How to Keep Your Pole Building in Great Shape for Many Years to Come
As with any investment, you’re probably interested in knowing what you can do to keep your pole building properly maintained for as long as possible.
After all, if a little bit of effort along the way can help ensure that your pole building’s lifespan extends decades, then it’s worth it, right?
While there’s no doubt that basic maintenance can be a great long-term measure for keeping your pole building in the best possible shape, the reality is there’s not all that much to do.
How Much Maintenance Do Pole Buildings Need?
As a general rule of thumb, pole buildings require less maintenance than your house; there are a few main reasons that pole buildings require so little upkeep:
The metal exterior requires no work.
Our pole buildings’ 29-gauge steel cladding comes with a 40-year guarantee; you don’t need to paint or maintain it in any way to keep it looking and performing at the highest level.
In our post that discusses how long pole buildings last, we mentioned that you’ll often see 40-60 years thrown out as a conservative estimate for one of these building’s lifespans; the most likely reason for this is that there’s no question that a pole building’s steel exterior will hold up this long with virtually no maintenance whatsoever.
The posts do not need maintenance.
A pole building’s posts are the most essential materials in its construction. Thanks to advanced preservatives and treatment methods, there’s no need to worry about the longevity of the posts.
All pole building posts are rated as UC4B by the American Wood Preservation Association (AWPA). This basically just means that posts are pressure treated with a preservative that the EPA deems safe for residential construction.
International Building Code and the AWPA have long wrestled with issues of rot occurring underground; current treatment methods effectively eliminate those concerns without you having to do anything special.
There are very few other materials.
We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating—pole buildings just don’t require all that many different components to construct. Not only does this mean that they are more affordable and faster to build, but it also means that there is less to maintain.
Of course, this is not to say that you shouldn’t keep an eye out for ordinary upkeep that might present itself, but it does mean that staying on top of maintenance will be much easier.
While these factors help to minimize the amount of work that pole buildings require, you should still make an effort to keep up with any issues that may arise—however unlikely they may be.
Tips for Pole Building Maintenance
Many of the best practices for properly maintaining your pole building come down to common sense; they’re the same sorts of things you do to keep your home looking, feeling, and functioning at its best.
These are a few easy habits you can adopt that will help you stay on top of your long-term pole building maintenance:
Keep the roof clear of snow and debris.
Your pole building is engineered to handle certain loads, so if you receive an average amount of snow or a few incidental leaves wind up on top of your building in the fall, it’s not too much to worry about.
However, if you encounter an extraordinarily heavy winter or you have a particularly bad storm that leaves all sorts of litter on your roof, it’s obviously a good idea to remove those things as quickly as you can.
Although it’s not likely that your roof will start to leak, the possibility is much higher if you allow heavy snow and debris to pile up; a snow rake is a great way to safely and simply take care of heavy snow sliding off of your roof and damaging your building and other property nearby.
Make it a habit to check for damage.
Like we mentioned above, damage isn’t likely to be an issue in your pole building, but it’s still possible for damage to occur during storms or simply through everyday life. Just like you would in your home, keep an eye out for any damage that could cause a leak in your pole building.
As long as you routinely look things over and repair any damage that you do notice, then you won’t have to worry about extra moisture or other problems with your pole building.
Take care of repairs quickly.
Pole buildings are easy to maintain, but if something needs repaired or addressed, then try to take care of it as quickly as possible rather than letting it get worse.
Over the many years that you’ll be able to enjoy your pole building, some menial issue or update is bound to surface at some point, just like in any other building. If you deal with it promptly, then it won’t become anything too major.
Ultimately, if you use the same maintenance habits for your pole building as you do for your home, then you’ll find that upkeep is very simple, and you’ll be happy and safe for years and years to come in your new Beehive pole building.
It’s only natural that you want to know what sort of long-term maintenance you’re agreeing to before you commit to a pole building of your own. Luckily, you’ll find that your building is easy to keep in great condition.
Now that you have a better idea of what sort of upkeep your building will require, contact us to talk about your vision for your dream building and to see how we can help make it a reality!