Researching chemical shed designs? Want to build a chemical shed designed for compliance and safety? Looking for inspiration?
New chemical shed builds are popular in 2024 as cropping enterprises seek to comply with sustainable grain certification requirements and improve general farm safety.
If you are planning on upgrading your on-farm chemical storage, this project at Broughton in the West Wimmera region is a great starting point for ideas and inspiration.
Built in early 2023, the project addresses important compliance and safety requirements such as ventilation and a carefully selected site location.
Read on to learn about the project in detail. We have also included a handy price guide and a photo gallery.
Farm Chemical Shed Designed For Compliance
Project Overview
Size: 18m (L) x 12m (W) x 5m (H).
The design uses three six metre bay spacings and a standard size span to create a configuration that is both practical and cost-effective.
Location: Broughton VIC. You can learn more about the latest projects in this area, here – West Wimmera Farm Sheds Brochure.
Build date: 2023
Project Details
From using lockable personal access doors to installing the required safety signage, this project gets the small details right, helping to create a farm chemical shed designed for compliance, safety and functionality.
Here’s an overview of six of the key details.
1. A Well-Planned & Prepared Site
If you are building a shed with Action, there are two things that you will be responsible for.
These are the site preparation for the shed and the unloading of the shed.
Site preparation is an important consideration for any farm shed project and a chemical shed is no exception.
For example, a well-prepared site ensures that the shed is easily accessible in all weather conditions both during installation and afterwards.
Additionally, choosing the correct chemical shed site location is also important for compliance and safety.
For example, your chemical shed needs to be located away from environmentally sensitive areas such as waterways.
It is also a good idea to allow adequate separation between chemical sheds and other sheds such as workshops and hay sheds to minimise the risk of fire and contamination.
This project has ticked the box for both site selection and site preparation. The site is clear and level with good access roads.
The site also has adequate separation from other sheds and infrastructure and there are no nearby waterways at risk of contamination.
You can learn more about how to prepare your shed pad in the video below.
2. Safe Access & Lockable Doors
Having carefully planned access points in your chemical shed is incredibly important.
Good chemical shed access not only improves the functionality of your shed design, but it also ensures that you can safely exit the shed in an emergency.
A personal access door is usually a requirement, and the shed also needs to be lockable to meet regulations. This helps to prevent unauthorised access.
Along with a personal access door, this project uses several sliding doors – one in a gable end and one the full width of a bay – to provide excellent, practical access to the shed.
These sliding doors provide a number of other benefits, too. For example, opening the sliding doors helps improve the airflow through the shed which is important when working with chemicals in an enclosed space.
Sliding doors can also be opened to improve the amount of natural light in the shed.
However, we recommend installing hi-bay lights in your chemical shed as chemical shed lighting is a requirement on the Sustainable Grain Audit Checklist.
3. Effective Ventilation
As we have just mentioned, one of the benefits of sliding shed doors is that they can be opened while you are working the shed to improve airflow.
Along with sliding doors, this chemical shed also includes ridge ventilation to improve the air quality and airflow in the shed. This helps chemical vapours disperse which creates a safe working environment and reduces the risk of fire.
Ventilation is a requirement for a compliant farm chemical shed and we usually recommend using a combination of ridge ventilation or roof whirly birds and wall vents to ensure that effective ventilation achieved.
4. Required Signage Installed
Installing the required signage for your chemical shed is a fairly straightforward task but it is important not to overlook it or put it at the bottom of your to do list.
Chemical shed signage is important for several reasons.
Firstly, it helps to keep safety in the front of your mind when working with chemicals and alerts visitors to your farm of the danger and hazard.
Secondly, signage is also a requirement for compliant chemical storage and a box that needs ticking for sustainable grain certification.
5. Concrete Flooring
Concrete slabs are a great addition to farm shed projects.
For example, concrete slabs make it easier to load and unload the shed and easier to keep the shed floor clean and tidy.
This is true for farm chemical sheds too; however, a concrete slab is not just a nice-to-have inclusion for a chemical shed it is a required inclusion.
There are several details that your chemical shed slab will need to address including:
- Drainage points
- Sealant
- Bunding
Additionally, your sealed, bunded and drainable concrete floor will also need to be able to contain around 25% of the total volume of chemicals stored or 110% of the largest container, whichever is greatest.
The actual volume required can vary from state-to-state so use this as a general guide and check with your state storage regulations.
This project also includes a concrete apron with a drainage point to create a functional sprayer wash-down and fill-up area away from the main storage area.
6. Utilise Vertical Space
The pallet racking installed in the chemical shed allows the farmer to take full advantage of the shed height for storage.
This also allows you to follow best-practice chemical storage recommendations such as making sure granules are stored above liquids.
While this shed uses a 5-metre height, height can be cost-effective way to increase the size of a shed – provided it is safe to do so.
So, other popular chemical shed heights you could consider include 6 metres and 6.75 metres.
These heights often recommended if your chemical shed design includes a canopy which can reduce the overall clearance height.
So, that’s some details that help contribute to a farm chemical shed designed for compliance, safety and functionality.
Next up is a project price guide.
Project Price Guide
The price to build a similar farm chemical shed – 18m (L) x 12m (W) x 5m (H) – would cost approx. $90,000 – $110,000.
This price estimate includes footing concrete, installation costs and GST but excludes the concrete slab cost.
The overall project price will also depend on factors such as location and site accessibility.
You can learn more about chemical shed prices here – How Much Does It Cost To Build A Chemical Shed?
We hope this price guide is useful!
Check out some of our favorite photos of the project in the gallery below.
Project Gallery
Sometimes the best way to get ideas for your project is to see what others have been doing!
Browse the gallery below to get ideas for your compliant farm chemical shed.
We hope this feature project has given you some food for thought for your project!
We have listed some additional resources below to help you with your project planning.
Additional Resources
- Chemical Storage Requirements For Sustainable Grain Certification
- Chemical Shed Sizes – What Size Chemical Shed Do I Need?
- On-Farm Chemical Shed Guide (PDF Download)
- Standard Chemical Sheds Brochure (Size & Price Guide)
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