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Looking for a Place for a New Barndominium

Looking for a Place for a New Barndominium

Reader PATTI in MINNESOTA writes:

“My husband and I are knocking around the idea of doing a Barndominium.

We need a 4-5 car garage space and we can barely afford a traditional preloved home that has a 3-car garage which will require us to add another stall or two onto an already taxing home price!

I’m optimistic that we can pull off everything that’s needed and hopefully within the budget!

I’m doing the bulk of the research and found your site to be so packed with worthwhile information. I want to see what you’d be able to do for us to make this as seamless and headache free as possible?

I started looking for property and messaged the City Halls for the locations we want to see if they’d allow such a structure. Not sure how to handle the siding issue.

Inver Grove Heights, MN

Will consider it a single family home. Needs to meet setback, height and doesn’t exceed allowed impervious surface for the lot.

Exterior siding regulations require horizontal lap type siding or similar. Vertical siding like a pole barn is not acceptable material.

**** Is this even possible to meet this request or is there a way we can argue against it. Any knowledge you can offer would be so helpful****

Rosemount, MN

“The structure would function as a single family home, and therefore the exterior materials would need to be complementary to a residential structure (no metal siding, etc.). Additionally, the foundation would need to meet the building code requirements for frost footings. Also, the zoning code regulates the size of attached garages as follows: The footprint of an attached garage is a maximum of 1,000 square feet but can be increased up to a maximum of 1,500 square feet so long as the garage does not exceed 50 percent of the gross floor area of the principal building (garage and living area combined).”

Farmington, MN

*Considers this Agricultural that would need a minimum of 40 acres, what!!!

****Is this common and is there anything we can do to fight this so we get this under a single family home that we could put on a .25 acre plot?****”

Mike the Pole Barn Guru responds:

Thank you for reaching out to us and for your kind words.

Planning Departments are an extension of a jurisdiction’s ruling body (city council, county commissioners) and have basically power of life and death. They can dictate footprints, heights, setbacks, type of cladding (roofing and/or siding), and even colors. They ARE limited to ordinances written by their ruling body, so if you do not hear an answer you like, ask for a copy of their written ordinance. If they cannot produce one, then it does not exist and can be disregarded.

One beauty of fully engineered post frame construction is a broad variety of siding and/or roofing options are readily available.

Inver Grove Heights – exterior siding is within their realm of control. At www ighmn.gov go to “City Code” in the left hand menu list and click on it. Scroll down to Chapter 15, then 10-15-17. B.2 gives your options with steel being none of them.

Rosemont – you do not have to pour a concrete foundation to meet Code requirements for frost. You will have to insulate the perimeter of your building to at least four feet below grade, not a big deal and can be done with rigid insulation (this insulation is typical for any type of structure). If you erect a 3000 square foot (sft) building, as much as 1500 sft can be garage.

Farmington – you threw them off at “pole barn house”. You are building a fully engineered custom designed wood frame home. This should be allowable anywhere zoned for single family residences. You may have exterior appearance and footprint issues once they have gotten this into their heads as being a SFR (Single Family Residence).

You will find as you get farther away from Minneapolis and into county rather than city controlled areas, things tend to become more property owner friendly. You also might consider South Dakota as an option, as our Planning and Zoning restrictions are few and far between.

This entry was posted in Building Department, Pole Barn Planning, Pole Building Siding, Post Frame Home, Barndominium, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Shouse and tagged setbacks, single family home, planning department, fully engineered post frame construction, barndominium, Post Frame Home, cladding, shouse on April 9, 2026 by Rick Ochs.

Building Over Existing Slab, Blueprints for House, and Pole Building Finance

This week the Pole Barn Guru answers reader questions about building over or on an existing slab or concrete, whether of not Hansen sells “just the blueprints” for a pole barn/house, and lending for a pole building set on foundation/footing/wall.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: In Arkansas, I want to build a pole barn (or similar) on an existing 40×45 concrete 4” slab. I want the building to be tall enough for 14’ garage doors. Building will be used to store a motor home and tractors and trailers. What is the most cost efficient (but safe and lasting) way to build it- dig holes outside of the existing slab, saw cut the slab and dig holes for the poles, or do stick frame on top of the existing slab? STEVEN in EAGLE CREEK

DEAR STEVEN: Let’s begin by eliminating stick frame as there is no guarantee your existing slab is adequate to support perimeter walls and (more importantly) Code prohibits stud bearing walls tall enough for your overhead doors, as well as truss spans over 36′, without your building being engineered (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2020/08/stick-frame-and-some-limitations/). Stick frame is also very material inefficient.

I have done concrete saw cutting before and don’t plan upon a repeat performance – leaving digging holes as being easiest, most cost effective and structurally sound design solution. 42′ x 48′ would fit nicely and you could concrete infill areas between splash planks and existing slab with premix.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Do you sell just the blueprints for a pole barn/ house.

MICHAEL in LAKE PANASOFFKEE

DEAR MICHAEL: We can create your ideal dream floor plan whether you order your building from us or not. Every barndominium Hansen Pole Buildings provides is 100% custom designed to best meet the wants and needs of our clients and their loved ones, please see #3 here to assist in determining needed spaces and approximate sizes, and to have professional floor plans and elevation drawings produced affordably. https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2021/02/a-shortlist-for-smooth-barndominium-sailing/
Structural, engineer sealed, plans are only available with your investment in a Hansen Pole Building. This is due to proprietary products specified by our engineers and available only through Hansen Pole Buildings.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hello Guru! I’m currently researching the building of a post frame home/workshop/garage. I was looking at getting a construction loan. The bank will finance the purchase of a building kit but they want it to have a foundation footing and wall. I’ve looked at the Sturdi Wall brackets for an anchor system and the laminated 2×6 posts. My question is do you design buildings with foundation walls? Or do you have a better recommendation? Thanks for your help.- JEFF in PORT ORCHARD

DEAR JEFF: We provide many fully engineered post frame buildings using wet set Sturdi-wall plus brackets attached to concrete, block or even ICF foundation walls. Personally (if I was not allowed to do what I feel is a best route – embedded columns) my preference would be wet set brackets in poured concrete piers. If you have a chance, please forward to me your lender’s actual written policy requirements for review, as it may give me some better insights.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Design, Pole Barn Homes, Building Department, Constructing a Pole Building, Pole Barn Planning, Shouse, Concrete, Shouse, Footings, floorplans, Professional Engineer, Columns, Pole Barn Questions and tagged Existing slab, shouse, construction loan, pole barn financing, motor home storage, blueprints, floor plans on April 1, 2026 by Rick Ochs.

Will My Minnesota Shouse Require Frost Footings?

Will My Minnesota Shouse Require Frost Footings?

Reader CHAD in JANESVILLE writes:

“I am planning on building a shouse or barndominium some may call. I am doing 5″ cement with a heated floor throughout. My hope was not to bury any poles but to anchor them on top of the slap. Do you recommend front footings or will I be same as long as I am heated?”

My lovely bride and I happen to live in a post frame shouse just four hours West of you (and you are welcome to come for a visit)! In our instance, we used embedded columns, as I fully believe they will outlive my grandchildren’s grandchildren (for reading on lifespan of properly pressure preservative treated wood https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2020/09/pressure-treated-post-frame-building-poles-rot/).

Now we do have a fair number of clients using wet set brackets, keeping their building columns above ground (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/05/sturdi-wall-plus-concrete-brackets/).

These brackets need to be either placed into a continuous footing and foundation system, a thickened edge slab on grade or concrete piers. Any of these should extend below frost line, unless provisions are made to thermally isolate them from effects of frost.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Policy Development and Research has been so kind as to publish a plethora of information on Frost-Protected Shallow Foundations, (while not specific to post frame construction) would apply to any structural building system. Heat transfer truly doesn’t care how you put a structure together, just so long as thermal resistance issues are taken care of adequately.

Those who are considering Frost-Protected Shallow Foundations should peruse this information: https://www.huduser.gov/publications/pdf/fpsfguide.pdf, and utilize it to determine requirements for insulation R values, as well as depth vertical insulation boards should be placed and width of horizontal insulation extending out from your building.

Whatever your choice is, you should have structural plans sealed by a Registered Professional Engineer to verify system adequacy.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Homes, Pole Barn Questions, Post Frame Home, Pole Barn Planning, Barndominium, Concrete, Shouse, Footings, Shouse, Professional Engineer and tagged post frame house, Frost Protected Shallow Foundation, wet set brackets, shouse, insulation R value, concrete piers, frost line, barndominium on August 5, 2025 by Rick Ochs.

Integral Condensation Control

With steel roofing for barndominiums, shouses and post frame (pole) buildings comes condensation.

When atmospheric conditions (in this case temperature and humidity) reach dew point, air’s vapor is able to condense to objects colder than surrounding air temperature. Once vapor condensing occurs, droplets are formed on cool surfaces. This is partly why warming a vehicle’s windshield with a defroster can prevent glass ‘fogging’.

When a building’s interior air meets these conditions, air vapor will condense to cool surfaces. Steel roofing cooled by exterior air temperature often provides this surface. Droplets formed will combine as they contact one another, continuing to do so until they are too large to be supported by surface tension. At this point, dripping will occur, essentially raining on your structure’s contents.

Commonly (when addressed at all during construction) solutions to this problem have often involved creating a thermal break. A thermal break reduces contact between a structure’s warm interior air and cooler metal roofing, thereby reducing or eliminating overall condensation. Installing a reflective radiant barrier, often termed Vapor Barrier, involves laying rolls of faced ‘bubble wrap’ across your building’s purlins prior to roof steel installation. Ideal weather conditions are required for this as even a slight wind can make this a challenging or altogether impossible task. This can cause jobsite delays and may bring progress to a halt while a structure remains unprotected to weather. Even when ideal weather conditions are present, installing a reflective radiant barrier can be a very dangerous task, requiring builders to expose themselves to awkward material handling on a building’s bare roof framing. These risks and delays often generate additional costs for both owners and builders, but have often been necessary with reflective radiant barrier being the only relatively affordable option to prevent interior dripping.

New materials and production methods offer a better solution. Utilizing polyester fabric’s absorption characteristics and their integral application during roll-forming, most better quality steel roofing roll formers offer a ready-to-install roofing panel with integral drip-protection. I.C.C. is a pre-applied solution reaching jobsites ready for immediate installation. Delays and increased jobsite workload caused by problems associated with radiant reflective barriers are eliminated by this product. Also, due to this solution’s simplicity, panels with I.C.C. install using the same methods, fasteners and time similar panel-only installations require. No changes to installation processes are necessary, with an exception of time and effort saved.

It works because this polyester membrane simply retains liquid until atmospheric conditions allow it to be re-evaporated. This is because polyester is hydrophilic, meaning water is attracted to it. It acts as a wick, harmlessly absorbing condensing vapor. Rather than preventing condensation, it provides an absorbent layer to detain condensing vapor until it can re-evaporate as temperatures increase and humidity decreases.

This entry was posted in Roofing Materials, Shouse, Pole Barn Planning, Steel Roofing & Siding, Barndominium and tagged hydrophilic, vapor barrier, condensation, barndominium, thermal break, I.C.C., reflective radiant barrier, shouse on June 19, 2025 by Rick Ochs.

Pole Barn House Planning, Financing for a Shouse, and Notching a Glulam

This Wednesday readers of “Ask the Guru” are advised in areas of planning for a pole barn house, VA financing for a duplex or shouse, and the best method of notching a glulam for truss support.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Can you send me some images and quotes for pole barn houses for 7,000? TAMARRA in INTERLACHEN

DEAR TAMARRA: While every building we provide is customized to best meet our client’s wants and needs, we do have numerous representative floor plans available: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/gallery/floor-plans/

Fully engineered post frame homes and barndominiums, modest tastes, DIY, budget roughly $75-85 per sft for conditioned spaces, $35 for all others. Does not include land, site prep, utilities, permits.

Hire a General Contractor and expect to invest double or even triple these amounts.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hello! My husband and I are trying to buy our first home using our VA all in one construction loan or something like that. We are very new to this and are still in the early stages of research. We won’t be submitting an actual credit hit until the end of July (waiting on some things to better our credit once its gone and saving for down payment as well). We are wanting to do this with my sister and brother in law. We all have over 620 credit scores and are looking to build a two story barndo that connects to a 2 car shop and on the other side of that is another barndo the same as the first side. We are trying to do a duplex style but connected by a garage/shop. With a wrap around porch. Is this even possible?? What budget am I looking at and your honest opinion. Thank you so much!! TAYLOR in BURKBURNETT

DEAR TAYLOR: VA loans can be challenging and they typically force you to hire only an approved General Contractor – meaning you will pay a premium.

This information should prove helpful: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2021/02/a-shortlist-for-smooth-barndominium-sailing/

You design idea is totally possible. Fully engineered post frame homes and barndominiums, modest tastes, DIY, budget roughly $75-85 per sft for conditioned spaces, $35 for all others. Does not include land, site prep, utilities, permits. Hire a General Contractor, expect to pay double or triple these amounts.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: What is the best way to cut the middle 2×6 out of a 3 ply nail/ glued column? I want to sandwich my truss between ply 1 and 3. AUSTIN in OTSEGO

DEAR AUSTIN: Hopefully you are not planning upon using a nail/glued column.

Why?

Ignore any glue – it is merely construction adhesive and is not capable of adequately transferring shear loads between plies.

As nails are used from each outer ply, into center ply, center ply ends up with double number of nails, as well as then carrying twice as much load as each individual ply. When we tested these in a university wood products lab center ply failed in over 96% of tested members!

I would highly recommend using only true glulaminated columns (please read more here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2024/11/new-hansen-pole-building-roof-supporting-columns/).

Back to your question. Our engineers are going to specify a notch from one side of each truss bearing column. It is nearly impossible to notch out a center member of a laminated column (while it can be done, expect to invest an overly large amount of time and probably some choice language). From a structural aspect, there is really not a benefit.

This entry was posted in Columns, Pole Barn Homes, Barndominium, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Shouse, Pole Building How To Guides, Shouse, Pole Barn Planning, Trusses, Budget and tagged Post Frame Home, shouse, post frame costs, post frame house planning, pole barn financing, va loan, glulam notch on June 4, 2025 by Rick Ochs.

A Riding Arena, a Post Frame Home, and Hot Weather Builds

This Wednesday the Pole Barn Guru addresses reader questions about the engineering of a round pen riding arena for equine use, if a pole barn can be used for a home, and how well post frame would do in a hot weather climate like Las Vegas, NV.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: A friend of mine runs a non-profit equine therapy business for veterans and first responders. He was operating out of one facility but had some issues with a couple people and decided to move his operation. His new area was donated by a couple and they do not have an indoor riding arena like they used to have. To remedy this my friend is building a 60′ diameter indoor riding arena, it’s basically a round pen. He is building it much like the Equi-cover round pen from Equine Concepts. He has asked me to figure out the roof truss dimensions from looking at the Equi-cover round pen instructions. This kit is galvanized tubing and uses a plastic coated fabric cover, like a giant party tent, as its roof. The pdf he sent me is the installation guide so it’s not even like it is a specific model that is made for snowload etc. They have the posts dug and put up out of 4 x 4 posts 13′ high. I am at a loss because 2 x 6 and 2 x 4 wood from the lumber store to mimic these roof trusses on a design I am not familiar with and that I don’t even know if it is capable of carrying the snowload is sketchy. We are at a 40pound per square foot snow load where he is in Hilton, NY. I want to help him out but I now just trying to “copy” this design is not appropriate because it was designed in steel. I was wondering if I could get your help/opinion. I know he is doing this all on donations so I am trying to provide help but I am not a structural engineer and my gut is telling me copying this truss in wood is bad news and I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Thanks, RYAN in FARMINGTON

DEAR RYAN: My gut and your gut are in agreement here. Unless this kit came complete with steel trusses as part of a system designed to support your 40 pounds-per-square foot snow load I think your buddy has a white elephant on his hands. Our clients wanting round pens would typically erect a 60 foot square post frame building and use panels to create an interior ’round’ space. This assures them of an engineered structure capable of handling appropriately snow and wind loads. There might be a solution to what your buddy has, but it is not going to come cheap and should start with hiring a Registered Professional Engineer.

Best of success with this.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Can I use a pole barn as a residence? JAMIE in KENT

DEAR JAMIE: Absolutely! We have provided hundreds upon hundreds of residential post frame (pole barn) buildings.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Do these withstand the hot weather in Las Vegas NV. Have you sold one in this area or know of a contractor that you have worked with if so. PAUL in LAS VEGAS

DEAR PAUL: Whether tremendously hot or bitterly cold, post frame buildings are likely your best design solution. We have several buildings in Clark County and surrounding areas, including your local zoo’s giraffe barn! Chances are we can assist you in finding a building erector as well.

This entry was posted in Budget, Professional Engineer, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Homes, Pole Barn Design, Constructing a Pole Building, Pole Building How To Guides, Barndominium, Pole Barn Planning, Trusses, Shouse, Rebuilding Structures, floorplans, Building Interior and tagged hot weather, Las Vegas, snow load, NV, Post Frame Home, riding arena, shouse, round pen on February 12, 2025 by Rick Ochs.

A Stand Alone Building, Drip Stop in High Dust, and Sliding Door Replacement

This Wednesday the Pole Barn Guru answers reader questions about the pitfalls of trying to build a stand alone building within a steel building, drip stop use in high dust environments, and the replacement of two sliding doors in Lester Prairie.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Good evening, I’m at my wits end. We have had our barndominium in engineering for 10 months and nobody will give us the plans. Please help! We have no home and I’m afraid we won’t get one. We bought a steel structure. We have a second floor designed in. They are huffing and puffing that nobody has ever done this and all kinds of issues. They want to charge me and extra $60k for a thicker steel frame or over engineer for building a stand alone building inside. They won’t give me a price estimate on the latter but insist it’s more than the steel. But my husband don’t think they understand that the stand alone structure won’t have side force, wind force , torque and it won’t be holding up a roof, etc. so we thought pile barn engineering. Do you think we could engineer the inside like a pole barn more easily and less expensively than other proposals? I’m very stressed and desperately need help. Thank you for reading this. KAY in SHARON TWP

DEAR KAY: Sadly you are now finding out why steel structures (Pre-engineered metal buildings or PEMBs) do not necessarily lend themselves to becoming homes. It really is not practical to have to build a building, inside of a building.

Here, in my humble opinion, is your best solution. Cancel your steel structure order and get a refund. We can then design, engineer and deliver a post frame home to meet your wants and needs. When all is said and done, you will save yourself tens of thousands of dollars and be living in your new home long before your steel structure provider even begins to figure out a design solution. One of our Building Design team members will be reaching out to you to further assist.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: We are planning to reskin an older AG Building 60x150x 14h,Is DripStop condensation barrier suitable for use in high dust environments , such as an unheated agricultural building with no concrete floor, no overhangs for ventilation (three sides closed in, and 4th side mostly open /no doors)Will the dust cause/create any issues with the DripStop’s effectiveness by collecting on the Drip Stop? Thank you in advance for your help! THOMAS in BRAZIL

DEAR THOMAS: In this instance, I went direct to the source for your answer – Brett Clary from Dripstop, who writes:

“Yes, our Dripstop condensation control product is primarily used in AG environments and livestock confinement all over the world. In fact, over 600,000,000 square feet of Dripstop are shipped globally every year.

Fear not, Dripstop is durable enough to stand up to dust. In truly harsh or dusty environments, you can also wash/rinse the Dripstop with a pressure washer, if needed.

Regarding your 3 enclosed sides and the 4th being open… please note that Dripstop holds 1 quart of water per 10 sq. ft.. That’s a lot of water, but it still needs to be vented off. Any condensation control product will require adequate ventilation to work properly. Let me know if you have any further questions about ventilation.

Thanks again for your question. You now have my email and phone number below. Feel free to reach out to me directly anytime.”

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Cost to replace 2 sliding doors in pole shed. 16 wide 16 high 20 wide 16 high. DUANE in LESTER

PRAIRIE DEAR DUANE: Thank you for reaching out. We stopped providing sliding door components for doors taller than 12 feet several years ago, there just was not a demand. We are also not contractors, so would have no ability to do so, even if we had appropriate parts. As you are in Lester Prairie, you might try contacting Lester Buildings 1.800.826.4439

This entry was posted in Shouse, Pole Barn Questions, Rebuilding Structures, floorplans, Pole Barn Design, Building Interior, Building Department, Roofing Materials, Constructing a Pole Building, Pole Barn Heating, Pole Barn Planning, Post Frame Home, Pole Building Siding, Barndominium, Ventilation, Shouse, Insulation, Building Drainage and tagged engineered post frame home, pole barn sliding doors, drip stop, shouse, sliding doors, pole barn shouse, drip stop condensation control on October 9, 2024 by Rick Ochs.

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

Frost Heave and Rodents, a Storage/House Combo, and Dead Attic Space

This week the Pole Barn Guru answers reader questions about prevention of frost heave and rodents getting in to a post frame garage, advice for a storage/house combo in Oregon, and how some buildings can have “dead attic space.”

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am concerned about frost heave and rodents getting into a post and frame garage. How high off the ground should the bottom girt be off the ground to prevent damage and frost heave and what is the best method to keep mice from getting in under the bottom girt. Should galvanized screen or maybe soffit metal be buried in the ground? Would pebble stone be a better choice along the building sides to minimize frost heave rather than gravel or clay soil? Your advice is appreciated, WALLY in KAKABEKA FALLS

DEAR WALLY: Bottom of your bottom girt (UC-4A pressure preservative treated splash plank) should be 3-1/2″ below top of your finished concrete slab on grade.

Here are a series of articles about what causes frost heave and how to avoid it:

Pole Building Structures: What Causes Frost Heaves?

Beat Frost the Easy Way…Post Construction Drainage

Preventing Frost Heaves in Pole Building Construction

Here is how to handle rodents: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2021/03/rascally-rodents/

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: We are considering building a pole barn to store hay and equipment that also has an apartment area within. What would you suggest we build? We live in Central Oregon and we can get substantial snowfall as we butt up against the Cascade Mountain Range. We have horses and cows that we will be storing hay for, a tractor, two 4 wheelers, a couple of vehicles and two trailers. Thank you in advance for your assistance. JONI in BEND

DEAR JONI: One 4th of July we downhill snow skied Mount Bachelor’s summit before lunch, then hit The Deschutes River for white water rafting. We have provided hundreds of engineered post frame buildings to our clients in Oregon, so we know your area well.

Before getting into a snow load discussion, I would be remiss if I failed to share some pitfalls of adjoining living quarters to where animals are housed. Dust Rodents

Noise Odors

Fire separation – usually takes a two-hour firewall, meaning you have to go outside to go between uses. Cost of Insurance – fire potential is an issue Resale Value – appeals to a very small percentage of people, for reasons listed above. I would strongly encourage you to look at two individual structures. I will ask one of our Building Designers to reach out to you, to best assist you in design of your ideal building(s).

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I work in commercial buildings a lot, that have similarities to pole barn design. Some are wood and steel, some are all steel framed. But none of them have spray foam, they’re either rockwool or fiberglass insulation. And ALL of their roofs are closed dead spaced with no venting at all. In lieu of your reply, how do they get away with this? Why can’t I emulate what they’re doing to some extent? Thanks again! DAVE in GALES CREEK

DEAR DAVE: These commercial buildings are utilizing what is loosely termed as “Metal Building Insulation”. This is typically a fiberglass batt, bonded to an air impermeable air barrier (blocks water and air). This facing must have an air permanence equal to or less than 0.02 L/s-m^2 at 75 Pa. pressure differential tested according to ASTM E 2178. All seams must be tightly sealed. This can be accomplished where roof purlins are typically every five feet and interior plane of underside of roof is not interrupted by members such as truss webs.

This entry was posted in Ventilation, Building Interior, Insulation, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Heating, Pole Barn Design, Constructing a Pole Building, Barndominium, Pole Barn Planning, Pole Barn Structure and tagged frost heave, hay storage, fire separation, snow loads, rodents, shouse, equipment storage on November 29, 2023 by admin.

Average Cost in WA State, Garage with Dwelling Unit, and Combo Girts

This Wednesday the Pole Barn Guru addresses reader questions about the average cost of “a 1200 sf 2 bed 1 bath 1 carport 1 small porch for a contractor in WA state?” If a person can build one structure for a garage with a dwelling unit, and if it would be beneficial to install commercial girts and external/barn girts.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: What is the average cost for a 1200 sf 2 bed 1 bath 1 carport 1 small porch for a contractor in WA state to build one of your kits? TERRI in LONGVIEW

DEAR TERRI: 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. Your new Hansen Pole Building kit is designed for an average physically capable person, who can and will read and follow instructions, to successfully construct your own beautiful building shell, without extensive prior construction knowledge (and most of our clients do DIY – saving tens of thousands of dollars). We’ve had clients ranging from septuagenarians to fathers bonding with their teenage daughters erect their own buildings, so chances are – you can as well! Your new building investment includes full multi-page 24” x 36” structural blueprints detailing location and attachment of every piece (as well as suitable for obtaining Building Permits), our industry’s best, fully illustrated, step-by-step installation manual, and unlimited technical support from people who have actually built post frame buildings. Even better – it includes our industry leading Limited Lifetime Structural warranty! If hiring it done turnkey, expect to pay two to three times as much. This is why so many of our clients do some or all work themselves.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: My question is that i want one pole barn to house at least 4 vehicles, an RV as large as 45 ft. and a small home around 500 sq feet. Is this possible? JASON in OWENSBORO

DEAR JASON: From a structural standpoint what you propose is entirely doable. Some jurisdiction set minimum square footage requirements for residential living space, so you will want to reach out to your local Planning Department. https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2020/01/your-barndominiums-planning-department/

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Is it beneficial to install both commercial girts as well as barn girts? The barn girts would serve as a larger mating/screw surface. Additional costs aside, seems like it might be nice! MATT in SPOKANE

DEAR MATT: While it would certainly make for a larger screw target, when wall steel panels are predrilled, keeping screw lines straight and hitting commercial girts really is not an issue. Outside of extra materials and more labor, there are a couple of areas of possible concern: 6×6 columns vary in dimension. With a 2×8 commercial girt, extending 1-1/2″ outside of columns, a 6×6 up to 5-3/4″ can easily be hidden. If your idea is to use a 2×6 commercial girt, behind a 2×4 external girt, if columns run over dimension they will leave an uneven surface for internal finish. Of course, should you mount a 2×4 external girt above or below a 2×8 commercial girt (forming an “L”), then this concern goes away. Your other possible challenge would be in connecting these two members. Greatest force on wall girts is outward suction, so your 2×4 external girt and 2×6 bookshelf commercial girt will need to be adequately connected so as to not have external girt pull away and fail. This connection should be analyzed by an engineer.

This entry was posted in Barndominium, Building Styles and Designs, Constructing a Pole Building, Shouse, Pole Building How To Guides, Pole Barn Planning, Building Interior, RV Storage, Pole Barn Questions, Post Frame Home, Pole Barn Design and tagged shouse, post frame costs, average costs of post frame, girts, barndominium, post frame house on July 12, 2023 by admin.

Information on Codes and Shouses

Information on Codes and Shouses

I have to admit it was rather flattering to have Southwest Iowa’s Planning Council reach out to me regarding information on Codes and Shouses recently.

“Hello. My name is Ashley and I’m a community development specialist with Southwest Iowa Planning Council out of Atlantic, IA. I am currently working on some Zoning and Building codes for smaller towns and they want to include zones and/or building codes for shouses. Since this is relatively new to this area, within city limits at least, I was curious what issues your company has come across regarding codes and if you had any sample codes from communities that you would be willing to share with me?”

Mike the Pole Barn Guru responds:

Thank you for reaching out to us. We have provided hundreds of post frame shouses and barndominiums in nearly every state. Good news for you (and these jurisdictions) is this project will involve very little extra efforts beyond what is currently in place.

Use of terms such as “pole barn”, “pole building” or “post frame” home, barndominium, shouse or shop/house oftentimes cause permitting waters to become clouded – yet they need not be.

From a Zoning/Planning standpoint – shouses (I will use this as an all encompassing term) should be treated no differently than any other code compliant structural system. Any existing requirements for setbacks, footprint requirements, heights, living area to garage/shop ratios, siding and/or roofing materials, color restrictions, etc., should remain the same as currently adopted. What is important is to not place restrictions upon shouses not existing for other dwellings, as this could end up leading to costly and protracted legal battles.

Currently adopted Building Codes (IRC, IBC, IECC) do not have to be amended for shouses.

In “Effective Use of the International Residential Code”:

Paragraph 4:

“It is important to understand that the IRC contains coverage for what is conventional and common in residential construction practice. While the IRC will provide all of the needed coverage for most residential construction, it might not address construction practices and systems that are atypical or rarely encountered in the industry.”

IRC R301.1.3 Engineered design.

“When a building of otherwise conventional construction contains structural elements exceeding the limits of Section R301 or otherwise not conforming to this code, these elements shall be designed in accordance with accepted engineering practice. The extent of such design need only demonstrate compliance of nonconventional elements with other applicable provisions and shall be compatible with the performance of the conventional framed system. Engineered design in accordance with the International Building Code is permitted for all buildings and structures, and parts thereof, included in the scope of this code.”

In summary (and in my humble opinion), any shouse outside of IRC prescriptive requirements, should be designed and have structural plans signed by a Registered Design Professional (architect or engineer) to meet or exceed jurisdictional climactic conditions.

Please feel free (or direct any jurisdiction) to reach out to me directly with any questions or concerns.

This entry was posted in Barndominium, Pole Barn Planning, Shouse, Shouse, Professional Engineer, Pole Barn Homes, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Post Frame Home and tagged Post-Frame, shouse, pole barn, planning department, building codes, setbacks, IBC, codes, IRC, barndominium, zoning, IECC, International Residential Code on August 30, 2022 by admin.

You Can’t Build it Here Part I

You Can’t Build It Here

Pole Barn Guru Blog When I first began selling pole barn kits in Oregon, back in 1980, they were almost universally no permit required farm buildings. As our service area expanded into states such as California and Nevada, engineering was required in most instances, however there was never a concern about a pole building not being approved for use in any jurisdiction.

Now there were some ‘tough’ Building Departments. Most providers and builders refused to even quote permitted pole buildings within Multnomah County, Oregon or King County, Washington – just because they involved engineering and had plans examiners who were actually engineers themselves.

As our Pacific Northwest pole building industry evolved and expanded, we knew we had clients who were bootlegging our buildings into homes, but it wasn’t until I built a shouse (shop/house) for myself in rural Spokane County, Washington nearly 30 years ago, where I actually participated in a post frame building specifically designed for residential use all along.

In recent years, there has been a literal explosion of barndominiums across our country – many of these being post frame homes. And why not? Post frame offers so many benefits over limitations of what is considered to be a more traditional structural system – stick (or stud wall) framed.

Perhaps stick built construction’s biggest advantage is builders and tradespeople are very comfortable working in and around stick framing. All registered architects and most building inspectors are very familiar with stick framing. 2018’s International Residential Code (IRC) provides a prescriptive ‘cook book’ to follow for adequate structural assembly, within certain limitations. These include, but are not limited to, no story height of greater than 11 feet 7 inches (R301.3.1), no hurricane prone areas with a design wind speed of 130 mph or greater located south of Virginia, or 140 mph elsewhere (R301.2(5)B), and no ground snow loads over 70 psf (R301.2.3).

IRC802.10.2.1 further limits truss spans to a maximum of 36 feet and building lengths to 60 feet (measured perpendicular to truss span). Trussed roof slopes must be at least 3:12 and no greater than 12:12.

Wood is a very forgiving building material and, even when miscut, replacement material is usually only a short drive away. America’s home building industry has built traditional, wood stick framed homes, on site for decades.

Many builders, architects, carpenters and other subcontractors prefer to work on stick built homes as compared to alternative building systems, as it is what they are familiar with. Because traditionally framed houses are so popular, dimensional lumber and stick built framers are readily available.

Another advantage of stick built homes is they allow for a great level of design freedom. One can design a home with various ceiling heights, angles and curves, niches and other details. Stick framing is one way to achieve those unique details at a fairly affordable cost.

Despite its popularity, stick framing does have some drawbacks. Because stick built homes are assembled outside, over several weeks, framing lumber is subject to outside moisture. If lumber gets too wet, it can shrink and warp as it dries and cause cracks in the attached drywall. This shrinking and warping can also make it difficult to properly insulate. To decrease risks of potential moisture problems, exteriors are covered with an appropriate and well-sealed Weather Resistant Barrier and lumber should be properly dried before drywall and insulation are installed.

Another drawback of a stick built home is it usually takes several weeks to complete framing. Total amount of time it will take will obviously depend on the size and complexity of house plans and size, experience and availability of any particular framing crew.

A framing crew must precisely cut, assemble and erect framing components sometimes in adverse weather conditions. Working around adverse weather conditions is another challenge with stick framing.

Come back in two days for the conclusion in You Can’t Build it Here Part II.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Design, Post Frame Home, Pole Building Comparisons, Barndominium, Constructing a Pole Building, Pole Barn Planning, Shouse, Shouse, Building Contractor, Pole Barn Homes and tagged shouse, pole building, building department, IRC, stick frame, barndominium, building inspectors, International Residential Code, architects on June 14, 2022 by admin.

Condensation, Floor Plans, and Planning a House

This Wednesday the Pole Barn Guru discusses condensation issues in a metal pole barn a reader would like to convert to livable space, floor plans for a new post frame residence, and the steps to take to plan and build a new post frame house.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I just purchased a property with a metal pole barn on it. It has a concrete floor and is not insulated. I want to finish part of it off to make living space. Currently condensation will form on the bottom of the roof and I obviously can’t have that over my living space. Planning to frame out the portion I’ll use for living space, install kraft faced batt insulation and then drywall over that. Not planning on any additional vapor barrier on walls. Once I build the ceiling I plan on using blown insulation. How do I address the condensation/moisture issue from the roof in the most economical way possible and do I need anything additional on the walls? The cement floor seems dry enough but I don’t know if there is a vapor barrier underneath, how can I know if it’s dry enough and if it’s not what should I do? Thanks so much!! MARK in UNDERWOOD

DEAR MARK: You can easily check your concrete slab for a vapor barrier – place a wrench on floor overnight, next morning remove wrench and if a dark spot is seen where wrench was placed, you have no vapor barrier. If so, seal slab with a high quality sealant (here is an example https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2018/11/siloxa-tek-8505-concrete-sealant/).
For you roof, best solution is two inches of closed cell spray foam applied directly to underside of your roof steel. If you create any dead attic spaces, make certain they are well ventilated, ideally at eave and ridge.

On exterior walls, since you have no Weather Resistant Barrier (Tyvek or similar), I would recommend using rock or mineral wool insulation (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2013/03/roxul-insulation/) as it is unaffected by moisture. Install a well-sealed clear poly vapor barrier between wall framing and drywall.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Do you do 6 bedroom Barndo’s? I’m looking for a 6 bed, 4 bath barndominum floor plan. I have an idea of what I like in my head but 6 bedrooms one story are difficult. HEATHER in CLEBURNE

DEAR HEATHER: We can provide any number or bedrooms and bathrooms, as every barndominium Hansen Pole Buildings provides is 100% custom designed to best meet the wants and needs of our clients and their loved ones. Please see #3 here to assist in determining needed spaces and approximate sizes, and to have professional floor plans and elevation drawings produced affordably.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I would like to build a 20 foot wide x 40 foot long pole barn house in Fredericktown, Ohio. Do you know if the local building department would give a permit for a residential pole barn house, & what are the steps to obtaining that permit, who to call, & etc.? I’m at the beginning of that building process & would like to begin this summer. Thanks. RENEE in MOUNT VERNON

DEAR RENEE: Here is some information you may find useful in getting started: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2021/02/a-shortlist-for-smooth-barndominium-sailing/
You will need to contact your local Planning and Zoning office to begin with. You can look up appropriate office (depending upon your actual Township/Village/City) at www.KnoxRegionalPlanning.com. This should get you what you need to know from them: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2020/01/your-barndominiums-planning-department/
Many jurisdictions do have minimum square footage requirements for dwelling, so you may be forced into more than your desired 800 square feet. You may also want to investigate building 24′ x 36′ as it is more efficient for materials usage.

If anyone tells you a fully engineered post frame home cannot be erected in their jurisdiction, get from them a copy of any approved ordinance to confirm (usually there is not one) and if it does exist, get it to me and I will go battle for you for free (I win 99% of these).

In many smaller communities, Planning, Zoning and Building Departments are a “one stop shop”. Here is what we will need from your Building Department: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2020/08/building-department-checklist-part-i/ and https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2020/08/building-department-checklist-2020-part-ii/

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Homes, Pole Barn Design, Building Styles and Designs, Building Department, Post Frame Home, Constructing a Pole Building, Barndominium, Pole Barn Planning, Shouse, floorplans, Ventilation, Concrete, Pole Barn Questions and tagged moisture barrier, Post Frame Home, shouse, vapor barrier, condensation, barndominium plans, Building permit, post frame floor plans, post frame building permit on March 23, 2022 by admin.

Building Over Existing Slab, Blueprints for House, and Pole Building Finance

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Do you sell just the blueprints for a pole barn/ house.

MICHAEL in LAKE PANASOFFKEE

This entry was posted in Columns, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Pole Barn Homes, Building Department, Constructing a Pole Building, Pole Barn Planning, Shouse, Concrete, Shouse, Footings, floorplans, Professional Engineer and tagged floor plans, Existing slab, shouse, construction loan, pole barn financing, motor home storage, blueprints on March 9, 2022 by admin.

Boral Steel Stone Coated Roofing

Boral Steel® Stone Coated Roofing

Boral Steel® Stone Coated Roofing is manufactured from Galvalume® steel, then coated with stone granules applied with acrylic polymer adhesives. Result is a lightweight (1.5 psf – pounds per square foot) durable and cost-effective roofing system offering superior strength of steel and is ideal for new post frame barndominium or shouse (shop/house) construction. Boral Steel® is also 100% end of usable life recyclable..

Boral Steel® product’s natural aesthetic is ideal for pairing with barndominiums of all architectural styles, from Mediterranean to Contemporary and Transitional. This material is offered in numerous profiles and colors, providing a wide array and variety to satisfy even the most discerning of barndominium owners. Popular options mimic traditional shake, slate, tile, and shingle roofing.

When selecting any roof, it’s of paramount importance to consider regional climate and identify weather conditions most likely to occur where you are installing your roof. Storms, fire, hail, snow, and wind are all significant challenges for any roofing material. Good news is Boral Steel® roofing product installed with proper underlayment and attachment process helps provide safety, comfort, and protection from most severe climate conditions.

Stone coated steel roofing is one of the best possible materials for withstanding devastating hailstorms impacting many of our country’s regions, providing a highest possible UL-listed, Class 4 UL impact rating.

Stone coated steel roofing panels are proven to resist wind speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour, making this roofing solution ideal in regions where high winds occur, such as Florida, Hawaii and Caribbean coastal markets.

With its steel composition, Boral Steel® product can notably carry more weight attributed to snow loads than other roofing options. Additionally, due to stone coating, snow will not slide off a Boral Steel® roof as is common with alternative standing-seam metal roofs. Because snow melts slowly on a stone coated steel roof into your roof’s gutter system, it creates peace of mind with a safer roof perimeter.

Boral Steel® roofing product helps offer protection in severely cold climates where ice damming is problematic. These roof systems provide an “above sheathing ventilated” (ASV) space across the entire roof deck. This horizontal and vertical air space provides above-deck air flow and insulation helping mitigate ice damming and icicle formation issues common in heavy snow areas.

As shown by testing results to ASTM-E108, stone coated steel roofing also helps protect structures from fire spread. Boral Steel® product offers a Class-A fire rating when used with specific underlayment materials, providing extra protection from wind-driven embers, common during urban firestorms.

Total cost to install a product is the first factor many barndominium owners consider, so let’s see if stone coated steel roofing is in your budget. Note one square = 100 square feet.

Material Costs: $400-$550 per square for shingles, shakes and tiles and underlayment, fasteners, ridge cap, trim and other accessories required
Installation Costs: $450-$900 per square depending on factors affecting cost, as listed below

Total Installed Cost: $850-$1,450 per square.

While this seems like a broad price range, the range for asphalt shingles can be even broader. Best asphalt shingles can cost 3-4 times the cheapest option.

Did you know? Many online cost estimators fail to consider trim cost, underlayment, fasteners and other accessories, permitting, disposal and removal fees, etc., so their cost estimates can be inaccurately low.

Itemized Materials Cost
There’s a lot more to a roofing system than stone coated steel panels. Here’s a list of materials with their average costs.

Materials priced per square:

Roof decking: $100-$135
Sound-proofing underlayment designed for metal roofs: $75-$125
Stone-coated steel roofing panels (shingles, shakes, tiles): $175-$375
Battens (used on some roofs to create a grid to nail roofing material to): $45-$75
Fasteners: $3.00-$4.50

Materials priced per linear foot:

Moisture barrier (Ice-and-Water Shield) for valleys/eaves/rakes: $1.50-$2.75
Drip edge: Up to $1.25
Ridge vent, typically installed on both sides of ridge with center open: $3.35-$5.50
Stone coated steel ridge, hip, and rake cap to match shingles/shakes: $6.00-$9.00
Flashing and fascia: $2.00-$4.50

Factors Affecting Cost

No two stone-coated steel roofing projects are the same. Each has materials and installation variables to consider.

Material cost factors:

Style: Specific type of panels include shingles (lowest cost) to shakes (moderate cost) to barrel-style Spanish/Roman/Florida tiles (highest cost)
Panel thickness: Steel gauges range from 28-gauge (thinner) to 24-gauge (thicker), and thicker materials cost more
Type of coatings: Stone coated steel roofing is coated on both sides with various materials to improve resistance to corrosion and loss of stones.
Batten vs. Batten-less (direct-to-deck): Battens are installed in most applications. Installation without battens, or direct-to-deck installation, is possible, too.

Did you know? In high-wind areas such as High Velocity Hurricane (HVHZ), batten-less installation with stone coated steel roofing nailed directly to the roof deck is recommended because it holds material more securely. This factor affects installation costs too.

This entry was posted in Barndominium, Pole Building Comparisons, Roofing Materials, Shouse, Steel Roofing & Siding, Shouse, Post Frame Home and tagged hailstorms, shouse, recycled roofing, boral steel, wind load, boral steel stone coated roofing, galvalume, shake, barndominium, slate, galvalume steel, tile, shingle roofing, ice damming on February 3, 2022 by admin.

Will My Minnesota Shouse Require Frost Footings?

This entry was posted in Professional Engineer, Pole Barn Homes, Pole Barn Questions, Post Frame Home, Pole Barn Planning, Barndominium, Concrete, Shouse, Footings, Shouse and tagged frost line, barndominium, post frame house, Frost Protected Shallow Foundation, wet set brackets, shouse, insulation R value, concrete piers on January 25, 2022 by admin.

A Walk-Out, A Shouse, and Spray Foam Insulation

This Wednesday the Pole Barn Guru addresses reader questions about the possibility of Hansen designing a walk-out basement, building a Shouse, and a consideration of spray foam insulation.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Do you do walkout basement? DIANE in WARRENTON

DEAR DIANE: Absolutely we can provide your barndominium with a walkout (daylight) basement: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2020/02/barndominium-on-a-daylight-basement/
We have also developed the technology to incorporate a Permanent Wood Foundation between columns on sides where you are cutting in. This greatly reduces amount of required concrete, saving you money!

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I have been dreaming of a 56 x 32 work shop at my home. I have the urge to build a 2 story structure with the lower floor having a 16 foot wall height so a lift can be use as well as a car stacker. the upper floor could be an 8 – 10 foot wall height being used for storage and wood working and maybe a man cave type room. Is such a monstrosity buildable…can you help me with this? Thank you for your time, GEOFF in RAPID CITY

DEAR GEOFF: This can totally be done – my own personal shouse (shop/house) has a 16′ ceiling downstairs, and upper level clearspans 48′ across so there are no columns to negotiate. Storage and wood working can be heavy, plus you have the efforts of having to move materials in and out far above ground. Provided you have space on your property, you would be far ahead to put all of this space on one level – access will be easier, you won’t burn up space to stairs, etc.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am looking to build a garage/workshop for year round use, so I am considering foam insulation.
I am leaning towards 2″ closed cell foam, then a 2×4 wall with batt material so there is no direct transfer of heat/cold.
I read that almost everyone recommends house wrap under the metal walls then spray foam in case a section of metal wall needs to be replaced in the future.
My question is: Should I also include house wrap for the roof in getting my estimated cost? Will the spray foam stick to the roof wrap or should it be applied directly to the metal?

Thank you for helping me with this, BILL in OAKDALE

DEAR BILL: is a great product and is best applied when sprayed directly onto steel roofing and siding. https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2020/04/spray-foam-insulation-3/

Steel with closed cell spray foam directly applied would have to take one monstrous hit to be damaged – enough so as you are probably replacing far more than just the panel and should be filing an insurance claim.

In your climate zone, this is what I would typically recommend:

ROOF: Order steel roofing with an Integral Condensation Control factory applied. Order roof trusses with 22″ raised heels, blow in R-60 fiberglass on top of ceiling. Enclosed vented soffits and vented ridge

WALLS: Weather Resistant Barrier between framing and wall steel, bookshelf wall girts, minimum R-20 unfaced batts (I prefer rock wool), well sealed R-5 rigid insulation on interior

SLAB: Perimeter R-10 rigid insulation down 4′ (or 2′ down, then out from building to follow Shallow Frost Protected Foundation requirements).

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Planning, Shouse, Ventilation, Building Interior, Professional Engineer, Pole Barn Homes, Pole Barn Heating, Pole Barn Questions, Post Frame Home, Pole Barn Design, Roofing Materials, Shouse and tagged spray foam, shop house, walkout basement, heated shop, Post Frame Home, shouse on January 12, 2022 by admin.

Syracuse, Nebraska Approves Shouses!

Syracuse, Nebraska Approves Shouses!

Syracuse, Nebraska was laid out in 1869 when it was certain railroads would be extended to it. With a population of roughly 2000, Syracuse is pretty well smack dab centered in Nebraska, in Otoe county.

While Syracuse might be small in numbers, they are forward thinking in following what is trending in housing in our country – barndominiums and shouses (shop/houses).

From an article of September 9, 2021 by Patty Buchholz and published on News Channel Nebraska:

“The website Pinterest offers over 160 images of a trend where designs of pole barns, metal sheds and shops are being used for living quarters called a “shouse” and now there may be some coming to Syracuse.

The city council voted in favor of an ordinance Wednesday that will allow Building Inspector Bruce Neemann to issue permits for shouse construction.

Neeman told the city council he has had several inquiries about the “barndominium” concept, which are typically metal buildings used for living and storage.

Councilman Jerry Werner expressed concern regarding the square footage of living space that would be needed to qualify as a shouse, rather than just a shed.

The council approved the shed/house combination for land zoned transitional ag and in residential areas with a conditional use permit.”

Considering one Facebook group alone, “Barndominiums Under 150k” has grown in membership by over 50,000 in 30 days – it will not be surprising to see more jurisdictions riding this popular and affordable trend.

If you are considering building a barndominium or shouse, start by reaching out to your jurisdiction’s Planning (or similarly named) Department to see what restrictions there might be: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2020/01/your-barndominiums-planning-department/

Should you be told, “You can’t build it here”, please get a copy of any applicable WRITTEN ordinance (experience leading me to realize rarely does one exist) and forward it to me at PoleBarnGuru@HansenPoleBuildings.com. I will review it and go take on City Hall (or County Courthouse) for you.

This entry was posted in Barndominium, Shouse, Shouse, Pole Barn Design, Pole Barn Planning, Sheds, Post Frame Home and tagged shouse, Patty Bucholz, News channel Nebraska, Pinterest, shop, house, barndominium on November 4, 2021 by admin.

Driver Bits, a Big Room, and Overhead Door Space

This week the Pole Barn Guru answers questions about driver bits, the ability to build one big room, and the ability to place a 14′ tall overhead garage door in a building with 14′ sidewalls.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Just read a post you had in 2013 that Hansen supplier uses high quality screws. Getting ready to order building from Hansen in next couple days. I need to get a nutdriver for drill. Do you happen to know nutdriver size used? Rather buy what I need instead of whole set. Thanks for your help. BOB in POWHATAN

DEAR BOB: Thank you so much, we are looking forward to assisting you throughout your building journey! This excerpt from our Hansen Pole Buildings’ Construction Manual should get you heading forward:

Screws have 1/4” hex-heads. Hansen Buildings recommends purchasing several Master Surface Magnetic Drive bits (available through Hansen Buildings). Alternate bit brands may damage screws’ powder coating.

HELPFUL HINT: Buy extra Master Surface Magnetic Drive bits as they do wear out. Usually a bit will do 750-1000 screws. If you have extras and have unopened packages, they can be returned for full credit. This is much cheaper than having to make an extra trip (or trips!) to a hardware store.

Under no circumstance use drive bits from Ryobi, Black and Decker or Ridgid, as they WILL damage screw heads.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Can I build one big room with insulated roof? TONYA in MONTGOMERY

DEAR TONYA: Absolutely you can. Fully engineered post frame (pole) buildings are nearly always designed to entirely clearspan – giving you flexibility to place interior walls wherever best fits your needs, or to have no walls at all! In my own personal shouse (shop/house) our 40’ x 60’ living area is entirely open other than a 20’ x 32’ master bedroom suite.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Building a 40×60 pole barn and wanting 14 foot side walls. Putting overhead door at one end. Need door 14 x 14 to accommodate ag machinery entrance.
My question, can this be done using scissor trusses?
Thanks. BILL in ROCKFORD

DEAR BILL: While it can be done, it is going to take adding quite a bit to your roof slope (for practical purposes, whatever slope you gain inside, has to be added to exterior). In order to fit in your door, you will need to have roughly 15’6″ from grade at edge of door. This is going to entail a bottom chord slope of roughly 2.5/12 with an exterior slope of 6/12.

There are some less expensive options and they will give you full use of your building from wall to wall with anything fitting vertically through your door.

Increase eave height to 16’6″ – use standard truss. This leaves plenty of roof for standard hardware tracks and an opener.

Increase eave height to 15′, high lift door up inside of endwall 4′ and ‘park’ door between endwall and first pair of trusses at 12′ back from endwall. This option will not work if you are planning on installing a ceiling.

One of our Building Designers will be reaching out to you to further discuss your building needs and objectives.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Planning, Trusses, tools, Pole Barn Homes, Sectional Doors, Overhead Doors, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Shouse, Pole Building How To Guides, Shouse and tagged driver bits, master surface magnetic drive bits, overhead garage door size, OHD space, post frame house, clear span building, shouse on September 6, 2021 by admin.

Barndominium Questions

Questions About a Pole Barndominium

Reader PAYTON in CANTON writes:

“I have a few questions regarding building a pole barn/barndominium. 1. Do you offer any model homes we can explore? 2. Can we set up a consultation to discuss our options as far as building/kits? 3. What is the lead time for purchasing a kit? We are about 2 years out from building but are trying to gather information and plan things out time wise and financially. 4. What are size options? 5. What do the kits include? Probably more- feel free to call if that’s easier. Thank you!”

Mike the Pole Barn Guru writes: Thank you for your interest in a new Hansen Pole Building post frame (pole barn) barndominium.

All of our buildings are 100% custom designed to best meet each client’s wants, needs and budget, so we do not have any ‘model’ homes. You are always welcome to come visit my lovely bride and me at our 8000 square foot post frame shouse (shop/house) in Roberts County, South Dakota (just reach out to us in advance so we will be assured of being available).

Hansen Pole Buildings has a staff of trained Building Designers available to discuss possible options. You can reach them via email (Sales@HansenPoleBuildings.com) or dial 1.866.200.9657.

Pre-COVID our lead times were generally three to four weeks from order to delivery anywhere in the continental United States. Currently, with COVID influenced shortages of components and transportation challenges, we ask our clients to allow eight to 12 weeks (other than overhead doors are out as great as 16 to 18 weeks).

Barndominium sizes are limited only by your local Planning Department requirements. We can engineer anything up to and including three above grade stories with a 40 foot sidewall (increase by a story and 10 more feet with fire suppression sprinklers). For footprint, you can cover in excess of an acre, should you require this sort of space.

Hansen Buildings Construction Manual 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. Our kits include all materials necessary to erect structural portions of your new home – this would include building shell, any raised wood floors, stairs, windows and doors. We do not include any concrete, rebar or nails normally driven by an air nailer.

This may be helpful to you in your planning process: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2021/02/a-shortlist-for-smooth-barndominium-sailing/

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Homes, Barndominium, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Building Comparisons, Shouse, About The Pole Barn Guru, Building Department, Pole Barn Planning, Professional Engineer and tagged barndominium, fire suppression sprinklers, shouse, barndominium plans, structural blueprints, sprinklers on August 18, 2021 by admin.

Attic Truss Lofts, Wall Switch Heights, and A Shouse

Today the Pole Barn Guru responds to reader questions about an attic truss loft, whether or not wall switches and outlet heights are different for post frame, and building a shouse– garage with living space above (Shop/House).

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Is it possible to have a loft in a 30 x 50 x 8 pole barn with a 6/12 pitch using attic trusses? If the pole barn had 10′ side walls instead of 8′, how do you create the floor for the loft and still maintain only 8′ interior walls? WANDA in GAYLORD

DEAR WANDA: At a 6/12 roof slope a 30 foot span truss only increases in height by 90″ (7’6″) making overall building height with a 10 foot eave 17’6″. Even if your attic trusses were to have bottom of truss set at 8′ 4-5/8″ (perfect height for a finished 8′ ceiling) your bonus room would be very small and have limited headroom. If you wish to pursue this route, I would recommend an increase in roof slope to at least 8/12.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: In Michigan, is the code for the height of wall switches and outlets the same for pole barns as it is in a home? GARREY in ROMULUS

DEAR GARREY: Regardless of state and type of structural system, electrical codes remain the same.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: We want to put up a garage with living space above, 40 x 33 ish. but we have to have a cement basement foundation as it is 4′ into a hill. Can we have do this with this kind of construction? We had a design for stick construction but it is too expensive. Thanks! TINA in UNDERWOOD

DEAR TINA: Fully engineered post frame, PEMB and weld up barndominiums CAN be more affordable than stick frame. But, they are not going to be 10-50% less. Think about it – your only differences are in structural systems, all of your electrical, plumbing, HVAC, insulation, interior finishes, fixtures, cabinets, floor coverings, etc., are going to be identical investments no matter what structural system is chosen.

Your fully engineered post frame building can be designed quite readily with columns bracket mounted to poured concrete or ICF foundation walls, however you may find it more practical to utilize a Permanent Wood Foundation wall between columns where your site forces you to excavate.

This entry was posted in Building Interior, Lofts, Pole Barn Homes, Barndominium, Shouse, Pole Barn Questions, Building Styles and Designs, Pole Building How To Guides, Trusses and tagged house above garage, Post Frame Home, shouse, attic truss loft, attic truss, 6/12 pitch, electrical switch height on June 14, 2021 by admin.

Human Habitation Prohibited

Human Habitation Prohibited

“Please be aware that the Land Development Code and adopted Building Codes prohibit the human occupancy of any Accessory Building. This means that buildings such as metal buildings, pole barns, tool sheds, garages, or any other accessory structures shall not be constructed or used for human occupancy. Accessory Buildings are not constructed to the same Building Code standards as Dwellings and therefore a neither suitable nor safe living quarters.”

This quote is from Guidelines for the Permitting, Construction and Use of Accessory Buildings and Structures and is provided by Cass County, Missouri.

Taken all by itself, it would lead one to believe it is impossible to build a barndominium or shop/house in Cass County.

Now….. as the late, great Paul Harvey would have said, “Here is… the rest of the story”:

Planning Departments (also referred to as Planning and Zoning or other similar monikers) can place many restrictions on what can or cannot be built upon any particularly zoned piece of property. These restrictions may include (but are not limited to): Maximum or minimum footprint of dwellings, ratio of living space to garage/shop space, wall and/or overall building heights, setbacks from property lines and other structures, even such things as allowable materials and colors for roofing and siding products.

Yes, I know, it is YOUR property (or yours and your bank) however as long as you have to pay property taxes, you are actually just renting ground from your tax collecting authorities.

What Planning Departments cannot legally do is to prohibit a Code Conforming structural building system from being utilized (and to do so could very well be a Constitutional violation).

Most jurisdictions have adopted International Building Codes (IRC for residential, IBC for other structures).

IRC has no language in it pertaining to post frame construction, while IBC indeed does.

To follow are IRC excerpts justifying IBC use:

In “Effective Use of the International Residential Code”:

Paragraph 4:

“It is important to understand that the IRC contains coverage for what is conventional and common in residential construction practice. While the IRC will provide all of the needed coverage for most residential construction, it might not address construction practices and systems that are atypical or rarely encountered in the industry. Sections such as R301.1.3, R301.2.2.1.1, R320.1, M1301.1, G2401.1 and P2601.1 refer to other codes either as an alternative to the provisions of the IRC or where the IRC lacks coverage for a particular type of structure, design, system, appliance or method of construction. In other words, the IRC is meant to be all inclusive for typical residential construction and it relies upon other codes only where alternatives are desired or where the code lacks coverage for the uncommon aspect of residential construction.”

IRC R301.1.3 Engineered design.

“When a building of otherwise conventional construction contains structural elements exceeding the limits of Section R301 or otherwise not conforming to this code, these elements shall be designed in accordance with accepted engineering practice. The extent of such design need only demonstrate compliance of nonconventional elements with other applicable provisions and shall be compatible with the performance of the conventional framed system. Engineered design in accordance with the International Building Code is permitted for all buildings and structures, and parts thereof, included in the scope of this code.”

In lay person’s terms – a post frame building can be fully engineered to meet with all necessary requirements for meeting structural requirements for snow, wind and other climactic conditions for residential as well as a plethora of other uses.

Should any jurisdiction tell you otherwise – please share this information with them and if they are still unyielding, send me a copy of their written (and approved by City/Town council or county commissioners) documentation and I will politely discuss further with them on your behalf.

This entry was posted in Shouse, Building Department, Pole Barn Planning, Pole Barn Homes, Barndominium and tagged shop house, IRC, planning department, IBC, planning and zoning department, barndominium, International Residential Code, shouse on May 14, 2021 by admin.

Blog 2000

2000
Thank you to loyal readers who have made this blog a success – today marks 2000 blog articles written and shared! It could not have been done without your continued support and encouragement.

Back in December 2015, I shared a milestone of reaching 1000 articles, and thought it was a very big number (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2015/12/1000/). Having written now over a million words in these articles, I try to put it into perspective when compared to Hansen Pole Buildings’ Construction Manual. This manual walks through complete assembly of structural portions of fully engineered Hansen Pole Buildings. At just over 500 pages, it has nearly 70,000 words – meaning these blog articles are roughly 15 times as lengthy!

Hansen Buildings Construction Manual Sidebar – for those who are interested in acquiring one of these manuals, they are available by reaching out to Plans@HansenPoleBuildings.com. It does offer many tips for prospective Do-It-Yourselfers as well as builders.

Our industry has changed dramatically since article #1000. Although I have owned and lived in shop/houses (shouses) for over 25 years, and had clients from time-to-time invest in our post frame buildings for homes, there has been an explosion in demand for barndominiums. Over half of all inquiries we receive are for people in search of homes. Some are looking to create unique architectural features or just love their aesthetics, while others are trying to find an affordable housing option.

Post frame construction is going to be more affordable than what most people consider ‘traditional’ construction – stick framing. Most savings are to be found by utilization of ease of construction of post frame buildings. Average physical capable people who can and will read directions can successfully erect their own beautiful post frame homes – and many of our clients do. A total DIYer can cut costs in half! Want a $400,000 home for $200,000? Unless you knock down some huge dollars at your career, one could take a year or more off work to erect their new home, and come out ahead financially.

Consider also – when you pay someone out of pocket to do this work for you, you have had to pay taxes on your income, to pay a subcontractor. Depending upon which state you reside in and your tax bracket – it takes gross earnings of $100 to pay out $50 to $65. Yet one more reason to do it yourself.
Who would have thought, five years ago, our world view would be changed by a virus?

Certainly not I.

With Americans fleeing big cities with huge taxes, for rural and greener pastures – fully engineered post frame homes make sense. Your new home can be crafted to best meet you and your family’s wants and needs, both for today and for future decades of happy living. Your only limitations being your imagination, your budget and available space.

This entry was posted in Pole Building Comparisons, Post Frame Home, About The Pole Barn Guru, Barndominium, Pole Barn Planning, Building Contractor, Shouse, Budget, Professional Engineer, Pole Barn Homes and tagged shouse, post frame construction, stick framing, fully engineered post frame homes, Hansen Pole Buildings, barndominium, Hansen Buildings Construction Manual on February 23, 2021 by admin.

Looking for a Place for a New Barndominium

Reader PATTI in MINNESOTA writes:

“My husband and I are knocking around the idea of doing a Barndominium.

We need a 4-5 car garage space and we can barely afford a traditional preloved home that has a 3-car garage which will require us to add another stall or two onto an already taxing home price!

I’m optimistic that we can pull off everything that’s needed and hopefully within the budget!

I started looking for property and messaged the City Halls for the locations we want to see if they’d allow such a structure. Not sure how to handle the siding issue.

Inver Grove Heights, MN

Will consider it a single family home. Needs to meet setback, height and doesn’t exceed allowed impervious surface for the lot.

Exterior siding regulations require horizontal lap type siding or similar. Vertical siding like a pole barn is not acceptable material.

**** Is this even possible to meet this request or is there a way we can argue against it. Any knowledge you can offer would be so helpful****

Rosemount, MN

Farmington, MN

*Considers this Agricultural that would need a minimum of 40 acres, what!!!

****Is this common and is there anything we can do to fight this so we get this under a single family home that we could put on a .25 acre plot?****”

Mike the Pole Barn Guru responds:

Thank you for reaching out to us and for your kind words.

Planning Departments are an extension of a jurisdiction’s ruling body (city council, county commissioners) and have basically power of life and death. They can dictate footprints, heights, setbacks, type of cladding (roofing and/or siding), and even colors. They ARE limited to ordinances written by their ruling body, so if you do not hear an answer you like, ask for a copy of their written ordinance. If they cannot produce one, then it does not exist and can be disregarded.

One beauty of fully engineered post frame construction is a broad variety of siding and/or roofing options are readily available.

Inver Grove Heights – exterior siding is within their realm of control. At www ighmn.gov go to “City Code” in the left hand menu list and click on it. Scroll down to Chapter 15, then 10-15-17. B.2 gives your options with steel being none of them.

Rosemont – you do not have to pour a concrete foundation to meet Code requirements for frost. You will have to insulate the perimeter of your building to at least four feet below grade, not a big deal and can be done with rigid insulation (this insulation is typical for any type of structure). If you erect a 3000 square foot (sft) building, as much as 1500 sft can be garage.

Farmington – you threw them off at “pole barn house”. You are building a fully engineered custom designed wood frame home. This should be allowable anywhere zoned for single family residences. You may have exterior appearance and footprint issues once they have gotten this into their heads as being a SFR (Single Family Residence).

You will find as you get farther away from Minneapolis and into county rather than city controlled areas, things tend to become more property owner friendly. You also might consider South Dakota as an option, as our Planning and Zoning restrictions are few and far between.

This entry was posted in Pole Building Siding, Post Frame Home, Barndominium, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Shouse, Building Department, Pole Barn Planning and tagged barndominium, Post Frame Home, cladding, shouse, setbacks, single family home, planning department, fully engineered post frame construction on February 19, 2021 by admin.

A Shortlist for Smooth Barndominium Sailing

Every builder worth his or her salt is busy right now – there is a far greater demand for builders, than there are builders to fill needs. This makes builder’s time extremely valuable. There are some things you can do to make for smooth sailing when shopping for and/or dealing with contractors.

#1 Have a realistic budget – fully engineered post frame, PEMB and weld up barndominiums CAN be more affordable than stick frame. But, they are not going to be 10-50% less. Think about it – your only differences are in structural systems, all of your electrical, plumbing, HVAC, insulation, interior finishes, fixtures, cabinets, floor coverings, etc., are going to be identical investments no matter what structural system is chosen.

Outside of land costs and bringing utilities to your site, you are simply not going to build a barndominium with 2000 square feet of living space for $100k turnkey (and unlikely to reach this even if you DIY absolutely everything).

This will help you to determine a budget: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/07/how-much-will-my-barndominium-cost/

#2 Have a place to build. If you do not ‘own the dirt’ you have no business burning a builder’s time.

https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/08/a-place-for-a-post-frame-barndominium/

https://hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/08/see-your-new-barndominium-here/

#3 Have professional floor plans and elevation drawings done before pestering a builder. Very few builders are professional designers or architects – expecting them to be is unrealistic.

If you do not own the dirt, it is impossible to craft a barndominium plan to best fit with your building site.

Some plan tips to consider:

Direction of access – driveways are not cheap and shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

Curb appeal – what will people see when they drive up? This may not be important to you, however some day someone will try to resell your barndominium.

Is there an appealing view?

North-south alignment – place no or few windows on north walls, but lots of windows on south wall (in the South reverse this). Roof overhangs on south wall should provide shade to windows from mid-day summer sun.

Is there a slope on your building site?

Work from inside out – do not try to fit your wants and needs within a pre-ordained box just because someone said using a “standard” size might be cheaper. Differences in dimensions from “standard” are pennies per square foot, not dollars.

Popular home spaces and sizes need to be determined: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/09/room-in-a-barndominium/ and https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/09/the-first-tool-to-construct-your-own-barndominium/.

With all of this in mind, order your custom designed floor plans here: http://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/post-frame-floor-plans/

#4 Determine if you are going to act as your own General Contractor, or hire it done (being your own General Contractor saves roughly 25%).

https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2020/02/does-my-barndominium-need-a-turn-key-general-contractor/

https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/11/a-contractor-for-your-new-barndominium/

https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/11/a-contractor-for-your-barndominium-part-ii/

https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/11/a-contractor-for-your-barndominium-part-iii/

Need a Building Erector? https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/find-a-builder/

#5 If needed, arrange financing:

https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2020/06/things-to-complete-before-going-to-a-barndominium-lender/

Lender telling you a General Contractor must be involved? Our lenders understand DIYers:

https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/financing/

#6 Select a Structural Building System

https://hansenpolebuildings.com/2022/01/why-your-new-barndominium-should-be-post-frame/

#7 To obtain a successful and happy outcome, do lots of reading and research. An informed barndominium owner is a happy one!

This entry was posted in Post Frame Home, Barndominium, Pole Barn Design, Pole Barn Planning, Shouse, Building Contractor, Pole Barn Homes and tagged Financing, shouse, general contractor, architect, floor plans, barndominium on February 16, 2021 by admin.

Pneumatic Vacuum Elevators for Barndominiums

Thank you to my friend John Lyle who encouraged me to write about elevators.

As a child, I was fascinated by going through bank drive thrus with our mother as she made bank deposits.

Why?

Because Mother could fill up a clear plastic cylinder with her deposit, push a button and it was whisked away to a voice somewhere inside! It wouldn’t be long and whoosh – cylinder would reappear, Mother removed her deposit receipt and away we went.

Obviously it took very little to entertain and amaze me.

When my lovely bride and I were planning our shop/house barndominium 16 years ago, our living space would be 20 feet above grade. This means stairs and lots of them. Even using residential maximum rise of 7-3/4” this 20 feet of climb results in a total of 30 stairs.

Now this is great for cardio training, however my lovely bride told me in no uncertain terms was she going to haul groceries up all of those stairs!

My wife did our elevator shopping and found a somewhat affordable option – a pneumatic elevator! My childhood fascination was loving this solution! Our choice then was a 37” diameter unit, good for two persons (up close and personal albeit) and a capacity of 450 pounds.

This elevator was all well and good, until my bride was in an accident five plus years ago leaving her as a paraplegic. (read more here https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2015/10/when-life-changes-in-the-blink-of-an-eye/). In order to get her from garage/shop level to living spaces, using our pneumatic elevator, it entailed us investing in an airline aisle wheelchair. I would physically pick her up from her manual chair, rotate 90 degrees and plant her on this aisle chair, then strap her on. All of this was a tight squeeze through the elevator door and she had to poke a button over her shoulder to get it to rise. Meanwhile, I would race upstairs to reverse transfer processes and get her into her power chair.

Eventually, we added a full sized elevator (story for another day).

Now PVE® (www.vacuumelevators.com) does provide a wheelchair accessible version with a 52-11/16” diameter. Downside is capacity is only 525 pounds and my wife’s power chair weighs in at close to 400 pounds without her!

Some things we found out in this process…..

These units are very fragile when being shipped. At factory, a ‘tipping indicator’ is placed on each crate, as handling direction is crucial. Somewhere along its journey, one of our crates was tipped and someone tried to remove the indicator and relocate it to hide what had occurred (and yes, there was damage).

Our builder had provided dimensions to the elevator company from top of garage/shop slab to top of living area floor. He must have been having a tape measuring challenged day – as our elevator stops about two inches too high.

Elevators must be run regularly. If it goes more than a few weeks without being used, it loses its ability to suction and takes some time and effort to get it operational again.

Considering a multi-story barndominium? If so, these pneumatic elevators might be a wise upfront investment. If we were to do it again from scratch, I would have opted for a wheelchair accessible unit.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Design, Pole Barn Planning, Pole Barn Homes, Post Frame Home, Barndominium, Shouse and tagged shop house, pneumatic elevator, airline aisle wheelchair, barndominium, shouse, stairs rise on February 4, 2021 by admin.

Shouse Dimensions, UK Plans, and Chance of Tear-out

Kicking off 2021 Mike answers reader questions about standard dimensions of a shouse, pole barn plans in the UK, and the chances a building official will force buyer of a converted building to remove non-permitted work.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Was wondering if there are standard lengths/widths, such as 30 x 40 vs 36 x 40, and if so is the cost difference significant? I have trying to send you a pic to show what we are going for. We want the garage doors on the side though. We are thinking 30 x 40 for garage and 30 x 50 for the house. 10’ sidewalls. JENNY in BARBOURVILLE

DEAR JENNY: In our case every building we provide is 100% custom and we encourage our clients to work from what fits their wants, needs and family, putting a box around it – rather than trying to fit your life into a stranger’s box. With this said, multiples of six feet in width and length usually result in your most economical dimensions. By economical I am talking about saving pennies per square foot, rather than dollars. As buildings approach being closer to square they also become slightly less per square foot, as you have less exterior wall surface. When homes become long and narrow they also tend to ‘grow’ hallways – more space to clean and not truly be able to use. My own shouse, as an example has a roughly 84′ x 60′ footprint and 8000 finished square feet. We have one hallway and it is less than 10 feet long.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hello,

We are struggling to find anyone in the UK who can offer us plans for a pole barn. I’ve attached a sketch of our plan – a 24m x 14m barn, with 22 degree roof angle, fibre cement roof, stockwalling to 1.8m then space boarding of 2.5m (total eaves height of 4.3m).

Do you offer a service where we could pay for a set of technical drawings for this barn at all please?

Many thanks,

BECKY in THORPENESS, LEISTON, SUFFOLK, ENGLAND

DEAR BECKY: I have reached out to a third party engineer who provides many of our client’s engineer sealed plans and calculations. He will be in direct contact with you to assist with your project.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hello, we bought property that has a pole barn construction on it of 60×20 with a metal roof. The previous owner Poured a slab, framed it all in with 2×6, installed insulation, put in an electrical panel, wired it with lights and outlets, dry walled it all in and sided it, and put in toilets, showers, washer dryer hookups and water heater. The floor is still just cement and the metal roof has no venting. He did all this about eight years after pole barn was originally constructed and did it without permits. We need to get plans and permits to finish. What are your thoughts for possible problems and cost? Wondering if the county will make us pull of dry wall to look at framing and wiring? Thanks for any insight. CHRIS in HOODSPORT

DEAR CHRIS: Potentially you could be in for all sorts of challenges, as building departments frown on work done, but not permitted. I would recommend you invest in services of a good architectural/engineering firm. You might try reaching out to www.tse-aep.com as they are NFBA (National Frame Building Association) members in your region and should be able to provide assistance.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Planning, Pole Buildings History, Building Interior, Pole Barn Homes, Shouse, Shouse, Pole Barn Questions, Constructing a Pole Building and tagged tear out, non-permitted work, floor plans, shouse, Standard dimensions, UK plans on January 4, 2021 by admin.

Pole Barn Guru Wednesday!

Bonus Wednesday! The Pole Barn Guru has been inundated with questions. Let’s answer a few more. Move a hay barn? Building a Shouse, and the answer to “What all is in the pole barn kit?”

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I may move my 40 x 60 hay barn, wooden trusses, 6 x 6 poles. How much do you think this barn would weigh? Thank you. DAVID in HILLSBORO

DEAR DAVID: How you would ever move this without destroying it is beyond me. Personally, I would build another barn. Approximate weight should be somewhere around 12,000 pounds – if you do try it, make sure to film it for YouTube (as either a success or a failure would be highly watched).

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I would like to build a roughly 60′ X 40′ house over a garage. I’m not sure if I want 3 or 4 garage doors. I was thinking of maybe making 1 side tall enough for a lift. Is this possible for you and if so would you have a rough estimate on price? Thank you JEFF in SHAWANO

DEAR JEFF: Pretty much anything is possible – you are only limited by your imagination, budget and available space. I always caution clients to give some real consideration to living above their garage (like we do), due to potential accessibility challenges at a future date. Whilst we think it will never occur to us, roughly 10% of all Americans will face mobility challenges in their lifetimes – in our case it was my lovely bride becoming a paraplegic due to a tragic motorcycle accident.

A Hansen Pole Buildings’ Designer will be reaching out to you to further discuss your wants and needs.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: What all is in the pole barn kit? Does it include exterior wall covering material, roofing material? Can a buyer determine number of walk through doors and windows?

Thank you in advance. PAM in BOYD

DEAR PAM: A typical fully engineered post frame (pole barn) kit from Hansen Pole Buildings includes two sets of full sized 24” x 36” blue prints detailing locations and connections of every piece of material. Our third-party engineers also provide complete calculations to verify all materials are structurally adequate.

You will receive a detailed Materials List of all components, as well as listing their function on your building. We provide a 500+ page Construction Manual, walking you step-by-step through every phase of your assembly process – including detail drawings and actual photos. If this is not enough, we provide unlimited Technical Support from people who have built post frame buildings!

Typically we provide everything you will need to erect your beautiful new building other than concrete, rebar and nails normally driven from a nail gun. You can have us customize your building down to length, width and heights in fractions of an inch, any possible roof slope and whatever combination of doors and windows will best meet with your wants and needs.

Your only limitations will be your imagination, budget and available space!

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Homes, Post Frame Home, Shouse, Shouse, Pole Barn Questions, Constructing a Pole Building, Pole Barn Planning, Budget and tagged pole building kits, shouse, weight of barn, move a barn, house over shop on September 23, 2020 by admin.

Integral Condensation Control

With steel roofing for barndominiums, shouses and post frame (pole) buildings comes condensation.

This entry was posted in Barndominium, Roofing Materials, Shouse, Pole Barn Planning, Steel Roofing & Siding and tagged thermal break, I.C.C., reflective radiant barrier, shouse, hydrophilic, vapor barrier, condensation, barndominium on September 3, 2020 by admin.

Struggles to Define What a House Should Look Like

With barndominiums, shouses and post frame homes rising in popularity, jurisdictions are struggling to define what a house should look like.

To follow is an article by Arielle Breen in August 13, 2020’s Manistee, Michigan News Advocate detailing their city’s challenges.

“Does the building plan look like a pole barn or a house?

The answer is that it does not matter what it looks like since a new house in Manistee does not have a detailed design guideline to define what a house looks like — or what the city’s ordinance actually means when it refers to a house needing to fit into “the character of its neighborhood.”

But Manistee City Planning Commission may be looking at creating specific standards for the look of new houses built in the city in the future.

Mike Szokola, Manistee County planner, said if a person wants to build a house in the city and meets criteria such as minimum height and setback requirements, then zoning permits can not be declined as the current ordinance reads.

“At no point in time do I get to ask them ‘What’s it made out of’ (or) ‘How many windows does it have,’” Szokola said at the last Manistee City Planning Commission meeting while showing an example of a home proposed on Ninth Street.

He said there are no design standards within the city’s ordinance that would prevent that style of house.

The topic was brought up at the Aug. 6 meeting after Szokola reported he had seen more than one house come through requesting permits in which the house didn’t quite fit with what a typical house in the area might look like.

Members stated that the house resembled a pole barn structure one might see in rural areas outside of the city.

Rob Carson, Manistee County Planning director, said at the meeting that a lot of communities have design guidelines that stipulate aspects such as how many windows a home needs to have and what types of siding are appropriate.

“This is the second building that we’ve received a permit for in less than a year that is going to strike up some controversy in these neighborhoods,” Carson said at the meeting. “When this came in and Mike brought it to me, I was concerned but I said ‘There’s nothing we can do to stop it right now.’ And that’s what the primary issue is.”

While planning commission members said there is a need to have some sort of guideline, they were also hesitant about being strict with appearance requirements in any ordinance they may pursue.

Planning commission member Shelly Memberto said as a property owner she tends to be careful about design.

“I live in probably one of the oldest houses in the city. And I’m sure that the owner, when the house submitted across the street from me which is probably now 80 years old today, they probably hated visually how it looked,” Memberto said. “It didn’t fit in with the character 140 years ago, but maybe it did 60 years after that.

“I don’t know that 20 years from now every house isn’t going to look like this (Ninth Street house example,)” she said.

Carson expressed concern that once approvals for houses go through that are not in character, they could “trigger” more cases as the city has “a whole lot of new visitors.”

“Somebody may say ‘Hey, look there is a pole barn someone let them put up. It’s got a loft in it, it’s separated from the vehicle space. That’s what we want because we’re only here two months of the year,’” Carson said.

He said the commission could find a “happy medium that doesn’t go overboard on regulation but would appease the public and the residents of the city.”

Carson said he would gather several examples of ordinances the commission could consider and discuss at an upcoming meeting that would show the less stringent and more strict options available if the commission wished to proceed with a design guideline ordinance.”

Mike the Pole Barn Guru comments:

Ultimately, Planning Departments have every right to enforce aesthetic ordinances – as long as they are applied universally to all types of structural systems within a given occupancy classification (such as R-3 residential). What they cannot do is to regulate whether a Code conforming structural system may or may not be used. Should your jurisdiction try to prevent you from constructing a fully engineered post frame home – send me a copy of their written ordinance (not just anecdotal evidence) and I will go wage war for you.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Design, Building Styles and Designs, Shouse, Building Department, Shouse, Pole Barn Planning, Pole Barn Homes, Post Frame Home, Barndominium and tagged shouse, Manistee City Planning Commission, pole barn, planning department, barndominium, International Residential Code on August 20, 2020 by admin.

A Shouse, Eliminating Condensation, and Building Trusses

This week the Pole Barn Guru answers reader questions about the design of a shouse (shop house), a resolutions for condensation, and building trusses.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hi – We are looking into pole barn buildings however we’re clueless on where to start and how big we actually need it to be. My husband has an HVAC business so we would need the garage/shop to be big enough for at least 3 bays plus a small shop and storage. 4 Bedrooms and at least 3 baths, ideally we’d like to have an open floor plan below and the bedrooms be in a loft type. What would you recommend?

Thank you! STEPHANIE in BELLE VERNON

DEAR STEPHANIE: Thank you for reaching out to me. In order for you to end up with an ideal dream solution, it will take some homework:

Plan tips – consider these factors:

Direction of access (you don’t want to have to drive around your house to get to garage doors)

‘Curb appeal’ – what will people see as they drive up?

Any views?

North-south alignment – place no or few windows on north wall, lots on south wall
Overhang on south wall to shade windows from mid-day summer sun If your AC bill is far greater than your heating bill, reverse this and omit or minimize north overhangs.

Slope of site

Work from inside out – do not try to fit what you need within a pre-ordained box just because someone said using a “standard” size might be cheaper. Differences in dimensions from “standard” are pennies per square foot, not dollars.

Use links in this article to assist with determining needed spaces, sizes and how to get expertly crafted floor plans and elevation drawings https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/10/show-me-your-barndominium-plans-please/

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hi, I had seen a post mentioning your Gable vents. I have a pole barn with 12″ lapped steel siding and would like to install Gable vents on the ends to help with condensation. Barn is 40×60. MIKE in MINNEAPOLIS

DEAR MIKE: If you have a steel roof with nothing on underside to create a thermal break, and are getting condensation you should have two inches of closed cell spray foam applied to it.

For a 40×60 building you would need to have eight square feet total of net free ventilation with at least half of it located in top half of your attic. This amounts to 576 square inches of net free ventilation area in each endwall. Please contact Materials@HansenPoleBuildings.com to request a price quote, provided steel ribs are no greater than 3/4″ tall (they will need this information on net free area and your zip code).

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I have posts for a pole barn set 15 of how should I build truss for this set up? DANIEL in SNYDER

DEAR DANIEL: You should contact your nearby prefabricated wood truss manufacturer and order from them. Do not attempt to build them on your own.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Trusses, Ventilation, Building Interior, Professional Engineer, Pole Barn Homes, Insulation, Shouse and tagged shop house, building trusses, trusses, condensation, shouse on August 17, 2020 by admin.

Where Future Barndominium Owners Come From

Where Future Barndominium Owners Come From

Mid-1650s, European rivals like England and France were busy dividing up a New World in North America.

France settled much of modern day Quebec in Canada, and England initially settled mid-Atlantic colonies.

English and French didn’t have much in common, and they were bitter rivals. But one thing they did agree on was their mutual hatred of Jewish people.

This was part of a long tradition in Europe. Jews had been expelled from England in 1290. France kicked out all its Jews on at least three occasions from 1192 to 1394.

Spain expelled its Jewish population the same year Columbus sailed West, and Portugal followed a few years later.

And still in 1650, Jews were banned from French and English colonies in North America.

Dutch colonial governor of “New Netherland”, also tried to turn away a group of Jewish refugees in 1654.

But West India Company, which essentially founded and ran New Netherland, intervened, and convinced him otherwise.

West India Company was not into “celebrating diversity.” It simply came down to economics. They wanted productive, talented people to settle their colony.

So West India Company gently reminded this Governor a large portion of their colony’s capital had come from Jewish investors.

A small tip of Manhatten settlement called New Amsterdam was especially tolerant.

It even welcomed free black men, a sadly radical, forward-thinking idea back then.

This was a time in history when the Catholic Church was suppressing science and philosophy across Europe, claiming all free thought to be heresy.

Ottoman Empire, in modern day Turkey, did this same thing in the name of Islam, going so far as to ban printing presses.

This type of restriction screamed opportunity in New Amsterdam. And it’s estimated this settlement produced about half of all 17th century published books.

This included works from Galileo, who spent the last decade of his life in the mid-1600s under house arrest in Italy, convicted of heresy by the Catholic church for his scientific theories.

A remarkable number of wealthy people in the early days of New Amsterdam started from nothing. They were the original self-made men and women of America.

New Amsterdam was later renamed New York, but it kept its free-wheeling, entrepreneurial culture.

It was these values of freedom, tolerance, and a full embrace of capitalism made it the world’s wealthiest city.

Today, New York City has totally reversed course. Its city’s leadership openly attacks talented people and productive businesses, and its politicians have embraced Marxism.

Just think back to what happened last year with Amazon’s headquarters, which would have brought 25,000 high paying jobs, and half a billion dollars in yearly tax revenue to the city.

It wasn’t just Amazon either– New York has been losing residents for years.

And this was before Covid-19. Then NYC became one of the world’s worst places to be locked down.

No freedom, no movement, and ridiculous rents for a shoebox apartment you couldn’t even leave.

Now New York City says it will not allow large events until at least October. Of course, this ban won’t apply to protesters and rioters– another great reason to get out of NYC.

Many people are working from home now anyway. So any work-related reason for staying in New York City has evaporated.

According to New York Times data, the richest neighborhoods in New York City saw an exodus of about 40% of residents since the pandemic hit.

(This is compared to lower and middle income neighborhoods, where fewer than 10% of residents have left.)

Overall about 5% of NYC’s population– over 400,000 people– have left since coronavirus lockdowns began– and most of those were high-income earners.

Manhattan housing vacancy is at a 14 year high, and new leases are down 62% from this time last year.

This is a major emerging trend. And not just for New York City.

Data from real estate website Redfin https://www.redfin.com/blog/april-may-2020-housing-migration-report/ does show New York City is number one destination people want out of right now. But San Francisco and Los Angeles aren’t far behind.

Redfin also reports record numbers of people searching for real estate outside of their current metro area. They’ve seen an 87% increase in people searching for homes in suburbs with a population smaller than 50,000.

Of course, a lot of these people are still on the fence. They are thinking and dreaming of escaping to a sunny state with no income tax, like Florida or Texas.

All it would take is a second wave of lockdowns to push them over the edge.

Right now, it makes a lot of sense. Anyone who can work from home is highly mobile. And moving to a new state can bring huge savings– lower taxes, lower cost of living, etc.

Fitting right into this potential huge savings is an ability to have affordable luxury in a new, custom designed post frame barndominium or shouse.

For more information, please visit www.HansenPoleBuildings.com, navigate to the upper right corner and click on SEARCH. Input any term you want more information on (e.g. BARNDOMINIUM) and click ENTER. Up will come a plethora of relevant articles for your reading pleasure.

This entry was posted in Pole Buildings History, Barndominium, Shouse, About The Pole Barn Guru and tagged barndominium, shouse, Jewish, New Netherland, West India Company, New Amsterdam, New York City, Covid-19 on July 22, 2020 by admin.

Financing a Shouse, Drawings, and Roofing advice

This week the Pole Barn Guru answers questions about financing a Shouse, a timeline for plans to build a large pole barn, advice for roofing with standing seam steel.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: We are in the process of selling our home and buying a piece of property to build on. We want to build a pole barn home that is 40×80, half shop, half 2 story home (shouse).

Because we don’t own the property yet, what is the best way to go about financing this project?? Where do you start? How do you find out what types of financing are available? Any advice would be appreciated. HEATHER in DEER PARK

DEAR HEATHER: Reach out to New Century Bank as they specialize in post frame financing nationwide https://www.newcenturybankna.com/lending/post-frame-building-leases-loans

Here are some plan tips – consider these factors:

Direction of access (you don’t want to have to drive around your house to get to garage doors)

‘Curb appeal’ – what will people see as they drive up?

Any views?

Slope of site

Use the links in this article to assist with determining needed spaces, sizes and how to get expertly crafted floor plans and elevation drawings https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/10/show-me-your-barndominium-plans-please/

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: How do I get drawings quickly for a large pole barn, post frame? JAMES in LITTLE SILVER

DEAR JAMES: Your quickest way will be to call 1(866)200-9657 and speak with a Hansen Pole Buildings’ Designer. As soon as you have settled on a building design and get your building order placed, we can get it into our Drafting Department. Depending upon complexity, backlog of work and how quickly you electronically approve documents, you may be able to have your engineer sealed plans and verifying calculations in hand in seven to 10 days.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am building my first pole barn. I plan to sheet the roof so i can do standing seem metal and spray foam the roof. I desire to have a thermal break on the top chord of the truss. I am considering laying R max before i sheet the roof. I have tried to find a foam tape or something I can just apply to the top edge of the truss, instead of using R Max to cover the entire structure. Any suggestions? I have set the Purlins between the trusses. STEVE in SOMERSET

DEAR STEVE: As standing seam roofing must be installed over minimum 5/8″ CDX plywood and 30# felt (or a synthetic underlayment) you will already have created a thermal break across your trusses as great as what is provided at your purlin locations.

This entry was posted in Sheds, Pole Barn Homes, Shouse, Shouse, Pole Barn Questions, Roofing Materials, Pole Barn Planning and tagged pole building plans, Roofing, Financing, shouse, standing seam roofing on July 20, 2020 by admin.

Lofty Barndominium Ambitions

Lofts and mezzanines (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2020/03/a-mezzanine-for-your-barndominium/) are popular inclusions in barndominiums. Even though my lovely bride and I have a mezzanine in our South Dakota shouse, they are not often truly practical from an accessibility or economics stance.

Reader Devin in Porun writes:

“I’m designing and building a 42’x50′ pole barn home with 10′ exterior walls. Viewing the plans from the front entry on the long wall, the left half of the interior will be framed rooms and the right half will be a large open kitchen/dining/living room space. I want to have an open loft over the half of the building that has interior framing. I want to be able to stand in the loft for at least 3-5′ each side of center, roughly 6′ of head space when finished. What style/type of trusses do you recommend and at what pitch? Would you use the same trusses all the way across the house, or use different ones for each half with the same exterior pitch? I like the high ceilings over the open portion, but would like to minimize the ceiling height to avoid heating and cooling unnecessary space. Thank you for your time!”

In order to have your greatest possible resale value, you should have any lofted space designed so as to be considered as habitable space. International Residential Code (IRC) Section R304.1 Minimum area. “Habitable rooms shall have a floor area of not less than 70 square feet. R304.2 Minimum dimensions. “Habitable rooms shall be not less than 7 feet in any horizontal dimensions. R304.3 Height effect on room area. “Portions of a room with a sloping ceiling measuring less than 5 feet or a furred ceiling measuring less than 7 feet from the finished floor to the finished ceiling shall not be considered as contributing to the minimum required habitable area for that room.” R305.1 Minimum height. “Habitable space, hallways and portions of basements containing these spaces shall have a ceiling height of not less than 7 feet.”

This space will also need to be serviced by stairs, causing you to lose roughly 50 square feet of floor space.

Now, on to trusses – most prefabricated wood truss manufacturers are limited to building and shipping trusses up to 12′ in height. Allowing for truss top chord thickness, on a 42 foot span your maximum roof slope will most often be roughly 6.25/12. You can order “bonus room” trusses for this lofted area, and should be able to get 7’2″ from top of truss bottom chord to bottom of ‘cross tie’ (allowing for thickness of 3/4″ OSB or plywood subflooring and drywall for ceiling to attain a seven foot finished ceiling) in center 10-11 feet, with a maximum room width of roughly 14 feet. These trusses will come along with a healthy cost premium due to larger members required to make this happen and extra shipping costs. In your open portion, you could utilize scissors trusses to reduce heating and cooling as much space, while still giving a spacious cathedral look.

When all is said and done, you might want to consider a more ‘standard’ and economical roof slope of say 4/12 – and add to your ground level footprint rather than trying to gain expensive space in a loft. Keep in mind, this loft space is going to be difficult to move large pieces of furniture (couches, beds, dressers, etc.) in and out of without damage to walls or items being moved and it will prove mobility challenging (or impossible) for a certain population percentage.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Homes, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Building Department, Barndominium, Pole Barn Planning, Building Interior, Professional Engineer, Lofts and tagged International Residential Code, Pole barn home, loft, shouse, house loft, habitable space, minimum height code, barndominium, pole building home on July 16, 2020 by admin.

A Shouse, Adding Tin to Block Siding, and Truss Carriers

This week the Pole Barn Guru tackles the subjects of building a shouse with RV storage, how to add tin to block siding, and truss carriers vs notched posts.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Good morning!

My wife and are currently going to market with our home in Lakeville and are considering our next steps. We have a great deal of interest in exploring an affordable option for our current needs which include about 1,500 SF of residential space and then remaining storage for a 45’ motorcoach, our vehicles/toys, shop and an above ground “block” safe room. As we have no idea what the cost, or practicality, of this option is we felt it would be a good first step to determine your design services and simply what you have to offer in terms of options.

We do not have a piece of land acquired (though it would likely be in S/SE MN) as we need to first determine the viability of the option and then get a better sense for what the area counties allow/require.

Hopeful you can assist! MITCH & WENDY in LAKEVILLE

DEAR MITCH AND WENDY: Thank you for your interest! Our team members at Hansen Pole Buildings are barndominium experts. Basically your only limitations will be imagination, budget and available space.

Links in this article should answer many of your questions: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/10/show-me-your-barndominium-plans-please/.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I came across this sight and found it very informative.

I have a question: I have a 8′ block foundation with 6′ above the block that is tinned. I want to tin the block to match.

Tinning is not the problem but what or how do I fasten the tin to the block?

Type of fasteners work best? Later, BRIAN

DEAR BRIAN: Thank you for your kind words. Your steel siding should be screwed onto 2×4 horizontals. These 2×4 can be attached to your block using Tapcon concrete screws. Attach steel siding to 2x4s using 1-1/2″ powder coated diaphragm screws.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Should the top boards be on the inside and outside? MARK in LAWRENCEBURG

DEAR MARK: By “top boards” I will guess you are placing ‘truss carriers’ (headers) between columns in order to support trusses. In my humble opinion it would be best to utilize a two-ply ganged prefabricated wood roof truss at each column (notched in) and eliminate carriers entirely. It is far cleaner structurally as you eliminate numerous connections and if a failure is going to occur, it is most often at a connection.

In direct answer to your concern, placement of your top boards and their proper attachment will be called out for on your engineer sealed building plans. Should you not be building from an engineered plan, it would be prudent to invest in one’s service now, before a crucial design flaw becomes a failure.

For extended reading on truss carriers, please see: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2018/10/what-size-truss-carriers/

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Design, Shouse, Building Styles and Designs, Shouse, Pole Building Siding, Trusses, Pole Barn Homes, RV Storage, Barndominium and tagged shouse, shop home, truss carrier, Siding, notched posts, RV Storage, siding backing on June 8, 2020 by admin.

Not Your Average Kitchen in a Barndominium

Not Your Average Kitchen in a Barndominium

When my lovely bride Judy first came up with an idea to construct our now shouse (shop/house) gambrel building 15 years ago, it was not with a thought as to it becoming a barndominium. Indeed, it was to be a place to have offices along one side and warehouse space for inventory. Our huge and wide open upstairs would be a place we could have our youngest children (then 17, 14, 11 and 10) hang out with their friends, play foosball and shoot some pool.

As life goes, one thing led to another – one of Judy’s older sons needed a place to live while he went to college so he moved into her house across the street from where we are now. Graciously he, and his now wife, relocated all of our belongings into our formerly wide open expanse and we became barndominium dwellers.

Somethings are essential for barndominium roughing it – obviously a bathroom (we had finished one downstairs), then a place for food prep. For many years we had a folding table with a microwave for our kitchen. Lacking running water upstairs, we hauled dishes up and down to wash in the big sink downstairs.

Finally we decided to get serious and ordered custom oak cabinets.

This, in itself, was a tremendous improvement over our folding table!

But wait, there is more….

Four foot by eight foot granite slab for this island weighed in at 700 pounds! Might not have been so bad except our living area is 20 feet above grade! In order to get it up, we loaded it on a scissors lift and brought it through a front window. Rolling stands helped to get the granite slab over to the 4’x8′ island and was lifted into place by six strong men.

A few years after this our lives changed when Judy’s motorcycle accident left her a paraplegic confined to a power wheelchair. It became necessary to leave our beautiful Spokane, WA residence due to several flights with many small and large staircases. We moved into the barndominium in South Dakota. We found we had done a few things accidentally right. For one thing it already had a small one person elevator which served us until we installed a larger four person elevator a few years later. The kitchen was done with many areas “just right”.

Open areas, in cabinets below the island, are perfect for her to be able to roll in. We have at least four feet of space between the island and surrounding countertops. Refrigerator, freezer and dual dishwashers are raised a foot above floor level, making them easier to access from Judy’s chair. (More on these here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2020/03/some-barndominium-kitchen-appliance-ideas/) She can also reach and use the lower of those two stacked ovens quite handily.

There is one missing feature I wish we had incorporated – a trash compactor.

Considering heavy stone or concrete countertops for an elevated wood floor? I would recommend spacing floor joists or trusses closer together in these areas to limit deflection.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Homes, Post Frame Home, Barndominium, Shouse, Shouse, Pole Barn Design, About The Pole Barn Guru, Building Interior, Lofts and tagged shouse, granite slab, scissors lift, barndominium on May 27, 2020 by admin.

Do You Own the Land Your Barndominium Will Be Built On?

Barndominiums, shouses and post frame homes are not only a current rage, they may be America’s future home of choice. Pinterest has literally hundreds of photos of barndominiums. DIY network’s “Texas Flip-n-Move” feature a rusty old barn made into a beautiful home in Episode 6 of Season 5. Chip and Joanna Gaines took on a barndominium makeover in Season 3 Episode 6 of “Fixer Upper”. Tens of thousands of Facebookers join barndominium discussion groups of one sort or another.

However not everyone wants to take on the joys and challenges of trying to convert an old barn into a beautiful and functional new home.

Most potential barndominium owners are trying to escape urban or suburban living. They want to sneeze without hearing their neighbors say, “Bless you”. Oftentimes they have looked to buy an existing home, but could never find one exactly fitting their needs.

Here is where a blank canvas of vacant property has its allure. Within constraints of available space, budget and imagination anything becomes possible.
I accept my asking, “Do you own the land your barndominium will be built on?” in Facebook groups puts me in a position of being a brunt taker for jokes. There is, however, a method to my madness.

To begin with, I do not care if you own property free and clear (and let’s face it, your local property taxing authority owns it as well). It doesn’t matter if ‘your dirt’ is owned by a relative, a friend or a close enemy – just as long as you know where your new home is going to be.
For most this ‘barndominium build” is going to become their forever home (or at least theirs for a very long time).

Seemingly millions of canned house plans are available (for a small to large fee) across a plethora of internet websites. 99.9% of these plans have a similar problem – they were designed for a flat lot in suburbia! Yep, they look stunning on a website. Considering spending your hard earned money on one thinking you will save money by using cheap house plans? This would be an equivalent to everyone buying 34 inch waist 36 inch inseam Levi’s. They fit me just fine, but what if you are not 6’5”? Or maybe you do not even like Levi’s?

Your home should be planned to fit into its environment. Does it make sense to try to change (or ignore) your environment to fit your bargain house plans?
In order to craft ideal plans for your new barndominium, shouse or post frame home, your building site should be carefully considered.

If you are considering hiring a general contractor to turnkey your build, or merely an erector to put up your home’s shell, only once you ‘own the dirt’ and even better have a building plan developed to match your building site should you embark on a ‘builder hunt’. Builders are in short supply and their time is valuable. It is an unfair expectation to take advantage of them before they can reasonably ascertain you actually might have a need for their services.

Know where your barndominium is going to be built? Please reach out to me and I can give you some free advice on getting those ideal plans.

For extended reading on turnkey general contractors for barndominiums please see: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2020/02/does-my-barndominium-need-a-turn-key-general-contractor/

This entry was posted in Post Frame Home, Barndominium, About The Pole Barn Guru, Shouse, Building Department, Shouse, Pole Barn Planning, Building Contractor and tagged building plans, builder, barndominium, shouse, texas, Texas Flip n Move, building contractor, Fixer-Upper on May 14, 2020 by admin.

A Garage Apartment, A Moisture Problem, and Insulating a Ceiling

Today’s Pole Barn Guru answers questions about building a garage apartment aka a “Shouse,” how to address a moisture problem, and the best way to add insulation to a ceiling.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Can I design a garage apartment pole barn? JAY in HINTSVILLE

DEAR JAY: You may not have this ability however we have experts who can assist you. To develop a workable custom floor plan, designed specifically to meet your wants, needs and budget please use this link: http://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/post-frame-floor-plans/?fbclid=IwAR2ta5IFSxrltv5eAyBVmg-JUsoPfy9hbWtP86svOTPfG1q5pGmfhA7yd5Q

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Live in the Midwest, have a 54 x 36 pole barn well insulated, walls, and ceilings. When it rains a lot I have a moisture problem, My building is approx. 1950 Sq. Ft. I found a dehumidifier that covers 3,000 sq. ft. I was thinking about putting one in the pole barn, it can run continuous if I put a hole in the side, for a drain, and let it drain out, just leave it running on its own as it needs to. Is this Ok to do to solve my issue? RON

DEAR RON: A dehumidifier may resolve your building’s symptoms, however not its problem. As this is a function of rain, I am led to believe you need to eliminate or reduce your moisture source. If your building does not have a vapor barrier under your concrete floor, seal top of floor. If you do not have rain gutters install them and ensure runoff is directed well away from building. Make sure ground outside of building is sloped away at least 5% for 10 or more feet.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I have a 32X46X15 pole barn with purlins attached to the outside of the 6×6 beams. The barn has soffits and a vented ridge cap and is set up for a ceiling. I have since decided to keep the rafters exposed and have questions about sealing up the soffits and ridge cap but leaving several small openings in the ridge cap to allow for humidity to escape.

How much should I leave open on the ridge cap and should I totally seal off the soffits? Will it be ok to leave the beans and rafters exposed, putting a vapor barrier in between the beams and the rafters?

What are your thoughts on 2in foam with no vapor barrier glued directly to the metal in between the purlins every 2feet? Then another 2in foam board with a vapor barrier placed on top of that screwed to purlins and can spray foam the edges and gaps? Thanks for all your help! MARK in VALPARAISO

DEAR MARK: My response is with a thought you are trying to climate control your building to some extent. Your proposal to use two inch-thick foam insulation board sounds to be highly labor intensive as well as being fraught with challenges in trying to achieve a complete air seal. Any air gaps would allow for warm moist air from within your building to not only condense against your building’s steel cladding, but also to remain trapped there, potentially being a cause of premature degradation of steel panels.

I would recommend you look towards closed cell spray foam as a solution for both insulation as well as condensation control. You will want to completely seal both eave and ridge then have at least a two inch thick layer of closed cell foam sprayed on interior face of roofing and siding. A mechanical dehumidifier should be used to control relative humidity with your building.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Apartments, Shouse, Insulation, Shouse, Pole Barn Questions, Ventilation and tagged moisture, shouse, garage apartment, insulation, condensation, spray foam, foam boards on May 4, 2020 by admin.

How Roof is Done, “Logs” for Kits, and Two-Story “Shoffice”(?)

This Monday, Mike the Pole Barn Guru discusses the ins and outs of a roof, lumber provided with the Kit, and if we can offer a two story shed/office (“Shoffice”?).

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: How is the roof done? Do you use screws or nails? Is the frame wood or steel? MARY in MT. PLEASANT

DEAR MARY: Most of our buildings have steel roofing (although any roofing type can be used – shingles, tile, etc.). We recommend using some method of controlling possible condensation on underside of steel roofing – either a Reflective Radiant Barrier (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2017/05/effective-reflective-insulation/), an Integral Condensation Control (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2017/03/integral-condensation-control/) either of these two we typically supply or two inches of closed cell spray foam.

All of our steel roofs are fastened with 1-1/2 inch long, color matched and powder coated screws.

All Hansen Pole Buildings have a structural wood framework, making them very DIY friendly. This wood framework eliminates thermal transference issues found in steel frame buildings.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Looking at a 40x44x18 garage kit from sales at Home Depot. I read reviews & they talk about “logs” showing up & sawing the lumber. Is this the case?? Not much of a kit if you have to make your own dimensional lumber? RICHARD in SHILOH

DEAR RICHARD: Comments/reviews posted on The Home Depot® website for our buildings are literally nothing short of hilarious. Obviously these are not from verified purchasers of our engineered post frame buildings kits. All lumber needed for this and any of our buildings is sawn to size. Dimensional lumber has been planed (surfaced), dried to 19% moisture content or less and grade stamped to verify adequacy for structural usage.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Looking to build workshop and office, would like to know if the kits come in 2 story. Looking at 30 X 30 building with one garage door, two reg. door cut outs and 4 or 5 window cut outs. Looking to build late summer. Thanks, WIL in PROVIDENCE FORGE

DEAR WIL: Without sprinklers, we can provide up to 40 foot tall sidewalls and three stories. If you sprinkler 50 foot sidewalls and four stories.

This entry was posted in Roofing Materials, Steel Roofing & Siding, Columns, Lofts, Lumber, Pole Barn Questions, Shouse and tagged roof, Logs, lumber, shop office, roof steel, fasteners, screws, alternative roofing, shouse on April 13, 2020 by admin.

A Multi-Use Building, Backhoe or Auger, and Loft Floors

This week the Pole Barn Guru answers questions about a Multi Use building, using a backhoe to dig post holes, and the proper method to add floors to a post frame house.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I am looking at building a pole building want it to be about 72 ft long, 50 ft wide and 14 ft high, I want to use the front for storage of hay, tractor want 20 ft of concrete then wanted to use the back portion to work my horse and cattle which would be a dirt floor. I wanted to have some living space about 1000 – 1200 sq ft have been advised to separate this from the rest of the building however not sure if later I will want to build a little bigger home after my farm sells then if this is separate there would be 3 buildings, I would not put up many walls in the living building so later it could be used for a heated work shop. Please give me your opinion I watch read your thoughts on Facebook. NANCY in LYNDON STATION

DEAR NANCY: It all depends upon what best serves your needs. If you combine them, living space will require at least a one-hour fire separation (and possibly two hours) from dissimilar uses. One-hour would be two layers of 5/8″ Type X sheetrock from floor to roof, certainly not overly cost prohibitive. You may want to discuss rates with your insurance agent, as these costs might prove to be a determining factor.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I just ordered my kit from you and am in the process of getting my permits. I’m very excited to take on this project. I have a question about digging post holes. I actually own an old backhoe. I had planned on hiring someone to come drill holes because that’s what I’ve always seen, but realized I could probably do it with my backhoe. Some of them anyway. My plans call for 18″, 24″, and 36″. I have 24″ and 12″ buckets for my backhoe. Are there drawbacks to doing this? I’m thinking about the shape of the hole not having side walls and flaring the bottom would be difficult. The only time it seems to be recommended is if the ground is rocky. Mine is solid clay. I’d rather hire that out if nice cylindrical holes are better. CHAD in MILLVILLE

DEAR CHAD: We are pretty excited about your new building also – as we live vicariously through our clients! Take lots of photos during construction and please share them with us.

It is entirely acceptable to dig column holes with a backhoe or mini-excavator. Your downside is you will slightly increase your volume of concrete required for hole backfill.

With your clay soils, you will want to carefully review site preparation in Chapter 2 of Hansen Pole Buildings’ Construction Manual.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: For a pole barn house do you do framing for floors? CHRIS in TAYLORSVILLE

DEAR CHRIS: Any raised wood floors, whether over a crawl space, second or third floor, loft or mezzanine should be included in your engineer sealed plans. This accounts for proper weight distribution to columns and footings as well as connections of components. These materials are typically included with your investment in your new Hansen Pole Building (as well as instructions for assembly). Here is some extended reading for you: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2020/01/barndominium-wood-floors/.

This entry was posted in Footings, Professional Engineer, Lofts, Shouse, Pole Barn Design, Pole Barn Planning and tagged shouse, Multi-Use building, Auger, backhoe, loft floor on March 23, 2020 by admin.

Beginning a Shouse Journey in Washington State Part I

A shouse (shop/house), barndominium or post frame house project may seem daunting, however by doing lots of reading, research and asking questions, an average individual can craft for themselves a home they love, tailored to meet their family’s wants and needs.

Loyal reader ROBERT in OLYMPIA writes:

“Hello to the Pole Barn Guru or whoever reads this!

I came across Hansen Buildings a few years ago when I first became interested in pole barn homes, and have been following the content posted by the Pole Barn Guru in various places online- always great information! I am finally zeroing in on purchasing a piece of land and I would like to get some more information on going the “Hansen route,” either for a shouse or a house and detached shop, or for just a shop.

I’ve spoken with my county’s planning department and was informed that there would be no problems building what I want. The land is already improved with water and septic, is nice and flat, is south facing, and is zoned accordingly. There is actually a building permit currently active from the previous owner’s stick built project (who passed away, and never further than the dig out for his foundation). They told me that I could bypass some of the headaches (such as the Pocket Gopher review process) if I renew the permit before it expires (4/2020) and submit the new site plans…

My ideal setup would be:

– 50x90x(16 or 18) building

-around 1200 square feet of living space, 2 bath, 2 bed, 1 “office”

-3300 square feet as shop space with 1 bath and 1 utility sink. Wired with electricity & lighting.

-Very energy efficient (insulation, doors, windows, leakage). Prefer spray foam if budget allows.

-ERV?

-1 large garage door/bay, 3″ thick

-All large windows to be south facing with appropriately-sized overhangs (passive house principal). These overhangs could potentially be in the form of a covered porch.

-Enclosed overhang with vented soffits, but only on the eaves & vented ridge cap. Solid gables.

-Concrete piers with post brackets.

-slight outward slope in concrete where garage doors meet concrete to make water drain away from/out of shop.

-at least 2 drains in concrete – 1 near door, and one near a corner

-insulated concrete slab w/ hydronic heating, sealed concrete flooring throughout (no other floor covering)

-Possibly add ductless heat pump mini-split for additional heating if necessary.

-No cooling system necessary.

-modestly finished interior

-Ikea or similar non-custom kitchen

-self-sourced appliances

Questions:

Someone at the Thurston county planning department told me that while the project definitely is doable, it might make more sense to build the home and shop as separate structures. He mentioned that because they were attached, the whole building would have to meet WA energy code. I guess he was implying that it would be cheaper to construct the shop separately if it didn’t have to meet that code? Because I would like the shop to be insulated, does this really apply to me? I’ve heard that insurance could potentially be cheaper with a detached setup, but I can’t seem to find anything concrete about that. Have you found that to be the case?

As I mentioned I would like to do hydronic radiant heating (probably by Radiantec) throughout the home and shop. From my research that seems like the most cost efficient way to heat (mass rather than air). However, the shop doesn’t necessarily need to be kept at “living temperature” all the time. I would like it to be comfortable while I’m in there, but beyond that I just need it to stay above about 40 degrees. I’m interested to hear your input on this. In reading, it seems like whenever people opt for something like a radiant tube heater or mini-split for the shop, they always regret not going with radiant floor heating. Natural gas is not available at this location, so my options are propane, oil, wood, or electric.

Because I’m very new to the world of home building, I’m not sure what other requirements there would be in building this. I know that there are some pretty detailed drainage plans that exist for the previous project on the property, and I’m wondering who is in charge of creating new drainage plans for my project? Does Hansen do that type of thing? Or someone local to me?

Pricing/plans: Is it possible to get some sort of idea about costs/cost breakdown for the type of building I described? How about for separate structures? I love the idea of doing some of the work myself, I’m just not sure how realistic that really is with my work schedule, especially in the summer. I would probably need contractor(s) to take care of the majority of the major work.

Do you have any floor plans similar to what I’ve described? I have a few different ideas on different floor plan ideas but it’s probably easier/cheaper to just use some existing plans.

I love the “Shouse” idea but I find it a little overwhelming because there is not a “turn key” option like what exists from traditional home builders like Adair Homes in Olympia. So to get the job done would require basically managing the project with a crew of different contractors to finish the shell, concrete, insulation, electrical, plumbing, finishing, etc……I just would really prefer something a little different and more energy efficient than standard construction.

As of right now, I think those are all of the questions that I have.

Thank you very much for your time and I look forward to hearing back!”

Mike the Pole Barn Guru responds:

Come back tomorrow for Part Two.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Planning, Workshop Buildings, Pole Barn Structure, Building Contractor, Post Frame Home, Concrete, Barndominium, Building Drainage, Budget, Shouse, Porches, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Building Overhangs, Pole Barn Homes and tagged Post brackets, stick built building, shouse, porch, pocket gopher review process, overhangs, barndominium on March 11, 2020 by admin.

A Mezzanine for Your Barndominium

A mezzanine is a common design feature found in all types of buildings- very possibly even your new barndominium, shouse or post frame home. Think of a mezzanine as being a lofted area above a room.

International Building Codes outline some basic rules for mezzanines to help determine if it is an intermediate level within the room it serves or if it is considered another story.

A mezzanine is an intermediate level between floor and ceiling of any story. In regards to building codes, mezzanines must comply in accordance with IBC (International Building Code) Section 505.2. (Please note all references in this article are 2018 IBC)

Mezzanines can be great features within a building because they provide an additional floor level without being considered an additional story as long as they comply with IBC Section 505.2. Even though they don’t contribute to “building area” or number of “stories” regulated by IBC Section 503.1, they must still be included within “fire area” calculations when determining need for fire protection systems.

Another important piece of information is they should be constructed of consistent materials according to your building’s construction type per IBC Table 601.

Clear height above and below a mezzanine shall not be less than seven feet.

Total area of a mezzanine within a room shall be not greater than 1/3 floor area of room it is located in (IBC 505.2.1)

Code has some exceptions allowing for a mezzanine to be larger given certain factors such as building’s type of construction and whether the building is equipped with an automatic sprinkler system. IBC 505.2.1 Exception 3 allows for an aggregate area of a mezzanine within a dwelling unit with an approved automatic sprinkler system which can be up to ½ floor area of the room it is located in.

Means of egress (exits) for mezzanines shall comply with applicable provisions of IBC Chapter 10.

A mezzanine acts like a room or space as it has an occupant load. This occupant load must have correct existing parameters per IBC Chapter 10 (egress chapter). IBC Table 1004.5 provides for maximum floor area allowances per occupant. For R-3 (residential) occupancy purposes, this occupant load factor would be 200 square feet per occupant.

A mezzanine shall be open to the room in which it is located, except for walls not more than 42 inches in height.

Code does also provide some exceptions related to mezzanine “openness”. If you meet these exceptions, your mezzanine would not be required to be open. One exception would be if the mezzanine occupant load is not more than 10 (IBC 505.2.3 Exception 1) and another is if it has at least two exits (IBC 505.2.3 Exception 2). In either case you could have an enclosed mezzanine space.

Photos are of the mezzanine within our barndominium. My wife wanted a space within our shouse (shop/house) which would be a totally dedicated space for her sewing and crafts. She has a sign in her sewing loft which clearly states “This is my happy place.” I can tell she is really happy up there as I often can hear her singing along with her favorite rock and roll tunes from the 70’s and 80’s. Lastly, access to her mezzanine is by a wheelchair accessible electric lift system.

This entry was posted in Post Frame Home, About The Pole Barn Guru, Barndominium, Pole Barn Planning, Pole Barn Structure, Shouse, Building Interior, Professional Engineer, Lofts, Pole Barn Homes, Pole Barn Design and tagged shouse, International Building Code, IBC Section 503.1, fire protection system, house loft, house stories, mezzanine, 2018 IBC on March 10, 2020 by admin.

Monitor Style, Cost to Build a Floor Plan, and Adding OHD Openers

This Monday the Pole Barn Guru answers questions about the possibility of an open floor plan Monitor style building, what the costs of building s specific floor plan might be, as well advice on adding overhead door operators to a building.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Can you design a truss system for a monitor style building that has a complete open floor plan. 50 Ft front x 40 Ft depth. RON in SANGER

Monitor Barn Interior

DEAR RON: Absolutely. My first one was about 25 years ago, when I was a post frame builder. It was not near this wide, but I have since been involved in many others, both lesser and greater in width.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: How much would it cost to build this? I do not two RV doors. Can go with a smaller or shorter door on one side only. We would like it plumbed for sinks and showers ect but do not need to include the sinks, shower, toilet, cabinets ect. Just the walls. REBECCA in OLYMPIA

DEAR REBECCA: To some extent it will depend upon how you run rooflines. I would be inclined to recommend your garage area be 20’ x 42’ with a ridge line running front to back (peak gable end above where you show an RV door) with a 15’ eave height. For your living area, I would put a gable on your far right with ridgeline running towards garage area.

Other than rough-in for plumbing, you can probably safely budget $25-30 per square foot erected including a slab on grade. To get exact pricing of your building shell and discuss options, please reach out to a Hansen Pole Buildings’ Designer at 1(866)200-9657.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I’m considering purchasing a home that has a pole building with two overhead garage doors that never had openers installed. One of the doors is very high- for RV clearance. There doesn’t look like much structure above to hang them from. What would be the best way to do that or is there other opener alternatives? DAVID in WESTMINSTER

DEAR DAVID: You have stumbled upon one of my pet peeves – when sectional overhead garage doors are sold without openers. Let’s face it, almost every garage door truly should have one. It does not take much to hang an opener, should you purchase I would recommend you contact two or three of your local garage door installation companies to take a look at your building and provide a quote for openers and installation.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Building Styles and Designs, Building Interior, Pole Barn Homes, Barndominium and tagged overhead garage doors, monitor buildings, floor plans, shouse on February 24, 2020 by admin.

Barndominium on a Daylight Basement

As post frame construction moves into a world filled with barndominiums, shouses and homes, there are of course those who would prefer (or need due to lot slope) to build upon either a full or partial (daylight) basement.

Post frame buildings are ideal for this situation.

Reader LOUIE writes:

“Hi, I just started the process of building my first home and came across your website, hoping maybe you can help. So far I have purchased the land, got the septic design and have started to clear it. I have a good idea of what I would like to build but have a few questions. Can you design buildings to be built on daylight basement foundations? Also I see that the kits on your website include the windows, doors and exterior finish. Would it be possible to buy a kit for just the the framing? Ideally I want to build something like this roughly 28×36. Thanks and look forward to hearing from you.”

Mike the Pole Barn Guru responds:

Yes, we can design to build on a daylight basement, columns on the basement’s open side would be long enough to extend into the ground and be embedded. My shouse (shop/house) in Washington was engineered this way. In my case we dealt with 12 feet of grade change on a 40 foot wide site. Our solution was to have a 12’ tall ICF block wall on one side and 10 feet of front, then step down across the rear endwall to follow grade. Engineered wet set brackets were poured into top of ICFs (read about wet set brackets here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/05/sturdi-wall-plus-concrete-brackets/).

Besides your framing package, we would like to provide your building’s steel roofing. If you are using some sort of board or plank siding, we would like for you to obtain it and we would provide OSB or plywood sheathing as well as a Weather Resistant Barrier.

We would need to have some wall at the corners of the window end in order to adequately transfer shear loads from roof to foundation. Ideally for a 10′ tall wall, roughly 3.5′ at the corners.

To achieve your vaulted ceiling as shown in the photo, the best method would be to place a column at peak 12′ in from each endwall. If your interior plans cannot stand columns, we could run a ridge beam down the center from end to end.

If you do opt for no interior columns, I would also recommend using engineered prefabricated floor trusses for your floor system. This would provide a clearspan lower level and allow for all ductwork and utilities to be hidden in your home’s floor.

For extended reading on barndominium floor trusses please see: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2020/01/floor-trusses-for-barndominiums/

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Homes, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Post Frame Home, Pole Barn Planning, Barndominium, Pole Barn Structure, Trusses, Shouse, Building Interior, Columns and tagged Post Frame Home, vaulted ceiling, shouse, wet set brackets, daylight basement, ICF block wall, ridge beam, barndominium on February 20, 2020 by admin.

Post Frame Building Wainscot

Whether your post frame building will be a garage, shop, commercial building or barndominium wainscot an extremely popular option is wainscot.

Roughly 25 years ago I had an 80’ x 150’ x 20’ post frame building erected for my prefabricated wood truss manufacturing business. Whilst a great deal of thought went into this building’s design, there is one crucial element I missed.

Down each long side of our building we placed bollards (read more at: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2018/07/a-real-life-case-for-pole-barn-bollards/ and https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2017/05/lifesaving-bollard/) to protect steel siding from units of lumber and forklifts. As there was no storage across our front wall, we did not place bollards there. A week before we moved in, someone backed a truck into a steel panel directly adjacent to our main entrance door. Of course this steel panel was nearly 30 feet tall, so to replace it would be no small undertaking. Instead of fixing it, I walked in and out of this door and fumed because of this dent! Had I planned appropriately and used wainscot panels, this dented panel could have been replaced in a matter of minutes, saving me untold hours of grief and aggravation!

By common definition, wainscot is an interior wall lower portion whose surface differs from upper wall. Wainscot was borrowed from Middle Low German wagenschot. It is not altogether clear what these origins were, but a generally accepted theory is it is a compound of wagen ‘waggon’ and schot ‘planks, boards’, and it therefore originally meant ‘planks used for making waggons’. Originally it was applied in English to ‘high-grade oak imported from Russia, Germany, and Holland’. This wood was used mainly for paneling rooms, and by 16th century wainscot had come to signify ‘wood paneling’.

Homeowners used to apply wainscoting, especially in dining rooms, to protect walls from damage from chairs and tables. A chair rail atop wainscoting serves as a “bumper,” protecting wall from dings and chips created when a chair or table gets a little too chummy. This wall decoration was often also used to add interest and texture to stairways, while protecting them, too. In fact, it first grew in popularity during Elizabethan times, and it’s quite common in historic English and American Colonial homes.

For post frame (or pole) buildings, wainscot has moved to building exteriors. In simple terms, it utilizes an alternate siding panel to cover approximately three feet of exterior wall lower portions. A most common application, with steel sided buildings, is to use a different color steel panel on the lower wall than the upper. Most often steel wainscot panels are the same color as roofing, however this is certainly not mandatory. This allows for an aesthetic look many find pleasing, while affording an ability to quickly and easily change out a short steel panel, if it would become damaged. This would prove to be a most cost affordable solution and is easier than changing out a full length wall panel.

Alternatively, other materials may be utilized, such as T1-11, cement based sidings, vinyl siding or even stone or brick. Mortarless masonry is a popular wainscot (for extended reading: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2018/10/mortarless-masonry-exterior/). Pretty much any siding applicable to any other building exterior, can be incorporated as post frame building wainscot. It not only serves a useful purpose, it just plain looks good too.

This entry was posted in Vinyl Siding, Pole Barn Homes, Workshop Buildings, Pole Barn Apartments, Post Frame Home, About The Pole Barn Guru, Barndominium, Pole Barn Planning, Pole Building Siding and tagged motarless masonry, barndominium, bollard, t1-11, shouse, vinyl siding, wood paneling, cement based sidings on February 7, 2020 by admin.

Building Codes Apply to Shouses

Recently I shared with you, my faithful readers, a Park Rapids Enterprise article penned by Lorie R. Skarpness as Nevis, Minnesota attempts to deal with a shouse.

https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/12/a-shouse-in-the-news/

Below is Lorie’s update from January 18, 2020:

“The discussion of a proposed shouse (a word that means a shop with living quarters inside) that began at the December Nevis council meeting was continued at their Jan. 13 Nevis meeting.

Planning commissioner Dawn Rouse shared a report from the city’s planning commission about discussion of shouses from their December meeting.

Their consensus was that any requirements should apply to all residences and not single out one specific type, noting that the Minnesota Building Code already addresses many of potential issues. The city also has a building inspector who determines whether a proposed building meets code.

Council member Jeanne Thompson said the way the building code is written is vague and open to interpretation.

“People up here don’t go and buy expensive plans with these beautiful entryways for their shops for the most part,” she said. “They do it themselves. That’s where I think something needs to be addressed so we don’t have industrial and “garageish” looking buildings in a residential neighborhood.”

Concerns about the building material of the shouse were brought up by council member Rich Johnson. “I don’t want something that looks like a pole barn built right next to me because I don’t know if someone would want to move into that neighborhood.”

“We can set more stringent regulations than what is in the building code regarding materials used and things like that if that’s what you want to do,” Rouse said, pointing out that Walker has residential performance standards stating corrugated metal is not to be used on exterior finishes.

Thompson asked Rouse to bring information on existing residential regulations to share at the February 10 council meeting.”

Where their council members get confused is Building Codes address structural components, not aesthetics (such as colors or exterior covering materials). Post frame shouses and barndominiums are Building Code conforming structures. What any jurisdiction can do is to set aesthetic requirements, however they need to be applied equally across all building systems of an Occupancy Classification.

Is a jurisdiction resistant to your proposed barndominium, shouse or post frame home? If so, provide me with specifics and chances are pretty well close to 100% I can assist with a positive resolution.

This entry was posted in Post Frame Home, Barndominium, Pole Barn Design, Building Department, Pole Barn Planning, Pole Barn Homes, Workshop Buildings and tagged Post Frame Home, shouse, residential performance standards, shouse structural components, building aesthetic requirements, Building Code, barndominium on February 5, 2020 by admin.

Barndominium Brick Wainscot

Actual Brick Considerations for Barndominium Wainscot

With post frame buildings becoming a ‘rage’ for use as homes, barndominiums and shouse (shop/houses) alternatives to dress them up are quickly arising. Amongst these options are clients looking to have actual brick wainscot, as opposed to using a different color of steel siding, thin brick, or other cultured stone.

I have opined upon this subject previously (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2018/08/brick-ledge-on-a-pole-building/), however it is now time to dive deeper into it.

Preparing an exterior surface of a post frame building wall for a brick veneer is a simple and straightforward procedure. This article will supply you with some helpful information if you are planning to install a brick veneer on your barndominium’s exterior.

First, term “veneer” can have a dual meaning. In construction terminology,“veneer” is applicable to any exterior finish material and this includes standard brick masonry installed onto an exterior wall. “Veneer” can also be taken literally to mean a thin superficial layer of material installed directly onto an exterior wall surface. There are many thin-brick wall systems available utilizing brick only ½ to 1 inch in thickness as opposed to a standard 4-inch nominal (3 ¾-inch actual) thickness. It typically consists of a thin layer of stone or brick mounted with adhesives directly onto a substrate material and is installed in panels.

Step 1: Structural Support for the Brick Veneer

A fully assembled brick veneer is quite heavy and requires adequate structural support. Support is provided by a brick ledge as part of a foundation wall above wall column’s bottom collars. A decision to install a brick exterior is therefore made during conceptual design phases of your new barndominium’s construction. A brick ledge is constructed simply by adding a 6-9/16 inch thick concrete foundation wall outside your post frame building’s wall column. Ledge height will be six inches lower than top of finished concrete floor. Without an adequate structural support by a brick ledge, brick masonry is not an option for your barndominium’s exterior.

Step 2: Be Sure to Provide a one inch Air Space between Sheathing and Brick

Brickwork bears directly upon the concrete ledge, wide enough for both nominal width of brick and a building code required one inch air space. This one inch air space between sheathing and brick allows wall to “breathe” by providing an outlet for air and moisture. It also accommodates any irregularities in the wall surface.

Step 3: Install Weather Resistant Barrier

A weather resistant barrier (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2016/01/determining-the-most-effective-building-weather-resistant-barrier-part-1/) must be installed onto sheathing to prevent water from entering the inner wall assembly since brick veneer itself is not water-resistant.

Step 4: Install Wall Ties to Anchor the Brick to Sheathing

Lateral support for brickwork is provided by wall ties or brick anchors. They generally consist of L-shaped strips of corrugated metal 1 by 6 inches long nailed through sheathing into wall girts (https://www.strongtie.com/clipsandties_miscellaneousconnectors/bt_tie/p/bt). Horizontal component of brick tie penetrates into brick veneer at a mortar joint. Ties are installed at every fourth brick course and at two-foot horizontal spacings.

This entry was posted in Pole Building How To Guides, Pole Barn Planning, Pole Barn Structure, Pole Barn Homes, Post Frame Home, Barndominium, Pole Barn Design, Building Department and tagged brick veneer, brick veneer structural support, brick ledge, barndominium, foundation wall, weather resistant barrier, shouse, brick wainscot on February 4, 2020 by admin.

Your Barndominium’s Planning Department

In most parts of our country (and probably most other developed countries), it will be a necessity to acquire a building permit in order to construct a new barndominium, shouse (shop/house) or post frame home. Easiest way to find out is to contact your local authorities to find out if indeed this is your case.

Whether a structural building permit will be required or not, there is some homework to be done before ever considering contacting anyone to get pricing on a new building.

Don’t worry –this homework is not difficult and there is no final exam!

Call your local Planning Department.

If no Planning Department is listed when you do a Google search, a call to city hall, or your county courthouse can get one directed to proper authorities. Just let them know a new home is being considered to be constructed, and they will tell you what you need to do to satisfy any local requirements.

When planning folks are reached, give them the physical address or parcel number where your barndominium (shouse) being thought about will be constructed.

Tell them what you would like to build.

Approximate footprint size is a place to start. Let them know where on your parcel your new building will ideally be placed.

Ask your planning people what restrictions there may be on a new building. Is it limited in size or in height? Setbacks – how far away must it be located from other buildings, property lines, streets, sewer lines, septic systems or drain fields? Are there any other restrictions prohibiting your building from being constructed, such as amount of square footage of residence in relationship to garage/shop areas? Are there restrictions on roofing and/or siding types, materials or colors?

While a telephone call will often handle most of these questions, it may be necessary to draw a scaled drawing of your property. If so, this drawing should show all property lines, existing structures, your new proposed building, as well as anything else acting as a possible impediment. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but please do use regular sheets of plain white paper, and not your local coffee shop napkins or paper towels!

A personal visit to your Planning Department, with this drawing in hand, should help to get all answers needed, in order to move on to the next steps.

A hint – if told there are restrictions keeping your ideal dream building from being able to be built, ask what processes exist to be able to move past some or all of these “objections”. Sometimes it’s just a matter of filing for a special type of permit or “variance”, and having your local commissioners vote on it. You’d be surprised how many local jurisdictions have laws or rules which are “behind the times” and are happy to discuss changing them to better suit public wants and needs.

I’ve found some Planning Departments are allowed to administratively go “beyond the rules” right there at the counter, without a need for costly and time consuming hearings. One example is within Spokane, Washington’s city limits. The largest allowable detached accessory building within city limits is 1000 square feet, however if requested at the counter, this footprint can be increased by 10%, right then and there!

As my Daddy used to tell me, “the asking is for free”, so don’t be shy. Often a planning department official is not going to offer this information, so it’s up to you to ask lots of questions. If you see other buildings near your building site similar to what you want to build, you can bet someone else figured out “the right questions to ask”.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Homes, Post Frame Home, Barndominium, Building Department, Pole Barn Planning and tagged planning department, barndominium, shouse, Spokane County Planning Department, building footprint, building setbacks on January 29, 2020 by admin.

Floor Trusses for Barndominiums

In my last article I discussed limiting deflection for barndominium floors. Today I will take this one step further with a floor truss design solution.

Most of us don’t think too much about floors we walk upon – unless they are not level, squeak when we walk on them, or are too bouncy.

Traditionally wood floors have been framed with dimensional lumber (2×6, 2×8, etc.), usually spaced 16 inches on center. Often floor joist span limitations are not based upon lumber strength (ability to carry a given load), but upon deflection criteria. Building codes limit floor deflection to L/360, where “L” is span length in inches.

“Stiffest” (by MOE – Modulus of Elasticity values) commonly used framing lumber is Douglas Fir. A #2 grade Douglas-Fir 2×12, 16 inches on center will span 18’1” when carrying standard residential loads. An L/360 deflection event, would cause the center of one of these floor joists to deflect as much as 6/10ths of an inch!

Lumber is organic, so it varies in consistency from board to board. It also varies in size, and it is not unusual for a dimensional variance of over ¼ inch, from one end of a board to another. Combine this with probability some of these boards will be crowned with bow down and it means an uneven floor will result.

One of our friends lives in a fairly new home. In a hallway between her kitchen and sleeping areas, there is a good ½ inch dip in her floor – more than noticeable when walking across it!

I first used floor trusses in my own post frame shouse (shop/house) 25 years ago. My trusses were designed so they were only 1-1/2” in width (most spans up to this can be done with a 3-1/2” width), but these 30 foot floor trusses are only 24 inches in depth. They allowed me to create some unique interior areas, without a need for interior columns or load bearing walls.

When we built our post frame barndominium in South Dakota, we utilized floor trusses again – here to span 48’ (yes 48 feet)! We live upstairs in a gambrel building, with a clear-spanned half-court basketball court size garage/shop downstairs!

A few years ago, our oldest son Jake needed a new post frame garage at their home near Knoxville, Tennessee. His mom convinced him this plan would be so much better with a mother-in-law apartment upstairs. We used 4×2 (2x4s turned flat) floor trusses to span a 24 foot width!

I’d forgotten how fast a trussed floor can be done – until Jake ordered them for a second-floor addition he put on his home when he moved back to South Dakota. In a matter of just a couple of hours, I framed this entire 24 by 32 floor by myself and was ready for sheathing. All ductwork and plumbing can be run through open truss webs, making for nice clean ceilings downstairs.

Considering a full or partial second floor in a post frame building? Don’t want posts or bearing walls down below to prohibit full space utilization? Then floor trusses may be your answer.

Make sure to allow adequate height for truss thickness. As a rough rule-of-thumb, I plan upon one inch of thickness, for every foot of span. While it will nearly always be less, it is better to design for having a couple of extra inches, than not enough.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Apartments, Pole Barn Design, Post Frame Home, About The Pole Barn Guru, Barndominium, Pole Barn Planning, Pole Barn Structure, Trusses, Lofts, Pole Barn Homes, Gambrel and tagged shouse, wood crown, wood bow, gambrel building, barndominium, truss webs, floor trusses on January 28, 2020 by admin.

Plans Only? Moisture Barriers? and Two Story Houses?

This week the Pole Barn Guru answers questions about “plans only” purchases, proper use of moisture barriers when adding insulation to an existing building, as well as the possibility or building a two story post frame house.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Do you offer just the plans? I own a sawmill and would like to mill my own lumber for my project. With the exception of the trusses. I can also source the metal roofing locally. THERON in WALDEN

DEAR THERON: Thank you for your inquiry.

We are unable to provide just plans as it becomes a liability issue for our engineers – it takes away insuring materials specified actually end up being delivered to your building site.

There are also issues with attempting to use home milled lumber: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2020/01/free-home-milled-lumber/

As an example, in sourcing your own metal roofing locally, even if steel quality was equivalent, they will not be able to provide powder coated diaphragm screws to attach it.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Purchased property with existing fairly new pole barn. Question is regarding wall insulation. Some installers say use double backed 6 inch glass rolls insulation under my drywall. Then I spoke with another & he says mandatory to spray closed cell foam or condition will ruin insulation…..there is no vapor barrier wrap on outside. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, DAN in GRANBURY

DEAR DAN: You should have some sort of barrier between wall framing and wall steel to prevent condensation within the wall cavity. Wall cavity moisture can lead to a plethora of challenges – premature rusting of steel siding, rot, mold and mildew on wood framing and lack of performance of fiberglass insulation.

You could remove wall steel and add a Weather Resistant Barrier (highly labor intensive and things never go back together as well as they were originally assembled), or do a two inch coating of closed cell spray foam, then use fiberglass inside of it.

Here is my Ultimate Guide to Post Frame Building Insulation: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/11/post-frame-building-insulation/

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Hi there! I was wondering if y’all do two story residential pole houses? Second question, if I sent you guys a rough sketch of a blue print would you guys be able to give me an estimate off of that? (with included trim choices and such)

Thank you! MAX

DEAR MAX: I happen to live in a two story post frame shouse (shop/house) with a partial third story. Back in the great state of Washington, I also have a three story post frame building with roof top deck! We can provide any low rise building with up to 40 foot tall walls and three floors (or 50 feet and four floors with sprinklers).

Send us what you have and chances are very good we can get you an estimate from it (we might want to ask you a few questions about what you intend to build).

This entry was posted in Post Frame Home, Insulation, Barndominium, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Ventilation, Building Interior, Pole Barn Homes and tagged shouse, plans only, two story house, floor plans, spray foam insulation, moisture barrier, radiant reflective barrier on January 27, 2020 by admin.

Barndominium Wood Floors

Barndominiums, shouses (shop/houses) and post frame homes have become a true ‘thing’. As they have developed from bootlegged boxes to serious planning being given to them, there has been a rise in people wanting them over full or partial basements, crawl spaces and multiple floors. In nearly every case, these floors are made of wood (because wood is good).

In my career, I’ve designed a plethora of wood floors for post frame buildings. I’ve never yet had a client question me about one thing which may later seem very important – how much will their floor deflect?

Barndominium buyers naturally take for granted a wood floor system in a new home will be safe and building code compliant – and rightly so. But buyers also have expectations for their floors unrelated to safety or building code. In particular, many clients are aware of their floor’s “vibration” in response to foot traffic and some people find annoying or disturbing.

Canadian building code includes limits on floor vibration, but U.S. codes don’t regulate floor vibration. So most U.S. builders design for deflection only—typically by holding deflection due to live load to a maximum of L/360 (where “L” is floor joist span), or perhaps a more restrictive L/480.

But what does L/360 actually mean? In a 12 foot span center of floor can deflect as much as 4/10ths of an inch, 16 foot span over half an inch. A 48 foot span (yes, our shouse has a 48 foot clearspan floor using floor trusses) 1.6 inches!!

Unfortunately, however, code compliance does not automatically equal customer satisfaction. Some components of a floor system greatly influencing a floor’s response to foot traffic—such as presence of a ceiling, floor sheathing, supporting beams or girders, and partition walls—are not captured in live-load deflection analysis required to satisfy code.

To make things even more complicated, floor vibration is highly subjective: A floor feeling fine for one person may seem annoying to another. For example, a client who previously occupied a slab-on-grade building may have a different performance expectation from one who has been living in the upper levels of an apartment complex. Additionally, problems not related to floor vibration, such as squeaks or sound transmission between rooms, often create a perception of poor vibration performance.

Subtle changes in floor usage or joist spans may also result in floor performance complaints. One common problem area is a kitchen with an island, where a homeowner may notice rattling dishes or ripples in a glass of water. A change in joist span at a bay window may also be a trouble spot, even if difference in spans would seem to be slight. A short stiff member will make longer spans feel softer.

Increasing joist depth (say 2×10 to 2×12) or increasing sheathing thickness improves floor response. Increasing both at once leads to a very high rate of customer satisfaction. But, reducing vibration requires joists be much stiffer than required by code.

Laboratory research at Virginia Tech has shown client perception of floor vibration is related to vibration frequency. Using lab built test floor systems built, researchers found people were particularly sensitive to vibrations of about 8 or 10 Hz (cycles per second). At higher frequencies, vibrations were perceived as less annoying. Field investigation in real homes confirmed occupants were not bothered once vibration frequency went above 14 Hz.

Increasing joist depth greatly improves client satisfaction rating. But you can achieve a comparable degree of improvement by increasing sheathing thickness, without increasing joist depth. And if you increase both joist depth and sheathing thickness, you can achieve a level of customer satisfaction approaching 100%.

Looking for a wood floor providing exemplary performance with a minimum of “bounce”? The solution is to specify an upgrade to a lesser deflection than Code required L/360. Ask your Building Designer about investment difference to increase stiffness to L/480 or even L/720. You might be surprised at how little the difference in price is!

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Homes, Pole Barn Apartments, Post Frame Home, Barndominium, Pole Barn Design, About The Pole Barn Guru, Pole Barn Planning, Pole Barn Structure, Building Interior and tagged floor joist spans, deflection, shouse, barndoominium, Canadian Building Code, floor vibration, floor sheathing, live load deflection on January 24, 2020 by admin.

Exciting Times for Post Frame Construction

Welcome to 2020!

My fifth decade of post frame buildings and I could not be more excited.

Pole Barn Guru Blog 40 years ago today if you would have told me I was going to embark in an exciting career in post frame buildings I would have looked at you quizzically – and then asked what a post frame building was!

Now I realize 40 years is greater than a lifetime for many of you readers. Or, if you had arrived on this planet, you might have not yet been school aged even! A few of you may look upon me as being ancient. Trust me I know ancient – probably 20 years ago my son (in all seriousness) asked me what it was like watching space aliens build the Great Pyramid!

I have no qualms about being 62 years old – and am still excited to see what each new day will bring.

Well, back on task, if you would have told me a post frame building was a pole barn, at least I would have heard about them.

I had migrated from Northern Idaho to Oregon late summer of 1979, when home mortgage rates topped 10% and home loans were no longer available there due to a state mandated cap on interest rates. By January 1980, interest rate issues brought housing starts in Oregon to a screeching halt as well.

My truss plant typically produced eight to 10 buildings worth of trusses a day. In January 1980 we had only four orders in an entire month! Not good – however there was a single common denominator among those four orders, they were all for pole barn trusses. I didn’t have the slightest idea what a pole barn really was, but it was time to find out. Long time pole barn builder George Evanovich allowed me to pick his brain and I was an apt student!

Frankly (knowing what I know now) these buildings were not very good. I suppose they do resemble some buildings I see people buy from their local lumberyards – a great price and not much else! At least I established quickly a firm policy of always supplying all materials to assemble a building. It might not have been much of a building, but it was all there.

Virtually every building 40 years ago was nothing more than a barn. Very few ever required building permits and if they did, engineer sealed truss drawings usually got a permit acquired!

Technology has changed our everyday lives. I grew up actually dialing a rotary phone! These same technologies allow us today to structurally design intricate post frame buildings for virtually any use – with walls up to 40 feet in height and three stories high (add 10 feet and another story for sprinklers).

True residential construction, not just a garage or shop out back, is becoming a driving growth force for post frame buildings. Today’s post frame homes (also known as barndominiums and shouses) are quickly becoming our business core. They can be erected quickly, even by DIYers, are more cost effective than any other Building Code conforming permanent structure and can meet exacting demands of energy efficiency.

Ready for your new building? Think no further than post frame construction. Call Hansen Buildings at 866-200-9657 and talk to a Building Designer today!

This entry was posted in About The Pole Barn Guru, Post Frame Home, Barndominium and tagged engineer sealed truss drawings, pole barn, post frame building, Hansen Buildings, Building permit, lumberyard, shouse on January 3, 2020 by admin.

A Shouse in the News

A Shouse in the News!
Casual readers might not understand what a shouse even is. My lovely bride and I happen to reside in an 8000 square foot shouse (combination shop and house) in Northeast South Dakota. (The shouse in this article is not our house.)

Whether shouse, barndominium or merely post frame (pole barn) house – chances are good you will be seeing more and more of them cropping up as people are recognizing their architectural aesthetics, cost effectiveness and ability to be self built.

Photo from Google images
Below is from a December 14, 2019 Park Rapids Enterprise article by Lorie R. Skarpness

“Have you ever seen a shouse? A shouse is a relatively new word for a combination shop and house, and a Nevis resident approached the planning commission recently with a request to build one that is 40 by 60 feet.

Described to the Nevis City Council Monday night as a “glorified man cave with storage,” it would have to meet state requirements to classify it as a living structure.

As far as council members can tell, this is the first such request in the city’s history. The building inspector said the council could make suggestions for the finishing of the building. Plans have not been received for the shouse, but the individual who wants to build it stated he plans to use siding for the exterior.

He also requested having shipping containers approximately 25 feet by 9 feet to store belongings for less than a year while constructing the shouse on a large lot located in a residential zone.
Mayor Jarod Senger said he has friends who built a shouse. “There are some very nice ones,” he added.

“It can be a pole barn that’s like a gigantic garage and they finish off one corner of it with a front door,” council member Jeanne Thompson said. “They come in there to the living space and the rest of it can be storage or a personal woodworking shop they can putz around in.”

Thompson said her concern is the aesthetics of these structures. “If it does look more homelike versus a metal shed someone is living in, all of those logistics,” she said.

Building on the proposed shouse would likely not start until April, if approved.
Council member Rich Johnson suggested the planning and zoning commission look into the proposal and draft some ideas for acceptable finishes for a shouse before proceeding along with an ordinance to cover future requests that may come in.

The Minnesota state building code addresses minimum size issues required for shouses.”

Considering construction of a new home? Give a barndominium or shouse some consideration, you might be surprised. Here is an article with several helpful links for prospective barndominium owners: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/10/show-me-your-barndominium-plans-please/.

Ready to take the plunge? Please call 1(866)200-9657 today and speak with a Hansen Pole Buildings’ Designer.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Structure, Pole Building Siding, Professional Engineer, Pole Barn Homes, Post Frame Home, Barndominium, About The Pole Barn Guru, Pole Barn Planning and tagged Park Rapids Enterprise, Mayor Jarod Senger, barndominium, shouse, Nevis, MN on December 25, 2019 by admin.

Flashing Wires and Pipes Through Steel Siding

There are some things one just does not give a lot of thought about and this subject is one where I am entirely negligent. My post frame buildings outside of Spokane are both sided with 1×8 Cedar channel. While it looks great, I would never do it against due to having to solid body stain it repeatedly. Maybe this will be a story for another day?

My negligence?

Not having paid attention to how to adequately and permanently seal pipe or wiring penetrations through roll formed steel siding. I went out and looked at our own steel sided shouse (shop/house) and for our contractors like to use liberal amounts of caulking. I just do not see this as a permanent design solution.

This was a post in one of my Facebook Barndominium groups:

“First this isn’t my building! But I will need to have some piping coming thru the side of my building soon. Also need to think about water spigots, securing them to the building (not just to the metal siding)

How do you penetrate a metal building siding and seal this penetration from water intrusion and/or prevent it from rusting in the future.

I have a hydraulic punch out tool to smoothly cut the size needed (i have up to 4in die’s) but sealing AM<he metal to piping (pvc, metal, copper what have you) is my hold up. I don’t want to just caulk it up, I feel there has to be a better and more long term solution, metal/plastic flashing?”

Mike the Pole Barn Guru writes:

There was a suggestion made of a silicone flashing product, however when I visited their website, I was unable to locate any data on exterior use.

There is a product available for sealing pipes going through roll formed steel roofing: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2012/09/dektite/. I have used them several times and find them to be 100% reliable.

I have spent some time Google searching for a solution similar to Dektites™, but to no avail. Somehow I believe there is a well-hidden product available. If you happen to know of a great solution, please share it with me. It is not often I am stumped – this one has me.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Planning, Pole Barn Structure, Steel Roofing & Siding and tagged barndominium, shouse, Dektites, metal flashing, silicone flashing on November 28, 2019 by admin.

Airtight Post Frame Homes and Barndominiums

Back in my 1990’s post frame building contractor days, we constructed a shop for a client near Moscow, Idaho. We probably didn’t ask enough questions up front and our client didn’t provide enough information to adequately prevent what was initially quite a challenge.

After we had completed construction of this building’s shell, our client poured a concrete slab-on-grade. He placed fiberglass insulation in exterior walls, with a well-sealed vapor barrier. Walls and ceiling were sheetrock and insulation was blown into the attic. Heat was provided by a propane heater.

After the building was occupied, our client called us to advise every one of his windows was leaking!

Turns out these “leaks” were a symptom of a larger problem. Our client had sealed his building so tightly, in order to close an exterior door, a window needed to be open. There was no under slab vapor barrier, nor was a sealant applied. His propane heater was not ventilated to an outside source, adding moisture to interior air (and drawing moisture through his slab). With nowhere to exit, moisture was condensing on the insides of his building’s cooler windows!

Owning and operating an airtight post frame home, shouse (shop/house) or barndominium will increase its energy performance and lower its carbon footprint. However, there are certain things one should keep in mind before building a new airtight post frame building.

A post frame building’s envelope consists of its roof, foundation and exterior walls, doors and windows, and this is what keeps indoor and outdoor air from mixing. When a post frame building envelope is not tight, it can lead to air leakage and drafts, decreasing a building’s overall energy efficiency and increasing utility bills. With a sealed building envelope and upgraded mechanical ventilation systems, energy costs can be controlled and a comfortable indoor environment can be created.

Airtight post frame buildings are passive buildings meeting Passivhaus standards for air leakage. This is a residential construction standard requiring very low levels of air leakage, very high levels of insulation, and windows with a very low U-factor. This standard recommends (not requires), a maximum design heating load of 10 watts per square meter and windows with a maximum U-factor of 0.14.

Unlike most United States standards for energy-efficient homes, this standard governs not just heating and cooling energy, but overall building energy use, including baseload electricity and domestic hot water.

These buildings have air leakage rates of less than .60 AC/H @ 50 Pascals (2012 IECC Code allows an air infiltration rate up to 3 AC/H @ 50 pascals). Use no more than 1.39kWh per square foot in cooling energy. Use no more than 4,755Btus per square foot in heating energy, and maintain a maximum entire building energy usage ratio of no more than 11.1kWh per square foot.

Airtight post frame buildings are extremely energy-efficient because mixing of indoor and outdoor air is extremely limited, reducing energy bills associated with heating and cooling. Besides a dramatic reduction in energy bills, expect improvements in building comfort, and whole house and heat recovery ventilation system energy efficiency. Moisture infiltration systems will be reduced.

When post frame buildings are constructed with airtightness and energy-efficiency in mind, it can lead to unintentional problems, like excessive moisture and CO2 levels. Thankfully, most of these problems can be corrected with proper installation of a mechanical ventilation system – condensation on exterior walls and windows, excessive indoor humidity, poor indoor air quality, mold and mildew.

Since airtight post frame buildings do not allow for a transfer of indoor and outdoor air, they need one or more mechanical ventilation systems to help ensure a building receives enough fresh air and indoor air, along with excessive moisture and particulate matter, is properly vented outside. This can be accomplished with fans, air ducts and ventilation control systems with sensors monitoring indoor CO2 levels.

Trained professionals can look at a proposed post frame building’s critical systems, including HVAC, lighting and plumbing, and help determine best upgrades to reduce consumption. These may include custom mechanical ventilation systems and sensors to help control indoor air quality and achieve optimum ventilation.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Homes, Post Frame Home, Barndominium, Pole Barn Design, About The Pole Barn Guru, Pole Barn Planning, Ventilation, Windows and tagged barndominium, shouse, airtight post frame homes, carbon footprint, post frame building envelope, mechanical ventilation systems, Passivhaus standards, window U-factor on November 12, 2019 by admin.

Show me Your Barndominium Plans Please

Like a bunch of little kids exploring differences in body parts – “You show me yours, I will show you mine.” Barndominium, shouse (shop/house), post frame home want to be owners are not far removed from here when it comes to floor plans. In numerous Facebook groups I see this request over and over!

Each family truthfully has their own wants and needs – ones where chances of anyone else’s plans being ideal for them being close to those of winning a major lottery.

Gambrel roof pole barn For those who have been following along, I have covered preliminary steps leading to actually designing a functional and affordable floor plan.

Step number one, determining if a new barndominium is even a financial reality: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/07/how-much-will-my-barndominium-cost/

Once fiscal reality has sunk in – your new barndo will need to be located somewhere: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/08/a-place-for-a-post-frame-barndominium/

And unless you and your significant others have been squirreling away stacks of Franklins or are independently wealthy, financing must be secured: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/07/borrowing-for-a-d-i-y-barndominium/

With all of these steps squared away, it is time to start considering a floor plan. Popular home spaces and sizes need to be determined: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/09/room-in-a-barndominium/ and https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/09/the-first-tool-to-construct-your-own-barndominium/.

I read about people in barndominium planning stages looking for free or low cost design software, attempting to put room sizes and orientations together in a fashion making any sort of sense. This becomes daunting and can be an all-consuming struggle, regardless of how many pads of grid paper you own.

Most people are not far removed from reader MARK in WAYNESTOWN who writes:

“Looking for a 3 bed- bath 1/2- open kitchen living room vaulted ceiling concept and maybe with 1 or 2 bedroom loft up top — and 2 car garage in back what size of pole barn should we look for?”

Here is where it is well worth investing in services of a design professional. Someone who can take all of your ideas, those wants and needs and actually craft a floor plan best melding them with the realities of construction.

Hansen Pole Buildings has just this service available and it can be done absolutely for free! Read all the details here and we look forward to continuing to walk with you in your journey to a beautiful new home: http://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/post-frame-floor-plans/?fbclid=IwAR2ta5IFSxrltv5eAyBVmg-JUsoPfy9hbWtP86svOTPfG1q5pGmfhA7yd5Q

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Homes, Post Frame Home, Barndominium, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Building Styles and Designs, Pole Barn Planning and tagged shouse, pole building design professional, pole building plans, pole barn plans, barndominium, post frame building plans on October 23, 2019 by admin.

Planning for a South Carolina Post Frame Home

A barndominium, shouse (shop/house) and post frame home wave is sweeping across America. There are numerous articles available on Hansen Pole Buildings’ website – just click on SEARCH (upper right of any page) and type in BARNDOMINIUM and hit ENTER and relevant articles will appear for your reading pleasure.

Loyal reader LANE in NORTH AUGUSTA writes:

“Hello,

I’m currently planning a post frame home in North Augusta, South Carolina.

I’m planning to build 72x40x16 with a wrap around overhang around one end and part of the front or 84x40x16 with the last 12′ bay open to create the end porch then a lean-to on part of the front.

I’m curious firstly on the shipping. There are a few local businesses here that sell kits and will erect the building as well if desired. How much will freight affect my final cost if I buy from you vs. sourcing it locally? I haven’t gotten any prices from the local companies yet. I decided to reach out to you guys first because I’ve been reading your blog and it seems like you really have this pole building thing figured out. I’m also really interested in the design and plans that you provide. Do these also include the interior walls, plumbing and electrical, or is it just the shell of the building?

I’ve already drawn up a simple floor plan for the living space that really fits our needs so I’d like to incorporate that.

Thank you for your time. Look forward to hearing back.”

Mike the Pole Barn Guru answers:
Thank you for your interest in a new Hansen Pole Building. We have wholesale relationships all across America and will ship bulkiest items, in most cases lumber and trusses, from your locale – freight costs will be no more for you, than they would be to any other location.

We would like to believe we have at least a reasonable idea of what pole (post frame) buildings are all about :-). It is all we do, unlike your local businesses who also do other things – we are specialists.

With your investment into any complete post frame building kit are detailed structural plans showing every member and all connections. For those with living areas, we have available an offer for interior floor plans: http://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/post-frame-floor-plans/?fbclid=IwAR2ta5IFSxrltv5eAyBVmg-JUsoPfy9hbWtP86svOTPfG1q5pGmfhA7yd5Q. For a nominal fee plumbing and electrical can be provided (a hint – your plumber and electrician will normally provide these at no charge as part of their service).

One of our Building Designers will be reaching out to you shortly to further discuss your ideal new building!

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Pole Barn Planning, Building Interior, Budget, Post Frame Home, Barndominium and tagged plumbing, electrical, pole barn interior walls, barndominium, HVAC, shouse, pole barn shipping costs on October 15, 2019 by admin.

Partially Enclosed Buildings

Partially Enclosed Buildings (and Why It Matters)

I have previously written how a fully enclosed building could be less of an investment than a three sided building – even though a fourth wall has been added: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2014/03/three-sided-building/

For those of you who neglected to click and read my previous article, consider your building as a balloon, rather than a building. Until tied (enclosing your balloon), your balloon is partially enclosed. More air can enter through its neck and if over-loaded “BOOM”!

From a structural aspect on buildings, force multipliers are applied to adjust wind forces upwards in order to combat “BOOM”. But what actually constitutes a partially enclosed building?

A building is considered “Partially Enclosed” if it complies with both of these following conditions (ASCE 7-10, Section 26.2, “BUILDING, PARTIALLY ENCLOSED”):

the total area of openings in a wall that receives positive external pressure exceeds the sum of the areas of openings in the balance of the building envelope (walls and roof) by more than 10%, AND
the total area of openings in a wall that receives positive external pressure exceeds 4 square feet or 1% of the area of that wall, whichever is smaller, and the percentage of openings in the balance of the building envelope does not exceed 20%

IF EITHER IS NOT TRUE, ENCLOSURE BY DEFINITION IS NOT PARTIALLY ENCLOSED.

On occasion, building officials will assume a building originally designed as enclosed to be partially enclosed if storm shutters are not provided, a conservative worst-case approach, but is defendable by fact there is no written code provision for this and the structure won’t meet the above definition. Also, everything needs to be designed for partially enclosed, roof, connections, walls, foundation, beams, columns, etc. A building won’t stand if only one part of it is designed as partially enclosed and not the rest.

It is possible to have a building appearing to be fully enclosed, when in reality it is not.

How could this occur?

Failure to use wind-rated doors and windows!!

Sliding “barn” doors are not wind rated. Neither are most entry (person) doors.

Most sectional overhead garage doors are not wind rated. https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2014/12/wind-load-rated-garage-doors/

This becomes especially critical in cases of barndominiums, shouses (shop/house) and post frame homes. Many of these have a wall with one or more garage doors. If these doors are not wind rated doors, in an extreme weather condition they could be literally sucked right out of your home, leaving it prone to forces it was not structurally designed for!

Lives are priceless, please do not try to save a few bucks upfront by risking you or your loved ones.

This entry was posted in Sliding Doors, Post Frame Home, Barndominium, Pole Barn Design, Building Department, Pole Barn Planning, Pole Building Doors and tagged Entry doors, shouse, partially enclosed building, positive external pressure, storm shutters, wind rated windows, wind-rated doors, sliding barn doors, barndominium on October 9, 2019 by admin.

Barn Conversions, Raising a Building, and Pole Barns on Concrete Slabs

Today’s Pole Barn Guru discusses a possible conversion of an old pole barn, raising a building, and how site preparation helps with concrete slabs.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Have a 40’ x 100’, 2 sides enclosed, pole barn I would like to convert to a house / garage combo. Columns are 20’ on center in the front and 10’ O/c in side and back. (Pics attached). Is this doable in Ky and roughly cost per sq ft.? We plan on 3 bed, 2 bath, open concept, 40 x 50 living and 40 x 50 garage. Thank you for your input / knowledge. JIM in FRANKLIN

DEAR JIM: Pole barns for agricultural use are rarely designed by a Registered Professional Engineer and in many cases do not require a Building Permit. If it did happen to be both of those things, it was probably designed to a lower set of design standards than a residence would be. Is it doable? Perhaps, however it may cost so much to upgrade your existing building so as to make it financially unrealistic. If you want to pursue this avenue further, it would be best to invest in services of a competent local Registered Professional Engineer who can do a physical examination of your building and make detailed recommendations as to what it would take to make necessary structural upgrades.

Your best solution might be to erect a new building properly engineered to residential requirements.

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: I have a newer pole barn, 30 ft wide, standard trusses 10ft. above the floor. What options do I have to raise the clearance to 14ft? Trusses with a kick up, add a knee wall, scissor trusses? Would prefer whole area at 14ft but could consider just the center 12 ft or so to accommodate a travel trailer. RON in MANISTEE

DEAR RON: It could be possible to increase height of some or all of your building however it will take some significant structural engineering (as well as a serious investment of labor and materials) in order to do so – a competent Registered Professional Engineer should be engaged to visit your existing building, do an analysis and provide a design solution. My educated guess is it will prove to be less expensive to erect a new post frame (pole barn) building to fit over your travel trailer, than to make an attempt to remodel what you have.

pole spacing

DEAR POLE BARN GURU: Builders in the northwest Ohio area don’t seem interested in building a pole barn house with a concrete slab. They said not a good idea do to cracking but there are all sorts of commercial pole barn facilities built on concrete pads. Couldn’t I just use fiber in the concrete to help with expansion? MATT in ARLINGTON

DEAR MATT: Your top factor for getting a good result from a slab on grade concrete slab in a post frame (pole barn) home is proper site preparation. (Read more beginning here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2011/11/site-preparation/) Just adding fibermesh to your concrete mixture is unlikely to be a satisfactory solution unless you have a great site prepped.

For a pole barn house, you might want to consider building over a crawl space – investment is probably fairly similar, however wood is so much more comfortable to live on.

This entry was posted in Rebuilding Structures, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Planning, Pole Barn Structure, Concrete and tagged building site preparation, pole barn house, shouse, Barn Conversion, Increase height, lift building, concrete slab on October 7, 2019 by admin.

Planning for a Post Frame Home

When it comes to planning for a new post frame home, shouse (shop/house) or barndominium, there are a myriad of questions and concerns to be answered and pondered.

Or, at least I hope you are – rather than just stumbling in blindly!

Reader NICK in NORTH CAROLINA writes:

“Hi, I’m looking into options for building a post frame home in the coming year in NC and wanted to understand more of the details regarding your current building products and suggested techniques.

Do you provide a means to support the posts on top of the concrete pillars with a bracket vs the post being embedded into the concrete?

Your current package only provides for insulation of the roof, no interior walls, correct?

Can another 2×6 skirt board be added to the inside of the building to isolate the concrete flooring from the post and to provide a cavity for insulation to be installed between the outside/inside girts?

Do you have a listing of contractors that are familiar with your products in given areas that could be used to build the structure?

If using the design service listed for $695, does that include the design for all interior walls/rooms/fixtures as well as electrical/plumbing/mechanical?

Thanks for any information you can provide.”

All good questions. In answer to them:

Yes we can provide plans with a third-party engineered design for bracket set columns, as well as brackets. https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/05/sturdi-wall-plus-concrete-brackets/

We typically recommend using either a Reflective Radiant Barrier (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2017/05/effective-reflective-insulation/) between roof framing and roof steel, or using roof steel with factory applied Dripstop https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2012/11/drip-stop/

We can provide batt insulation for walls and/or ceilings, however there are more energy efficient methods of insulating https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2018/06/pole-barn-insulation-oh-so-confusing/

It (extra 2×6 interior splash plank) could, however there are structural advantages to having columns surrounded (constrained) on exterior splash plank interior. (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2018/11/importance-of-constrained-posts/) I’d recommend doing a Frost Protected Shallow Foundation post frame style instead: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2017/09/post-frame-frost-walls/

Although our buildings are designed for an average literate English speaking person to successfully construct their own building (most of them do, and do a wonderful job – because they will read and follow instructions), for those who do need an erector, in many areas we can provide contacts for you to vet.

Our floor plan and elevation package offer (http://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/post-frame-floor-plans/?fbclid=IwAR2ta5IFSxrltv5eAyBVmg-JUsoPfy9hbWtP86svOTPfG1q5pGmfhA7yd5Q) includes all interior walls, rooms and fixtures. For an added fee you can include electrical/plumbing/mechanical (note: typically all of these last three services can usually be provided at no charge by subcontractors who will be doing these specific trades).

Please feel free to reach out to me at any time with questions. An answer to most questions can also be found at www.HansenPoleBuildings.com by clicking on SEARCH in the upper right hand corner of any page. Type in a word or two and hit ENTER and up pop relevant articles.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Planning, Post Frame Home, Building Contractor, Barndominium, Footings, Building Interior, Professional Engineer, Pole Barn Questions, Pole Barn Design, Pole Barn Homes, Constructing a Pole Building and tagged splash plank, shouse, bracket set columns, electrical/plumbing/mechanical, barndominium, frost protected shallow foundations, dripstop, reflective radiant barrier on September 27, 2019 by admin.

Planning for a New Post Frame Home

When it comes to planning for a new post frame home, shouse or barndominium, there are a myriad of questions and concerns to be answered and pondered.

Or, at least I hope you are – rather than just stumbling in blindly!

Reader NICK in NORTH CAROLINA writes:

“Hi, I’m looking into options for building a post frame home in the coming year in NC and wanted to understand more of the details regarding you current building products and suggested techniques.

Do you provide a means to support the posts on top of the concrete pillars with a bracket vs the post being embedded into the concrete?

Your current package only provides for insulation of the roof, no interior walls, correct?

Do you have a listing of contractors that are familiar with your products in given areas that could be used to build the structure?

If using the design service listed for $695, does that include the design for all interior walls/rooms/fixtures as well as electrical/plumbing/mechanical?

Thanks for any information you can provide.”

All good questions. In answer to them:

Yes we can provide plans with a third-party engineered design for bracket set columns, as well as brackets. https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/05/sturdi-wall-plus-concrete-brackets/

About Hansen Buildings Although our buildings are designed for an average literate English speaking person to successfully construct their own building (most of them do, and do a wonderful job – because they will read and follow instructions), for those who do need an erector, in many areas we can provide contacts for you to vet.

This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged roof insulation, pole building barndominium, dripstop, reflective radiant barrier, shouse, bracket set columns, inslulation, batt insulation on September 25, 2019 by admin.

The First Tool to Construct Your Own Barndominium

Your First Tool to Construct Your Own Barndominium

Whether you are contemplating constructing (or having constructed) a barndominium, shouse (shop/house) or just a post frame home – there is one essential tool you should invest in long before you consider breaking ground. Even if you have hired this world’s greatest General Contractor who will do absolutely everything for you, without your involvement, you still need this tool.

What is it, you ask?

Well, first of all – I will assure you this tool will not break your project’s budget. In fact it is under $30 at your nearby The Home Depot™!

What I am talking about here is a General Tools 50 foot compact laser measure.

This Model #LDM1 compact laser will accurately measure up to 50 foot distances quickly. You can use it to measure full rooms within seconds (handy for discreet measurement taking), all with a push of a single button. Portable and compact, it will easily fit in a pocket!

Just last week you should have read my article on “Room in a Barndominium” (quick, go back and read it again: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/09/room-in-a-barndominium/). In this article a litany of possible barndominium room choices were listed, along with general floor areas for each of them, based upon overall living space. From this you have made a list of those rooms you cannot live without as well as ones it would be nice to have, provided they will fit within your available space and budget.

Begin by practicing measuring rooms in your current abode. Note dimensions and if they are too large (it does happen), too small or just right (sounds like a story involving a young blonde girl and three bears, I know).

Now your real work begins. Saddle up your horse, or favorite other mode of transportation, and start visiting weekend Open Houses. Even better, if you can get into a Home Builders’ Association “Parade of Homes”, as these normally feature new and innovative ideas. You want to visit as many fully furnished homes as is reasonably possible. Why do I say fully furnished? Because empty rooms feel much larger than they actually are. Get out your new tool and start taking measurements.

Once you have accumulated your data, you can start to narrow down how much space will actually be needed to meet with your family’s needs and lifestyle. Keep in mind – all of these measurements are INSIDE dimensions. Eventually you will be adding walls and interior ones will take up at least four and one-half inches.

Starting to get excited?

If not, you should be. You are one step closer to your new dream home!

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Homes, Post Frame Home, Barndominium, Pole Barn Design, Pole Building How To Guides, Pole Barn Planning, Building Interior and tagged National Association of Home Builders, barndominium, shouse, General Tools 50 foot compact laser measure, #LDM1 compact laser, Parade of Homes on September 20, 2019 by admin.

Room in a Barndominium

Room In A Barndominium

I read plenty of chatter in Facebook barndominium groups where people want to see other’s floor plans. In my humble opinion – this is a mistake. Building your own barndominium, shouse (shop/house) or post frame home from scratch gives you probably a once in a lifetime opportunity to craft a home specifically to fit your needs.

Home sizes can be split up into three groups – small (under 2000 square feet), medium (2000-2999 square feet) and large (over 3000 square feet). In discussions about possible rooms and sizes average square footage (sft) for each size will be indicated.

Entry Foyer (65/89/138 sft)

Most homes have some sort of space inside the front door where coats and boots are removed, etc. Coat closet should be in this area as well.

Our shouse in South Dakota has a tiled floor in this area located where top of stairs and elevator are. Ours is on small end of spectrum, at well below average. My own personal favorite was in my Willamette Valley home where I created an ‘air lock’ entry – front door opening into an area where a nearly full glass door divided it from living spaces. This design was very practical for maintaining interior temperatures.

Kitchen (193/275/423)

Face it, we all have to eat. This is going to be your ideal dream home, so kitchen space is not a place to scrimp. Ours is most certainly beyond large average.

In our shouse’s case, I personally enjoy to cook, my bride to bake. Our kitchen tends to also become a social place where company congregates as meals are organized and prepared. Things I feel we really did right in ours include:

4’ x 8’ center island. We designed it with a two foot bank of cabinets on one side, a two foot space for a chair from each side (and grandkids can crawl through) and four feet of cabinets on other side. This chair space worked out to be ideal for my wife’s powered wheelchair after she became a paraplegic.

Separate side-by-side refrigerator and freezer units. There is seemingly never enough space inside a standard combined unit. We also raised ours a foot above floor level so we didn’t have to stand on our heads to see what was at the bottom.

If one is good, two are better. This applied to our ovens, where one is stacked above another. This became even more important after my wife’s accident, as she can easily reach the lower oven. We also have two dishwashers – one of my pet peeves is fixing a meal for a large group and having dirty dishes remaining on counters and sinks. Two dishwashers solved this. We also raised each of them a foot off the floor and it has made loading and unloading so much easier! Our other duo is his and hers microwaves. Even though it is just the two of us here, it is amazing how often we have both of these in use at the same time.

We have large spaces (four feet) between island and surrounding kitchen counters.

Long eating bar (easily seats five on bar stools) – at the same height as the top of raised dishwashers, with sink and range on the other side and lower. With a passle of grandchildren, this makes serving and cleanup a breeze.

One thing I did miss (and I have had before) is a trash compactor.

Walk-In Kitchen Pantry (17/31/51)

Originally we did not have one in our shouse. After my bride’s accident, we ended up adding a full sized elevator, requiring a mechanical room. The space at living level, above mechanical room, became our pantry. Even with our kitchen having side-by-side refrigerator and freezer units, there just was never enough room, especially around Winter Holidays. Our pantry has both a refrigerator with a top freezer and an upright freezer. Refrigerator is a handy spot for 12 packs of soda and adult beverages, as well as when guests bring refrigerated items over for a get together.

We also used heavy duty shelf brackets and have two foot deep shelves all up one wall and above cooling units.

Come back tomorrow for more on designing your new barndominium.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Design, About The Pole Barn Guru, Building Styles and Designs, Pole Barn Planning, Building Interior, Pole Barn Homes, Post Frame Home, Barndominium and tagged shouse, foyer, kitchen, kitchen island, kitchen pantry, barndominium on September 11, 2019 by admin.

See Your New Barndominium Here

In our last episode, we were escaping odors produced by mushroom people – now let us move forward to getting a clearer vision and a view from your new post frame barndominium’s windows!

Once you have narrowed your choices down to a handful, ideally you can watch each site over a year’s time – as well as gathering more information about your area. Watch for ponding after rains, or Spring runoffs, you don’t want to wake up and find yourself in a slough. In snow country – what sort of drifting occurs?

Spend a few dollars and buy a beer or two for a local geotechnical engineer. You want to build upon stable soils – not prone to undue shifting and settling. One of our sons has a home high above the Missouri River East of Pierre, SD. Years of nearby river flow created a huge sand hill, upon where his now neighborhood is located. His home, and those of his neighbors, is constantly moving!

Make sure your potential site will not be in a habitat protected area. Don’t invest in land and find out some rare insect only lives or nests on what you thought was going to be your forever dream home site. Wetlands can prove problematic – get to know any possible restrictions.

Are wildfires a possibility? Is area a known fire hazard? Is your fire department supported solely by volunteers (if so, be prepared for higher insurance costs)? My Auntie Norma lost everything as 2018’s Camp Fire destroyed Paradise, California and surrounding areas. It can happen.

Avoid a site within a flood zone, unless you are prepared to invest extra to build above flood levels. Same goes for hurricane prone areas.

If not on a regularly maintained county road, who does maintain it? What might it cost you for your share to upkeep a private road? If access is across property of others, check for written easements. Investigate any easements across what could be your future property.

Order a preliminary title report, this will disclose easements and restrictive covenants or conditions. You might want to order a land survey as well, especially if property boundaries are loosely defined. Don’t count on fence lines to be accurate.

Water is important, and not all water is potable. Sometimes water rights don’t “run with the land,” this would mean you couldn’t dig a well.

If planning on a well, find out the depth of water table and determine difficulty of digging.

It can be costly to bring electricity, telephone, or cable service to a property if they’re not already established nearby. Just because you can see a power pole, does not mean you can readily have affordable access to it. Will you need to install a propane tank? What will it cost to install a septic system?

If you’re not planning to finance a land purchase through a conventional lender—requiring a lender appraisal—obtain your own appraisal to determine an appropriate price before making an offer. Comparable sales are sometimes difficult to find when you’re buying rural land.

It’s common to pay cash for land because getting a loan for this type of purchase can be tricky. Raw land can’t be leveraged by a bank.

If you do get a loan—and there are a few lenders out there who specialize in and will touch this type of transaction—don’t expect to be approved for more than maybe 50 percent of the purchase price. You might have more success if your land has utility access and is reasonably accessible by roadway.

Once you do acquire a place to build – then and only then is it time to move to your next step – designing your own ideal dream custom barndominium!

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Planning, Building Drainage, Budget, Pole Barn Homes, Post Frame Home, Barndominium and tagged land title report, restrictive covenants, barndominium, shouse, flood zone, hurricane prone areas, easements on August 2, 2019 by admin.

A Place for a Post Frame Barndominium

You and your loved ones have decided to take a plunge – building your own barndominium, shouse, or post frame home.

But where?

Other than formulating a rough budget for building (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2019/07/how-much-will-my-barndominium-cost/) your journey is realistically at a standstill until you have acquired a place to build.

It is easy to idealize what it’s like to live on acreage away from city hustle and bustle, and there are indeed some advantages. Rural land costs are lower and generally further away from a city one gets, acreage becomes cheaper. Many people buy land because they want to build a custom home to their own specifications. They also want cleaner air and more space.

However, consider potential challenges fully before deciding to dump urban living and become Oliver Wendell Douglas (for those of you too young to remember Google “Green Acres”).

Now my lovely bride and I happen to have our own rural shouse. We live in a county of 10,278 souls scattered across 1136 square miles. Deduct our nearby metropolis of Sisseton and we average less than seven people per square mile!

Gambrel roof pole barn Finding skilled craftsman who are willing to travel to our location ranged from difficult to impossible. Few were interested in a jaunt of 60 miles from Watertown or 100 miles from Fargo. Those who would travel charged extra to compensate for driving time and distance. Transporting building materials and paying for delivery costs more than building near a major city.

Although modern conveniences are usually available, they aren’t always reliable. We are now installing a backup propane generator for those times when we can go days without electrical power. Cell service here can be problematic, “Can you hear me now?”.

While we do have two grocery stores in Sisseton eight miles away, and serious shopping involves planning and a 100 mile drive. We’re in snow country and a blizzard means we could be stuck at home for days.

Take time to become familiar with any area being considered for your new home site. Get to know your potential community and hear stories from locals before diving in deep with a realtor.

Use some caution as all of your future neighbors might not be overjoyed to hear you’re going to buy up land behind their homes and erect your own palace there, obstructing their pristine views. You might meet up with some resistance—even organized resistance involving municipal and county authorities.

Consider rural resale values can be less in rural areas, due to a smaller pool of potential buyers. If demand is low and supply is high, prices will be more negotiable.

Check with local authorities, including city, county, and state, to determine zoning ordinances. Find out any possible restrictions before committing to a land investment. Some areas prohibit construction on anything other than large parcels of five, 10 and even 20 acres.

Realize you might be subjected to sounds and lovely odors produced by nearby farms. In my past life I once rented a home, not realizing it was occasionally downwind of a mushroom growing plant. Mushrooms grow real well given dark and manure!

Stay tuned for our next exciting episode – where stench goes away and you move one step closer to making your dreams a reality!

This entry was posted in About The Pole Barn Guru, Building Department, Pole Barn Planning and tagged building contractor, barndominium, shouse, municipal authorities, zoning ordinances on August 1, 2019 by admin.

Post Frame Home Construction Financing

Most people building their own post frame post frame home (barndominium or shouse included) need some amount of post frame home construction financing. (shouse=shop+house)

Some important things to keep in mind with construction loans:

Obtaining one takes more time and financial investment than a conventional loan (loan on or against an existing building).

Lenders require more documentation – building plans, budgets, time lines, etc.

“Single Close” loans finance land and post frame home and serve as long-term financing.

“Two Step” loans finance land purchase and construction. New post frame home owners must refinance with a conventional loan upon completion.

Plan on needing at least a 20% down payment. In some cases, if property is free and clear, some or all of land value can be applied toward down payment.

Your lender’s equity will be based upon whatever is least – cost or finished appraised value. Be wary – some items or inclusions have a greater cost than their finished appraised value.

Typical payments are interest upon portion of funds used during construction.

Borrower/builder will take draws as needed to cover materials and labor completed. In an event a general contractor is hired, do not give him or her direct access to funds without you having to approve.

Borrower and builder must be fully approved by lender. This is one of the few cases where I recommend using a general contractor – but only if your lender will not allow you to self-build.

Do NOT apply for your loan telling the potential lender it is a barndominium, pole barn/building or post frame home, etc. Your post frame home should be listed as a “wood framed with a concrete foundation”. Period.

While it sounds ideal to build a post frame home for your specific wants and needs, processes of applying for and closing a construction loan will require a much greater commitment of time and financial resources compared to financing an existing home with a traditional Conventional Mortgage. This is because those banks funding construction loans are investing a considerable sum into an intangible asset, one not yet existing. As such, their requirements for documentation and a greater down payment from buyer are greater than if they were financing an already existing home.

There are effectively two types of construction loans, and while they may go by different names by banks offering them.

A single close construction loan is a single loan financing property acquisition and post frame home construction, it serves as long term financing as well. Since this bank is taking a leap of faith the home will be built “as advertised” with plans and specifications they’ve been provided, they’re still taking a risk in home buyer and builder. If something goes wrong during construction, they could end up being lien holder on a partially constructed post frame home. Since banks are NOT in the business of building homes, they will mitigate this risk charging higher interest rates on construction loans. Greatest risk to a bank closing a construction loan is having either builder or buyer default during construction and higher rates allow them to spread this risk.

A Two Step loan differs as home buyer will close on one loan solely used to finance land purchase and dwelling construction. Once completed, post frame homeowner refinances construction loan with a permanent conventional loan of their choosing.

Both single close and two step loan have their distinct pros and cons and each individual home buyer/builder needs to evaluate those to determine which is best. While a single close loan only requires a borrower to sign one set of loan documents and they have one loan covering both construction and long term home financing, rates at closing are anywhere from .25 to .5% higher than a traditional conventional loan may be. Again, this is due to construction lender’s added risk. Two step loans offer client an ability to choose (after completion) a permanent loan of their liking. Typically this will be at a lower rate than a conventional loan, but two loan closings result in two sets of closing costs, two signings, etc.

Variables a post frame homeowner should consider include length of time they plan to keep the home, current interest rate environment (are rates rising or falling?) and their own risk tolerance knowing rates can and probably will either go up or down while the home is being built.

This entry was posted in Building Department, Pole Barn Planning, Building Contractor, Budget, Pole Barn Homes, Barndominium and tagged single c;lose construction loan, two step construction loan, barndominium, shouse, construction loan, conventional mortgage on July 31, 2019 by admin.

Barndominium is Popping Up Everywhere

Back in 1981 Barbara Mandrell recorded and released a hit song written by Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan, “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool”. Well Barbara certainly has it over me in the looks department and I doubt I will ever have a Top Ten hit with, “I Had a Barndominium When Barndominiums Weren’t Cool”.

Read more about barndominium here: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2014/02/barndominium/.

My first personal barndominium, built in 1994, was actually more of a shouse – a 40 feet wide by 36 feet deep, but not rectangular, post frame building! Seriously, it was built as a parallelogram 14 degrees out of square to follow property lines of a very narrow lot. Shop portion is on the ground floor – a garage level with three overhead steel sectional doors 9’ wide x 8’ tall, 10’ wide x 11’ tall and 8’ wide x 7’ tall. I would never recommend the latter of these for an automobile, but it works superbly for motorcycles and our log splitter.

Gambrel roof pole barn This building is entirely clearspan – no interior columns to have to work around. Second floor has a 10 foot wide step-down by four feet. This area has its own vaulted ceiling at a 7/12 slope and is used for exercise equipment. With a series of nine windows overlooking a beautiful lake, it takes one’s mind off the agonies of treadmilling and lifting weights.

Upper level is only 30 foot by 36 foot, however it has a vaulted ceiling with a 4/12 interior slope. Another set of nine windows for lake view and a cantilevered deck facing eastward – perfect for a BBQ, with access from a sliding glass patio door.

A June 11, 2019 article by Becky Bracken and provided by www.realtor.com tells a story of bardominiums for sale from coast-to-coast: https://m.chron.com/realestate/article/Barndominiums-Blooming-The-Popular-Style-Is-13967497.php.

Ready to make your custom home dreams into an affordable reality? Then a post frame barndominium or shouse might be exactly what you need. Call 1(866)200-9657 to discuss your wants and needs with a Hansen Buildings’ Designer today.

This entry was posted in Pole Barn Design, About The Pole Barn Guru, Pole Barn Planning, Pole Barn Homes, Barndominium and tagged interior slope, barndominium, cantilevered deck, vaulted ceiling, clearspan, shouse on July 5, 2019 by admin.

Maximizing Post Frame Gambrel Space

Maximizing Post Frame Gambrel Usable Space With Trusses

Hansen Pole Buildings’ Designer Rachel and I recently had some discussions in regards to maximizing post frame gambrel truss useable space. Most often gambrel roofs are supported by one piece clearspan gambrel trusses. Largest downside to this type of truss system is lack of bonus room width. Usually you can expect a room from 1/3 to ½ building width with smaller span trusses (generally 24-30 foot spans). Sort of like this:

My bride and I happen to live in a gambrel style barndominium (for more reading on barndominiums https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2016/04/the-rise-of-the-barndominium/). It is actually probably more appropriately a shouse (shop/house). We wanted just a lot more living space than what could be afforded by a bonus room in a gambrel truss.

This is what we did…..

Center width of our home is 48 feet. We clearspanned this using 48 foot long prefabricated wood floor trusses, placed 24 inches on center. These parallel chord trusses are close to four feet in depth. With our 16 foot high finished ceiling downstairs (it is a half-court basketball court), this made our second floor level 20 feet above grade. Ends of these trusses are supported by LVL (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2013/01/lvl/) beams notched into four ply 2×8 glu-laminated columns every 12 feet.

This got us across from column to column to support a floor, now we needed a roof system! We utilized trusses much like these, only much bigger:

Our trusses were so much larger, they had to be fabricated in two halves, split right down the center and field spliced to create a whole unit. We utilized the “Golden Ratio” (https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2012/06/gambrel/) to create slopes and pitch break points. Our steep slope is 24/12 and our upper slope is 6/12/ On the inside, our slope is 12/12 and our flat ceiling ends up at 16 feet above floor!

We also ended up with a very, very tall building. Roof peak happens to be 44 feet above grade! Living at 20 feet above ground does afford some spectacular views – we look due south down Lake Traverse and can see the tops of tall structures in Browns Valley, our closest town six miles away.

In my next article, I will clue you in on things I would have done differently, so stay tuned!

This entry was posted in Trusses, Pole Barn Homes, Gambrel, Pole Barn Design, Barndominium, About The Pole Barn Guru, Pole Buildings History and tagged shouse, trusses, glu-laminated columns, gambrel, barndominium, clearspan trusses, gambrel trusses on July 2, 2019 by admin.

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