Where the ridges give way and the lots get bigger
Calhoun is the Gordon County seat, about half an hour south of us straight down the interstate, and it is where the terrain of Northwest Georgia starts to relent. The ridges that make building around Dalton and Chattanooga interesting flatten out here into river-bottom country along the Oostanaula, and properties on the edges of town tend to come with more usable land than their equivalents further north.
That changes what people build. Level ground and acreage is exactly the combination that makes post-frame worthwhile, so a large share of what we do around Calhoun is pole barns, equipment shelters, shops and freestanding pavilions. When the yard is flat and open, a pavilion sited out where the property is nicest works far better than a porch bolted to the back of the house — there is somewhere worth putting it.
The other thing flat, open ground does is make drainage the question rather than slope. A large roof on level land has to be sited so its own runoff has somewhere to go, and a building put in the obvious spot without that thought is the one standing in water each spring. We spend a decent part of a Calhoun estimate visit working out which way the ground actually falls, because on land this flat it is not always obvious by eye.
- Room for post-frame. Flat, open land is what makes a pole barn or a pavilion straightforward and worth doing.
- Drainage worked out on site. On level ground, where the runoff from a large roof goes is the question that decides siting.
- Pavilions away from the house. With a decent yard, a freestanding cover beats a porch — there is somewhere worth putting it.
- Shops and equipment buildings. Enclosed post-frame with a slab, framed openings and provision for power.
- Gordon County permitting. Different from Whitfield. We will tell you what we understand applies to your site.
- Half an hour from base. Close enough that Calhoun is normal working area rather than an outlying job.
What we build in Calhoun
Carports
Single and multi-bay carports built across Calhoun.
Learn more ›Pole Barns & Shops
Post-frame buildings for equipment, workshops and storage.
Learn more ›Custom Showers
Tiled walk-in showers with benches, niches and glass doors.
Learn more ›Garage Conversions
Attached garages turned into finished, heated living space.
Learn more ›Decks & Porches
Decks, covered porches, stair runs and fencing.
Learn more ›Covered Porches
Gabled or shed porches added to an existing home.
Learn more ›Why Calhoun homeowners call us
We site for drainage, not convenience
On flat land the fall is hard to read by eye, and getting it wrong puts your new building in standing water every spring.
Post-frame is our core trade
Pole barns, shops and pavilions are what we build most, and Calhoun's land is what they suit.
Sized for what goes in it
Door height and clear span get set around the machinery, which is the thing most often got wrong on a barn.
Close enough to be responsive
Half an hour down the interstate. Calhoun is routine working area for us.
Calhoun Questions
Yes — it is about half an hour down I-75 from our base in Dalton, which makes it normal working area rather than a special trip. Gordon County is one of the places we do most of our post-frame work, because the land out around the town suits it.
Almost everyone wishes they had gone one bay bigger. The marginal cost of extra span while it is being designed is far lower than the cost of a second building in three years. Work out what you want to store now, then think about what you would store if the space existed — the second list is usually the honest answer.
By working out which way the ground actually falls, which on land this level is frequently not obvious. A large roof produces a lot of runoff, and a building placed in the obvious spot without that thought is the one sitting in water each spring. It is a real part of the estimate visit rather than a formality.
Frequently, yes, and that is more true in Calhoun than in town. Where there is a decent yard, the best place to sit is often not against the back wall of the house, and a freestanding pavilion takes no light from the rooms behind it. Where the house is on a smaller lot, a porch usually still wins on cost and convenience.
Generally yes for the kind of structures we build, and the requirements are not identical to Whitfield County or to the Tennessee jurisdictions. We will tell you what we understand applies to your specific site when we come out, and we will say plainly if we think something needs permitting.
Yes. A shop specification usually means a concrete floor, insulation where you want it, framed openings for a roll-up door, and provision for power, with licensed trades used where the work requires them. It is worth specifying at the start — laying a frame out for a shop is straightforward, converting a storage barn into one later is not.