Carrying Out Building Work Around Your Home

If you are planning to have a shed built on your farm, here are a couple of tips you should keep in mind.

Make it versatile

Whilst you probably have a very clear idea of what you intend to store in the shed, it's a good idea to ensure that your contractor designs it in such a way that it can be used to store more than one type of thing.

For example, if you plan to use your new shed to store your stock feed bins, you may feel that there is no need to make the structure very tall, as these bins tend to be quite stout.

However, it may still be worth adding a few extra metres to the height of the shed, so that this building can be used to store tall farming machinery (such as your tractors, balers and loaders) if you purchase extra vehicles of this kind in the future.

Additionally, you might want to ask your contractor to install both heating and ventilation systems within the shed, as this will enable you to keep your livestock in this structure if their usual living quarters flood or sustain storm damage.

Whilst adding these features will, of course, increase the cost of the construction project, it could potentially spare you the expense of having to build extra farm sheds if you expand your farming business in the future and require additional storage space.

Consider the climate when choosing construction materials

If you want your shed to last for years to come, it's important to take the climate of the area in which your farm is located into consideration when choosing the structure's building materials.

For example, if you reside in an area with a wet, humid climate, it would be best to use metal, rather than timber, to construct your new shed.

The reason for this is that timber which is exposed to moisture on a regular basis is likely to develop a wood-decay fungus. If this should happen, the fungus could erode the wood to such an extent that the shed becomes structurally unsound and needs to undergo extensive repair work before it can be used again.

Similarly, if you live in an area where the temperatures get extremely low during the colder months, it may be best to avoid using concrete to build the wall panels of the shed.

The reason for this is as follows; if rainwater seeps into a small crack in the concrete and the temperatures then drop below freezing, the water will turn into ice and expand. The pressure placed on the concrete by the expansion process could enlarge the existing crack to the point where the shed develops structural issues.