FARM BUILDINGS:
30 January 1998
FARM BUILDINGS:
GET ORGANISED
FROM THE START
In our Buildings Special, Royal Agricultural College senior
buildings lecturer Graeme Lochhead takes a more general
view of the subject, focussing on how to set about putting up
a new building and what the future holds for farm building design
AS FARMERS come under ever greater pressure to improve their efficiency, it is essential that new buildings or improvements are well planned and designed and meet the farms objectives.
Project management:
The options
Farm building projects can be organised in one of four ways – by the farmer, by a designer on behalf of the farmer, by a contractor and finally using the advice of a design consultant. Whichever approach is taken, its important not to forget that the farm and the farmer should be at the centre of the process and fully involved.
Here are the sort of statements you might hear from the different parties involved:
• The designer: "Competitive tendering based on full working drawings, designed to fit the needs of the client, will ensure that the best job is obtained for the best price."
This is the textbook approach and involves the farmer taking on a designer to act on their behalf.
• The farmer: "I obtained a better price by organising the project myself, but underestimated the problems of dealing with delays."
The DIY approach can lead to complications and delay, resulting in the building not being ready for the stock or crop at the right time. Traditionally farmers do not plan building development well enough in advance.
• The contractor: "We are a highly specialised local farm building contractors with a reputation for quality and the ability to meet the needs of the farmer."
Local contractors are a good bet because they will probably be known to the farmer and their workmanship and timeliness can be found out by word of mouth with little effort. Sites can be visited and the farmer will know what to expect.
Confused as to which is best? Then consider the estate owner who, having employed a design team within an agricultural consultancy group, was given a solution which proved to be expensive and unworkable.
He decided instead to adopt a team approach, bringing together a contractor, the farm manager and a design consultant. The result was a workable solution which is now under construction.
"If organising it again I would approach three contractors with a detailed brief then employ a consultant to advise on the resulting solutions and cost quotations returned," he says.
The disciplined approach to design
Simple or complex, small or large, all farm buildings should be thoroughly planned, designed and programmed to ensure that the farmer gets the best value for money. The first step in this approach is the creation of the brief.
The brief
Often conveyed to the designer or contractor on site, this should be written down so that all parties know the parameters they are working to. The brief should be a reflection of the wishes of the farmer, influenced by his objectives and aims for the farm. The brief should contain information on:
• The farm – size, cropping/stocking, soil type and general lie of the land. An OS map is useful at this stage.
• The farming system – size and potential of all enterprises, labour, machinery management.
• The enterprise – production system, management input preferences.
• The farmers objectives – it is critical in the team approach that these are clearly stated so that all attempts can be made to meet them. This is the wish-list and forms the centre of the design process.
The building brief
Having worked out the brief or wish-list, its then time to consider which building designs meet them. But before the sketch plans are prepared a few steps should be considered. Site selection, legislation, other buildings etc in particular should be looked at. In choosing a site, remember to:
• Appraise existing buildings and assess your ability to alter and improve them.
• Relate the new development to the existing farmstead and look at traffic routes, transfer of feed, and how old and new buildings will interact.
• Avoid soft or made-up ground.
• Consider excavating sloping sites or avoiding them.
• Consider future expansion.
Regulations
Legislation often delays the whole process because of the down-time involved in making and processing the planning application. You will need to consult the local authority to discuss planning permission, building control approval and things like Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) status, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) listing, pollution control and listed building consent.
Sketch plan options
Mistakes on paper can be thrown in the bin while built mistakes are there for life. Sketch plans should concentrate on the layout of the building to fit it to the potential site.
Timeliness
Fix the development timetable. The various permissions that need to be obtained, from planning to pollution control, are likely to take a minimum of two months. It is important that every effort is made to ensure that permissions are obtained at the first attempt to avoid delay while further applications are made.
Project management
The choice of who will organise the construction of your new farm building – you, a farm buildings firm or a designer – is never easy. Moreover, it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain high quality specialist farm building advice.
There are fewer farm building designers and advisers than 20 years ago, but the need for their services has increased along with the complexities of modern farming.
Using a designer
The textbook approach is to get the project fully designed and put it out to tender to a number of known contractors for competitive pricing. This means the designer can concentrate on the best solution and the contractor on "buildability" and cost.
There are some potential hurdles. One is finding qualified designers who have a sound working knowledge of agriculture and building construction. Another is the possibility of big design fees and costly advice. A third is the difficulty of getting truly practical building advice.
Using a contractor
In an environment where independent design advice is thin on the ground, farmers in search of building expertise are increasingly placing contracts direct with contractors. Normally only one contractor is considered but two or three can be approached and given the same brief. If you choose the latter route, be prepared to get three different solution and prices. Ideally, contracts are placed on perceived expertise, past record and ability to meet the timescale.
This option limits choice and independence, and design costs are hidden in the quotation. Without like-for-like competitive tendering, no comparisons between different firms designs can be drawn and the decision to accept the firms price and design quote is often accepted lightly.
Farmer designed/farmer built
The DIY farmer-builder has thankfully not disappeared and many contracts are organised in this way. The increased presence of good quality buildings firms in the back pages of the farming Press has greatly aided the process.
Once the layout has been decided upon, which may be a designers sketch plan, the farmer will know the size, layout and specification for the new building. Three quotes should be obtained for the building frame.
How to ensure you get good quality quotes from building firms:
• Give precise information on size, height, roof, doors etc.
• Give details of location to help with design and delivery.
• Specify type of roof sheeting wanted (eg fibre cement for stock buildings) and state gauge of steel needed.
• State finish wanted on frame (eg minimum two coats red oxide paint or hot dip galvanising for longer life).
• Say what wall cladding you require (eg timber boarding, perforated cladding or solid sheeting).
• Ensure that the building complies to British Standard (BS) 5502 and that all certificates can be obtained.
Compare the quotations carefully and look at the conditions of sale. Be prepared for hitches – its not unknown for the steel to arrive on site but the steel erector to be delayed. Plan ahead, too. Internal finishes can be organised using local or farm labour.
Farmers often have a greater working knowledge of concrete and block-work than the average building student. This can be harnessed and a good-quality finish produced, provided its a time of the year when spare labour is available.
Above: Farm building projects can still be undertaken using farm labour and the easiest of these is the timber pole barn. But take advice on current building legislation before proceeding. Below: Where possible, avoid made-up ground – especially when constructing a silage clamp.
If made-up ground is unavoidable, make sure it extends beyond the building and has been made up in layers to avoid settlement in future years. Heres how not to do it!
Buildings – project table
Typical timescale for development – building schedule for a new 2500t grain store providing storage in bins and on floor with static fixed drying
May 97 Contract awarded to sole contractor.
Jun 97 Planning application made.
Sep 97 Planning permission approval gained.
Nov 97 Work starts.
Site cleared, excavated and filled over.
Foundations and steel work on site.
Dec 97 Pits and silo base supports installed.
Steel erected.
Jan 98 Blockwork, trenches, low vent ducts completed.
Bin floor finished.
Conveyors, elevators, ventilation, weighbridge put in.
Feb 98 Grainstore floor, external yard and drainage finished.
Main building completed.
Mar 98 Office, screens, silos and dust extraction installed.
Division walls and silo/drier erected. Electrical work.
Apr 98 Temporary walling, more electrical work, mill/mix
installed. Project completed.
This project is already one month behind schedule due to bad weather. This is not a serious problem as – weather permitting – the project will catch up in 1998.
Above left: A simple steel portal frame structure with internal finish. Frames can be found in the back pages of FW, and internal work carried out by farm labour. Above right: Steel portal frames under construction.
The complexities of silage clamp design, with the need to co-ordinate crane hire, concrete delivery and workforce, are often best left to a contractor.