#Grain silo house interior manual#
#Grain silo house interior tv#
#Grain silo house interior windows#

They have 1 inch holes drilled every couple of feet, but worked perfectly for my project and they were free!Īs the last photo shows, the opening into the bin does not go down to the slab. The 2x8 joists were repurposed from a concrete project. I frequently utilize clamps, hoists, extra ladders and whatever is at hand to help me. Since I'm usually working alone, I try to engineer methods that allow me to get things done within my own capabilities. I had bolted chain hoists high up on the bin walls, but we didn't end up needing their help. Lifting them into place was challenging but not as difficult as I expected. The beams were cut to 16 foot lengths and placed 6 feet apart. Lumber like this native hard wood is barely even available these days, and definitely not affordable. Fortunately, my dad had three 30 foot long 4x12 beams from deconstructing a 100 year old school house. Spanning the 18' bins required sturdy beams. I layered 2圆 boards to create 4 posts around the room to hold the beams supporting the second story. Then a top plate was layered on similar to the bottom plate. I used construction adhesive, spray foam and flashing to seal the bin to the slab.įamily and friends helped put studs on 24 inch centers.

From outside I ran 3 inch screws and washers through the bolt holes in the bottom ring into the 2x4 bottom plate. I screwed a running bond layer on top to form a bottom plate. Staff writer Chick Jacobs can be reached at or 486-3515.I began framing by adhering mitered 2 foot lengths of 2x4 to the slab inside the perimeter of the bin. 'Let's see how things go this winter and take it from there.' 'For now, I think I've got plenty to keep me busy,' DeRensis said. In time, she says, it may be moved closer for storage or an additional room.Īnd she already has poles and plans for a second-floor deck off the bedroom. A smaller, weathered silo sits nearby in an open field. DeRensis also plans to paint a sacred turtle figure into the concrete floor. Insulation will be wedged between the wall studs, then covered with solid wood paneling for a rustic look.

'It gives you the feeling of space,' she said. Guests can sit in the living room and look up to the center spiral of the loft. 'With that floor, you don't have the enclosed feeling.' 'I wanted the sense of space to continue,' DeRensis said. Interior walls will separate a bathroom with a tub and self-composting toilet.Ī hand-hewn stairway made of local pine leads to a loft and a metal mesh catwalk that encircles the top floor. The ground level will include a compact kitchen with wood-burning stove. When finished, the home will have have about 1,200 square feet of living space on two floors.

#Grain silo house interior windows#

Steven Locklear helped configure interior walls, carefully cutting windows and doors without compromising the structure.ĭanette Porter of Home Grown Solar connected the structure to a 1 KW solar array, with a small wind turbine for backup power. The $17,000 silo shell from the Gaston Sealey Co. 'And obviously, no one has the experience. 'There really is no blueprint,' she said. DeRensis quickly learned it was easier to dream about the home than build it. They called it 'Montesilo.' I saw that, and something just clicked.' 'One evening they had a story on a home in Utah built from a grain silo.

#Grain silo house interior tv#

One evening, her plans collided with her TV habits. 'I wanted solar or wind energy, an ability to live off the grid if the need came along.' 'At the same time, I wanted my home to be totally self-sufficient,' she said. A graduate of Seventy-First High School, she wanted to move closer to home. The idea to try 'living in a can,' as DeRensis put it, came as she was pondering retirement from a career position with the U.S. 'She's not real interested in living over here,' DeRensis said of her mom. Silky hens stroll around the front yard, pecking around the base of huge pecan trees. While the silo was being converted, DeRensis lived with her mom next door. Hopefully not - it was hard enough getting the 4,400-bushel grain silo to its resting spot on Deep Branch Road, just south of Pembroke. 'But everything is built to code, and everything is solid. Everything was, 'Well, we haven't seen that before.'

#Grain silo house interior manual#

'I'd say the county inspectors have written a new manual as we've gone, on this one. 'It must be the first one,' DeRensis says, patting the cylindrical side of her new home. Using a little imagination and a lot of patience, DeRensis is putting the finishing touches on the first home in Robeson County constructed from a grain silo. Now, the Cape Fear region native has done exactly that - with the emphasis on 'round.' PEMBROKE - Over the years, Pam DeRensis dreamed of building her own home if she could ever get around to it.