Our farm shop design blog series, written by Dan Nyberg, the Sales Training Manager at Morton Buildings, focuses on a variety of farm shop design ideas to help you in planning your next agricultural building.
Overhead doors and entry doors must be as energy efficient as possible, since the overhead door is one of the largest areas for heat loss in the building. When choosing an overhead door size, always go wider and taller than what you feel is needed. There is nothing worse than having a beautiful energy-efficient shop that your newest piece of equipment cannot be driven into for repairs. Today, we feel a 24’ x 15’ overhead door should be a minimum. An electric operator with several remote controls for frequently used vehicles should be a standard part of the package. And a safety stop installed on the bottom astragal should be discussed since commercial operators can damage some types of equipment before they would release.
Size your door with at least 2 feet of side clearance and 1 foot of head clearance for largest equipment. Keep in mind that machinery always grows by a few feet. You can install a 36” service door to save energy.
With overhead doors, you won’t have to worry about pushing against snow in the winter, and the tracks won’t freeze up either. However, sliding doors are ideal for buildings that are not temperature-controlled.
There are almost unlimited options available for hydraulic and bi-fold doors. The bi-fold doors that we offer go up to 70’ wide, and the one-piece hydraulically operated doors come in a variety of sizes ranging from 10’ x 10’ to 80’ x 22’.
Give thought to adding one or two smaller overhead doors for those special pieces which will be regularly parked in your shop. If your primary pickup truck will be housed in the shop you won’t want to be opening a 24’ x 15’ just to get in or out. Consider vertical track to avoid having the track on a smaller door interfere with other activities.
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About Dan Nyberg, Sales Training Manager, Morton Buildings
Dan Nyberg has been employed with Morton Buildings for 28 years, where he held a variety of positions such as sales consultant, regional manager, and director of sales. He has also served as a board member of the National Frame Building Association for nine years. Dan has been involved with farming most of his life, from living on a dairy farm as a child, moving back to a mixed livestock and grain farm in high school, to managing a personal farm in Colorado focused on horse-drawn events. He has experience with beef cattle, dairy cattle, bison, pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese, horses and mules. Dan currently farms 72 acres with a herd of 23 Devon/Hereford cattle and owns three Morton buildings.
