Concrete Silo Became Part Of Their Home

1995 - Volume #19, Issue #6, Page #21

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When a rural Minnesota couple put up a new home, they decided to build it around an unused 40-ft. silo. The spacious 12-ft. dia. silo now houses five rooms and there's a three-season observatory on top.
The two-bedroom house built by Heidi and Homer Scott connects to the silo through a 15-ft. long hallway. The bottom floor of the silo, which serves as a laundry/ utility room, has an 8-ft. high earthen berm around it.
The ceilings in the four main rooms are 8 ft. high. Walls are finished with plaster or paneling.
Above the bottom floor laundry room is the Scotts' office. Above that are two bed-rooms, one for each of the Scotts' daughters, Inga, 17, and Bailey, 10.
Heat is provided by electric wall furnaces. There are lights in the ceilings and walls, and each room has one 3 1/2-ft. by 1 1/2-ft. window cut into the side of the silo.
A ladder with wide steps runs up the center of the silo. Each section can be raised up so all floor space is usable.
The hardest part of converting the silo into living space was building the glass geodesic dome for the observatory on top, Heidi says.
"It only took Homer about two weeks to build it, but he had a pipe cleaner model on the kitchen table that he fiddled with for about a year while he was designing it," she says.
The wall supporting the 10-ft. high dome is about waist high and is fitted with custom-cut single pane triangular glass panels. It was constructed on the ground and the Scotts hired a crane to lift it to the top of the silo.
A wooden bench the circumference of the inner wall attaches to the wall for star or landscape-gazing spring, summer and fall. The observatory is seldom used during win-ter because of moisture condensation on the glass, Scott says.
Completing the silo is a parabolic TV antenna on the chute.
The Scotts plan to stucco over the exterior of the silo so they won't have to paint it every few years.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Heidi and Homer Scott, R.R. 1, Box 7, Dunnell, Minn. 56127 (ph 507 695-2941).

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Concrete Silo Became Part Of Their Home CROP STORAGE Silos (50) 19-6-21 When a rural Minnesota couple put up a new home, they decided to build it around an unused 40-ft. silo. The spacious 12-ft. dia. silo now houses five rooms and there's a three-season observatory on top. The two-bedroom house built by Heidi and Homer Scott connects to the silo through a 15-ft. long hallway. The bottom floor of the silo, which serves as a laundry/ utility room, has an 8-ft. high earthen berm around it. The ceilings in the four main rooms are 8 ft. high. Walls are finished with plaster or paneling. Above the bottom floor laundry room is the Scotts' office. Above that are two bed-rooms, one for each of the Scotts' daughters, Inga, 17, and Bailey, 10. Heat is provided by electric wall furnaces. There are lights in the ceilings and walls, and each room has one 3 1/2-ft. by 1 1/2-ft. window cut into the side of the silo. A ladder with wide steps runs up the center of the silo. Each section can be raised up so all floor space is usable. The hardest part of converting the silo into living space was building the glass geodesic dome for the observatory on top, Heidi says. "It only took Homer about two weeks to build it, but he had a pipe cleaner model on the kitchen table that he fiddled with for about a year while he was designing it," she says. The wall supporting the 10-ft. high dome is about waist high and is fitted with custom-cut single pane triangular glass panels. It was constructed on the ground and the Scotts hired a crane to lift it to the top of the silo. A wooden bench the circumference of the inner wall attaches to the wall for star or landscape-gazing spring, summer and fall. The observatory is seldom used during win-ter because of moisture condensation on the glass, Scott says. Completing the silo is a parabolic TV antenna on the chute. The Scotts plan to stucco over the exterior of the silo so they won't have to paint it every few years. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Heidi and Homer Scott, R.R. 1, Box 7, Dunnell, Minn. 56127 (ph 507 695-2941).

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