A garage is a great place to store all those things that don’t have space for inside of your home. At some point, however, the clutter starts to build up in your garage and you may have trouble using the space effectively any longer. There is a fine line between using your garage as a storage space and allowing it to be so filled up with items that it’s hard to put things away and get them back out once again. In this post, we’ll provide some tips to help declutter your garage, so you can make the best use of your space again.
If you own livestock, it’s important to provide those animals with shelter to keep them healthy and protect them away from the harsh outdoor elements. Unfortunately, some types of barns and other shelter structures can be expensive, making it difficult for landowners to afford these buildings.
By choosing a metal livestock barn from American Carports, Inc., you can bring down the cost of this project while still getting a sturdy, long-lasting shelter for your animals. With so many different styles to pick from, the best way to get started is by exploring the Build & Price Tool here on our site. Feel free to contact us if you have questions about our products and the many custom options we offer.
Providing Shade is Key
One of the most important roles of a livestock barn or shelter is simply to provide shade from the hot summer sun. While it’s easy to look outside in the cold weather and think that your animals might be uncomfortable, most animals can deal with cold temperatures just fine (with exceptions for extreme cold, of course). However, it can be harder for those same animals to deal with searing hot temperatures in summertime, which is why adding shade to your property is so important.
It’s pretty easy to offer animals shade when working with American Carports, Inc. to create a new metal structure. Any kind of structure with a roof is going to offer at least some degree of shade, although some will do better than others. Let’s discuss a few key points on this topic:
Not just shade from above. It’s important to remember that the sun doesn’t only beat down from directly overhead. The sun might be high in the sky during the middle of a summer day, but it will also get to your animals from flatter angles in the morning and evening. Therefore, a building with at least a couple of walls in addition to a roof is going to perform much better as a shade structure than a building with only a roof, such as a carport or lean-to.
Make sure to include ventilation. Shade is great, but if a space is too tightly enclosed in the hot weather, it could end up leading to high interior temperatures that won’t serve the animals well in the end. It’s important to ensure your livestock barn has plenty of ventilation to keep the air inside fresh and as comfortable as possible for your animals. It’s easy to add features like windows and doors when ordering from American Carports, Inc., so you can build ventilation right into your plan.
Easy access. A shade structure is only going to be used for your livestock if it is readily available to them when the hot part of the day arrives. Whether you drive them into the shelter intentionally or just keep it open as an option for them to self-regulation, it’s important to position this structure as conveniently as possible on your property.
Simply blocking out the sun from directly beating down on your livestock can go a long way toward keeping them healthy through the summer. This might seem like a simple thing, but it can have a profound effect on their overall well-being.
Building a Partner for Your Barn
If you already have a barn on your property, you may be tempted to just use that for your livestock shelter. In some cases, that could work out just fine. But the barn probably has other uses already, such as storage and a place for some of the animals to sleep at night. Ideally, you’ll have a separate shade structure that can be used throughout the day to give animals a break from the heat without interrupting your day-to-day activities inside the main barn.
Of course, if you don’t yet have a barn, or you need a new one, American Carports, Inc. can help on that point, as well. Our custom metal barns are affordable and endlessly customizable, making it easy to create the perfect size and shape for your needs. With a barn serving as the focal point of your livestock operation and another shade structure giving your animals a respite from the heat, you’ll have the buildings you need to keep the land working nicely for years to come.
A Timely Project
Among the many advantages that are enjoyed when you select a metal livestock shelter over a wooden structure is the short timeline required. In general, a metal barn is going to be constructed much quicker from start to finish than a wooden alternative. That means you can get up and running with this new shelter in short order and give your animals the space they need to thrive.
Place Your Order
Start your order for a custom metal livestock shelter today. We look forward to serving you soon!
For the most part, vehicles are designed to endure the difficult conditions that come with a life spent in the outdoors. Cars and trucks have to perform in all kinds of weather while keeping their occupants safe and dry, and they are built with that challenge in mind.
However, even the best vehicles on the market have trouble fighting back against one particular force—the sun. If your vehicle is subject to the hot sun day after day, there is likely to be damage in the end. Let’s look at what you can do to minimize that damage and maintain the condition of your vehicle for as long as possible. Here’s how to protect your car from heat and sun damage.
Creating suitable storage solutions for your industrial equipment is an important part of protecting your investment. Industrial equipment can easily cost tens of thousands—if not hundreds of thousands—of dollars, so having the right storage available is essential. View these industrial equipment storage tips and ideas to assist you.
American Carports, Inc. offers a variety of metal buildings that are affordable, customizable, and perfect for industrial equipment storage. Use our Build & Price Tool to explore the many possibilities for your new structure, and receive an instant quote.
Establishing a Schedule
The periods of use and inactivity for your equipment will depend on the nature of your business. Some businesses have no downtime periods, meaning they don’t have much of a need for storage. However, if there are any times during the year when certain equipment isn’t used, you’ll want to have an appropriate spot ready for those pieces to reside.
You probably already have a schedule in place that outlines what equipment is used at what times. Turn to that schedule to determine how much storage space you really need throughout the year. Remember, when talking about large industrial equipment, you’ll need to have space to store your items in a protected spot and move them in and out safely.
Determining the Right Storage Environment
For some pieces of equipment, the only storage requirement will be that the equipment stays dry while not in use. In that case, something like a simple carport could work perfectly. You could add one or more carports to your property, giving you covered storage for your equipment while it’s not in use. Carports, when ordered from a quality supplier like American Carports, Inc., are an affordable and durable storage solution.
Of course, the kind of protection offered by a typical carport may not be enough for some pieces. If you need to have your equipment stored indoors, look to a barn or clear span building as a better choice. These structures will ensure your equipment will be completely protected from all sides, which may be necessary for sensitive gear or in harsh climates. Clear span buildings are great for storing big pieces since they can offer ample uninterrupted floor space for storage and moving equipment freely.
Basic Storage Tips
The biggest hurdle you need to clear concerning storage is figuring out where your industrial equipment is going to live when not in use. Whether it’s a carport, barn, clear span building, or something else entirely, solving that problem should be your focus.
When that choice is made, there are some other steps you need to take to ensure your equipment remains in good condition after the storage period is over:
Check the tires. If a piece of equipment has tires, those tires will be holding the equipment up the whole time it’s in storage. To avoid tire damage, check the air pressure in each tire prior to putting the item into storage. Then, continue to check on that air pressure periodically so it can be topped off, as needed.
A thorough cleaning. It’s a good practice to properly clean any piece of equipment that’s going to be put into storage. Cleaning each item as recommended by the manufacturer will help to protect its condition and better prepare it to go right back to work when the time comes.
Plan repairs. All of your equipment should be repaired either before it goes into storage or while it’s in the storage period. This is a great time to take care of minor maintenance and repair points that you didn’t have time to address while the equipment was in operation.
The goal of industrial equipment storage is to keep all of your gear in good condition so it’s ready to jump back into action. Simple tasks like checking the air pressure in the tires and performing minor repair work will go a long way toward making this storage period successful for each item in your inventory.
Work With American Carports, Inc.
We hope these industrial equipment storage tips and ideas assist you. American Carports, Inc. can provide you with just about any size and shape of metal building you may require. We look forward to helping you with all of your storage needs!
