Portable Buildings

[timb]

I'm looking for ideas for a cost-effective way to provide a measure of security and weather shelter for a tractor and implements.

The situation - I've got an old farmhouse along the edge of the property now - and I'm planning to move in there for at least a few years after performing some minor renovations. A couple of years (2-4) down the road I'm planning on building a new home in a different location on the same property, located about 1000'-1200' back into the farm from the current house. There are a couple of old, small outbuildings there now, but due to size or condition nothing very useful to store a tractor or implements.

I'd like to put something up reasonably close to the existing house for now, but move it closer to the new home when appropriate - and eventually replace it altogether with a "proper" and permanent barn. So the design/construction would have to lend itself to being at least partially "dissassembled" and rebuilt. I don't need a ton of space - 500-750 sq. ft. would be fine for now - and overall the building need only have a lifetime of 10 years or less.

I also would like to leave basically no traces behind when I move the shelter to it's second location. That means no concrete pad or real foundation. Maybe just some type of skid/timber perimeter. (Not sure if that's even possible with local codes yet.) And, since this is supposed to be a "temporary" situation, of course I'm hoping to keep costs (way) down.

While the frame-and-soft cover buildings would provide a measure of weather protection and seem to fit most of the other criteria, I'm not real excited about the lack of physical security. (I'm assuming that anyone with a pocket knife could gain access without too much trouble.)

The least expensive path so far for a "hard" building would be to put up a (very) simple pole structure, maybe 24x24, but while I can handle all the construction details - I was hoping to save some time - and have something that disassembles more easily.

Any brainstorms?

[RobS]

If you can tolerate the looks of them, a sea-tainer might fit your bill. Basically a semi trailer van body without the chassis. You can rent them or probably lease them, but they are very ugly [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[timb]

<font color="blue"> "...but they are very ugly" </font color>

Can't say I'm in love with the architecture of the quonset huts either. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] But functionality counts here more than looks. I actually considered the ex-truck bodies or sea-tainers and just for grins did a brief net search to find ballpark pricing but didn't come up with anything.

Unfortuantely, even though I'm zoned A-1, I'm told by the local township that permits (and inspections and the other nine yards) are required for anything with more than a 200 sq. ft. footprint, even a carport. I tried to imagine fitting everything into that space but I don't see it happening.

I'm not crazy about the idea, but one possiblity would be to do a "throw-away" pole structure around 8x20 to just house the tractor and convert an old and dilapidated 10 x 24 (low-roofed) chicken coop that's there into an attachment shed. That should keep me under the radar and low on outlay if I can't come up with a plan for a suitable single larger building.

[wingnut]

I've been trying to find the time to go back a couple of issues of FarmNews and find the structure I'm interested in. It's a canvas covered structure shaped like a long quonset and comes with either metal or fab wood supports. As I recall they were as big as you'd want ... or as small as you'd want. I'm tired of having the various trailers, and the implements out in the elements and I thought that would be the most inexpensive way to go .... and portable, in case I changed my mind about where I want to put it.

[Argee]

<font color="blue"> So the design/construction would have to lend itself to being at least partially "dissassembled" and rebuilt. </font color>

Why not put a pole building dimensioned for the steel with no floor, when your ready for the permanent structure you can frame it identically or larger for that matter, and reuse the material. As long as you layout the purlins and girts the same you can reuse the old holes. If you use the screws instead of nails it would make disassembly a breeze.

[timb]

That's not a bad idea. I was originally thinking of something (when I was trying to stay within the 200 sq. ft.) that could possibly be "skidded" to the new location so I was looking for some free-standing structure. That's not going to happen for anything larger though. The one thing I did like about the steel-hoop and plastic sheet buildings would be the possibility of re-using the "frame" even well down the road, possibly with a transparent cover for a greenhouse. Some of the outfits do offer that option so I assume it would be possible to just buy that cover material when needed.

[Argee]

When you lay out for a pole building use any dimesion that is divisible by 3 (the width of most steel). Set your posts on concrete not in it. That way you can recover and reuse everything but the concrete which will be a good 2-3' underground. Then you can expand your new building to whatever size you want. Again keep the new building dimension divisible by 3 so you don't have to rip any steel for it.

[Mosey]

It's too bad about your zoning requirements. Since it's temporary, just put it up anyway. If they hassle you, tell them you figured the permits didn't apply to temporary shelters. Can you hide it behind some trees?

You have some similar requirements to what I needed. I wanted something I could use in one location for a year or two, then move to another location, except then I want it to be permanent. The other difference is that I wasn't as concerned about it being burglar proof. I ended up with a metal carport - Got my metal carport. I concluded it could be moved fairly easily without disassembling it. I talked to a guy who has an 18'x21' one and he said four guys picked it up and moved it. So, skidding a larger one a few hundred feet shouldn't be a problem. In your situation, you would want it totally enclosed though, which would run the price up to the same cost (or more) as a pole barn, and make it harder to move. But, if you just get the roof and then enclose the sides and ends yourself, it would be much cheaper than if you have it installed that way.

I think the container idea is a valid one for you. I'm still seriously considering one myself for extra storage room - Storage Containers. Surely you could convince the inspector that it's only temporary. It seems like one could be skidded to a new location, but I don't know what they weigh so I'm not sure. When you're done with it, you could just sell it.

Agree has a good idea too. Good luck!

[gws]

How about a klene portable pipe building. YOu can put these on skids and move them around klene" target="_blank">http://www.klenepipe.com/]klene[/url]</a>

[timb]

Actually I'm trying to be the local inspector/sewage officer's new best friend [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] since I might need to have some bigger judgement calls go my way. Actually he gets a bad rap around here since he gets to be the heavy for the township but so far he's seemed like a nice enough guy and willing to be practical but stay within the code. I wonder if I can get away with adding 200 sq. ft. to an existing building (dilapidated) - then shortly thereafter turn around and "repair" that building?