Working out how to fit all your farm machinery and equipment into your machinery shed can be like a jigsaw puzzle! That is why your machinery shed size needs to be addressed in the planning stage of your project.
Here are a few suggestions and machinery shed size recommendations for shed length, span width, shed height and configuration and access options.
Machinery Shed Length
The length of your machinery shed should be dictated by what and how much machinery you have to store. It will also depend on what configuration you decide will work best. For example, deciding whether shed is accessed from the long side or the gable end.
Common bay spacings for farm machinery sheds include 8 metres, 8.5 metres and 9 metres. Additional bays can easily be added in the future to make your shed longer.
Machinery Shed Span Width
Our web truss design can be used to build your machinery shed up to 60 metres clear span. This means the width of the shed is not impeded by columns.
An open-ended or drive -through clear span shed is usually the most cost-effective option for wide access and for storing long machinery. These configurations allow machinery to be easily loaded or unloaded.
When choosing the width of your machinery shed, remember that a standard semi will require a 21 metre width, while a b-double will require a 30 metre width.
Machinery Shed Height
It is important to remember that your farm machinery shed can’t be made higher in the future. For most cropping operations a minimum of 6 metres is required so that there is enough clearance for machinery such as air seeders.
However, if you intend to install roller doors or sliding doors on your shed, you will have to allow an additional 500mm to your required clearance height to allow for the sliding door beam (or roller door drum).
Machinery Shed Configurations
It is not just the size of the shed that determines how much machinery you fit in, but the configuration of the shed. The configuration of a shed should be determined by the demands and requirements of your farming business.
We discuss the different configurations available for your machinery shed and the advantages of each in our article: What configuration will work best for my machinery shed? Or if you prefer, watch the video below.
Machinery Shed Access Options
It is impossible to take full advantage of the size of your machinery shed, if you are limited by impractical access options. Some access options and ideas for your machinery shed include:
- An open-ended or drive-through configuration (as discussed above.)
- A girder beam or girder truss, also known as column removal, can be used to provide a wider bay opening.
- Sliding doors to one end or at each end.
- Ensure the pad at the front of your shed is big enough to make access easy for long machinery. If you are in the process of planning your shed site or preparing your shed pad, you might find the video below helpful. Ben, one of our project managers discusses our top ten tips for the ideal shed pad.
We hope this article helps you work out what size shed you need for your farm machinery. For more advice on shed sizes and designs, browse our Learning Hub or call 1800 68 78 88 to have a chat with one of our building consultants.
