Silo Observation Deck Built With Grain Bin Roof

Silo Observation Deck Built With Grain Bin Roof BUILDINGS Miscellaneous An old concrete block silo was recently transformed into an amazing “silo observation deck” by Wayne Peterson of Thief River Falls Minn The 28-ft tall 13-ft dia silo is covered by the roof and upper ring off an old grain bin with windows all the way around it A wooden deck located 4 ft from the top of the silo is accessed by a wooden stairway built inside the silo “People come from all around to see it They appreciate the marvelous views and say they’ve never seen anything like it ” says Peterson “Building it was a family project We placed a pair of salon chairs on the deck which can be spun completely around to provide a great view in any direction It’s fun for us to watch area farmers during planting and harvesting seasons and we can see fireworks displays up to 15 miles away “The silo was built in 1950 I didn’t want any holes drilled into it so the deck is completely self-supporting ” notes Peterson The silo’s roof had blown off about 15 years ago leaving it open on top At first Peterson planned to just install a deck on top but he decided to add the roof once the deck was in place He started by building square 8-ft high stud walls 3 sections high inside the silo “The silo already had a cement floor so I built a square wooden frame on top of it that supports the walls ” says Peterson “I wanted the biggest square possible and had to ask a couple of local math teachers for help in figuring out the size They pointed me to the Pythagorean Theorem ” says Peterson “My son Steven nephew Josh and friend Steve and his son Cristian built the walls using a scaffold system ” The stairs up to the deck were built in a series of 5-ft high sections by Peterson’s youngest son John Peterson’s wife suggested building large platforms that serve as rest areas at the top of each stairway A trap door at the top of the stairs leads to the deck Peterson’s daughter Ruth helped transport the lumber used to build the stairs Once the walls and deck were built it started raining “I had to pump 30 to 40 gal of water out the bottom of the silo every day so I knew the silo needed a roof However I didn’t know how to build a circular roof so I decided to use a grain bin roof instead ” says Peterson He bought the 1 000-bu bin from a neighbor and removed all the rings except for the top one He bolted four 15-ft long 4 by 4 wooden posts together to make a loader bucket-mounted boom and used it to set the bin down on a trailer Back home he bolted a series of 10-ft vertical wooden studs onto the bin all the way around A crane fitted with a horizontal steel beam was used to lift the bin assembly onto the silo and the studs were then bolted to the deck Peterson’s brother Jim then installed the 4-ft square windows framing them in with 2 by 10’s Two windows have metal screens to provide ventilation and the others consist of clear polycarbonate sheeting “I’m 6 ft 10 in tall and didn’t want to have to bend over to look out while standing on the deck which is why the bin is mounted on 10-ft posts Also I have big feet so John built the stairway with steps wider than normal ” notes Peterson Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Wayne Peterson 12213 115th St N W Thief River Falls Minn 56701 ph 218 686-6466

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