He Set Up Shop Inside Old Slurrystore
Marv Rubingh converted his 23-ft. tall, 62-ft. dia. Slurrystore into a shop. Built in 1979, it was still structurally sound. Rubingh started thinking about converting it even before he stopped using it for manure storage.
“Two years ago I bought an outside wood boiler for the house, but with enough capacity to heat the shop as well. So I decided to get to work,” says Rubingh.
The conversion was relatively simple. He used a circle saw with a metal cutting blade to cut out a 16-ft. high, 20-ft. wide doorway. Rubingh reinforced the cut edge with steel columns and the top with a steel I beam. He mounted a Schweiss bifold door with windows and a walk door in the opening.
Rubingh had leftover steel trusses set aside. When he measured them, he discovered they would fit the shop perfectly. To prepare for the trusses, he cut 2 by 8’s and mounted them to the sidewalls where each of the 19 trusses would intersect the sidewalls.
“I read an article in FARM SHOW that gave me the idea,” says Rubingh. “They serve as support columns under each truss. I also mounted 2 by 8’s around the circumference of the shop.”
Hanging the trusses was the trickiest part of the process. Rubingh cut them to the right angle and then cut a 3-ft. long, 9-in. dia. steel pipe to use as a center collar. He used a man-lift and a telescoping forklift to set each truss in place. He welded them to the collar and secured them to the sidewall. Once they were all in place, he reinforced the center with a second steel ring welded to the underside of the trusses.
“We covered the trusses with barn roof steel, running a peak ridge cap down every track where they joined,” says Rubingh.
To insulate the shop, Rubingh sprayed the walls and ceiling with insulated foam. He had already covered the existing floor with Styrofoam for a heat barrier. On top of that, he laid 4 in. of concrete with water lines for in-floor heat.
“We connected it to the boiler, but we haven’t needed heat yet,” says Rubingh. “We’ve only done a few jobs in there this spring, but it will be a nice place to work this winter.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Marv Rubingh, 8022 Rubingh Rd., Ellsworth, Mich. 49729 (ph 231 588-6084; mrubingh@torchlake.com).
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He Set Up Shop Inside Old Slurrystore CROP STORAGE Silos 50 Marv Rubingh converted his 23-ft tall 62-ft dia Slurrystore into a shop Built in 1979 it was still structurally sound Rubingh started thinking about converting it even before he stopped using it for manure storage
“Two years ago I bought an outside wood boiler for the house but with enough capacity to heat the shop as well So I decided to get to work ” says Rubingh
The conversion was relatively simple He used a circle saw with a metal cutting blade to cut out a 16-ft high 20-ft wide doorway Rubingh reinforced the cut edge with steel columns and the top with a steel I beam He mounted a Schweiss bifold door with windows and a walk door in the opening
Rubingh had leftover steel trusses set aside When he measured them he discovered they would fit the shop perfectly To prepare for the trusses he cut 2 by 8’s and mounted them to the sidewalls where each of the 19 trusses would intersect the sidewalls
“I read an article in FARM SHOW that gave me the idea ” says Rubingh “They serve as support columns under each truss I also mounted 2 by 8’s around the circumference of the shop ”
Hanging the trusses was the trickiest part of the process Rubingh cut them to the right angle and then cut a 3-ft long 9-in dia steel pipe to use as a center collar He used a man-lift and a telescoping forklift to set each truss in place He welded them to the collar and secured them to the sidewall Once they were all in place he reinforced the center with a second steel ring welded to the underside of the trusses
“We covered the trusses with barn roof steel running a peak ridge cap down every track where they joined ” says Rubingh
To insulate the shop Rubingh sprayed the walls and ceiling with insulated foam He had already covered the existing floor with Styrofoam for a heat barrier On top of that he laid 4 in of concrete with water lines for in-floor heat
“We connected it to the boiler but we haven’t needed heat yet ” says Rubingh “We’ve only done a few jobs in there this spring but it will be a nice place to work this winter ”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Marv Rubingh 8022 Rubingh Rd Ellsworth Mich 49729 ph 231 588-6084; mrubingh@torchlake com
