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We've seen a number of innovative silo homes over the years, but this new side-byside silo home - with a giant deck spanning the tops of both structures - may be the most impressive ever.
"There are thousands of unused silos around, and I decided there had to be some-thing better to do with them than let them stand vacant," says Leonard "Domie" Hassett, Denison, Iowa. "Pigeons were the only ones using these silos and they objected vigorously when we started work a year ago in January."
The twin Hanson silos, which were put up in the early 1960's, are 20 ft. in dia. and 70 ft. high.
The south silo has been converted to living quarters for Hassett. It has all the mod-ern comforts of home. The big upper deck provides a panoramic view of the country-side. Hassett plans to convert the second silo to living space as well.
The converted silo has five floors, each with 314 sq. ft. The first floor has a toilet, shower, and washer and dryer. The second is the kitchen. The third is a family room and the fourth contains a bedroom with bath. The fifth is a living room with a moveable tractor tire chandelier.
Floors are connected with curved stair steps running along one side of the rooms.
The outside walls are insulated with fiberglass and are covered by wafer board that's screwed to 1 in. wood strips spaced every 4 ft. "Walls are actually a æ16-a-gon,'" Hassett says. "That was probably the most time-consuming part of the project."
Electric radiant heat panels in the 8-ft. ceilings provide heat to each room. That's supplemented when necessary by electric heat strips in the air conditioning system.
Unloading doors up one side were converted to windows and additional 3 by 4-ft. and 2 by 2 1/2-ft. windows "are scattered around wherever we thought they should be," Hassett says. Curved steel window frames were first bolted in place in the sides of the stavewalls, then window holes were cut out, and windows installed, he says.
Work was done one floor at a time from the ground up so the 26 by 56-ft.deck was one of the last projects, Hassett says. It's supported by two telephone poles that run across the tops of the silos and are held in place with steel bars.
The deck is covered with artificial turf and has a railing all the way around.
Hassett plans to begin work on the second silo next fall. One of the projects will be to connect the second floor kitchen of the first silo to the second floor of the second silo with a glass walkway (the structures are only 4 1/2-ft. apart). The second floor of silo number two will serve as a formal dining area.
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