Steel Buildings Make It Easy to Be an Urbavore

As more urban dwellers succumb to the allure of self-sufficiency, the issue of fitting agricultural structures into the urban setting becomes more important. Where do you put a chicken coop? Can it fit in next to the patio? What will the neighbors think? Steel buildings offer the solution to many of the dilemmas of the modern urbavore with stylish, inexpensive, easy-to-construct structures to house chickens, small domestic animals, gardening equipment and even greenhouses. Around the country, urban survivalists are turning to steel building construction for many uses.

Chicken Coops

Forget the lean-to shanty look for your chickens. A Quonset-style steel building can make the ideal chicken coop for your laying hens. All it takes is a few modifications to standard steel building construction to create an attractive, durable and efficient chicken house. A Colorado architect based his design for chicken coops for local schools on traditional Quonset construction. His additions – slatted wood sides for ventilation, a sand floor for easy cleaning and concrete footings to bolt the henhouse down securely. The 8x10 structures hold 10 hens in comfort and the high roofs make for easy tending.

Goat Shelters

A goat is the perfect urban animal – they’re small, they give milk and they help keep the lawn trimmed. Many cities allow residents to keep one or two goats as pets – and they make affectionate, family pets. You can’t comfortably keep a goat in the garage, though, and most families don’t have the space to keep one indoors. A small steel building can provide the ideal shelter for a pair of goats, complete with pens and feed storage. In most cases, you won’t need a full floor – the goats will be perfectly content with an earth floor.

Garden Storage Sheds

Metal buildings are most commonly used as garden sheds or storage sheds. If you’re currently keeping all of your garden implements, including your mower, tractor and other power tools, in your garage, a separate building can free up your garage space for its intended use so you can get your car out of the weather. Steel buildings offer many advantages over traditional wood structures and the new fiberglass buildings. They’re inexpensive, don’t need a full foundation and require very little maintenance to keep them looking neat and fresh.

No matter what you use them for, steel buildings also fit comfortably into the urban landscape. The many colors and styles make it easy to choose one that matches your home, enhances your property and gives you the space you need to provide your own food.