Tag Archives: pole barn brackets

Sturdi-Wall Brackets

Placement of Sturdi-Wall Plus Brackets

I am enjoying our client Dan who is in the process of getting started with his new Hansen Pole Buildings’ kit package. My educated guess is he is going to construct one truly beautiful building.

Dan has a great question, which I will share:

“So I went ahead and purchased the Sturdi-Wall Plus brackets (in concrete is the rebar) from Perma Column. Really nicely made.

 So my plan now is to dig, setup similar to what is in attached picture and get everything nice and level before hand. 

So what I’d like to do is set my piers all at equal elevation and leveled. Then, wooden boxes so they are square to allow ground girts to sit nicely. 

 Here is my dilemma. What height to set the piers to? If I set them 3.5” lower than my anticipated concrete floor, that means that I wouldn’t be able to tie my poles to my floor with rebar as shown in sealed plans PDF. Would it therefore make sense to lower the piers even more so that the bottom of the Sturdi-wall is level to the bottom of the 2×8? That would mean I am burying the bracket in 3.5” of concrete (I’d imagine if removed Sturdi-wall I’d have a square) but I would be able to tie the rebar to the post. 

 Does that all make sense? “

Well, Dan’s question does make sense and I believe I can make his life fairly easy.

Set the Sturdi-Wall Plus brackets so the bottom of the bracket and top of pier are even with the level of your concrete floor. Take two five foot long pieces of rebar, bent at a 90 degree angle with one leg into the encasement around the brackets, the other leg out into the future slab. This will accomplish effectively tying the columns into the slab and will keep the “business” end of the bracket above the concrete. It does take a little more rebar than running through the columns, however the net extra investment is minimal.

Not interested in placing your new post frame building’s columns into the ground? Your building can be designed for the columns to be bracket mounted!

Toci Ground Anchors

About a year ago the Technical Department of Hansen Pole Buildings was contacted by the manufacturer of the Toci Ground Anchor:

Toci AnchorWe manufacture the Toci Ground Anchor, an anchoring device that you may find useful in your line of business. The Toci Ground Anchor safely secures any outdoor structure or building to the ground without digging. Our anchor is easy to install, using a rebar/rod or using our customized attachment with your auger or bobcat. The Toci Ground anchor is also a long term and adaptable alternative to concrete and cinder blocks, while continuing to stand up to heavy wind loads. The Toci Ground Anchor also has no soil limitations.

With its strength and durability, the Toci Ground Anchor is the perfect way to provide your customers the surety of a well installed shed or barn. Please visit our website for videos of our anchor and more information, www.tocihardware.com .  I will be happy to follow up with you via telephone within the next few weeks, but for questions in the meantime, please call me at (919)794-5990. I look forward to further communication and thank you for your time!”

To which I responded:

“How would you propose to attach a pressure preservative treated column of a post frame building to the top of one of your anchors to be able to resist moment loads?

Also – for bearing, do you use more than the diameter of your anchor via some complex formula which would be accepted by the IBC?”

And the reply:

“Thank you for your questions! To attach a column to our anchor you would use either our 4×4 attachment or our half bracket attachment and install one of our anchors at each stress point of your structure. As for IBC codes, our anchor is currently under testing to meet IBC requirements. However, many of our contractors have used our anchors for buildings in which you do not need a permit. This data should be available within the next few months. Please let me know what other questions you have! Hope you had safe travels!”

In checking out the Toci website, I’m not yet finding any IBC (International Building Code) approvals. The Toci ground anchor is probably a great product for simple, no permit required applications as featured on their website – mailboxes, fences, play houses…..but not for a “well installed shed or barn”.