How NOT to insall a tractor-shed (many photos)

So, the crew shows up late-summer. Two guys - neither speaks a bit of English. I was trying to ask how they plan on anchoring these things - but I don't speak Spanish - they don't speak English - so I got nowhere with my questions. I let them do their thing. I did watch one guy drive four-foot long iron stakes at an angle into the ground for anchors.
They got done and left. Looked pretty good. One shed is down low and protected from wind and has three tractors in it. The other is right next to my new almost-finished barn that has 5400 watts of solar panels on the roof and six tractors and two trucks inside. This new "Mexican" shed is only fifty feet away. Long story short - came home one day and found it upside down. At the time - my Ford diesel pickup and big ugly backhoe were parked inside. Building came clear off and blew away without putting a scratch on anthing. Tore some anchors out of the ground and ripped some others in half.
The building looks like a tinker-toy - but it's pretty heavy. It was quite a job to pull it back over and get it back into place without completely ruining it. Now, it's a stinking mess - but the roof still stops the rain and snow. This spring - I'll have to find a way to permanently anchor it. I might run chains along the bottom and pour a concrete pad over them. For now - the big Pettibone backhoe and my Deere 1010 crawler loader are parked inside and the building it's chained to them.

I guess I'm lucky the thing didn't land on my solar panels. There's over $20,000 worth and my homeowners insurance does not cover them.

Tim

The insurance companies are going to put a stop to them is what a few of the adjusters have said. Some have with the tarp ones more so than the total metal quancet ones.

I get somewhat upset as my building designs are to expensive, but I always get the bid on fixing the blow aways the next day after a storm. Seems it is very important to get there right away as another storm may make it worse and I'm to let a good customer sit and wait while I do the redo's on the blow aways. So far I have always got right on them, but it ticks me off, but who can realy blame them for trying to save a few dollars. I live in a small comunity and all are friends, but none of them so far worry about the peice of redoing them. Usualy their deductable and the high risk name costs them more than the building did in the first place.

Like a old guy I used to work for say's you can't afford to ever do it right the first time, but when you redo it ya sure can find the time to do it rightsomehow.

I should mention that we intentionaly leave a little loose dirt in the bottom of the post holes so the concrete will settle and pull downward even more. I'm not even sure it is a good idea, but so far it hasn't hurt anything.

I've got one building in a sheltered area and it was fine during the windstorm. The one that blew over is in the windiest spot on my property. Even when in place, nothing stays dry inside of it since all rain and snow comes in sideways. I was just trying to hold off until Spring and then I was going to close three walls and anchor it.

I wouldn't be surprised if your friends had the same guys do his shed. They didn't speak a lick of English and drove a Ford diesel F series truck and trailer with North Carolina license plates. The building was the heaviest-duty rating that could be ordered from them - with heavier gauge steel and extra bracing - but even so - it's just held together with little self-tapping screws.

It got cold and snowed two days after they installed it - that's why I put off doing more work to it until spring. Had I been smart - I would of chained it to my equipment like it is now.

By the way - to the two Mexican (or Spanish?) workers - I give them credit. Those guys really work hard - I at least give them credit for that. When they left - I noticed they get around this area by reading a GPS that's in spanish. It tells them how to get job to job, where the next motel is, etc.

• Hobby farm

Paul

• Screw Anchors

I can't remember the name of the place, but it's in Ballston Spa, NY off exit 12 of the Adirondack Northway, heading west towards Rt. 50, before the main Curtis Lumber headquarters on the left, and the guy makes galvanized spiral, auger shaped, anchors that I believe you can use in the earth, would have to had more resistance to the windloads that lifted that thing off then those stakes, especially with some thread engagement. I can't for the life of me remember the name so I could look it up, I'm sure they have a website, they have a patented system I believe, his daughter worked at a local restaurant, has served myself and my father, got to talking and she mentioned the place, and I said I pass by it everytime I go to the farm. Can't even come close to remembering what the heck the name of the thing is or the company, you'll see pallets of them outside their building. It must have some strenght to it as it held it's shape, sorry to hear it went over on you.