# Finally - a barn raising!



## Farmchic (Mar 2, 2013)

Congratulations! Keep us updated on your plans and progress.


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

*Progress?*

Barn raising is a hair raising experience.
The bobcat guy finally came and removed the grass and topsoil from the building site. He also dropped off 4 loads of clay and a load of gravel for the post holes. He was supposed to come back today to level the clay so construction can begin on Wednesday morning. The materials also arrived today. Utilities was also scheduled today to mark the lines. 

Unfortunately, this is what today brought.









As you can see, the materials arrived, but so did 6" of fresh wet snow which is expected to continue into the morning. The bobcat guy and the utilities people didn't show up. If they don't come tomorrow, I will have to delay the construction crew again...


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## Phly (Nov 14, 2012)

Do everyone a favor and be understanding of weather. That much water can set ya back a couple days to weeks. Better to get it done right then fast. 
But I imagine you're stoked and excited! I can't wait to see the finished project.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Farmchic (Mar 2, 2013)

Agree, the weather can be your best friend one day and your worst enemy the next.

You'll get there, just be patient. 

Now would be a good time to look over your plans and make sure they are the way you want BEFORE they start putting up walls.


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

*More progress!*

The crew came today to drop off their machinery and the bobcat was able to get in to level the clay. It's still a bit mucky, but we are all systems go for tomorrow. The weather warmed considerably today and the or cast is calling for lots of sun and warmer temps through the weekend.

Things are looking better. You can see the starting parts now.









And the mucky but level building site.


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

subbing


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## Oldhorselady (Feb 7, 2012)

How exciting!!!!!!!


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

*Witching the utilities*

So the utilities company did not come to mark the gas line and the crew starts this morning. We know the gas line is well out of the way, but I want it marked anyways. So, we had a friend come over with a metal detector to find the lines. He also brought a set of witching rods (long pieces of welding rod bent in a L). The metal detector didn't find anything with any reliable accuracy, however, witching the lines worked like a charm. I am a skeptic by nature and my science background tells me it shouldn't work, but it does. The rods picked up the flow of gas underground, repeatedly. I know the result was accurate because we have had the line marked before. We knew where it was, but our friend who witches the lines did not. Interesting...

The utilities company will be here first thing this morning to mark the lines, so I am not terribly concerned.


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## Cacowgirl (Feb 19, 2011)

An exciting time for sure. Hope everything goes well. Do you have to schedule inspections as the work progresses?


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

Cacowgirl said:


> An exciting time for sure. Hope everything goes well. Do you have to schedule inspections as the work progresses?


No. The building is agricultural only. We have hired a reputable. company who specializes in this type of building so it should go fairly smoothe. We will then finish the inside ourselves. At that point we will have to have the electrical inspected, but that is all.

Utilities guy is here marking the lines. They look to be pretty much exactly where we witched them.


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## Almond Joy (Dec 4, 2011)

So exciting, good luck!


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## OTTBobsessed (Apr 17, 2013)

So neat!! Where in Alberta are you? I am moving to Edmonton soon!


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

OTTBobsessed said:


> So neat!! Where in Alberta are you? I am moving to Edmonton soon!


I am just east of Edmonton, in Strathcona County. It is definitely horse country out here.


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

*More progress!*

This is at the end of day 1.


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

I think your size is somewhat similar to the barn we had built - it is very pleasantly surprising when you see how fast they can put that thing up. We did what you are going to do - had the outside done professionally and finished the inside ourselves. For our barn, I think it could have been put up in three days except we had wind related delays so it took about four and a half.


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

Chevaux said:


> I think your size is somewhat similar to the barn we had built - it is very pleasantly surprising when you see how fast they can put that thing up. We did what you are going to do - had the outside done professionally and finished the inside ourselves. For our barn, I think it could have been put up in three days except we had wind related delays so it took about four and a half.


We are expecting it to take about three days. It should be up by Sunday and then the fun (and hard work) of finishing the inside begins! 

I'd love to see pics of your barn (inside and out).


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## TheLauren (Aug 26, 2012)

That seems so exciting!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Ray MacDonald (Dec 27, 2009)

So exciting!! Can't wait to see lots of progress!


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

*Bones, no skin yet.*

It is amazing how much can change in one day. Pics from the end of today.

View into the front door.









From the side. 









Tomorrow the crew starts putting the 'skin' on. If the weather cooperates, they should be done by Sunday.


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

Koolio said:


> ...
> I'd love to see pics of your barn (inside and out).


Koolio, I have been unsuccessful in my attempts to load my pics. May I ask how you do it? Thanks.


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

Chevaux said:


> Koolio, I have been unsuccessful in my attempts to load my pics. May I ask how you do it? Thanks.


I have a Photobucket account (free) where I upload my pictures. To share on a forum, I paste the image code into my post. There may be an easier way, but this is how I have done it. I do like having an online space for photo storage as well. A couple of years ago, we lost a bunch of pictures when our house was broken into and my laptop was stolen. This way, I don't have to worry about that.


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

OK - I think I've got the picture thing in hand. Here's my barn -- we've used it two winters now. There's still a bit of painting to do on the inside and a few shrubs to plant on the outside this year but otherwise we're finished with it (there's much still that we could do but we don't want to turn into a lifelong project). My "tackroom" is a resin garden shed we bought on sale - it's not big but works quite well at keeping the tack dry and dust free - it's been set up so we could take off the original doors and put in some nice would ones if we ever decide to do that. Behind the tackroom (it doesn't show up well in the pictures) is a place set up to store the oats and pelleted feed.


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

Very nice Chevaux! I like how light and airy your barn is. I will continue to post pictures as our barn progresses. The crew took the weekend off, it hopefully the building will get skin and doors tomorrow. Once that is done, we will work on the inside.


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

*More progress and a hiccup*

The crew was back to work again today and got the siding on the two side walls. Unfortunately, it was too windy to do the roof. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. While it looks great, we do have a problem. The wall light was supposed to be at the very top of the wall. As you can see from the pictures below, it is not.










I am not sure if this is going to be a big deal for us or not. My concern is the wall light is a clear hard plastic type material that could break upon impact. It is up above the kick wall at a height of about 6'. So, it is out of the way of the horses hooves or bums, but not out of reach of their heads. My options are to ask to have it corrected and delay finishing significantly, or leave it and if needed put some kind of metal bars or something over top to prevent the horses from getting at it. I will have to call the building manager tomorrow morning to figure it out.


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

I know the idea of delays are unpleasant but I think you'll want the windows corrected to your original specs. If left, there will always be a part of you regretting leaving it as is when there had been a chance to have it fixed.


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

*One step forward, two steps back*

Here we are at the end of yesterday.










If anything seems to look amiss, it is. The crew had to take the siding off the walls and will be starting over to correct the position of the wall light. Unfortunately, it was their error. They misread the plans. I feel so bad for them, but we have to have it done correctly. With the wall light lower, it would have been a safety hazard for the horses. Besides, we are paying for the light to be placed at the top of the wall. I still feel terrible for the crew, as they have been great. Maybe I will make them some cookies tomorrow.

As for our progress, I don't know how long this will delay the job as they have to bring in new siding and trim pieces. Hopefully the materials will arrive quickly and they will finish up by the end of the week.


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## LouieThePalomino (Dec 15, 2012)

subbing!


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

*Progress!*

We are finally getting closer to having the outside of the barn finished! This time the wall light is in the correct place. Now there is only one end wall to finish and the doors to be hung. Hopefully they will be finished tomorrow.

Here are pics from this evening.


The finished end (except the door)









This end still needs to be finished.


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

When they readjusted the windows to their proper height did they have to use new siding or were they able to reuse the previous sheets?


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## Phly (Nov 14, 2012)

Can I ask? What the plans are for water drainage?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

Phly said:


> Can I ask? What the plans are for water drainage?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Along those lines, I forgot to mention that with mine we are putting eavestroughs (and downspouts) on this year also - we found that without them the water running off the roof straight down washes away the dirt from the base of the outside barn wall and if it's a strong rain the wash will also start to take away from the inside floor.


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## Phly (Nov 14, 2012)

I can defiantly picture that. The final grade of the ground around a building is a pretty big deal. And should be well planned. My house for example, lol. Is in a hole, who thought that was a good idea????? Not me I promise that. 

My concern with OP barn is the grade. It's on a hill, and looks to be dug in at one end and above grade on the other. Water will naturally tend to flow through or under the barn unless there's a good plan to handle it. And horses or vehicles can make the situation worse by compacting the ground in the doorways, essentially making funnels. I was just curious, not being a negative nelly.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

Chevaux - they had to bring in new siding to redo the sides as the old pieces were cut.

Phly - the barn is located at the very top of a knoll with a slight down slope in all directions. It is the highest and driest spot on our property. That said, one end is a bit lower than the other, so we have some grading to do. We brought in 4 loads of clay to build up the site and roughly level the space to start. We will need the bobcat to come in again and re-level the inside and possibly bring in a couple more loads of clay once the building crew is finished. The inside ground is a few inches higher than it is outside. This is why they had to dig out the one corner. Once we add gravel and mats, it will be white a bit higher. We will also have the bobcat do a swipe around the perimeter to make sure the slope away from the building is maintained. We are also looking into asphalt between our asphalt driveway and the barn. This is also the most uphill side, so we will look into putting in something to direct any water away from the barn.

I am on the fence regarding eves troughs and downspouts. One corner may be a problem, but most of our precipitation is solid and the troughs tend to pack up with ice and prevent the snow from sliding off the roof. I may have to wait from a good rain to see how and where the water runs first.


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## Roadyy (Feb 9, 2013)

Is that tented windows for the natural lighting? It doesn't appear to be letting in near as much light as the smaller windows in the other barn that was posted. Maybe it was just the time of day, but looks like a huge difference with the shadows inside the barn from the unfinished end. I ask merely for the energy efficient thinking part of putting the windows in in the first place.


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

Roadyy said:


> Is that tented windows for the natural lighting? It doesn't appear to be letting in near as much light as the smaller windows in the other barn that was posted. Maybe it was just the time of day, but looks like a huge difference with the shadows inside the barn from the unfinished end. I ask merely for the energy efficient thinking part of putting the windows in in the first place.


Yes, the tinted panels are for natural light. They are the same ones that were put on half way up. The difference you see in the amount of light they let in is the roof. In the most recent set of photos, the roof is on. Before that the roof is not sheeted in.

The tinted panels are supposed to let in about 90% the amount of light that clear panels will, but they won't discolour. During the day, they work surprisingly well. We are not insulating or heating the building (except for the tack room) so efficiency isn't much of an issue.

Here is a picture from the inside, taken at about 9:30 pm. As you can see we still have a lot of work to do on the inside! The bobcat guy is coming tomorrow to plan the inside levelling and outside grading.










One more from the front.


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## Brenna Lee (Aug 10, 2012)

WOW! Looking beautiful!


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## Roadyy (Feb 9, 2013)

I see what you meant about the tinted windows. I am keeping up with this to see it as you put your touches on the inside.


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

*Progress has resumed*

The bobcat came in yesterday to level and lay gravel on the inside of the barn and to finish the grading on the outside. The clay inside was first levelled and smoothed and 3" of gravel added on top and levelled again. We did some fine levelling with the rake and then used a tamping meshing to compress and flatten it a little more. I am pleased with how smoothe and even it turned out.










Today we start putting up the vapour barrier and kick wall. For now, it won't be insulated, but we wanted to prepare it so that we could blow insulation in down the walls in the future if we want. We will insulate the tack room.

I received a lift of 2x8's with the bwrn materials, so for now we will use 2x8s for the stall and tack room floors. I haven't decided on what to use in the centre aisle yet. Previously I was thinking rubber mats, but haven't found anything I am wild about yet.

Next weekend, we will pick up and out in the stalls and start on the tack room. We will also start on the electrical. In a few weeks we should be ready for horses!


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## Cacowgirl (Feb 19, 2011)

So nice to have that much done, a barn is a major undertaking-how many stalls are you putting in?


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## Roadyy (Feb 9, 2013)

Looks great, Koolio.


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

It looks really nice.
I would suggest insulating the roof, mainly for noise reduction. Rain can be deafening in a pole barn.


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

*All in a days work*

Yesterday was a very busy day inside the barn. We got the vapour barrier and kick wall up on the half of the building that will be used for stalls and tack room. 











This morning, DH and I layed the tack room floor. We are still undecided as to what to use on the stall floors (wood or rubber mats).










I am also considering using some sort of sealant on the wood. I don't want to stain it, but wondered if a sealant will help reduce staining and discoloration. We have lots to do before picking up the stalls next weekend.


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## Roadyy (Feb 9, 2013)

How much moisture do you think will be between the floor and the ground? I'm not sure about the humidity and ground moisture up there so its hard to make some suggestions. In my environment I would have put a good coat of water sealer on the bottom of that floor before putting it down to resist moisture rising up and possibly rotting the boards from the bottom up. Does that make sense? At minimum a layer of visqueen to keep the moisture from rising up to the board.

The barn is looking amazing and has me green. I can't wait to see the next set of pictures.


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

Roadyy - generally it is surprisingly dry here. The wood floor sits on top of 3-4" of gravel and the barn is located on a high spot that is quite dry. During the winter, we will plow the snow away from the barn as well so there shouldn't be much moisture seeping in due to snow melt. My neighbour has had the same set-up now for about 5 years and has had no moisture at all. If anything, our building is positioned even a little better than theirs with respect to the slope and lay of the land.

That said, there is a slight slope E to W toward the barn from the driveway, but it also slopes even more N to S. If anything, we may see a bit of moisture on the SE corner where it will remain gravel only until we do something else. I am waiting on a good rain to see exactly where the water will flow. If necessary, we will add some landscape features / weeping tiles to facilitate drainage.

Quick question. What do you recommend for sealing the wood on the stalls and kick wall. Is it even worth sealing it? I don't want anything toxic, but would like something that may help the manure wash off the walls a little easier of need be. Thoughts?


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## Almond Joy (Dec 4, 2011)

I would most definitely use rubber mats with gravel for the stall floors. The wooden floors will quickly rot and absorb the pee, creating a disgusting odor. 

As for sealing, the barn I take lessons at sealed all the wood with polyurotheane. (sp?)It creates a very nice look and also stops the poop from getting stuck to the walls too much. I also believes that it keeps the wood protected from moisture and other things. 

I love the look of your barn and cannot wait for it to be finished!


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

First - Good progress to date. Second - We have not put anything on our boards yet; we've left them as is and I do like the patina that is developing on them with regard to their colour now they've got a bit of age on them; a couple of the stalls are inhabited by "wall droppers" and have cleanup that needs to be done (we've let them dry and my husband will be going out with the electric sander and making quick work of it one day soon); I can see a sound argument for a varethane protective coating but I also worried about toxicity and so for the foreseeable future I don't think we're going to do anything until I've settled on something I know to be nontoxic.


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

*We have stalls!*

Yesterday we picked up stalls. DH got them up along with the tack room wall and kick wall. Last night we cut and installed the boards. I am pretty happy with how they turned out.










Drop down doors.










From the inside. 










And the tack room so far. 










We still need to build the aisle facing wall for the tack room (with door) and finish the inside planking on the wall adjacent to the stalls, but it is coming along. 

Today's job is to start moving some tack into the barn, since it can now be locked and secured. DH is going to start running the electrical service. I still haven't decided what to put on the aisle floor. For now it is compacted rock crush.


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

Don't you just love wood knots? There's something so homey and warm about them.

P.S. Very nice stalls.


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

Almost finished! The tack room is almost done and just needs the cabinet hung and some organization. I still need to put a protective coating on all the wood, but I am still researching what will be best to use. I'm looking for some thin rubber mats for the tack room and some heavier mats for the centre aisle. For now, the tack room has a wood floor and the aisle is packed road crush. I will post more pictures once we get the construction mess cleaned up a bit, but here is the tack room so far.










From the outside.










We are still waiting on the main barn light fixtures and the outside light, but have power, a tack room light and lots of outlets. It is awesome to work in the barn in te evening and have both light and some tunes.


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