Last week, the Irish Farmers Journal visited a new multipurpose shed in Co Kilkenny. The shed was built on Thomas and John Bryan’s mixed livestock and tillage farm in Maddockstown, just outside Kilkenny city.

In the past, farmers built the traditional round-roofed haysheds for storing straw, grain and hay as well as other uses. Those sheds served their purpose very well and still do, but the scale can be an issue on some farms. Today, farmers are opting for more modern sheds that are wider and more suitable for holding machinery as well as grain and straw.

Thomas and John said the main reason they built the shed was because they wanted more space for storage on the farm because they already were at capacity in existing sheds. Thomas said it would be easy to convert the shed for livestock in the future by simply adding gates to the front.

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Peter J McDonald Engineering Ltd from New Ross, Co Wexford, did the steel work for the shed. It adjoins an open yard, with plenty of space for machinery to turn and reverse inside. It is facing east, which means that the frequency of rain blowing inside will be limited. The shed itself is 6m high at the eaves and there is a 2.5m-wide canopy, allowing space for two more rows of bales to be stacked under roof cover if needs be. The shed is 12m wide and 18m long, made up of three 6m-wide bays.

The Bryan brothers said that they wanted the shed to be a good height for tipping grain inside. “In the older sheds, when you tip grain the roofs are too low and we always end up having to push it inside with a loader,” explained John.

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There is a lot of space inside for holding machinery. A concrete floor has not been added to the shed but will be completed shortly. Dormer Construction in Paulstown erected the mass concrete walls and the concrete was supplied from Roadstone.

The walls are 3m high and 225mm thick and they help to strengthen the structure. The Bryans opted for mass concrete walls because they should be able to endure more pressure from loaders filling grain than a block wall.

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Extra purlins were erected along the back of the shed to provide more strength to the cladding and prevent stacked bales lying back and putting pressure on the sheets. The stanchions are 254mm x 146mm and are all hot-dipped galvanised. The roof cladding was supplied by Tegral. It is fibre cement sheeting which has the benefit of being corrosion and condensation resistant. Roof lights make up 10% of the roof area to increase the light inside the shed. Corrifarm corrugated sheeting was used on the sides of the shed and this was supplied by Duggan Steel Group.

Cost

To date, the shed cost €35,300 including VAT. It cost €28,500 including VAT for the labour and materials involved erecting the steel work. The supply of concrete for the walls cost €3,300 including VAT and it cost €3,500 including VAT for the labour involved preparing the walls and foundations for pouring.

John and Thomas Bryan pictured with Peter Mc Donald.