Dandi Advantage

 Engineered Frame

Dandi Buildings are fully engineered. All of the parts of a Dandi Building are engineered specifically for the conditions that exist on your property.

Vaulted Ceilings

Dandi Buildings use a beam system instead of the traditional truss system of a pole barn. The beam system produces a very attractive vaulted ceiling but it also gives you several more practical advantages.

• You can have lower exterior walls and still be able to fit tall doors in the endwalls.
• You can use the extra space for a loft or second floor.
• Our buildings are insulated at the roof instead of in the ceiling.

Foundation

Dandi Buildings don’t put any wood in the ground! Dandi Buildings can be installed on any type of foundation. The most common is a monolithic slab foundation, but they are often install on a foundation wall, footers and piers, or footers and piers with a monolithic slab.

Fast Installation

Dandi Buildings are all pre-cut in the shop so they are much faster to install in the field. All of the parts are manufactured and pre-cut in our shop and are ready to fit into place. You will only need a few basic tools to install a Dandi Building.

 
The Dandi Knee brace is one of the biggest differences between Dandi post frame buildings and pole barns and metal buildings. On most buildings the connection between he roof and the wall is the weekest point on the building. Dandi’s patented knee brace is a vast improvement over all other post frame buildings. Knee braces are installed using clamps on the beam side and on the leg side. On buildings that are 40 feet wide or less these knee braces can be substituted with plywood knee braces.

Dandi post frame buildings are attached to the foundation using anchor shoes pictured at the left. With our post frame buildings there is no wood in the ground which insures that your building will last for many generations. Typical pole barns put the posts in the ground exposing the building to the effects of moisture changes and other issues inherent in putting wood in the ground. Even if posts are treated they will not last indefinately in the ground. We have all seen fence posts that have rotted at the base.

Dandi post frame buildings are designed with beams and patented collar ties instead of the typical trusses used in pole barns. Using the beam system that Dandi buildings can span up to 100 feet without any support on the interior.

What makes a Dandi Building different?

To answer this questions we will start with some descriptions and definitions.

Pole Barns: Pole barns are basically buildings that are built around posts set into the ground(usually) .Most pole barns have pressure treated posts on anywhere from 8 to 12′ on center with some type of truss system. The walls are made up of girts nailed to the outside of theposts. Pole barns usually have metal siding and roofing that is nailed or screwed to the girts and perlins(which are nailed across the trusses. Most pole barns are built with traditional trusses which create a flat ceiling inside the building(assuming you install a ceiling.

Post-Frame Building: Post-Frame Buildings are buildings that are based on the concept of using posts at certain intervals for the structure of the building. This type of building includes pole pole barns, steel buildings, timber frame buildings, and Dandi Buildings.

Stick-Frame Buildings: Stick-Frame Buildings buildings that use studs spaced on 16 or 24 inch centers. Most houses are built with this type of construction.

Timber-Frame Buildings: Timber-Frame Buildings are a type of post-frame building that uses large timbers and usually very intricate joinery for the connections.

Now that we know what we are talking about as far as building types we can talk about the differences. The first feature you will notice about the pole barn is that there is wood set into the ground. This does have some advantages. One, it is fast and inexpensive. Two, you can get a building up without having to do the floor first. The downside to this is that you are putting wood in the ground. The problem is that wood will eventually rot. The pressure treated wood being used today is a lot better than it used to be, but it will still not last as long as concrete. Another thing is that when you are putting posts in the ground that will be the basis of your building they better be straight to begin with. The point is that you better make sure you are very careful on this step or make sure the crew you hire is competent.

Dandi Buildings are designed with posts that are bolted to concrete,so there is never any wood in the ground and the building can be adjusted if necessary to make sure that the walls are straight. Another interesting difference is that in a pole barn the trusses are generally engineered, but the walls are always just 6 x 6′s. With a Dandi Buiding the whole structure is engineered, so the size of the legs is different based upon the live load on your building.

The Second major feature in a pole barn is the truss system. Most pole barns use conventional trusses that are essentially a triangle. The have been engineered to be strong and provide a good roof, but they also create a space above the flat bottom that is essentially wasted space. You can run some things like electricity and duct work up there, but it is still a lot of wasted space. The other issue this creates is you have to make the sidewall at least a foot higher than the highest endwall door you want to install in the building.

Dandi Buildings use a revolutionary and patented system that utilizes engineered beams and collar ties.

The result is a building that can span long distances and has a naturally lofted ceiling. The interior of the building is much more appealing and you have a lot more head room. Some people use the space to put in a loft and others reduce the height of the walls since you can put overhead doors in the endwall that are higher than the side walls. Most people agree that a lower profile building is looks better than a really tall building. Lowering the height of the walls also makes the buildings less expensive.

The third characteristic of a pole barn is that the girts and perlins are usually nailed to the outside of the posts and trusses. The result is a wall that is only one and a half inches thick. This method is definitely fast to install but it leaves a lot to be desired for lateral strength. If you were to push on the wall you would find that they are not very strong.

On a Dandi Buiding the girts and perlins are pre-cut and they fit into notches in the legs and beams creating a wall that is 5 ½ inches thick and a roof that is 7 1/4 inches thick. This produces a building that is much stronger and more ridged. They can be insulated much better and you can finish out the interior walls without doing any extra framing.

Dandi Buildings were designed by pole barn builders who wanted to address the weakness of pole barns discussed in this article. They are very similar in looks and even in design. The changes make the Dandi Building a little more like a Timber-Frame Building because of the large beams and columns. The difference there is that Dandi connections are much simpler and the beams and columns are made from convetional lumber instead of large timbers. These differences make Dandi Buildings much less expensive. The modified pole building design of Dandi Buildings makes them far superior to pole barns as well as steel buildings. Please send us a message by filling out the form below so we can give you a quote on your building project. You will be pleasantly surprised at how competitive our prices are. Don’t worry, our quotes are free.