# Houses out of Grain Bins??



## hercsmama (Jan 15, 2004)

Saw this today in an email.
You take Grain Bins, new, used, whatever, and basically finish it out to be your house.
You slide one, inside the other, fill the gap with insulating foam, put the roof back on, and finish the inside.
Crazy idea???
Dh is all kinds of excited to do this. What do you think?
Would you live in a Grain Bin??


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## jamesdaclark (Aug 2, 2012)

I saw these today also. Low cost maintenance and construction I would think.


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## hercsmama (Jan 15, 2004)

That's the one we saw, I believe.
Dh made some calls, we can get 4 of them delivered and set on concrete for under 20,000.
This just might work.....


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

One nice thing about it is that you don't need any inside support so you can put walls anywhere you want or have no walls.

I wonder if there is a way to make an envelope house out of it to take advantage of air movement to pull heat out of the house? I've read that some tribes in Africa do that in the desert. It might be worth making a smaller version to test or try to track down the info at some university. You could always use it for a storage shed later.


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## kvr28 (Feb 15, 2009)

good article from mother earth news

http://www.motherearthnews.com/do-it-yourself/grain-bins-z10m0gri.aspx#axzz2KBk1CIhr


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## hercsmama (Jan 15, 2004)

That's exactly the article we saw.
Dh made a number of calls yesterday, we are trying to figure out if we could even put two together.
He's also thinking of using one for a barn. Need to do some more research..it's getting interesting.:thumb:


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Would you give me $20,000 to erect 2 stick built houses, 24 by 26, 16 feet tall with no second floor, empty shell, no windows, no trim, on a concrete slab? 
I think it is the finishing that adds to the cost of a house. You'll have extra materials invested because most building materials aren't round. 
If you are looking to make a statement, can get building inspector approval and don't need bank financing, they are cool looking. 
Last weekend I went through Buckmaster Fuller's round house of the future. If you are planning a round home, look at this. 

http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/dymaxion/index.html


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## farmerDale (Jan 8, 2011)

hercsmama said:


> That's the one we saw, I believe.
> Dh made some calls, we can get 4 of them delivered and set on concrete for under 20,000.
> This just might work.....


A few thoughts: The bins you were quoted for, must have been quite small for the quote to be under 20 000. 

These things get extremely hot in the summer, I mean EXTREMELY hot. Like too hot to touch. 

The walls are not built to support uneven loads at all. They are designed to hold grain, and the even pressure of the grain on the the ring EQUALLY is what gives them their strength. They are not otherwise strong in any way. They are the first things to blow over, blow in, or take air in a windstorm on a farm, if empty.

I think the idea is a great one, I just feel there is a reason more do not do it, especially those of us who have dozens of them to store grain. The price varies A LOT depending on size. I would ask what size you priced out, as like I said, 5 000 a piece would be some pretty small bins. Especially with concrete.

Not to disuade you, but they have a lot going against them...


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## hercsmama (Jan 15, 2004)

Oh no, we want all opinions, that's why I posted.
The size was for 36' diameter ones. That's why we were thinking two linked together would be good size wise. Our understanding is that you take two, making one 12-18 inches smaller than the first. Place the smaller one inside the other, and fill the gap with insulation. 
According to one article, you use 2x6 studs for the interior walls. Like I said, we're still researching.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

So when you put up stud walls and support for the second floor, the grain bin serves as metal exterior siding. Right? 

Here is what $20,000 could buy you:
http://www.big-l-lumber.com/model_familyTender.htm

rough-in materials only, which includes floors, walls, roofing, siding, windows and doors.


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## Terrabus (Jul 7, 2004)

After traveling in various parts of the world, one of the coolest things I've come to see we Americans have is the desire to live in unique places. Only in America do we have such a variety of home styles. In other parts of the world, like Korea or Japan, to live in a container home, or an old grain bin, is seen as a sign of poverty or worse. We Americans love our unique homes. 

Sure, a grain bin home might not be the cheapest way, but people do it for reasons other than money. Who cares that it's a grain bin? Who cares that it's different? We're Americans and we'll take what we want to make a home. And when we're finished, it'll belong to us and nobody else! 

More often than not, the defining statement the owners will make isn't about how much it cost, but about how they did it themselves and were involved as much as possible.


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## hercsmama (Jan 15, 2004)

Haypoint, thanks for the link. I liked a couple of those, going to keep the site bookmarked incase this does prove to not work out.
I should have posted also that there is a house on the property already. But it needs very intensive renovations, so we are looking at all options. We have building a log home on the list as well...
We'll see where this ends up. I love a good adventure.


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