Tag Archives: pole building doors

How Pole Barns Accept Hangar Doors

A very common statement is: “I love my building, but hate my doors.”
Don’t put cheaply made inferior doors on a great building. Not all door companies offer the same quality!

Hanger DoorHansen Pole Buildings has provided a significant number of pole building hangars located all across the country. By far, the most prevalent choice by our clients of hangar doors have been from Schweiss (www.bifold.com). This is not a recommendation to use Schweiss Hangar Doors, other than to certainly give them every opportunity.

Today’s guest blogger is Pat Schmidt from Schweiss Door.

What Schweiss supplies a contractor or Building provider

Door weight, engineering data, wind load specifications and design specifications

Schweiss can install doors or customer or contractor can. Schweiss provides instructions.

Schweiss bifold and hydraulic doors adapt to any building large or small with no loss of headroom. They can be tightly insulated to save energy. Doors will not sag or bow. Snow and ice will not bother. They seal tightly with a 12” rubber boot at bottom of door. Top rubber seal is the same. Prevents flow of moisture into the door or building.

Each door is custom built for new or existing structures (to the inch). No cookie cutter standard door sizes.

Everything comes complete on the doors except the outside sheeting. Electric top or bottom drive motors available on bifold doors.  Hydraulic doors come with a compact hydraulic pump unit which can be mounted anywhere within the building, up high, low, under a bench… Doors come with external or internal trusses for added strength.

How to measure your building for a bifold door

Schweiss needs need to know the clear inside measurements or air opening, height and width.
Door is hung up and above the clear opening, (usually 12”, 24”, 30” or 36” above the clear opening) on the outside of the building so there is no loss of headroom. This varies from door to door. A header if needed is placed at 12”-22”-28” or 34” to center above the clear opening to hang the Schweiss door on. This can be built into the endwall of a new or existing building. The header is placed above the bottom of the rafter for no loss in headroom. Endwall rafter header placements are different for Wood and Steel Buildings.

The customer and building manufacturer are responsible to ensure the building’s structural design is capable of handling all the imposed loads the Bifold or Hydraulic door exerts the door header, endwall and building. Doors exert considerable horizontal loads on the building structure in the open position. A building header design must meet standard deflection and strength criteria, both in vertical and horizontal directions to support the door in all positions. Schweiss Door factory will help customers fill in the Spec Sheet Details.

Multiple Doors Side-by-Side

Multiple doors can be mounted side-by-side. Often used for T-Hangars. Two doors share the same building column.

Hydraulic Doors

Say “No” to wood on a moving door frame. Some door manufacturers try to replace the horizontal cross members with wood 2x4s instead of metal. Hydraulic and bifold moving doors flex unlike a permanent wall in a building. Besides probably not engineered to support applied wind loads, wood girts in doors tend to warp, twist and shrink, causing a myriad of problems. Stacking wood on a steel member doubles the weight and the thickness of a door and takes away the R value when insulating.

Hydraulic door frames are pre-hung inside their own sub-frame on all Schweiss doors.

To maintain clear opening with an internal truss the door must attach higher on the building.

There is a choice of a “flush mount” which mounts below or under the building header (you sacrifice some headroom with this method), or there is an “exterior mount,” where no headroom is sacrificed.

When hydraulic doors are open they provide a large canopy which offers more shade. There are no obstructions protruding back into the building like a roll-up door.

Building costs will be lower with a hydraulic door because of lower sidewall requirement, less insulation, less sheeting and less labor. Building does not have to be made taller to maximize a clear opening. They are designed to adapt to any size and any type building.

Schweiss “One Piece” hydraulic doors come with a continuous header tube, but when extra strength is needed to support your build/door, Schweiss will supply a free standing header. All headers are custom built to add extra strength. Schweiss offers many door mounting styles to choose from.

Walk doors and windows are available for both styles of doors. Multiple decorative cladding options and glass doors can also be had for the asking.

Thanks Pat, for the info on Schweiss doors!

Should You Choose Sliding or Overhead Doors for Your Pole Barn?

Overhead door pole barnOne of the many decisions you’ll need to make when choosing a customized pole barn is the door type. You can opt for either an overhead door that raises up or a sliding door that pushes from left to right (or vice versa) – so what’s the better choice?

The sliding versus overhead door decision really comes down to what you plan to do with your pole barn. If you’re going to use it for purely agricultural purposes, a sliding door (or multiple sliding doors) can be a good option. However, if you’re planning a commercial or residential use pole barn, we recommend an overhead door.

Sliding Doors for Agricultural Applications

Pole barn sliding doors have long been the most popular choice for agricultural buildings, machinery workshops, and airplane hangars. This exterior door type works well for oversized equipment (such as combines, farm trucks, and airplanes) that wouldn’t be able to fit through a standard overhead door. Having sliding doors in your pole barn also gives you more interior clearance, since you don’t have to worry about installing overhead door tracks.

In addition to being used for machinery storage buildings, sliding doors are also sometimes used on horse barns, since they are cheaper than Dutch doors. Modern sliding door tracks are also incredibly low maintenance, since they’re designed to be self-aligning, self-cleaning, and self-lubricating.

Steel sliding doors are designed to stand up to just about anything you throw at them, including bad weather, animal contact, and even accidental machinery contact. That being said, they don’t create as tight a seal as an overhead door and aren’t as secure against theft. This is why we typically only recommend sliding doors for pole barns that will be used for purely agricultural purposes.

Overhead Doors for Residential and Commercial Use

When it comes to non-agricultural pole barn uses, overhead doors are usually your best bet. Overhead doors create a tighter seal, which protects against both theft and the elements. Unlike sliding doors, overhead doors can also be outfitted with electronic openers. If you plan to use your pole building as a garage and you ever find yourself in a situation where you’re driving home in the rain or snow, you’ll probably be pretty happy to be able to open the door with the click of a button rather than getting out and pushing it open manually.

While some people worry that overhead pole barn doors will be considerably more expensive than sliding doors, the smaller sizes are actually comparable. Larger overhead doors may be slightly more expensive, but many pole building owners decide that the slightly higher cost is worth the added security and convenience.

Overhead doors can also be designed to accommodate fairly large vehicles and equipment. Commercial overhead doors come standard up to 24’ in width, and 26’ or 28’ wide doors are available, but require a special manufacturer’s quotation. Standard overhead doors are 14’ tall, which is high enough to accommodate any vehicle of highway legal height.

Still Not Sure What Door to Choose?

If you’re still not sure what type of door to choose for your pole building, contact us directly. Let us know how you plan to use your pole building, and we’ll make a recommendation and even provide you with a free building quote.

How Pole Barns Accept Hangar Doors

A very common statement is: “I love my building, but hate my doors.”
Don’t put cheaply made inferior doors on a great building. Not all door companies offer the same quality!

Hanger DoorHansen Pole Buildings has provided a significant number of pole building hangars located all across the country. By far, the most prevalent choice by our clients of hangar doors have been from Schweiss (www.bifold.com). This is not a recommendation to use Schweiss Hangar Doors, other than to certainly give them every opportunity.

Today’s guest blogger is Pat Schmidt from Schweiss Door.

What Schweiss supplies a contractor or Building provider

Door weight, engineering data, wind load specifications and design specifications

Schweiss can install doors or customer or contractor can. Schweiss provides instructions.

Schweiss bifold and hydraulic doors adapt to any building large or small with no loss of headroom. They can be tightly insulated to save energy. Doors will not sag or bow. Snow and ice will not bother. They seal tightly with a 12” rubber boot at bottom of door. Top rubber seal is the same. Prevents flow of moisture into the door or building.

Each door is custom built for new or existing structures (to the inch). No cookie cutter standard door sizes.

Everything comes complete on the doors except the outside sheeting. Electric top or bottom drive motors available on bifold doors.  Hydraulic doors come with a compact hydraulic pump unit which can be mounted anywhere within the building, up high, low, under a bench… Doors come with external or internal trusses for added strength.

How to measure your building for a bifold door

Schweiss needs need to know the clear inside measurements or air opening, height and width.
Door is hung up and above the clear opening, (usually 12”, 24”, 30” or 36” above the clear opening) on the outside of the building so there is no loss of headroom. This varies from door to door. A header if needed is placed at 12”-22”-28” or 34” to center above the clear opening to hang the Schweiss door on. This can be built into the endwall of a new or existing building. The header is placed above the bottom of the rafter for no loss in headroom. Endwall rafter header placements are different for Wood and Steel Buildings.

The customer and building manufacturer are responsible to ensure the building’s structural design is capable of handling all the imposed loads the Bifold or Hydraulic door exerts the door header, endwall and building. Doors exert considerable horizontal loads on the building structure in the open position. A building header design must meet standard deflection and strength criteria, both in vertical and horizontal directions to support the door in all positions. Schweiss Door factory will help customers fill in the Spec Sheet Details.

Multiple Doors Side-by-Side

Multiple doors can be mounted side-by-side. Often used for T-Hangars. Two doors share the same building column.

Hydraulic Doors

Say “No” to wood on a moving door frame. Some door manufacturers try to replace the horizontal cross members with wood 2x4s instead of metal. Hydraulic and bifold moving doors flex unlike a permanent wall in a building. Besides probably not engineered to support applied wind loads, wood girts in doors tend to warp, twist and shrink, causing a myriad of problems. Stacking wood on a steel member doubles the weight and the thickness of a door and takes away the R value when insulating.

Hydraulic door frames are pre-hung inside their own sub-frame on all Schweiss doors.

To maintain clear opening with an internal truss the door must attach higher on the building.

There is a choice of a “flush mount” which mounts below or under the building header (you sacrifice some headroom with this method), or there is an “exterior mount,” where no headroom is sacrificed.

When hydraulic doors are open they provide a large canopy which offers more shade. There are no obstructions protruding back into the building like a roll-up door.

Building costs will be lower with a hydraulic door because of lower sidewall requirement, less insulation, less sheeting and less labor. Building does not have to be made taller to maximize a clear opening. They are designed to adapt to any size and any type building.

Schweiss “One Piece” hydraulic doors come with a continuous header tube, but when extra strength is needed to support your build/door, Schweiss will supply a free standing header. All headers are custom built to add extra strength. Schweiss offers many door mounting styles to choose from.

Walk doors and windows are available for both styles of doors. Multiple decorative cladding options and glass doors can also be had for the asking.

Thanks Pat, for the info on Schweiss doors!

CSI: Pole Barn Blow Out

CSI: Pole Barn

Our youngest daughter, Allison, is studying to be a Forensic Psychologist. My lovely bride and I may have been culprits in this, as we sent her to a CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) camp for 10 days when she was about 11! All of the boys in her CSI class talked tough, but when it came to witnessing an autopsy, they turned green and had to leave the room, but Allie didn’t.

magnifying-glassIt is the forensics which is of interest to me – when something goes astray in a building, I want to get to the root of why. Here is a case which will probably be seen on CSI: Pole Barn (if such a program is ever produced):

From a September 4, 2014 article on www.kxlh.com written by Meteorologist Mike Rawlins:

GLASGOW — The National Weather Service in Glasgow says a microburst is to blame for damage in McCabe, Montana, on Wednesday.

Meteorologists from NWS Glasgow surveyed the damage on Thursday and found evidence of a microburst.

The National Weather Service in Glasgow conducted the damage survey based on reports of “Buildings and Large Trees down” as well as unconfirmed funnel cloud reports.

STORMTracker meteorologist Mike Rawlins says a microburst’s peak wind speeds can reach 150 mph and occur when air suddenly rushes down from a thunderstorm.”

For more specific information on microbursts: https://www.srh.noaa.gov/ama/?n=microbursts

The NOAA/NWS issued a damage survey on this particular storm. Of special interest was this:

“Damage was found at a new home site (site A) with a modular home and a large metal pole barn located 2.4 miles east of the intersection of Highway 16 and County Road 496.

There were two other home sites west of site A, with no obvious damage. Site A had a few missing shingles on the home, but the pole barn had the south door blown in with the south wall blown out to the southeast. There were a few trees that were snapped or cracked and dropped about 2-3 feet off the ground, including older Russian olive trees.

The damage to the pole barn was estimated to have been caused by 70-75 mph winds. The homeowners were home and said the wind came from the west-northwest and there was a lot of dirt and gravel kicked up and thrown at them prior to their seeking shelter in a safe room in the pole barn.

The garage door was blown in and the south wall was blown out. The garage door blew through the side wall and landed on a trailer near a tree row. All the insulation and debris from the side wall collapse were blown eastward.”

Putting on our best CSI hats….what happened here?

Working from only the information provided, it appears the building was probably finished on the inside (because insulation from the sidewall was blown out). This also means the garage door which failed was probably a sectional overhead door.

The high winds were coming from the west-northwest, which created a suction force on the door on the south wall. Unless specifically ordered as such, sectional overhead doors are not designed for any specific wind loads. (For more on wind rated overhead doors: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/blog/2011/10/wind-rated-garage-doors/)

Once the garage door was sucked off the building, the building became what is known as “partially enclosed”. From a structural building calculations standpoint, the forces acting against the walls and roof of a partially enclosed building is much greater than a fully enclosed building (with real life verifying this to be the case).

Envision, if you will, a balloon – the garage door opening becomes the “neck” of the balloon, with wind being forced in, and the walls of the garage trying to expand like the balloon (the air can get in, but has no way to escape) until something bursts!

Had the garage door been adequately wind rated, chances are good there would have been no major structural damages.

CSI: Pole Barn, case closed!

WalkThru Garage Door

More “True Confessions” from the Pole Barn Guru….. I’ve not only never installed one of these and never sold one – I’ve also never seen one in real life!

I have not one, but TWO detached pole building garages at our house. One is two car, the other three. Each of them has an entry door near one of the overhead doors (in both cases immediately around a corner). You think we actually use the entry doors to get in and out? Hah – fat chance, we punch our code into the keyless entry pads!

Given this, I can see where a Walk Thru Garage Door would have lots of benefits.

Above our small garage is a home office which is our workplace. The overhead door has become the main entrance for not only my bride and I, but also for deliveries. Most of the year, we end up just leaving one of the overhead sectional doors open – not too secure!

By Code, pole buildings are required to have an alternate entrance (other than an overhead door). (Read more at: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/blog/2012/09/entry-door/ ). We have commonly disregarded either entry door as a viable entrance, usually due to their location. Each entry is off to the rear or side of the building with other obstacles in the way. We tend to take the easy way in, not fighting with stuff left on either side of the entry door.

pass-through-overhead-doorThe first beneficial feature of the WalkThru Garage Door is being able to enter into the pole building from the driveway without having to open the entire garage door. This is an ease of operation feature, much like a sliding door on most of today’s minivans. For a premium, the owner can have a second sliding door to conveniently load and unload passengers and accumulated stuff! With vehicles there is no payback from this high priced option. No better fuel efficiency or more passenger or cargo space. This is a mere convenience feature.

WalkThru Garage doors come with many subsequent advantages. A simple key to the deadbolt gives instant access to the pole building. The garage door stays down; therefore the contents of the pole building are not exposed to the neighborhood or passers by. In our case, this sure would be nice. The WalkThru component swings outward. It should never have any obstructions in front of it. The more traditional entrances into pole buildings commonly have obstructions placed in front of them, prohibiting passage. While I would like to say this never happens in my own buildings – it actually does. As an entrance to the pole building within the garage door, a tremendous amount of space is economized. Wall space and floor space where another entrance would have been is left for the use of the occupant for storage. And I vouch entirely for there never being enough wall area in a building. In the event of a power failure the building can be easily entered or exited through the WalkThru Garage Door.

An inherent feature of the WalkThru Garage Door is energy conservation, which in turn means dollars saved. The time spent to open and close a swinging door is significantly less in comparison to the time for the larger garage door to be raised and lowered. The reduced hot or cold air exchange between the building interior and the exterior, results in a reduced energy recovery expense to re-heat or re-cool the interior space. Also reduced is the energy expended by the garage door opener by not requiring it to open in all access situations. Wear and tear on the garage door opener is also reduced, extending its useful life.

The WalkThru Garage Door provides its users with a significant safety advantage. With no other point of entry to the pole building but the WalkThru in a garage door, an intruder has to put himself in full view, in the drive way, in order to attempt to gain entry. The WalkThru Garage Door opens to the exterior, so a good stiff kick or shoulder to the door only closes it more. In order to break in, one would have to pry outwards with adequate tools in full view of the neighbors. The other more traditional entry doors to pole buildings have often been a preferred point of entry for break-ins. The WalkThru Garage Door would prevent this from being the case.

The WalkThru Garage Door is an excellent product which helps owners to save time and energy dollars, while providing a safe and very attractive point of entry to their pole building. If I ever have to change out my overhead doors, I am looking to replace them with WalkThru Garage Doors.

X-Treme Custom Hangar Doors

X-treme Custom Hangar Doors

Plattekill, New York is just a short drive north from New York City. Nestled in the trees along the highway is a unique airport, as it is home to aviators who build and fly experimental or otherwise unique aircraft.

My first experience with the pilots who, for the most part, reside at the airport most weekends, was when two of them (Jon and Mike) purchased identical hangars from Hansen Pole Buildings about ten years ago.

Both of the hangars were designed with an open endwall for plane access. It was after the buildings were erected which saw creativity come into play in the form of the X-treme Custom Hangar Door.

X-treme Custom Hangar Doors are manufactured by M.H.Balogh, Inc. of Newburg, New York. Mike Balogh has designed an interesting solution to the airplane hangar door dilemma.

All of Mike’s doors are custom-built to the dimensions of the building owner’s opening. The doors can be covered to compliment the buildings with steel, polycarbonate, or wood (the covering for the doors are provided by Hansen Buildings, along with the pole building kit package).

The doors are easily assembled by one person, with a ladder. These are manual bi-fold doors which are easy to open and close without electricity.

Hangar DoorThe framework is made from 1-1/2” 14-gauge square steel tubing. The doors have two double 1-1/4” ball bearings on the outer doors (top and bottom). Cross –braces (as an X-frame) are included as well as eight lock pins (four top and four bottom) for added strength. Dual castors are an optional feature.

The door components are easily shippable to anywhere in the world, and these hangar doors may be an affordable solution for not only hangars, but other applications where building owners are looking for a more unique design solution for a door on a large opening.

Some cautionary notes – in snow country, prompt removal of snow will add to the easy of opening, as the bi-fold out doors will not clear buildups of ice or snow. Also, while strong, these hangar doors do not come with Building Code wind load approvals, so any buildings which will utilize them should probably be best engineer designed as “partially enclosed

Random Overhead Door Musings

In the case of most pole buildings – doors are an important feature. As long as they open and close as expected, most people really don’t give much, if any thought to them. Overhead doors offer many things which other door choices do not. Here are some things which are all too often not considered in planning new pole buildings.

How is the door made? Steel doors are the most popular choice for price, low maintenance and style selection. My 23 year old garage has wood overhead doors. They were beautiful when brand new and clear coat stained. The clear coat stain only lasts so long, then had to be redone, and redone and eventually given up on and solid body stained. Plus – they are heavy. Power goes out and it takes a body builder to lift one of them open.

Pole Barn Overhead DoorMost people do not give much thought to the style of their doors, they take whatever they are given! Nothing looks much more out of place than a commercial ribbed door on a residential garage, or a residential raised panel door on a commercial building. For non-commercial applications, raised panels are available in either long or short panel styles – as well as just a plain textured finish. Want to dress them up? Carriage House style doors could very well be the option.

In the event the area with, adjacent to or above an overhead door will ever be heated or cooled – an insulated door is a must. Adding insulation to an existing door installation is a disaster waiting to happen, so plan it right the first time. Pinch free doors, are darn near a must, as it is all fun and games until someone loses part of a finger.

Openers. I am amazed at how many people install overhead doors, without openers. Why not do it right in the beginning? Everything gets delivered at one time, to do the job the right way. Don’t forget extra remotes and exterior keypads – keep the ease of entry easy!

Among the five overhead doors on my two buildings at home – none of them have windows. If I ever have to replace one, glass is being added. Besides the extra light into what otherwise is a daytime “black hole”, it does add to the street appeal.

There are a lot of brand new overhead doors which are primed only. Pretty tough to tell until a few years down the line when rust starts to bleed through. Demand factory finish painted doors, they are available in a variety of colors (like antique-Model T’s, they used to be available in any color one wanted as long as it was white) to complement roofing and siding colors. Create an outstanding, or blended-in door, depending upon your preferences.

Decorative handles and hinges can evoke the styling of carriage house doors, without the price. With steel or vinyl siding, having fully wrapped overhead door jambs with pre-painted steel trim pulls together the whole project for a finished look and eliminates the need to paint wooden jambs.

There is one chance to do it right the first time, give consideration to all of the features of overhead doors to help make this your ideal dream pole building!