ORIENTATION & LOCATION

It is generally accepted that a north/south facing building picks up the sunlight better and an east/west building ventilates easier.

Therefore, unless you are into cut flowers or a similar high production item east/west is preferred.

“Preferred” is the operative word. Several other things come into play and warrant consideration…

The direction of door access is one of the important points of consideration.

The slope of the land may have some bearing since structures MUST be level from side to side but a moderate lengthwise slope is acceptable.

If you are in an area with heavy winter drifting, structures should be in line with the prevailing winds since the opposite orientation will cause a very unbalanced snow loading.

In most cases, an inline structure will have the snow blow off.

If the structure will be fastened to another building, ask yourself the following question, “When the snow slides or blows off the existing, where does it typically fall?”

If this is within the area where you are thinking to build, your choices include moving it slightly away and connecting with a tunnel, reinforcing the first 12’ section with some extra hoops or simply moving the building to another location.

When the long-term plan does include multiple buildings, the layout of the end result is important since a “patchwork” layout will be inefficient from operation criteria.

The cost of access roads and bringing in services is often significant.

Sometimes, placing the building where these expenses are minimal, is only a short-term saving.

Access to sufficient quantities of suitable water is of critical importance.