# Prefab and loft Barns



## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

Those are beautiful barns from the website. Living in a loft makes good sense for places that have limited land or don't have the budget for a series of individual buildings. If I were to live in a loft I would be thinking of safety first (for both upper and lower occupants) with regard to wiring, heating systems, etc., that exceed minimal acceptable standards. I don't know if noise, smells and dust would be problems but should be considered as well. Other than that, you'd need to check out insurance, taxation pros/cons and whether the local county/municipality allows such buildings and you're good to go.


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

Thank you! I did not think of zoning. The dust/smell dose not bother me as I smell like horse anyway lol. How could I keep the wiring safe? Could I (or whom ever is installing the building) put the wires in the metal wire piping and use the industrial outlets? 
No one in my family smokes so fire by ashes is unlikely (and there will be a strict no smoking by, around or anywhere near the barn rule). We will be using solar (as there is no electric in the area) So I would opt for an electric stove (I can cook? lol) 
And my Grandmother Has budgeted to not stick to the minimal when it comes to safety.  Thank you for bringing that up though. I would not have have thought about the wiring being an issue.


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

If you talked to a local fire marshal/inspector, I'm sure they'd give you the low down on the best way of wiring for your area. I thought specifically about wiring as, according to some of my local construction type people, it is a cause of barn/shed fires as rodents will sometimes eat through the wiring for whatever reason. In our out buildings, all wiring is exposed so we can visually inspect it; in addition when we built the new barn we used metal covered lines. I know that 'look' works for sheds and such but I don't know what your plans are for the living quarters so you may not want something like that in your home. Although, an argument could be made for an interior style of decorating where that would work.


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

To be honest safty is more important to me than 'look'. So the coverd lines would not be an issue. Ill tell my Grandmother she will want to talk to the fire marshal.  thank you!


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## PaintedMare (Nov 7, 2012)

Omg I love these. Definitely bookmarking the site.


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## SaddleUp158 (Dec 26, 2008)

I looked into it as this is something that I was very very interested in doing. My reasoning was it was killing two birds with one stone: a place for me to live and a place for my horses. After talking to a mortgage guy, he told me that it is almost impossible to get financed for one of these. Not sure if you were looking to finance or not, but I thought I would throw that out there.


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

It may be easier to build onto a barn at ground level than make a loft living quarters. You would need a fire wall between barn & apartment & probably have different building standards too (providing you tell that it will be a living quarters :wink
Personally I would want something I could run out of instead of jumping.


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

We are not looking to finance but good to know. And I agree with the fire wall. ALL wiring will be in wiring pipe. No gas so an glass top electric stove and a slandered heater. I think it comes with (or can be put in thanks to my handy bf and family) french windows and I'll always have a fire ladder next to the window. The fewer buildings on the property the better at this point. My bf has agreed to be the live on ranch hand (he is tired of the summers here) and we will both live in the loft while I'm there.


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