For contractors, landscapers and snow-plow operators in the Cleveland area, equipment usually outgrows the building before the business does. A post frame storage building gives you clear-span bays without columns to steer around, with wall height set by your tallest machine instead of by a standard garage door. In Cleveland these buildings belong on commercially or industrially zoned land; residence districts cap accessory buildings at 15 feet, and that cap rules out the door and wall height a lift or a raised dump bed needs.
Weather matters as much as zoning. East-side plow fleets work in Cuyahoga's primary snowbelt, so their building needs a roof designed for heavy snow and drifting, and doors that still open after a storm. Close to the lake, the city applies its most severe wind exposure category, and a 16- or 20-foot-wide door is the weakest part of that wall. We size headers, door framing and bracing for your site instead of adding them later.
What to know before building in Cleveland
Size doors for the machine, not the catalog
Measure the tallest and widest thing you will ever drive in: a raised dump bed, a mast, a plow blade angled to one side, mirrors. Add room to steer. Door height then sets wall height, which sets truss and post size. Getting this right up front costs less than living with a bay that only fits half the fleet.
Floors and drains
Loaded trucks and tracked machines need a thicker, reinforced slab than a car garage, and melting snow and salt need somewhere to go. Floor drains and wash areas tie into utilities, and the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District is one of the agencies a Cleveland permit can be routed to, so we plan drainage before the slab is formed.
Heated, cold or both
Cleveland's design criteria use a 5 degree winter design temperature. Batteries, hydraulics and fluids do better above freezing, but heating an entire storage building is expensive. A common layout is an insulated, heated maintenance bay at one end and unheated storage for the rest, separated by an insulated wall.
No contractor yards at home
Cleveland's zoning limits home occupations in residence districts to work needing only customary home equipment and no non-resident employees. A fleet garage on a house lot will not meet that, so equipment storage for a business needs a commercially or industrially zoned site. We can review a parcel's zoning before you buy it.
Common equipment storage facilities projects around Cleveland
- Plow truck and salt-spreader storage for a snow-removal contractor
- Landscaping fleet building with mower bays and a parts room
- Drive-through bay for dump trucks and equipment trailers
- Cold storage for excavation or paving equipment
- Heated maintenance bay attached to an unheated storage building
Equipment Storage Facilities FAQs for Cleveland
What door size do I need for an equipment building?
It depends on your largest machine. We measure height with any bed, mast or boom raised as it will be when entering, add clearance on each side for steering, and allow for equipment you expect to buy. Wide doors on a wall facing the lake, or on an exposed site, need heavier framing, so door size and location are settled before the truss design is ordered.
Can I keep work equipment in a pole building at my house in Cleveland?
Usually not as a business. Residence-district home occupations are limited to customary home equipment with no non-resident help, and accessory buildings are capped at 15 feet tall. A personal truck, trailer or mower fits in a garage; a contractor's fleet needs commercially or industrially zoned land, inside the city or in a suburb with suitable zoning.
Should an equipment storage building be insulated?
Insulating the roof at least is worth it in nearly every case, because it controls condensation that drips onto equipment when warm, wet machines come in from the cold. Full insulation and heat make sense where you do maintenance or store fluids and batteries. Many owners heat one bay and leave the rest cold to keep operating costs down.
About our equipment storage facilities
Clear-span storage buildings for trucks, tractors and heavy equipment, with doors and sidewalls sized to the machines you park inside.
Sizes, materials and options