# New and improved salt bin...



## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

Here is a before photo of our main salt bin. We needed more capacity and a real cover. I've been using tarps for years and finally got sick of the hassle. We had to remove about 550 tons first. The current size is 28' x 66'. The new bin will be 36' x 84'. We purchased a cover from Tek Supply.


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## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

Yea tarps suck.


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

My 1 yard loader doesn't get here for another week so I used the CAT for the day...Loads of fun...(Sarcasm!).

Saturdays plan: Finish cleaning out bin, realign bin blocks.


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## ryde307 (Dec 3, 2009)

Thats alot of salt to move with the skid. Looks good though.
Is that salt left over from last season?


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

ryde307;1512798 said:


> Thats alot of salt to move with the skid. Looks good though.
> Is that salt left over from last season?


Yes it is. Thanks. It is from last season. Good that we will have a bunch of salt that is paid for, but certainly not the best use of money for the last 8 months.


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## Morrissey snow removal (Sep 30, 2006)

we installed a couple of the cover for guys on blocks for salt u will love it 10 times better than tarps


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

Here is the completed bin. It's 4' wider and about 18' longer (and has straighter walls!). We start building the cover system in the morning!


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## mass1589 (Jan 24, 2011)

wow thats gonna hold alot more material!! looks good


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

What a day! 2 trips to Home Depot. 1 trip to a machine shop for emergency drilling to keep crew working. 2 trips to rental yard. One trip to Harbor Freight. Ugh!

So the holes one the base plates that connect the tube to the bin blocks were the wrong size. Called TekSupply, they agreed. Crew of 5 guys standing around. There are 28 plates with 4 holes each. Thats 112 holes. We drilled about 10 holes and burned up a 12.00 bit. Decided to go to a local machine shop and have them do a bunch while I drilled a few to keep crew moving. This system I know will be worth it in the end but today was a B*!&H!


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

mass1589;1514334 said:


> wow thats gonna hold alot more material!! looks good


Thanks!! Can't wait to see it done.


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## SNOWLORD (Aug 10, 2007)

TGS Inc.;1514990 said:


> What a day! 2 trips to Home Depot. 1 trip to a machine shop for emergency drilling to keep crew working. 2 trips to rental yard. One trip to Harbor Freight. Ugh!
> 
> So the holes one the base plates that connect the tube to the bin blocks were the wrong size. Called TekSupply, they agreed. Crew of 5 guys standing around. There are 28 plates with 4 holes each. Thats 112 holes. We drilled about 10 holes and burned up a 12.00 bit. Decided to go to a local machine shop and have them do a bunch while I drilled a few to keep crew moving. This system I know will be worth it in the end but today was a B*!&H!


If you ever end up in a situation like that again, find someone with an iron worker, I could punch those holes in less than a second a piece. Your project looks good nice bin!!


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

We smoked it today!! All hoops up. Now lots of details...


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## cmo18 (Mar 10, 2008)

In blocks alone you have a money pit?!!

In my area those blocks go for 100$ a piece, and you must have over 150! 

Awesome bin, will be really nice when done!


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

SNOWLORD;1515220 said:


> If you ever end up in a situation like that again, find someone with an iron worker, I could punch those holes in less than a second a piece. Your project looks good nice bin!!


Thanks! Never thought of an iron worker...Next time! lol



cmo18;1515642 said:


> In blocks alone you have a money pit?!!
> 
> In my area those blocks go for 100$ a piece, and you must have over 150!
> 
> Awesome bin, will be really nice when done!


Thanks! That's nuts re: 100 / block! We pay about 25-30 here.


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## Polarismalibu (Sep 20, 2012)

Looks great!! Will you use that much salt in a normal winter?


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## A&J Landscaping (Dec 7, 2011)

Very nice that will hold some salt


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

Polarismalibu;1515766 said:


> Looks great!! Will you use that much salt in a normal winter?


No, actually we will burn through 1/4 - 1/2 the bin per event! We move a lot of salt.


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## ryde307 (Dec 3, 2009)

TGS Inc.;1515972 said:


> No, actually we will burn through 1/4 - 1/2 the bin per event! We move a lot of salt.


Wow thats alot of salt per storm. At times i feel like we use a fair amount and its only 10_12 per event.


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## bowtie_guy (Jan 1, 2004)

That will be a much better setup once done!!!


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## Mike S (Feb 11, 2007)

Looking great!


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## cj7plowing (Feb 7, 2009)

what kind of fastening system are you using to the concrete? with the open front and back you think it will catch alot of wind during a blizzard or bad storm in the summer?


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

bowtie_guy;1516071 said:


> That will be a much better setup once done!!!


Agreed!!



Mike S;1516288 said:


> Looking great!


Thanks!


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

*Progress...*

Well just like building a house, once the walls go up it looks like it's taking forever...

All the hoops are in. The cross members that go in the front tube set and rear are done. Now we just have to use the TekSuppy supplied duct tape to cover all sharp joints and turnbuckles. In addition we have to prep the back wall, and install about 30 ratchet straps into the bin blocks to hold the tarp taught.

We will be taking a hiatus until Monday to allow some clean-up work to get done at our accounts.


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

cj7plowing;1516291 said:


> what kind of fastening system are you using to the concrete? with the open front and back you think it will catch alot of wind during a blizzard or bad storm in the summer?


The pictures I'm putting up today show the fasteners. Basically they are simple concrete anchors. Drill a deep hole, pound in the anchor and tighten the nut. Do this 100+times...lol

The back will have a wall and a vent (Monday's project). The front will remain open. The bin faces the North and a good portion of it is blocked by my building. Not really concerned with the front. I think it should be fine.


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

Here are some pictures showing fastening system and ratchets. I was a little skeptical at first but they are really strong. Monday we will be building the back wall and putting the duct tape on all the joints. If all goes well, covering Tuesday!


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## BigBoyPlowin (Nov 16, 2012)

Looks sweet...
With all that salt usage have you considered using Liquid???

Rock prices gotta Burn the pockets at that rate... But then again im sure you're getting it at Gravel tain rate.


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## G.Landscape (Oct 20, 2011)

That's a nice shed, we need to redo ours soon, our tarp and framing are falling apart.


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

BigBoyPlowin;1518111 said:


> Looks sweet...
> With all that salt usage have you considered using Liquid???
> 
> Rock prices gotta Burn the pockets at that rate... But then again im sure you're getting it at Gravel tain rate.


We have 30,000 gallons of liquid on site. We built a few liquid trucks when salt got scarce two years ago. I think the results are ok but we run alot of salt trucks. It's difficult to have some lots with liquids and some with salt. We are now testing pre-wetting the salt at the spinner. It seems like a complete win win from my research!


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

G.Landscape;1518135 said:


> That's a nice shed, we need to redo ours soon, our tarp and framing are falling apart.


Yeah, it's a bit of an investment of both time and money now but when its snowing and 15 degrees out... )

-Wayne


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

T Minus 2 hours!! We have a great weather day here so we are trucking along! Putting in the rear vent right now then its cover time!

Here is a picture of the back wall.

-Wayne


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

The cover is on! You can see we had to have 4 guys pulling while another crew helped feed it along with the man lift as well as from the ground. It was fairly difficult to get this done but its all good now. Ran out of daylight or I would have shot a photo of it fully covered...Next week!


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## G.Landscape (Oct 20, 2011)

So Is a tandem axle truck able to pull in there and dump at full height?


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

Not sure...I doubt it. It was never my intention to have large trucks unload in the bin. We have always just had them dump in front of the bin so we can stack it with our loader. It seems every time a dump truck would do us the "favor" of putting the load as far in as they could it only made it harder to stack.

-Wayne


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## snowremoval4les (Mar 3, 2009)

That looks awesome!


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## mn-bob (Sep 18, 2012)

Looks great thanks for all the pictures
Hope we all have a great winter . 
MN -BOBussmileyflag


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

snowremoval4les;1519829 said:


> That looks awesome!


Thanks!!



mn-bob;1520546 said:


> Looks great thanks for all the pictures
> Hope we all have a great winter .
> MN -BOBussmileyflag


No problem on the pictures...Let it snow!!


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

*The finished product!*

Here it is...You can gauge the increase in capacity as its the same amount of salt as in the first series of pictures. )


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## Ne1 (Jan 15, 2007)

Looks great! I've been considering the same setup from Tek for some time. How many man hours did you have in the total assembly? Any advice you have if you were to do it again? Thanks


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## DeVries (Nov 27, 2007)

Looks good. One question is there a way for the wind to escape if it's blowing straight onto the opening? Ours had louvers in the back of it so that the cover doesn't trap the wind and act like a kite.


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

Ne1;1522035 said:


> Looks great! I've been considering the same setup from Tek for some time. How many man hours did you have in the total assembly? Any advice you have if you were to do it again? Thanks


I will add up rough amount of hours and make a post in the next day or two. I will also give a recap / advice at that time.



DeVries;1522046 said:


> Looks good. One question is there a way for the wind to escape if it's blowing straight onto the opening? Ours had louvers in the back of it so that the cover doesn't trap the wind and act like a kite.


Yes, it is a little hard to see but you can see the vent on the upper back wall. The bottom of the back wall also isn't fastened down per instructions to allow for gusts, etc.


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

*Construction labor*

Well here is a breakdown of the labor involved with the project:

Removing salt from bin: 13 hours

Breaking down blocks: 12 hours

Rebuilding walls (all three sides): 14 hours

Day one: 3-4 tubes, base anchors, drama with holes (6 guys * 8 hours): 48 hours
Day two: Finish tubes, wire / turnbuckles (6 guys * 8 hours): 48 hours
Day three: Back wall, ratchets, tape joints ( 4 guys * 8 hours): 32 hours
Day four: Cover (9 guys for varying hours): 48 hours
Day five: Cover tightening, straps, etc. (4 guys * 8 hours): 32 hours

Total cover construction: 208 hours

Total hours (salt removal, wall tear down/rebuild, cover): 247 hours

Afterthoughts about the project: It was a bigger job than I anticipated. I know there are always issues that come up in projects like this. The biggest one (issue) was the holes on all the anchors. Not having an established pace of how fast we would need them forced me to try and get all of them drilled out quickly as I could so guys wouldn't be standing around or production would stop. It was also difficult at first to get a rhythm. In hindsight I should have opened up all packages and staged things while inspecting pieces.

Once we had a few hours in after day one though things really flowed well. All in all I couldn't be happier!

Hope this was helpful for anyone considering building one themselves...

-Wayne


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## Ne1 (Jan 15, 2007)

So invest in a good hammer drill and lots of mason bits?


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

Ne1;1522893 said:


> So invest in a good hammer drill and lots of mason bits?


A good hammer drill is essential, I was surprised that we only used two mason bits!! We bought a couple dozen expecting them to go quickly. On the flip side, we did burn through a lot of metal bits for the enlarging of the wrong hole sizes...

-Wayne


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

Here is a night shot of the bin. We hung up some Hope Depot utility lights. I was surprised how much light they throw off in there.


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## MatthewG (Jun 16, 2009)

Pretty dam cool with the lights, maybe Christmas lights next ?!?!


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## jhall22guitar (Dec 11, 2011)

The lights make it look great! Dont even need any at the front!


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## BigBoyPlowin (Nov 16, 2012)

MatthewG;1524595 said:


> Pretty dam cool with the lights, maybe Christmas lights next ?!?!


troy cloggs partner company or landscape supply has alternation shades of colors in their dome!


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

I have been outdone!! lol. Would have never thought of that!

Leave it to Troy!


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## cat320 (Aug 25, 2000)

TGS Inc.;1525208 said:


> I have been outdone!! lol. Would have never thought of that!
> 
> Leave it to Troy!


well i guessthe mood lighting looks great if your clubing out in the bin lol but yours is more funtional with being able to see what you have in there lol


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

cat320;1525343 said:


> well i guessthe mood lighting looks great if your clubing out in the bin lol but yours is more funtional with being able to see what you have in there lol


Good point!! I can hear the thumping bass right now.....


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## Flawless440 (Dec 6, 2010)

Dam.... Guess i got to step my game up


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## EGLC (Nov 8, 2007)

if thats your salt bin & you're going through 1/4-1/2 of it per event I want to see the equipment line up!! 

Do you have a full-time salesman?


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## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

EGLC;1603490 said:


> if thats your salt bin & you're going through 1/4-1/2 of it per event I want to see the equipment line up!!
> 
> Do you have a full-time salesman?


We use a bit of salt! I had a salesperson for a few years. Laid him off last summer. I handle all sales now. It's kind of nice to be back talking to the customers.


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## Luther (Oct 31, 2007)

I missed this thread...Nice bin Wayne! Thumbs Up


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