Since 2004, Kalona Post & Frame has been turning customers into friends for Jason King, who co-owns the business with former employee Rodney Ropp.  The two men, along with their team of 6 additional employees, are dedicated to providing high quality product and service to the community in which they live and work.

Kalona Post & Frame is best known for its post and frame building packages – that is, pole buildings.  Unlike traditional construction, which relies on studded walls sandwiched between plywood sheets for support, pole buildings require only large posts and roof trusses, which creates open interior space.  Often finished with a steel exterior, although other options exist, post and frame buildings lend themselves to a wide variety of purposes, and they hold up well in stormy weather conditions.

Although posts used to be made of solid wood, Kalona Post & Frame’s posts are typically 3-ply 2x6 laminated wood.  Laminated wood creates a stronger, straighter post that is better able to withstand Iowa’s wide temperature range without warping.

“We’re trying to build a structure that will last for many, many years.  Outlast us,” King says.  “We pride ourselves on a very quality product as opposed to the absolute cheapest thing you can buy.  We’re trying to do more than satisfy an immediate need.  We’re trying to satisfy a long-term need.”

Pole buildings can be built to suit a range of purposes for residential, agricultural, and commercial customers.  From garages and insulated hobby workshops, to horse and cattle barns, to office and cold storage space, the staff at Kalona Post & Frame can help you design a building to serve your needs.

“When somebody wants something, we sit down and we have a series of questions we go through to figure out exactly what it is they’re looking for, what they want to do with it.  And then we tailor a quote specific to their needs and wants,” King says of the process. 

Customers can purchase a materials package, for which delivery is available, and build the structure themselves; alternatively, Kalona Post & Frame can provide the construction labor as well. 

Less well known is that Kalona Post & Frame provides a full-service lumber yard and offers residential housing products.  Residential windows, doors, siding, roofing, drills, lumber, and trusses are all available when you stop by the business’s location at 2120 Highway 22, and delivery is available for these items also.

Product availability and pricing are concerns for many these days, but King assures that conditions are improving. 

“Things are a lot better than they were a year ago,” he says.  “A lot of the products we stock, and if I don’t stock them, I can have them here within that couple-of-days to two-week range.  But there’s still a few products out there that are not really easy to get right now.”

Prices, also, are improving according to King.

“Lumber has come back down a lot.  It’s not back down to where it started, buts it’s down to where it’s a reasonable price,” he says.  “Steel was high, but it’s also come down substantially to where it’s not such a factor as it was.”

King admits that the last two years have been challenging, but the staff has adjusted design plans to keep customers within their budgets, and our community has been very supportive. 

“I think that’s part of being in a well-grounded, small community,” he says. 

That community support has resulted in plenty of work for Kalona Post & Frame.  With winter approaching, the business is working hard to finish up the projects they have in process.  “We’ve got a busy fall lined up ahead of us,” King notes.

“We couldn’t do it without the incredible team that we have here working with us.  That’s one of the secrets to our success: good customers and a good team of employees to work together,” King says.   

“One of the things I really like about being in business in a small town is you learn to know so many people.  You don’t just develop customers, you develop friends.”

“We’re busy trying to get everything done before winter in Iowa.  Its’s a good problem.  We’ve got a busy fall lined up ahead of us.”