At Home: Converted grain bins see new life as patios, gazebos

As rural infrastructure gives way to suburban sprawl, one casualty is the grain bin. Traditionally used by farmers to store dry corn and soybeans, metal grain bins have dotted the Kansas landscape for more than 100 years.

Today, many discarded grain bins are getting a second life in a Pinterest-sweeping trend that blends farmhouse chic with environmental stewardship. Repurposed bins can be found in Shawnee County in the shape of patios, pool pavilions and fire pits.

Randy and Elizabeth Gragg’s neighbor, Gary Roberts, inspired them to build their own grain bin patio after he added one to his yard.

“We were down there, and we said, ‘We need to do this,’ ” said Randy Gragg. “And then we started seeing pictures on Facebook of grain bin gazebos, bars, some bigger, some smaller.”

The Graggs set out to find a grain bin, which Randy said turned out to be the most difficult part of the process.

“It took two years to find one,” he said.

Roberts tore down several bins for farmers who wanted them off of their property, and the Graggs purchased one from him. The structure was moved on telephone poles and then cut to size and shape. Capital Ironworks in Topeka created wrought iron features that were added to the grain bin to match similar features on the front of the Graggs’ house, tying the two structures together visually.

The result is a rustic, open-air sitting area off of the home’s front porch. With chairs and a fire pit, it is an ideal place to entertain guests. Lush landscaping and the addition of electric lights complete the aesthetics day or night.

“When the lights are on, and you’re outside, it’s just absolutely cool,” Gragg said.

He has plans to repurpose every part of the grain bin, including the scrap metal that was removed, by building raised garden beds.

“(The bins) could have just sit out there in a field and rotted away to nothing,” Gragg said. “They are exactly how they were coming out of the field with rust and all. It gives them character.”

Character is what Ron Ewing’s wife, Melodie, was looking for when she saw a photo of a repurposed grain bin five years ago.

“We thought about building a gazebo, but this kind of gives you the farm look of being in the country,” said Ewing. “I think the patina gives it the rustic look. It has a lot more character.”

With a friend’s help, Ewing constructed a grain bin patio adjacent to the family’s pool before the trend really took off. Melodie noticed a barn that was being torn down on N.E. Meriden Road in Shawnee County, and Ron paid $100 for the grain bin next to it.

“Now you can buy brand new kits that are pretty expensive,” he said. “But if someone really wanted to do what I did, watch Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace or drive some country roads.”

Ewing and his friend took the grain bin down piece by piece, reassembled it, and raised it back up again. He left the north wall on to block the wind from that direction and added handrails and a gas fire pit.

“Sometimes we just go out there and drink a glass of wine or beer. If we’re in the pool, and it’s raining, we run up there until it blows over,” he said. “We use it all the time.”

Once piece of advice Ewing offers homeowners considering building their own grain bin patio is to number each of the top and side sections during disassembly so they are easier to put together again.

This was the approach that Terry Stearman and Mike Morris took last fall when they moved a grain bin from Pittsburg to the Stearmans’ property in North Topeka for reconstruction.

“The structure of a grain bin is its pieces,” said Morris, operating partner at Quality Construction. “You can’t lay it on its side and move it because it will collapse in on itself. You have to take it apart piece by piece.”

After pouring a circular concrete pad whose middle is one inch higher than the surrounding areas for drainage purposes, it took Stearman and Morris a day to take the bin apart and two days to reconstruct it.

“The outside walls support the roof, and the roof shapes it,” Morris said.

The patio is a work in progress. Along with electricity and a handrail, Stearman and his wife, Barb, plan to add some additional details, including a space for serving appetizers and drinks, as well as roll-up tarp coverings that can be put in place in case of cold or rainy weather.

One thing they have no plans to change are the original finishes on the grain bin itself, which give the patio the weathered appearance of being original to the property.

For homeowners who want to capture the spirit of farm hospitality, metal grain bin structures can be an environmentally friendly and economical choice.