Site Selection Section 14 Unit 40 Pg. 576

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Site SelectionSection 14Unit 40Pg. 576
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Introduction

• Buildings of appropriate type, size and function
  are an important asset to all enterprises.
• Building types
• Wood frame
• Concrete
• Masonry
• Steel
• Size
• Varies from small sheds to large machinery
  storage and livestock production.
• Function
• Machinery storage
• Crop storage
• Livestock production
• Processing
• Others

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Planning Agricultural Buildings

• Good advance planning saves time and money.
• Planning be completed before materials are
  purchased.
• Planning Steps
• Determine the budget.
• Defining the current uses and possible future
  uses of the building.
• Selecting the building site.
• Determining the best building size and design
  based on the use(s), the site and the budget.
• Prepare the site.
• Construction

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(1) Planning - Budget

• The amount of money available is always a
  critical issue.
• In a ideal world the cash would be available
  before construction is started.
• If under funded, hard decisions must be made.
• Options to reduce costs
• Build in phases
• Leave unfinished and complete interior later
• Reduce size
• Select different materials
• Select different site
• Do more work yourself
• Others
• Just remember there are trade offs to all
  decisions.

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(2) Planning - Uses

• Many questions about size, materials, design,
  etc. will be answered when the uses of the
  building have been identified.
• Doing a good job identifying the uses of the
  building is critical to the success of the
  building.
• Because the design life of Ag buildings is
  typically 15 to 20 years, it is important to
  consider future uses of the building.

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(3) Planning - Site Selection

• The site selecting can have a tremendous
  influence on the cost of the building.
• Textbook has nine (9) principles of farmstead
  layout. These can be divided into three (3)
  categories
• Utilities (3 8)
• Orientation (2, 4, 5 6)
• Site characteristics (1, 7 9)

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Planning - Site Selection - Utilities

• Installing utilities can be a large hidden cost
  if they are not planned for.
• Textbook 3
• Place electrical meter pole closest to the
  largest load. Why?

What other electrical concerns should be
addressed?

• What other utility concerns must be addressed?
• Water
• Gas
• Sewage
• Road

• Three phase
• Service entrance size

If these services are not available close to the
site, having them installed will be a major
building expense.
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Utilities-cont.
Textbook 8 Hard surface or gravel main traffic
areas
The value of having the main traffic areas and
work areas hard surfaced or graveled can not be
measured in dollars, but driving and working on
muddy ground is not pleasant and it increases
accidents.

• An additional concern is access roads.
• The value of a building site is reduced if it
  does not have good access to public roads.
• Why is access to public roads important?

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Planning - Site Selection - Orientation
Wind

• Once the site has been selected, the orientation
  of the building to the wind, sun and slope is an
  important decision.
• Textbook items
• Use windbreak
• 4. Place livestock facilities downwind from
  house.
• Face building to the south or east
• Position buildings so they can be enlarged or
  expanded

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Orientation-Wind

• Textbook 2 Use wind break

What are the effects of windbreaks?
Textbook 4 Place livestock buildings downwind
from house.
Why is orientation to wind important?
Summary The undesirable effects of wind can be
managed through the use of windbreaks and
building orientation.
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Orientation-Sun
Textbook 5 Face building south or east.

• Facing the buildings to the south or east uses
  the sun to an advantage during the winter months.
• The use of wide eaves reduces the disadvantage of
  south facing during summer months.

The productivity of a greenhouse is directly
related to its orientation to the sun.
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Orientation - Buildings
Textbook 6 Position builds so then can be
enlarged.
Also must consider relationship to other buildings
Fire
Wind currents
Utilities
Access
Size of equipment
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(4) Site Characteristics

• Textbook items
• 1. Place in well drained area
• 7. Use circle drive
• 9. Provide proper drainage away from each
  building

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Site Characteristics - Drainage

• Textbook items 1 9
• 1. Place in well drained area
• 9. Provide proper drainage away from each
  building

Results of poor building drainage

• Structural damage to the building.
• Concrete and masonry structures will flake when
  water that has been absorbed freezes.
• Increases the rate of wood rot.
• Reduces the quality of the building environment.
• Higher humidity
• Mold

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Site Characteristic - Driveway

• Textbook 7
• Use circle drives
• One (1) in four (4) vehicle accidents involves
  backing.
• Reduces accidents from backing out into traffic.
• Reduces risk of backing into obstacles and over
  children and animals.

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Site Characteristics--soil

• The type of soil at the building site will
  influence the cost of construction.
• Expansive clays require foundations with more
  steel and concrete.
• Sandy soils require soil additives and greater
  foundation protection from erosion.
• High sulphate requires different type of
  concrete.
• Boggy/swampy sites require pilings.

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Site Characteristic - Slope
It would be a poor design to have an open front
building facing upslope.
It would be very costly to place a long building
lengthwise with the slope.
The amount of slope determines the direction and
speed of water runoff.
Orientation to slope will effect construction
costs because of the amount of dirt that will
need to be moved.
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Site Selection Summary

• It is important to consider all of the factors
  when selecting the site for a building.
• The ideal site and site orientation is
  influenced by the design and use of the building.
• Failure to consider all factors can increase the
  cost of the building and will reduce its
  usefulness.

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(4) Size and Design

• The size and design are two critical influences
  of building cost.
• Size may be limited by the site.
• Design may be influenced by codes or regulations.
• There is a relationship between building use and
  best design.

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(5) Site Preparation

• Buildings require a level construction site.
• Most sites will require some dirt work to have a
  level site.
• When using cut and fill it is important to ensure
  the fill is compacted properly.
• If large trees are removed the roots must be
  grubbed out and the spot backfilled and compacted.

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Textbook Example
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Questions