Tag Archives: hangar door

Porches, Post Savers, and Airplane Hangars

This week the Pole Barn Guru answers reader questions about the “least expensive” option for porches, the performance or ground contact poles when using a “Postsaver” and discussion of options for an airplane hangar.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Which is least expensive: house and porches under one roof or house under one roof and porches under lean to roofs? KEVIN in SENATOBIA

DEAR KEVIN: Obviously way too many variables to determine least expensive choice for all situations. Personally I would put house and porches under one roofline, regardless of price point. Reason number one is my line of sight out of windows would not be blocked by low porch eaves. Secondly, it eliminates a pitch break on roof. Pitch breaks take extra work and materials in order to be constructed to eliminate a leak point (read more here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2014/11/pitch-breaks/).

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I see some products out there like Postsaver™ that use a tar lined plastic that heat shrinks to the post. Do these products help or hinder the performance and longevity of a standard ground contact pressure treated pole? BRIAN in OLYMPIA

DEAR BRIAN: In order for wood to decay it requires a food source (wood), moisture, oxygen and right temperature. Postsaver and other sleeves are designed to separate wood from surrounding earth (or concrete). Neither earth nor concrete are causing premature decay (see previously listed requirements). I have yet to see any peer reviewed studies on any of these products, as to if they actually perform as advertised. In theory, if they were absolutely sealed at top and bottom, I suppose they could eliminate sources of oxygen, hence no decay (it is why posts do not rot roughly eight or more inches below ground surface – lack of oxygen). An open ended sleeve would not prevent ground water from wicking up wood grains by capillary action (no matter how tightly sealed), however this is a non-issue if oxygen is not present.

When all is said and done, order UC-4B rated pressure preservative treated wood and it should outlast anyone alive today. If a sleeve makes you sleep better, then by all means make an investment in them.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I would like to build a wooden hangar for my nx carbon cub. Its wingspan is 34′ 6″ and height 8 ft and 25′ in length. I’d like to put it at the end of my private strip at ranch. it would only be used May to October because i have a modern steel hangar in Kalispell so no snow load or heat issues can any monitor style building be built without interior supports that would obstruct wings? A single slope design probably doesn’t work a say 36 or 38 foot door. I’d like to use to use four door section on rollers. What would you recommend? Happy to talk by phone, best if you text me and suggest time to discuss. WILLIAM in SEELEY LAKE

DEAR WILLIAM: Even though you are only using this hangar from May to October, snow is an issue as you probably do not want to come back in Spring and find it flattened. Your exact ground snow load (Pg) can be found from your site’s latitude and longitude at www.snowload.montana.edu/calculate. Based strictly upon Seeley Lake, Pg is roughly 80 psf (pounds per square foot).

Yes, we can use clearspan monitor trusses to eliminate any interior columns.

Four rolling (sliding doors) would entail an overall building width of 54′ in order to make a 36′ opening work. They would have to be mounted on double tracks, so are less than ideal for sealing down and over time you will grow to hate them. We’d recommend using a Schweiss or similar brand hangar door. You will be glad you did and building width on a 36′ opening could be roughly 42′.

One of our Building Designers will be reaching out to you to discuss further.

Raise the Door, Plans, and Hangar Doors

For a second day of Ask The Guru, Mike answers questions about “raising the door opening” on an existing pole barn, where to get plans for a pole building, and where to get a hangar door.

Entry Door ProblemDEAR POLE BARN GURU: Is it possible to raise the door opening of a pole barn. The opening is 10 ft. now and would like at least a feet and a half higher, the walls are 12ft. BENJAMIN in GRASS LAKE

DEAR BENJAMIN: It may or may not be possible depending upon clear height from floor to trusses, type of door and spacing of trusses. You would be best served to reach out to a local Registered Professional Engineer who can take an actual look at your building and do an analysis as to practicality of what you have in mind, as well as making a determination if it is structurally possible.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Where can I get plans for my 30x 35 pole barn? JACKIE in GARFIELD

DEAR JACKIE: Hansen Pole Buildings provides fully engineered, custom designed post frame buildings, with multiple buildings in all 50 states. We ship from over 4000 locations – so chances are we are ‘close’ to you! Your new building will be designed for an average physically capable person who can and will read instructions to successfully construct your own beautiful buildings (and many of our clients do DIY). Your building will come with full 24” x 36” structural blueprints detailing the location and attachment of every piece (suitable for obtaining Building Permits), a 500 page fully illustrated step-by-step installation manual, as well as unlimited technical support from people who have actually built buildings. For those without the time or inclination, we have an extensive independent Builder Network covering the contiguous 48 states. We can assist you in getting erection labor pricing as well as introducing you to potential builders. We would appreciate the opportunity to participate in your new pole barn. Please email your building specifics, site address and best contact number to our Design Studio Manager caleb@hansenpolebuildings.com (866)200-9657 Thank you.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am wanting to get an idea on cost of a 45′ x 12′ tall door like in your video. DENNIS

DEAR DENNIS: Most often our clients go direct to door manufacturers – out of hundreds of hangars we have supplied, by far most of these doors have come from Schweiss (www.bifold.com) 1.507.426.8273. We would recommend reaching out to them. https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2020/07/hangar-doors-2-2/

This also is a pretty slick system and one of our clients recently installed one https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2018/05/free-standing-hangar-door/

 

 

 

 

 

Column Height, a Hangar Door, and Splash Plank Boards

This week the Pole Barn Guru answers reader questions about column height for an eight foot one inch interior ceiling, what size bi-fold door for a hangar, and specific boards for a splash plank.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: New at this. If I am building a pole barn house and want 8 ft 1 inch between slab and bottom of truss, have 4 inches of slab and 2 inches of Styro and need have top of footing at 42 inches, I come up with 145 inches. A 12 foot pole is 144. Can this work and pass code or do I need to go with a longer post.

Thanks for any help. BRADLEY in SHELBY

DEAR BRADLEY: My recommendation is for you to be building from a fully engineered set of building plans. When you are provided with a design frost depth from your Building Department, it is telling you the BOTTOM of the footing must be at or below the design frost depth.

If this was a Hansen Pole Building, our engineers would specify column holes to be 42″ deep from grade. The bottom 8″ of this hole would be filled with concrete (below the column) as part of a monopoured bottom collar. Your building footprint would be lowered two inches below grade to allow for your sub-slab insulation. Top of a nominal four inch slab will be at 3-1/2″ above grade. Normally height from top of slab to bottom of trusses to give an eight foot finished ceiling would be 8′ 1-1/8″. One thing you have not accounted for is raised heel trusses to allow for full insulation thickness from outside of wall to outside of wall. In your area we would recommend R-60 attic insulation, with 22 inch high raised heel trusses. Given this information, your columns should be 14′.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am contemplating building a hangar, planning at this point on a 60 x 60 hangar, and wondering what the maximum opening span would be with a bi-fold door. Thanks! KEVIN in BELLAIRE

DEAR KEVIN: On each side of the hangar door your building will need what is known as a ‘braced wall panel’ of solid wall. The width of this area is limited to a maximum ratio of panel width to building eave height of 1:3.5 (as an example on a 14′ eave building would be 4′).

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: What boards do I use for outside band for first floor > 20ft by 40ft -6×6 posted 10 on center. JOSEPH in CLINTON

DEAR JOSEPH: First floors are at grade, so your ‘outside band’ would be called out for on your fully engineered building plans as being a pressure preservative treated splash plank of some dimension (in our case, with steel siding it will be a 2×8 treated to UC-4A or ground contact).

 

 

What Kind of Footings? Beams? and Bi-Folds?

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: 34’x44′ pole barn middle is 20′ high and 14′ wide, the 2 outside parts are 10′ high by 10′ wide, frost level is 48″, snow load is 40lbs per sqft poles will be 6×6 what kind of footings will i need to have to support this building? MITCH in KAWARTHA LAKES

DEAR MITCH: The question would be best asked of the engineer who designed your building as there are innumerable factors which are going to influence the size of the footings. These include (but are not limited to) the allowable bearing pressure of the soil at the site; will the building be constrained by a concrete slab on grade; the wind speed and wind exposure; dead loads – actual building weight which will be transferred to each column; will there be a second floor or loft in a portion of the building (like the raised center)? What will be the spacing of the columns?

When clients invest in a new Hansen Pole Building, all of these factors are taken in consideration by our proprietary Instant Pricing system and included on the engineer sealed building plans and the supporting calculations.

In the event an engineer did not happen to design your building, it would behoove you to hire one to at least properly design the footings for you, if not the entire building. With a 40 psf (pounds per square foot) snow load, both drifting and sliding snow must be accounted for to prevent a catastrophic failure.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am a high ropes builder and I have a camp that is on a tight budget but needs a new 30′ long balance beam for their high ropes course.
Question: Can you source such a pole for them or lead me to your supplier? I hope that is not 2 questions! 🙂 SHAWN in NASHVILLE

DEAR SHAWN: I have a client, whom I built a building for back in the 1990’s, who has become a good friend. He operates a high ropes course just north of Spokane, Washington: https://adventuredynamics.com/.

In answer to your question(s), since you are from Indiana, I would recommend contacting Stark Truss as they manufacture glu-laminated beams and columns which should be both affordable and straight. Here is the information on them: https://www.starktruss.com/products/perma-straight/.

 

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Considering using a pole barn as the base structure for an airplane hangar, do you have the ability to customize a 40X60 barn to allow a large door opening of 40X10 and possibly hang a bifold door on it. MIKE in STEVENS

DEAR MIKE: Post frame buildings make excellent airplane hangars. We can customize virtually any building to accommodate a hangar door. Here is some reading about airplane hangars: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/commercial-buildings/airplane-hangars/.

Ideally, if you are planning upon placing the door in a 40 foot endwall, there would be several feet of wall left at each of the corners in order to most economically transfer shear loads to the ground. A 40 foot wide bi-fold door will also not fit on a 40 foot wall. (example of Endwall Shearwall)

We would need to have the specifications of your proposed bi-fold door, in order to properly design the end of your hangar to support the door.

See bi-fold door information here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2015/02/hangar-doors-2/.