# Need help with a new barn layout!



## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

It would help to see a blue print type drawing of the inside to get an idea about door, window, electric panel, water locations. Stuff like that will usually tell you what you can & can't do.


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## 11jenna11 (Jun 22, 2015)

The building is a complete blank slate. There is no windows, no electrical, no water. There is one man door but the frame is rotted so we are removing it anyways, so the layout is completely open to any possibilities. ?


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## Red Gate Farm (Aug 28, 2011)

I wouldn't store round bales in the same building as the horses in case of fire, or them just getting into it when you're not looking.


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

You could make a scale model on paper. Say, 1" = 5 feet, so your scale of the barn would be 6" x 4". Cut out the size stalls you want & move them around inside of your paper barn to see what works. If you plan to install water &/or electric cut out something to indicate that & move it around too. The same with doors & windows. 
If you have vertical support beams you'll need to consider them also.


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

11jenna11 said:


> my horses are mostly out in their run in shed for almost all of their time but need a place for them to go in snow storms and extreme weather.


This need, is it for the horses or for you?


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## 11jenna11 (Jun 22, 2015)

Red Gate Farm - we usually only have 2 or 3 round bales in the barn at a time, and they usually don't stay there for long. Like I said as well my horses are hardly ever in and have free choice of the round bale in the paddock in winter months. Hopefully we will be able to build a small seperate hay shed next summer though, to be able to store more without worry.

Joel Reiter - this is a need of my horses. We live in eastern Canada and the snow storms we have are extreme, and sometimes we can get a few days of intense wind that chills below -40C. Where I have boarded them they have access to a large run in shelter, but being woosy Thoroughbreds when the weather gets ugly they always want into their stalls. 


I have two options for layouts I have drawn, one with adjacent stalls and one with stalls across from eachother but I am looking for any suggestions and ideas that someone had from their experience or preference.


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## Horseychick87 (Feb 5, 2014)

You could do 3 10x 10 stalls down one of the 30 foot sides and have the other side as a aisle way. 
If you do this then you could make a 5x 10 tack/ feed closet at the far end, but it would cut out some of the ventilation for the last stall. I would suggest adding windows to help with ventilation.

Another option is to do 2 10 x 10 or 2 10x 12 stalls at the back along the 20 foot wall and then one 10x10 or 8x8 (mini stall) stall along the front 20 foot wall and you could have a empty space of 8 or 10 x 10 for tack and feed.

Otherwise, I'd see about widening the barn by about 10 feet and make it a 30x 30 if you can afford to do that. Because honestly those 10 x10 stalls will likely not do well for longer bodied TB's if confined to them for very long. The mini would be great in a 10x 10, you could even go down to 8x 8 for the mini to allow for more room for the bigger horses.


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

I don't think four full sized stalls is feasible given the size of the barn. Three full sized stalls would also be pushing it. Since the barn is only 20' wide you wouldn't be able to do a second row of stalls in the barn and keep the stalls 10' wide.  Theoretically you could, but at a minimum you'll lose some of that width to the walls between the stalls, and my guess is that you'll lose more than that. Same along the long side- you could theoretically put 3 10' wide stalls along the long side of the building, but you'll still be losing space to the walls and I wouldn't want to go any smaller than 10' wide stalls. If you did do three full sized stalls on the long side you could still have extra room on the short side to make the stalls longer than 10' (since you're not intent on having a huge tack/feed area) but I'd still try to make sure that the stalls were at least 10' wide for the TBs, not including space that's eaten up by walls. 

You COULD do two bigger stalls for the full sized horses and a smaller one for the mini. I think you'd have plenty of room that way. I just don't see how you'd have enough room to have three stalls big enough to comfortably house the full sized horses due to the building's size. So (assuming a foot of space taken up between each stall, overestimating in that department) you could have two 10' stalls and one 8' stall for the mini. Make them as deep as you want (10 or 12') and you'll still have 8-10' X 30' for tack/feed/whatever. 

Another possibility is doing two stalls on the long side of the barn (could be pretty large width wise- up to 15' or you could have some extra space for the tack room there) and do the mini's stall on the other side. That can be a little narrower due to the 20' barn with, but could be as long as you want. Use the rest of the space for whatever, perhaps build a smaller stall. However, I don't think you'll have enough space to do another full sized one. You also have to consider stuff such as where all of the doors go. I hope all of that makes sense, it did in my head!

You'll also want to make sure that the roof hangs over enough so that the stalls don't flood, which may be an issue if you build right up to the edge of the roof, unless the building is already fully enclosed. So, more space may be eaten up if you have to take that into consideration.


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## ponyboy (Jul 24, 2008)

How about putting the door in the middle of the long side? Make each gable end into one large stall one and small one - one for the mini stall and the other for storage.


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## Nickers2002 (Nov 25, 2009)

I would do 3 10x10 or 3 10x12 stalls which would leave you a 10' or 8' aisle to work in, cross tie for farrier/vet/whatever and get a wheelbarrow through. I would then attach a run to each stall on the back wall and make dutch doors that lead out to them to give them more room. 

Hay and feed should be kept in a separate building just incase of fire/pests and to keep the barn uncluttered if you need to get to the horses quickly. You could put a tack area on one wall in the barn also.


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

ponyboy said:


> How about putting the door in the middle of the long side? Make each gable end into one large stall one and small one - one for the mini stall and the other for storage.


I like this.


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## Cynical25 (Mar 7, 2013)

ponyboy said:


> How about putting the door in the middle of the long side? Make each gable end into one large stall one and small one - one for the mini stall and the other for storage.


That sounds like a great idea!


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## 11jenna11 (Jun 22, 2015)

ponyboy said:


> How about putting the door in the middle of the long side? Make each gable end into one large stall one and small one - one for the mini stall and the other for storage.


This is actually my favourite suggestion. Getting alot of great feedback though, really helping me think of some designs.


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## 11jenna11 (Jun 22, 2015)

I also found this barn that is almost the same size that has a fairly basic but functional layout. This was what I meant when I said I had a layout drawn for stalls across from eachother. Some of these other ideas I'm getting I think I like more though. What is everyone's opinion of this layout?


https://www.google.ca/search?q=30x2...st.com%2Fpin%2F118852877642376519%2F;736;2944


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## ponyboy (Jul 24, 2008)

11jenna11 said:


> This is actually my favourite suggestion. Getting alot of great feedback though, really helping me think of some designs.


Glad to know I explained it well, since I'm too lazy to make a diagram.


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## Horseychick87 (Feb 5, 2014)

I'm a fan of Horizon Structures. That layout would likely work for your barn, but remember your aisle would most likely be very small.


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

11jenna11 said:


> Joel Reiter - this is a need of my horses. Where I have boarded them they have access to a large run in shelter, but being woosy Thoroughbreds when the weather gets ugly they always want into their stalls.


Sounds like a good enough reason to me.


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## MsCuriosity (Apr 20, 2015)

Interesting responses. Thanks for the read!


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## Horseychick87 (Feb 5, 2014)

Here is a (poorly drawn, LOL) Concept I did on Paint. The stalls did not come out evenly, but they are all supposed to be the same size.  The tack could be mounted on the opposite walls at the end of the aisle to leave the barn open.


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