Looking for input to build outside shelter to

[Cathy_H]

Friend is looking to build a shelter to store her bulk bedding. She gets a years worth at a time so it is a BIG load... ...... She's thinking something like a 3 sided wood wall about 5 feet high? Looking for opinions for the best & easiest way to cover it... Question is trying to decide the best way to construct & what type of material to use to cover the top to keep rain/snow out............. It gets very windy here in Kentucky and not sure how a tarp would hold up & stay secure............. Is this the best way to go and seeking suggestions on how to best secure the tarp to the sides etc to keep it tight & ease of removing when new load is delivered........... Any solid top suggestions???..................... Anyone have any other suggestions that she could consider to keep her bedding dry? ........................................ALSO...........She's checking to see if the driver could dump the bedding in her spare barn but she doesn't think it is tall enough for him to back the truck in to dump it......................... If he can she will need to cover the bedding with something to keep her 12 cats from using it as a potty..(main problem she is having now)..... I'm thinking if she put some kind of netting on top of it the cats won't bother if they can't dig in it???? Any suggestions there?????? She said when she covered it in her main barn with a tarp it got hot and she was afraid of fire....

 

[Irish Hills Farm]

Walt & Fran Filipowicz have a nice shelter for their bulk shavings. I'll send them an email telling them to post about it. Maybe they'll take some pictures of it too.

 

[Marty]

We have gone through several shaving shelters and there was always something wrong with them. We also started out with a three sided thingy from plywood and using tarps to cover. Either they were not wide enough or tall enough for a dump truck to back in and dump it, or the tarp on top was useless, or they got wet from being sat on the ground and we had too much waste. Not to mention the pile was located too far away from the main barn and hauling it back and forth in a wheelbarrow was too time consuming. And yes, we have had it spontaneous combust in Florida also from the tarp and wet ground and heat.

Finally, we got tired of it and bit the bullet. The best one that worked perfectly was back at our stable in Florida. We extended the back of the barn roof out, poured a concrete slab, then built up the sides all the way up as high as the roofline went and adjoined it so no leaking at all and possitively no waste and the truck could back right up into it easily.

I don't have one here because I use bailed shavings which are easier for me to handle.

 

[mydaddysjag]

Where I board has an outside sawdust bin. I would say it's about 20 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 4 feet high. A triaxle can easily back up and dump shavings in it. Its made from rough cut lumber, boards are vertical, and has a cement floor. It is covered with a tarp. In the winter they use a water proof canvas tarp since its stronger, and it dosent rip if there is snow on it. One end is attached to the back of the sawdust bin, I beleive its bolted through the eyeholes on the back end of the tarp, and the front is attached to a metal pole. To open it they just roll the pole backwards toward the back, and that rolls the tarp back. They do quite a bit of stalls, so they use a little bobcat to bring a few stalls worth of sawdust into the barn, so they dont have to keep running with the wheel barrel.