulation, regardless of what claims might be made by any distributor of this product.

Here is some further discussion about RRBs: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2014/04/reflective-insulation-wars/
In Southern Minnesota you are in Climate Zone 6. Here would be my recommendations:

Roof – order roof steel with an Integral Condensation Control (Condenstop or Dripstop) factory applied. Install a steel ceiling across truss bottom chords, blow fiberglass insulation in above steel ceiling. Vent attic at eaves with enclosed vented soffits and ridge.

Walls – use a Weather Resistant Barrier (aka Housewrap) between framing and wall steel. Place bookshelf wall girts two foot on center and fill wall cavity with rockwool batt insulation and an interior vapor barrier.
One of our Building Designers will reach out to you to further discuss your riding arena needs.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: What is all included in a pole barn home kit?

AMANDA in HAVRE

Click here to download our free brochure!DEAR AMANDA: Thank you for your interest in a new Hansen Pole Building. These would be included items:

Fully engineered plans including:
Layout of all columns
Roof framing plan showing all trusses, rafters and purlins
Section view(s) through building
Elevations of all exterior walls showing all wall girts, window(s) and door(s) framing
Roofing and siding layouts
Connection details of all members
Any framing layouts for raised wood floors (either over crawl spaces or for 2nd or 3rd floors
Stair details

Verifying calculations from the engineer

Construction (assembly) Manual – over 500 pages of step-by-step instructions, fully illustrated

Unlimited FREE Technical Support

Fully itemized Material List

All Materials necessary to assemble structural portions of your building, including doors and windows, with the exception of concrete, rebar and any nails normally driven by a nail gun.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Design, Professional Engineer, Roofing Materials, Horse Riding Arena, Pole Barn Planning, Pole Barn Heating, Ventilation, Concrete, Lumber, Footings, Pole Barn Questions and tagged , , , , , , , , on by .

Local Building Supply is Wrong Choice

With an advent of internet providers such as Amazon (www.amazon.com ) there has been more pressure to “buy local”. Sometimes buying local can be a blessing, but when it comes to a new post-frame (pole barn) building – even an attempt to buy local can prove to be an experience (and not a pleasant one).

Reader MAGNUS in HUDSON writes:

“I’m looking for a quote on a 36’x60’ pole barn. I’m pretty motivated to get this going – I’d like to start raising walls in mid-June. I’ve been trying to work with my local building supply (small town, stay local if possible) but they’re just letting me down on timing, and at this point I’m looking for solid alternatives. I’m pretty impressed with all the info on your site (in fact, I spent a bunch of time there over the past few months getting educated, and almost went with you without even checking with the locals.)

I’ve got cash in hand for this, so at this point it’s just trying to get plans in hand so I can get my permit and get some ground prep started. I’m leaving the country for about 2 weeks from the end of May to mid-June. My goal has been to get the earthwork done (some grading and fill + gravel pad) before I leave so I can begin erecting as soon as I get back. That’s feeling pretty tight now, though I thought I had plenty of time a month ago when I started with the locals.

I know I’ve forgotten a few important details as I put this drawing and notes together tonight. I’m available by phone most of the day Monday and Tuesday for any clarification questions. I’ll try to get the few items from your checklist that I don’t know filled in on Monday.”

Mike the Pole Barn Guru writes:

Your local building supply probably is staffed by very nice people. They probably know most people in town by first name. They are not post-frame (pole barn) experts. In fact, if they are above novice level you would be doing well!

There is a chance there is someone on their staff who can actually sort of do a material’s list for a pole barn. Keep in mind, there is not a “plan” they are working from, so no one is checking for adequacy of structural design. This list of pieces may, or may not, even be enough pieces to sort of put a building together. My experience is a list such as this will be inaccurate for quantities, will leave things out, add in a few unnecessary pieces and result in waste, confusion and a less than satisfactory end resultant.

Some local building supplies have gone as far as investing in computer software, supposedly capable of putting together a list of materials. I have yet to see one of these programs able to do an accurate list on anything beyond a basic box – and they cannot supply engineering. Again, it is nothing better than a guess list!

Even if your local building supply somehow had a relationship with an engineer, who could provide sealed plans for your new post frame building – they are not specialists. At Hansen Pole Buildings we have buying power to get post frame building specific products in massive quantities at wholesale prices. Some of these are items we have manufactured specifically for us, when we found commercially available products were lacking in quality or features.

Let’s say your local building supply was somehow able to provide engineer sealed plans specific to your building, do an accurate material takeoff, get product to your building site – they are not going to have detailed assembly instructions to guide you through to completion. Chances are no one there has ever constructed an engineered post frame building, so when you or your builder get stuck, or make an error, it is up to you to solve it!

If you, or anyone, believes there is another post frame building kit supplier offering a better value to their clients, let us know what they are doing Hansen Pole Buildings isn’t. Frankly, we do not believe it to be possible.

Ready for “The Ultimate Post Frame Building Experience”™? Dial 1 (866) 200-9657 and speak to a Building Designer today!

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Design, Constructing a Pole Building, Pole Barn Planning, Professional Engineer, Pole Barn Questions and tagged , , , , on by .

My Building Inspector Made Me

My Building Inspector Made Me…..
An all to familiar tale from those who go by the premise, “penny wise and pound foolish”…. in the misguided attempt to shave a few dollars off the investment in a new building, the price of the engineer sealed plans has been deducted from the budget.

Very rarely is this the correct choice, as has befallen reader COREY in HOPEWELL who writes:

“My building inspector has made me use a continuous lvl on both sides of a 6×6 pt on all four sides (gables included) of a 32×32 pole barn with trusses at 24″ centers. He approved the thrulok fastener. The fasteners are made for conventional lumber so they are not long enough I would like to use a carriage bolt but he wants a drawing or approved sketch with the fasteners size, total per post and locations on each post including corners. The posts are on 8′ centers The barn is constructed with the trusses installed. I need a proper fastener to continue. Can you help?

Mike the Pole Barn Guru Writes:

You are now finding out all too quickly (as well as the hard way) the advantages of investing in an engineered post frame building kit package.

Without engineering for your building, you are essentially putting the building officials in the position of being the defacto engineer of record. As such if an error is to be made it is going to be on the side of conservatism and caution. Very few building officials are actually engineers, so they have to cover not only their posteriors, but those of the jurisdiction they represent.

Without knowledge of any of the loads which are to be applied to your building, I cannot speak to the adequacy or need for LVLs on both sides of the building columns. If you are using a structural truss on each building end (highly recommended) then the LVLs across each endwall are essentially doing nothing but emptying your pocket book.

The FastenMaster™ ThruLok screw bolt comes in lengths of 6-1/4″, 7″ and 8″. If your intent was to place dimensional lumber truss carriers on each side of the columns, the overall thickness of 8-1/2″ would have made their use prohibitive from the get go. I am hopeful your design utilized the LVL truss carriers being notched into the columns, which is an excellent solution to gravitational forces and leaves only the uplift forces to contend with, in which case, your choice of fastener (since the building official initially approved them) should be a longer ThruLok.

In answer to “can I help”, most certainly – contact a local registered professional engineer who, in all reality, should do a site built analysis of your building and provide you with sealed plans for all of the members along with the proper connectors. You might be able to find an engineer whom would design just this connection, however doing so could make him or her the engineer of record for the entire building, and I would not want to risk engineering registration on this type of situation. It would have to be all or nothing in my eyes.

This entry was posted in Lumber, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Building Department, Trusses and tagged , , , on by .

It Is Exactly the Same Building: Part II

Well, maybe not exactly the same building.

Yesterday I ran a beginning list of comparison’s between a Hansen Building quote and a quote by one of our competitors espoused to be “exactly the same” by a client of ours.

The saga continues:

Powder coated diaphragm screws vs. #10 diameter painted screws . Those who are familiar with the properties of paint and powder coating know the first is far superior. Some more information on powder coated screws is available here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2012/08/lobular-powder-coated-screws/. There are structural challenges which occur when using industry standard small diameter screws, which we found out about only when we went to test a building roof: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2012/08/this-is-a-test-steel-strength/.

 

Recessed purlins vs. stacked purlins. Stacked purlins go over the top of the interior roof trusses, which effectively lowers the truss by the thickness of the roof purlin, hence reducing interior clear height – you get less volume of usable space! Stacked purlins also attach to the trusses via “paddle” blocks, which are highly problematic: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2012/05/paddle-blocks/.

Bookshelf girts vs. flat girts. Wall girts placed flat on the outside of columns rarely meet with the deflection criteria of the Building Code as can be found here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2012/03/girts/.

Inside closures at eave vs. no eave closures. Inside closures keep the flying critters out of your new post frame building. https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2015/12/the-lowly-inside-closure/.

True doubled trusses vs. Single trusses each side of columns. When two trusses are spaced apart by blocking, they no longer act as an integrated pair, each truss functions on its own. In the event of a critical roof load, if the weakest link is a flaw in one of the trusses, the entire roof could easily land on the ground. With true double trusses, they load share – and since the probability of two trusses having the exact same weak point is extraordinarily small, an overloaded roof is more likely to stay standing after the single truss roof has gone boom.

Engineered steel hangers to attach purlins and truss bracing vs. Nailed connection. There is a reason Building Officials like engineered steel connectors – they are a stronger connection! https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2013/08/simpson/

Ledgerlocks to attach trusses to columns (eliminates drilling huge through bolt holes) vs. Bolts. We are into providing buildings which are structurally sound as well as easily constructed by the average person who can and will read English. This truss to column connection is both!

Engineer sealed plans and calculations vs. not sealed plans. My long term readers have read my harping on engineered plans. Here is why: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2016/10/engineer-stamped-pole-barn-plans/

500+ page Construction Guide. Let’s face it, it does not matter how good the design or materials are, if there are not explicit instructions on how to get everything together right. I’ve seen plenty of post frame building kit packages instructions in my nearly four decades in the industry. Absolutely nothing compares to what we provide.

Getting a better “deal” on a post frame building than what was quoted by Hansen Pole Buildings? And of course it is “exactly the same building” – let us review any competing quotes you are considering. The service is absolutely free of charge and if it is indeed an equal to or better building, and a better price, we will be the first ones to tell you so!

This entry was posted in Trusses, Powder Coated Screws, Professional Engineer, Pole Barn Design, Fasteners, Pole Building Comparisons, Building Overhangs, Pole Barn Planning and tagged , , , , , , on by .
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