#SILO HOUSE FULL#

First it was necessary to dig out three feet of soft earth - and when you’re working in a 14-foot-diameter hole, that’s a lot of dirt to move by hand. I covered the last section (where we planned to build a balcony the following spring) with plastic.Īt that point, we realized that we were about to be involved in a race to pour concrete in the base of the silo before freezing weather came to stay. Once the platform was assembled, I constructed an eight-sided, tipi-shaped wooden frame and spent a number of consecutive weekends sheeting, tar-papering and shingling seven of the roof’s eight sides. Then, one by one, Helen tied the planks to a rope and I hauled them up.

It took me an hour of scooting around the rim - 40 feet up in sleet - to mark the edges so that my big scaffold wouldn’t overlap the points where the rafters would later sit. In order to assure safe working conditions, I first built a platform that sat on top of the structure. Our next project, the roof, was a real challenge. Then, because we wanted easy access to our future home, we chose a spot on the silo’s west side and cut out a front door opening using a saw specifically made for concrete. While I was at it, I also dug a ditch from the silo to a nearby wind pump and well and put in a waterline.

I began work by making an excavation to house a septic tank and drainage lines.

By that time, it was already early November and winter was all too close. Within two weeks we’d located the silo’s owner, and - because he wasn’t using that land and we’d be putting our own money into the renovation - he offered us a free, and renewable, five-year lease. Obviously, one of our first jobs would be to put on a roof.

#SILO HOUSE FULL#

Full of enthusiasm, we went to explore the inside of the 14-foot-diameter cylinder, and looked up to see blue sky. There was a grain-chute opening on its south side, which, we felt sure, could be adapted to accommodate a few sun-catching windows. Persistence paid off, though: We finally found the perfect structure, built of glazed and glistening red-clay tile, perched on the crest of a hill like a lookout. We made a full sweep of the country roads around our home in Pittsburg, Kan., but most of the silos we saw were made of ugly gray concrete block wrapped with metal bands. As I’d hoped, she became so excited about the concept that we were soon setting off in search of an unused fodder-holder. It would surely, we thought, be more energy-efficient and economical to warm an abode in which the rooms were stacked on top of one another, letting the heat work its way up through the living space.Īs the night wore on, my sibling told me that he’d once considered building just such a house - and doing so in an abandoned silo - because, with the basic structure already in place, the cost of remodeling would be far less than would building from the ground up (and up and up)! Later, I shared his idea with Helen, my wife. One October evening in 1978, my brother and I - inspired by the bright chill that had already begun to flavor the air - were discussing the fact that a one-level house often loses much of its heat through the roof. Homemade Cheese Recipes: Cheese Making Articles.Sustainable Farming & Agriculture Articles.Power Equipment Articles - Lawn and Garden Equipment.Raising Ducks and Geese: Articles & Ideas.Homesteading Poultry - Chicken, Turkey, Ducks Archives.

Silo house