From Grain Bin to Bed and Breakfast

Reader Contribution by Lori Shiflett
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The idea for a unit in the grain bin began with an article I had seen on the internet. I think it was MOTHER EARTH NEWS. We hadn’t used the bin for years and it was still in very good shape with no rust or leaks, so why not do it? When I told my youngest son, Lin, about it, he thought it sounded like a very interesting idea. He was in between jobs so he figured he could do the work and have it completed in two weeks. Wrong! He could do the work but completion would take another five months.

Feb. 11, my husband, Jack, and grandson, Kale, began taking the grain floor panels out. The next day, Kale and Lin scraped bushels of oats out that had fallen beneath the floor.

Feb. 21, Jack and Lin cut out the door and window spaces. They found that sawing steel wasn’t child’s work. The windows would measure from the floor to the ceiling and were installed the next day. It’s necessary to have plenty of light in a grain bin.

They found the concrete floor under the panels was solid and in very good condition, but needed about another 3 inches of concrete on top of that to keep the water from coming in. The concrete was ordered and our grandson, Nicholas, who pours beautiful patios professionally, offered to help with the job. Everything went beautifully until miss kitty decided to investigate after everyone had left. She left the cutest little paw prints you ever saw in the wet concrete. Now the floor, which I had painted, will have her imprint for life. It actually creates quite a conversation piece.

March 7, the lumber arrived. Let’s see — we started February 11 and it’s now March 7, umm, so much for the two-week deal. Little did Lin and Jack realize the challenges of a round house. No corners to measure from. Jack had been in construction 40 years and Lin 20 years, but this was something they had never encountered — measuring in circles.

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