Raised Shop Lets In Lots Of Light

Raised Shop Lets In Lots Of Light FARM SHOP Miscellaneous 28-3-39 "If I was putting up a new building, I'd build it this way. It gives me more room to work and also lets in a lot of light," says Mark Bruellman, Rolfe, Iowa, who raised a section of his shop 4 ft. and added clear plastic paneling between the old and new roof line. Bruellman's 42 by 72-ft. shop was originally equipped with a 9 1/2-ft. ceiling. He raised half the shop 4 ft. to make the ceiling 13 1/2 ft. high. He covered the section of the wall between the old and new roof line with clear plastic paneling on the outside and heavy plastic inside. "Since there's no overhang on the roof, in winter the sun bathes the whole inside of the building just beautifully, since the raised section of the wall faces south," says Bruellman. "In the summer, the sun is directly overhead and just peeks onto the floor but excess heat is not a problem. On overcast days I'll occasionally turn on the lights but otherwise, no lights are needed. "Before I raised the building, the cabs on our tractors and trucks were right up against the ceiling. Now I have a lot more room to work on equipment." Bruellman operates a grain bin moving business (Vol. 26, No. 4). He used some of his bin moving equipment, including a hydraulic forklift mast on back of a truck as well as hydraulic jacks and portable movers, to raise the building. He raised one wall an inch or so, then switched to the other side. "It took 40,000 lbs. of lift just to get one wall up," he says. Once the building had been raised, he covered the bottom 4 ft. with black siding all the way around the exterior. The inside bottom 4 ft. is lined with sheet plastic over 1-in. thick plywood. He bought the clear plastic paneling at Menards. "It's a high impact tough clear plastic that makes the whole building glow. On a sunny day, it's as bright inside the building as if I was working outside. The paneling is so clear that I can actually watch the clouds go by. I have windows on the south, east, and north sides of the building so I get a bit of fill light from those windows, too." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mark Bruellman, 29731 410th St., Rolfe, Iowa 50581 (ph 800 370-2467 or 712 848-3247).

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