If you own a farm, you may have much more land than you do buildings. In fact, this is true for just about every farm out there, but at some point, you may decide you need additional building space. This means it’s time to raise a barn or build some new outbuildings to help accommodate your tools, equipment, and animals. If you’re planning on expanding your farm, you may need to purchase some tools and additional building supplies. Here are some things you might need.
Hardware
Hardware is a fairly broad category that includes everything from ropes to fasteners to wheels. If you’re expanding, you may need some door hardware if you’re building a new building, additional storage for your tools, or some tarps to help cover feed and other things that can be damaged by the water. Hardware is, individually, usually pretty affordable, but you want to be sure your budget can handle all of these costs because they will start to add up.
Power Tools
You probably have some power tools on hand already, but you may need more. Having a hydraulic-powered nail gun, for example, can make building the frame of your structure much faster. It can also be helpful to have battery-powered drills, sanders, and other tools that you can carry with you to any part of your build site without worrying about dragging around electrical cords or trying to find an outlet.
Fencing
If you’re expanding your animal holding pens, you will need to purchase additional fences and gates. There are a number of different fencing styles available. For farming, you’ll want a rural fence made from material such as netting, welded mesh, or barbed wire. This means you’ll need to purchase some steel posts and other additional items to use when constructing your fence. However, if done right, the end result will be a secure area for your livestock.
You may also want to purchase a security fence if you want to make certain no one can enter the area unless he or she has access to the gate. For these fences you can also use chainmesh, shadecloth, or even galvanised pipes. An electric fence is another option, although you’ll want to be sure to put up signs warning people about these types of fences.
Building Products
Of course, if you’re putting up new buildings you will need building products such as expansion joints, plywood, cement products, waterproofing materials, and more. Most of these materials will be used up as you build the project, so be sure you either have an accurate idea of how much of each you will need or you may end up making multiple orders.
To make sure that doesn’t happen, you should sit down with your blueprints or project outline and make certain you are ordering all of the parts you will need. You may even want to buy extra of some materials just in case you need more than you anticipate. If you have anything left over, you can store it until your next project.