228 Jonrval of Agriculture, Virtoria. \\Q April, 1918. 



SILO FOR ENSILAGE OR GRAIN. 



Plans and Specifications for an 100=ton — All Wood — Building. 



By J. ^¥ilson, Silo Builder. 



Foundation. 



Level off site for a diameter of 18 feet. Drive a peg in the centre of 

 site, and with a trammel 7 ft. 2 in. long describe a circle. Then lengthen 

 trammel to 8 ft. 2 in. by nailing a piece of wood to it, and describe 

 another circle. Excavate to a depth of 6 in. between the two circles, 

 u^ing the loose earth taken from the trench to fonn a mould for the con- 

 crete foundation. The proportions of the various constituents of the 

 concrete depend upon the air voids or spaces in the metal or gravel, and 

 upon the strength of concrete required. The mortar or compo of sand 

 and cement should be sufficient in bulk to fill all the voids m the metal, 

 preferably somewhat in excess, say, about 10 per cent. The voids can 

 be found by filling a kerosene tin with the metal or gravel, making a 

 b^ilk of 4 gallons; the whole is then weighed, allowance being made for 

 Weight of tin. Water is poured in until flush with the surface, and the 

 tin with its contents is again weighed. Thus, as water weighs 10 lbs. 

 to the gallon, the percentage is arrived at. For instance, a kerosene 

 tin of metal weighed 60 lbs. deducting the weight of the tin. Wh-en 

 filled with water, it weighed 78 lbs. Consequently, the void space 

 was represented by 18 lbs. of water, while the whole volume, 4 gallons, 

 Weighed 40 lbs. Thus, the percentage of void was found to be 45. A 

 good mixture in this instance would be 6 parts of metal, 2 parts of sand, 

 and 1 part of cement. In the example given, the metal was fairly 

 large — about 2J in. The percentage of void space increases as the size 

 of metal or gravel diminishes, running from 35 to 45 in ordinary 

 cases. For mixing concrete a smooth ])lace or board is required. 

 Al. mixing board may be made from the 6x1 hardwood provided 

 fbr lining the roof. The sand, which must be dry, should be first 

 put on the hoard, and then the cement added. The tAvo should be 

 thoroughly mixed and rolled out over the hoard in a thin layer, and the 

 gravel or metal then spread on the top of the cement and sand. The 

 whole may now be mixed dry, after which water should be added and 

 shovelling continued until the whole mass is thoroughly moist, but not 

 sufficiently so to make it run or become sloppy. The concrete should be 

 used at once, and not allowed to stand-^ven for half-an-hour. Any old 

 concrete, as well as any finished off the previous day, should be well 

 M^etted and picked over to form a bond. In laying a foundation it is 

 advisable to olace a few rows of wire, barbed or plain, through concrete 

 to reinforce it. Place four anchor bolts in trench as shown m Fig. 1 and 

 fill in mould, and ram lightly. Excavations for anchor posts (three) 

 should be 2 ft. X 2 ft. X 2 ft., and spaced 12 feet from foundation at 

 equal distances. Three anclior bolts are also required. Fix anchor 

 posts, fill in with concrete, and ram. 



Scaffold. 



Erect scaffold, keeping back 15 inches from the nearest point of 

 foundation. Bolts and nuts are required for scaffolding. Thoroughly 

 stay scaffold with 3x1 braces. 



