This has always been a problem. The tarp stretches and then the rain collects in the center. Then the tarp rips around the edges. Then the rain gets in and, voila! A bin of wet shavings.
I cannot put any permanent roof on the bin because the shavings truck backs up into it and dumps the shavings.
What do other people do?
I have a roof on mine that flips open for the first 5 feet of the shavings shed (the back is permanent)…it splits in the center (where there is an overlap to prevent water coming in) and then flips up. I’ve seen others where the roof retracts which is what I would prefer and might do when I have some free $$$. Leaves room for a truck/trailer to back in and dump, but I still have to do ‘clean up’ with the tractor to push it in.
Otherwise, I have no suggestions. I also tried the tarp pitched across 2x4s that were higher on one side, and it still collected water.
Well, we said that about putting a roof on ours too. Then we got a tractor with a front end loader. It can lift the shavings HIGH to make a big pile, under that roof.
Kids and I had to put up with various tarps, systems that were removable for truck but held the tarp up off the sawdust. Did that for YEARS until kids were gone and husband needed to help me get tarp off the sawdust on a DAILY basis.
Fighting with tarp, “improved” systems to lift tarp to get under there failed last year with the tremendous snow load on top.
Husband put up higher sides on the bin and a tall roof so delivery truck can come, back up close, drop PART of the sawdust, then wait while husband pushes the sawdust to the back back, then piling it higher and deeper with the loader. Then driver dumps more of the load, same push it back, pile it higher, until the whole truckfull is under roof cover. Takes about 4 dumps to empty the 40 yards of sawdust in the truck, but doesn’t add much time having driver wait. Our sawdust folks are really helpful that way.
Have had the roof now just a year, LOVE being able to drive in with tractor and fill the bucket to do stalls.
Husband added cement to the bin as a floor. He was scraping up all the dirt when he scooped sawdust, so there were LOTS of good sized stones in each bucket full. I got tired of throwing stones when I dumped sawdust into stalls, and any I missed would get into the manure spreader. THAT rock throwing was dangerous, told husband to get some kind of floor to prevent rocks in the sawdust. Cement took a week of time to put in and dry WELL, before we got the next load of sawdust. Cement has been nice to work on for loading and with the big apron catching any spills so my barnyard is not under a layer of sawdust.
Get a roof, removes all that “tarp time” and anger when things are not going well. No more snow shoveling here!! My life is SO MUCH easier now doing chores. Kids said “Why didn’t you do that for us??”
Following because it’s such a pain in the butt using tarps!
We have done the same thing as goodhors. We used to do the tarp thing. Such a pain in the snow and ice! We built a lean to off of one side of the barn and put up a wall. The one side keeps the tractor, 4 wheeler and implements and the other 8 x 16ft houses the shavings. We have a dump trailer and get the loads ourselves (luckily for us the shavings place is 5 mins away from us) and we dump the load just outside of our lean to. Then we use the tractor to push it up and it is able to be pushed up pretty high. We are able to fill the area and it lasts our 4 ponies for 4 months. Way better and easier than the old tarp root. Can you make a lean to somewhere off of your barn?
https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10530747_10155193233935046_7486565277177719038_n.jpg?oh=bd769bba42047da9e98910e76eef108b&oe=555833B9&gda=1430965996_0a4294db46bd2b4f0a1bb6a22d739fd3
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10955700_10155193314530046_399991757424259235_n.jpg?oh=13862ea3ed4021029d40353c6b8a733a&oe=554DC86D&gda=1432614226_524a0ecfabb19d73ca78dc48b52b0a29
I can’t find the picture of it completed, but on the right had side of the photo is where we keep the shavings. We made it 8ft wide so the bucket of the tractor can still go in and the shavings get piled up about 15ft up. The manure pile is just on the other side of the lean to so I can dump a load of manure, and then fill up with clean shavings right after. Works really well for us. Its been a life saver!
Hmmmmm, I will have to look into making a roof. Can someone show me a picture of a roof that works for them, or explain how it was made?
Right now the shavings bin is partly under a tree, but I can see that one big branch will have to go.
Has anyone ever had (or seen, or thought of) a shed roof with cables attached and a small motor in back which can tip up the roof in back (so it is vertical over the back wall?
That was an idea I had, but I don’t know how to make it work. Or even if it is a feasible idea.
You could make that work, but you’d need very good hinges on the back wall so the movement and weight don’t flip the roof over backwards. Alternatively, you can put the roof on rollers so it slides back. But that means you have to have some room behind the shed for the roof to roll back, and some way to support it when its back there. If you only roll it partway you may be able to have it hang by itself without the need for support.
I have a bin that is 10 feet deep by 15 feet wide. The left side is 8 feet high … .the right side is 6 feet high. All the posts are pressure treated 6x6s. The ones on the left are higher … there’s a beam that runs over the top of the 6x6s on the side so the roof has something to rest on. The roof is made by 2x4s that run across the shed. Lightweight aluminum roofing sheets are placed on top. those sheets are 3 feet wide and are cut to provide 6 inches of overhang on each side. The first roof sheet is attached to 2x4s that are cross-connected and hinged to another 2x4 behind it, so the whole panel can flip back. This allows enough room to get a truck in to dump. Hope this makes sense…
[QUOTE=bathsheba8542;7995990]
You could make that work, but you’d need very good hinges on the back wall so the movement and weight don’t flip the roof over backwards. Alternatively, you can put the roof on rollers so it slides back. But that means you have to have some room behind the shed for the roof to roll back, and some way to support it when its back there. If you only roll it partway you may be able to have it hang by itself without the need for support.
I have a bin that is 10 feet deep by 15 feet wide. The left side is 8 feet high … .the right side is 6 feet high. All the posts are pressure treated 6x6s. The ones on the left are higher … there’s a beam that runs over the top of the 6x6s on the side so the roof has something to rest on. The roof is made by 2x4s that run across the shed. Lightweight aluminum roofing sheets are placed on top. those sheets are 3 feet wide and are cut to provide 6 inches of overhang on each side. The first roof sheet is attached to 2x4s that are cross-connected and hinged to another 2x4 behind it, so the whole panel can flip back. This allows enough room to get a truck in to dump. Hope this makes sense…[/QUOTE]
Bathsheba, This is the kind of thing I was thinking of. When you say that “the whole panel can be flipped back”, do you mean “back” or “sideways”. And how do you keep the roof from tipping over?
How heavy is such a roof (Could I flip it back or does it requre a strong man)?
I can see that this might work – I will have to raise one side so the roof slopes, but I can envision it. —
Where did you get the aluminum siding?
And can you tell me approx how much it cost to build?
Hi - I push it back with a fence post that is long enough to get it up. it’s not all that bad, actually, especially since I don’t have to do it often. We purchased the aluminum roofing from a local hardware store - it was part of an order that I put in as I was re-roofing one of our outbuildings and had it laying around. I think the sheets themselves were only about $40 apiece and I used 2 for the shed.
I have a roof over my shavings storage area that is on a track with a ratcheting hand winch to open it so the shavings truck can easily back in to drop the shavings and then I crank it back to keep them covered. There are wheels on the frame of the roof that are then on the steel track which extends behind the building so the roof has someplace to go when you open it. The cable that is attached to the hand winch for opening and closing is run through several pulleys to lighten the load and then the cable attaches to the roof. With a metal L shaped stop to keep you from letting the roof go to far either way. It works great, covers a 10 x 12 space that holds a truck load of shavings from the local sawmill.
My friend’s bin has roof that’s hinged on each side with pulleys to raise each half of the roof so they stand up straight on the sides of the bin. The center of the roof has one side that overlaps the other so no rain gets in. One woman can raise the roof since the pulleys do all the work.
My bin has a trussed roof with a trucking flat bed tarp over the top. My truck backs and dumps from above my bin into the rear of the it. There are no trusses at the very back so we raise the tarp and dump. To keep water off it we lay long 2x4’s under the tarp to keep it supported. The front of the bin is always open for us to load a wheelbarrow without lifting any tarps.
VFT, I can understand what you have done, but I cannot envision it enough to make a similar system. By any chance do you have any pictures of your bin and roof?
Schatzi, I have also thought of an overlapping roof. And I can see that it makes sense from a weight perspective. I guess it would be the shavings man’s job to open the roof since he now removes and replaces the tarp.
We built one to contain a tractor trailer load that is a roll back cover. It is 50 ft long and wider than the trailer, the top is the same as what goes over tractor trailers http://www.agricover.com/rolltarps/srt2/ concrete floor. Walking bed trailer backs in and dumps the load. We do use the tractor and bucket to level out the load having the shavings high enough to help keep the tarp from collecting water.
VFT and Schatzi, can you post pictures? Now I’m excited about a rebuild…!
I just had an idea – perhaps a stupid one: What about installing an awning? (the more I type that word the weirder it looks).
That is the most basic retractable covering I know of.
Would it be too flimsy to hold up in bad weather?
NEVERMIND… I just researched patio awnings and… OMG! Those puppies are not cheap!
I can’t take credit for the shavings bin, it was here when I bought the place. I took some pics and tried to describe it the best I could so you get a better idea of how it’s built. There are 5 pics here with descriptions of the parts.
Oh My! What a wonderful thing you have on your shavings bin. It must have been designed by an engineer. (No wonder Iwas having trouble envisioning it; it is a complex roof.
I envy you, but I fear I am not in the same league as that sliding roof.
After wasting/spending 1/2 the morning on research, I am wondering if a PVC frame (for weight) with a metal roof would hold up? With the “T” connectors I could make as many cross braces as I would need — every 2’?
Does anyone have an idea if this would work?
VFT, I am in love! What an ingenious design!
Thanks! It’s a pretty great shavings bin. Easy to operate and has a minimal footprint. It was one of the selling points for me on this farm. I think actually the mechanic/ handyman who lives up the street may have designed and built it. It’s a clever solution to accommodate the shavings truck.
Bathsheba, if you are interested in the design for your rebuild and want me to take some more pics, let me know and I will email some to you!
I have spent far too long thinking about this project (obviously I have no life). But I have finally come up with a possible solution:
All I really need are the components (rails of lightweight metal and panels of metal roofing) and a mobile welder. Then I can have a custom roof made on the spot. And with an experienced fabricator actually looking at the bin and tree, I might just get professional advice about mounting it and setting up the pulley system.
I can’t wait until tomorrow to start calling around!
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