grain bin, what to do?

[shawk532]

My wife and I are going to buy my grandparents farm and it is the typical story of elderly people that let the place run down to the point where 2/3rd's of all the outbuildings are too far gone to repair. However, amongst the few remaining structures are 2, 5000 bushel grain bins that are in good shape but in some areas seem to leak around the seams where the pieces of bin bolt together. I am wondering if they can be resealed withour having to disassemble them or is it not really a productive use of my time?

[Jena]

Do they have drying floors? If not, they are probably not worth the effort. Leaks around the sides aren't that big a deal. Leaks in the top or around the bottom are. If there are leaks in the bottom, the air will go down, instead of up and through to dry the grain. If there are leaks in the top, you'll get rain in.

They sell caulk for grain bins, or you can use tar around the bottom.

Jena

[Mullers Lane Farm]

My husband and I bought a farm with a 5,000 bushel grain bin. We weren't going to be using it and it was really only a large eyesore. A local dairyman was interested in it. He came by, disassembled it and hauled it to his place. We are left with just a round cement base. In trade, we got 100 bales of hay and a spring bull calf.

[mikell]

I used a sawsall to cut a window and am going to build out a bit to put 6' doors in it to use it for storage. Framed the sides of the door with 4x4s and lag bolted before I cut the steel. It will be a great storage area when I'm done. I'm also going to make a 6 sided cupulo??? on the 36" round cover at the top. It will have 6 windows and a light inside for a yard light.


mikell

[shawk532]

Thanks everyone for the response. For Jena: the bins do have drying floors but one of them needs a bit of repair done to it around the door, otherwise their in pretty good shape. A good coat of paint would spiffy them up quite nicely.