Silo Construction in Nebraska 



15 



LAYING THE WALLS. 



Between each two courses of blocks in the mortar joint, a 

 steel reinforcing bar is laid. This bar is preferably made of 

 No. 3 hard wire. However, it can be made of two No. 9 wires or 

 one No. 6 wire and a smaller wire. There should be reinforcing 

 at each motar joint. 



The doors are either of the intermittent type or of the con- 

 tinuous type. The intermittent type is much more easily con- 

 structed tho not quite as convenient as the continuous type. 



The door frames must be well reinforced with heavy steel bars. 

 These bars stand up and down on either side of the door with 



Fig. 5. Homemade single-piece concrete 

 block machine. 



other bars running across between the doors. The bars which 

 lie in the mortar joint either hook around the vertical rods ad- 

 jacent to the door or pass thru the mortar joints between the 

 doors. 



BLOCKS. 



The blocks for concrete silos can be of almost any type or 

 form. Solid blocks can be used, but are very heavy and trouble- 

 some to handle. Straight-faced commercial blocks will make 

 good silos. However, the silo must be plastered on the inside. 

 Commercial blocks with curved faces make good silos, tho they 

 are generally so porous that they should be plastered on the in- 

 or at least should be washed with a good coat of pure cement. 



The Department of Agricultural Engineering has devised a 



