Farm Buildings Made From Center Pivot Pipe

Farm Buildings Made From Center Pivot Pipe IRRIGATION Miscellaneous 20-3-24 You can save thousands of dollars by using center pivot pipe for the framework on al-most any farm building, says John Kroenlein, Burlington, Colo., who's started a thriving business that cuts the cost of construction by taking advantage of the wide availability of abandoned center pivot systems. Kroenlein has put up 30 farm buildings using 6 or 6 5/8-in. dia. steel pipe for trusses and sidewall framing. The buildings are as big as 80 ft. wide and 150 ft. long. "These structures are super strong and have a number of features that make them superior to conventional buildings. Farmers can supply all or part of the pipe. We deduct $1 per foot from the total cost of the building for pipe that the customer supplies," says Kroenlein, noting that overall savings average about 25 percent. "Center pivot pipe can be bought fairly cheap and at one time I was a center pivot irrigation dealer so I know where to get it. However, it's getting harder to find because farmers have started saving it as a future source of building material." He recently sent FARM SHOW photos of a 60 by 120-ft. machine shed with an 18-ft. eave and 17-ft. high, 30-ft. wide double sliding doors that he built for a local farmer. "It took about 3,600 ft. of pipe to make the framework. We used 14-ga. pipe for the trusses and columns and 16-ga. pipe for the roof. The farmer had recently replaced his center pivots so we were able to use about 2,400 ft. of his pipe as purlins to keep the cost down. He spent about $30,000 for this building which is $10,000 to $15,000 less than the cost of a comparable commercial wood frame building. A conventional steel frame building would've cost even more," says Kroenlein. "The building's 18-ft. sidewalls are about 2 ft. higher than on most conventional buildings. Farmers are asking for more over-head clearance because their equipment is getting bigger. It costs very little to add more height - about $220 per foot." Kroenlein is also proud of the innovative design of the building's big 30-ft. wide sliding doors. "There are bearings along the bottom that run against a guide. The bearings are self-cleaning and do not retain water so they won't seize up in cold weather. Most sliding doors of this size would be hard to move, but this door moves so freely that this farmer's 8-year-old son can open it." Kroenlein uses steel cable to truss up the purlins, which allows him to space trusses up to 30 ft. apart. "The trusses are more than strong enough to support the 2-ton overhead crane that the farmer plans to install in this building. "We can also furnish prefabricated frames and supply all materials needed so farmers can put up buildings themselves. We weld steel brackets onto the frames that you set the pipe into which makes it easy to weld to the frame. We also build 30 by 40-ft. garages out of center pivot pipe for about $5,500." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John Kroenlein, 767 Lincoln St, Burlington, Colo. 80807 (ph 785 728-2001).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.