Engineered Roof Puts Slurrystore Back To Work

Engineered Roof Puts Slurrystore Back To Work BUILDINGS Miscellaneous Todd Cole turned his old Slurrystore into feed and machinery storage by roofing the 62-ft dia 25-ft tall structure No longer needed since Cole quit dairying the manure storage unit had been empty for more than 20 years I thought about tearing it down but that would have been costly says Cole I needed a commodity shed and this had a nice cement pad outside Inside the cement was still perfect really smooth with no chipping or peeling When a carpenter friend suggested he could help him build a roof Cole went to the local lumber/hardware store Their engineering department provided advice and plans Eventually he hired a structural engineer to review and finalize the design The structural engineer pointed out if the only perimeter support was the Slurrystore walls it could kink like a pop can The roof s 30 000-lb weight would be too much They came up with a plan for 22 rafters joining at the center for a clear span roof The design included framing in a 15-ft wide by 16-ft high doorway Additional roof support would be provided by 22 sets of three 25-ft 2 by 6-in boards laminated together with nails These were bolted to the side of the Slurrystore directly under each of the 22 rafters Cole and his carpenter friend used a scissors lift and a telehandler to put the clear span beams in place The roof peaks at 37 ft in the center with a vent between each rafter near the top of the building An old Pax bulk feed roof painted black was set at the peak It cost an extra $1 800 to install the clear span roof but it was worth it for access to the entire floor space says Cole The entire project cost a little more than $40 000 The only drawback he says is excess heat in the summer He is considering adding windows for increased ventilation to help with that in the future Looking at the cost of a new building plus concrete I know I came out ahead he says This holds my tub grinder feed wagon and skid loader as well as ingredients for mixing for one to two days Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Todd Cole 2731 450th St Clarkfield Minn 56223 ph 320 669-7406; cell 320 226-0825; colet@frontier net

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