In Sunnyside, Washington, one of the big concerns for outdoor activity is, ironically, snow.

For grower Gene Blisner, the fluctuations of weather in Sunnyside - hot sun, heavy snows and of course, the rainfall for which Washington is known - led to him to finally decide that he could no longer store his tractors and other farm machinery outside in the elements.

Blisner has been farming grapes and apples on an orchard in this central-Washington farm community for the past 15 years. He says seeing the pounding that his equipment took from the weather finally made him want to build a home for his machinery.

Prior to building the structure, he says he "stored" his equipment and vehicles out in the elements on the grounds.

"Before we got the building up, we just let the farm equipment sit outside," Blisner says. "And actually the hardest thing on it beside the rains is snow . it's always a concern here in the middle of the state. And direct sunlight can cause the seats to fade and crack."

Blisner researched his options for a storage building, considering new construction as well as pre-built structures.

A well-timed fax from Allied Steel tipped the scales in the direction Blisner ended up going.

"I got a fax about a surplus building that I thought would fit my needs perfectly," he says. "So I did some more research, and read up on the building and I thought, 'Yep, it fits the bill'."

He ordered the building in the fall of 2003. But because of his schedule, Blisner held off delivery of the building until the following May.

Allied helped Blisner develop the plans for the 40- by 70-foot building, which is 16 feet tall. He says he appreciated the input and help the company gave him in getting his building ordered and designed and through the approval process.

The building came in parts and arrived on time from California.

Blisner recruited a crew of three men to help him build the structure. They put up the frame and got the building in shape in short order.

"We had no experience with this kind of thing," Blisner says. "Actually a couple of the guys had done some of this kind of work, but not on this scale."

Blisner says he is looking forward to many years of use from his new building.

"I am now going to have plenty of room to store all my various farm equipment, vehicles and machinery, like tractors," he says.

Blisner says he is still finishing up parts of the building, because in fall 2004, they were still in the middle of harvesting grapes.

Overall, working with Allied was a good experience," he says. "They provided a price I could live with, the quality is great and the directions were easy enough for us to build it ourselves without a whole lot of experience."