Post-frame utility buildings, formerly called "pole barns," are versatile and economical structures. They can be appropriate for storing machinery or housing livestock. Other uses include residential and commercial buildings, boat sheds, fair exhibit buildings, corn cribs, horizontal silos, hay barns, shops, utility sheds, covered feed bunks, lumber sheds, warehouses, roadside stands, cabins, and airplane hangars. This handbook will help you understand design considerations involved in the construction of a post-frame building. In some cases, particularly in rural areas where professional design help is not readily available, the information in this handbook may be used to complete the preliminary design of an agricultural building, storage shed, or other uninhabited structure.