FARM

STRUCTURES
MANALOCON, MOH’D NASIF G.

Fundamentals of Agricultural
Engineering
Introduction

• Farm buildings and structures are important parts of

an integrated rural development.
• Knowledge on the design and construction of farm
buildings are needed to have an effective storage,
especially for the new high yielding varieties which are
more susceptible to pests than the traditional types.
Introduction

• Improved management and breeding programs to

increase animal production have created a need for
more appropriate animal housing.
• To improve the standards of living for the rural
population, it is necessary to provide durable,
comfortable, and healthy homes, with clean water,
sanitation facilities and community infrastructure.
TYPES OF FARM STRUCTURES
Types of Farm Structures

1. Farm Houses. A building that serves as the

primary quarters in a rural or agricultural
setting.
Types of Farm Structures

2. Livestock Buildings
• Barns. A large farm building used for storing
grain, hay, or straw or for housing livestock.
Types of Farm Structures
• Hog Houses. It is a separate building for
housing hogs (pigs, swine).
Types of Farm Structures

• Poultry House. It provides shelter for

poultry.
Types of Farm Structures

3. Product Storage Buildings.

• Granaries. A building or store room for storing
threshed grain, farm feed, etc.
Types of Farm Structures

• Silos. A large, round tower on a farm for

storing grain or winter food for cattle.
Types of Farm Structures

• Vegetable Storage
Types of Farm Structures

• Fruits Storage
Types of Farm Structures

• Bins. Designed for on-farm grain storage

applications. They are efficient to build and
operate, meeting the needs of seasonal use.
Types of Farm Structures

4. Crop Production Building.

• Greenhouse. An inflated structure covered with a
transparent material in which crops are grown
under controlled environment conditions.
Types of Farm Structures

5. Food and Crop Processing Building.

• Milk House. Used for cooling and storing milk on
the farm.
Types of Farm Structures

• Slaughter Houses. A facility where animals are

slaughtered to provide food.
Types of Farm Structures

• Grain Driers. An agricultural machine used to

remove moisture from cereals in order to prevent
mildew.
Types of Farm Structures

• Pasteurizing and Bottling Plants.

Types of Farm Structures

• Fruit and Vegetable Washing, Dehydration, and

Packing.
Types of Farm Structures

6. Equipment and Supplies Building.

• Garages. A building or indoor area for parking or
storing motor vehicles.
Types of Farm Structures

• Farm Shop. A type of retail outlet which usually

sells produce directly from a farm.
PLANNING THE FARMSTEAD
Farmstead. It is a limited area
within the farm, occupied by
the buildings, corals, fences,
and gates and used generally
as a center of operations for
farm work and activities.
Farmstead planning should be based on the system of farming and
on the needs and comforts for the family living. Each farm building
must be considered in relation to the other buildings to the farm as a
whole, to the fields, to the roads and to other features of the site.
Selecting a Site. Although there are many points to be considered
in planning a farmstead, the selection is often determined by a
single factor such as:

• Water supply
• Slope
• Accessibility
• Soil
• Orientation
Types of Farmstead

1. Concentrated type. All the structures are very close together, or

in some instances, connected.

2. Distributed type. All buildings are located sufficient distances

apart to allow room for drives, yards, safety from fire and
satisfactory sanitation.
Planning the Building Arrangement

• Indicate on the sketch the location of the highway, the wind

direction, the direction of the slope, and the best view.
• Locate the driveway, house, and barn area. The driveway
should be perpendicular to the road and should unobstructed
entrance view to it. It should be wide enough to allow the
passageway of the machinery and have the curves of
sufficient radius to allow easy turns.
• Plan the building for the greatest efficiency.
Planning the Building Arrangement

• Select house plans to fit the farmstead arrangement in order

to obtain proper view, convenient work centers, and other
desirable factors.
• Locate the most used buildings nearest to the house to save
labors.
Preliminary Planning Essential

Before beginning the construction of the building, considerable

planning should be done. The following steps in planning are
suggested:
• Decide the use to made of the building;
• Decide where to locate the building;
• Decide the size of the building;
• Decide the type of the building needed;
• Decide on the kind of material to use;
Preliminary Planning Essential

• Review plan and sketches of similar structures. Observe

buildings similar to the kind needed. Look for good and poor
construction practices in the buildings.
• Visit lumber yards, hardware stores and other places handling
building materials to discover the type of materials and
equipment available. Also, determine their cost and possible
use in your building.
Preliminary Planning Essential

• Consult person experience in building and using farm buildings.

• Make the necessary sketches, drawn to scale on graph paper.
If a large building, such as house or a barn is to build, take the
sketches to an architect and have him make the necessary
blueprints.
• Figure bills of material and the total cost of the building.
Basic Units and Structural Frames of a Farm Building
Types of Structural Frames Commonly Found in the Farm
Buildings:

1. Beam and Post

2. Truss. It is a joint frame that is used to support loads over a

relatively long span.
Parts of a Truss

• Chords are the outer truss members.

• We members (diagonals and verticals) are the interior
members.
• Joints or the panel points are the joints where members of
the truss meet.
• Purlins are beam spanning from truss to truss that
transmits to the trusses the roof loads.
3. Arch. This type is used with high rise and floor spaces free of
obstruction are desired. Its more frequent use on frames is to
provide large hay-storage space over dairy stables and storage
space in machinery sheds and similar structures.
4. Foundation. It is defined as a base which upon a building rests
and through which the loads on the buildings are transmitted to
the ground.
5. Walls
Types of Walls

• Load bearing walls. Support load from floors and roof in

addition to their own weight and which resist side pressure
from wind and in some cases, from stored materials and
objects within the building.
• Non-load bearing walls. Carry no floor or roof loads. Each
type maybe further divided into external or enclosing walls
and internal dividing walls.
Types of Building Walls
• Masonry walls. Wall is built of individual blocks of material
such as brick, clay, or concrete blocks or stone, usually in
horizontal courses bonded together with some form if mortar.
• Monolithic walls. Wall is build of a material placed in form
during the construction.
• Frame wall. Wall is constructed as a frame of relatively small
members, usually of timber, at close intervals which together
with facing or sheeting on one or both sided from a load
bearing system.
Factors which will determine the type of wall to be used :

• The material available at a reasonable costs.

• Availability of craftsmen capable of using the materials in the
best way.
• Climate
• The use of the building — functional requirement
6. Floors

Types of floors

• Grade floors. Floors that are built in the ground level.

• Suspended or Above-grade floors. Supported by joint and
beams.
7. Roofs.
An essential part of any building that provides necessary
protection from sun, rain, wind, heat, and cold. The
integrity of the roof is important for the structure of a
building itself as well as the occupants and the goods
stored in the building.
General Roof Shapes Commonly Used on the Farm Buildings
• Flat roof. Used only to a limited extent in farm business.
Maintenance is high since the roof has little slope for the
water to run-off.
• Shed roof. The simplest and easiest to construct and
maintain. It is common sight on single story poultry houses,
open sheds for cattle and swine, and similar buildings.
• Gable roof. One of the most universally used roof shapes in
farm buildings. This type of roof is commonly seen on two-
story poultry houses, dairy barns and single story buildings
that are too wide for shed type of roof.
• Hip roof. More desirable from an architectural standpoint than
from utilitarian value. It requires more complicated framing
than the gable roof and is consequently more expensive to
build. One of the most common uses of hip roof is on
garages.
• Monitor and semi-monitor roof. Special type of roof with
additional height to give more room for storage. The extension
above the main roof was often used for ventilation and
windows in the vertical walls give additional light.
• Gambrel roof. Use to gain more space for the overhead
storage of hay and feed. This floor is most common sight on
two-story dairy barns and other livestock shelters where
overhead storage of hay is desired.
• Arch roof. Also known as gothic roof. Its use is similar to
gambrel roof.
8. Doors and Windows.
• Doors are essential in buildings to provide security and
protection from elements while allowing easy and convenient
entry and exit. Farm buildings may be served adequately with
unframed board doors, while homes will need more attractive,
well framed designs that close tightly enough to keep out duct
and rain and allow only minimal air leakage.
• Windows provide light and ventilation in a building and allow
those within to view the surrounding landscape and observe
activities in the farm yard.
COMMON MATERIALS FOR
FARM BUILDING
Wood
A fibrous substance which composes the trunk and the branches
of a tree that lies between the pith and the bark. The versatility of
using wood in every construction has lifted it to its present
importance and high demand in almost all types of constructions.
Even with the introduction of new materials and methods of
construction, wood is evidently much in use.
The Unit Measure of Lumber

• Lumber. It is the term applied to wood after it has been sawed

or sliced into boards, planks, timber, etc.
• Board Foot. It is the unit measure used in computing the
volume of lumber. One board foot simply means one square
foot by one inch thick lumber or an equivalent of 144 cubic
inches. The width and thickness of commercial lumber are
expressed in inches while the length is in feet if even number.
Board foot is found by dividing the product of the thickness, the
width and the length by 12.

For Commercial Lumber:

Bdft = T × W × L
12
For round log :

Bdft = ( D – 4 ) ² × L
16

Where: T – Thickness (in); W – Width (in); L – Length (ft); D –

Diameter (in).
Problem

Find the total Board Feet of 5 pieces 2” × 6” × 14' Lumber

Solution

Bdft = 2 × 6 × 14 = 14 × 5 = 70 bdft
12
Sample Problem.

Determine the total board foot lumber which could be derived from
round log 28 inches diameter by 6 meters (20 ft) long.

Solution

Bdft = ( 28 — 4) ² x 20 = 720 bdft

16
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