# Modular/Pre-fab Barns or Traditional Barns?



## Elizabeth Bowers (Jan 26, 2012)

My husband and i are debating on whether or not to move. SO i was looking into properties that had barns, some new, some needed restored. And i was looking into just having enough property for the horses and maybe to add a structure later. :?
I was wondering if it would be best to get a place with a barn, or if we should look into a prefab barn to put on the property. Or if we should just wing it and put up a pole barn ourselves. :shock: Pros and cons of both would be great. I'm really liking the prefab barns JMO. Any kind of input would be great! :-|

Thank you!


*Our current living conditions are up in the air at the moment, and might be forced to move anyway* Any kind of help would be great!!


----------



## Lockwood (Nov 8, 2011)

We are not all that far from you and went through the same debate when I bought my property, which was not a farm at all, just a big chunk of acres with a house.
Oh the choices... metal ones, wood ones, kits, prefabs, scratch, roofing types, not to mention styles. Oh yeah... the budget too.

There are a number of barn builders in my area and I went with an Amish company that allowed me to place an order for my barn based on one of their somewhat pre-fab designs with my own modifications added to it. Now I didn't have horses at that time but got an all purpose barn with a large over hang, horsie style 

Most of the major ground grading I did my self with my tractor and they finished it to their specs then laid the base. About three weeks after I placed the order the crew of about a dozen Amish workers showed up along with the materials and I had a barn put up lickity split.
Having built a number of smaller pole buildings and storage type stuff I knew my capabilities to build the barn I wanted did not match up.

I love my barn and am glad the experts did it and I did not try to build it myself. A friend and neighbor farm has an all purpose pole barn they built themselves. They did not grade it right nor build it as well as a professional. Initially it wasn't bad and got them by, but the barn is less than ten years old and every year they spend considerable amounts of time and money fixing it.
Everything needs fixing... the base, the floors (rotted out) the frame the roof, and especially the grading because it floods something terrible. It shouldn't considering the placement and the gaps and holes it developed are alarming.
Anyway, just my $0.02 worth.


----------



## Rhen (Feb 20, 2012)

I have No horses, but live in PA................and I must say the amish does a great job building barns and pretty fast too!! Good luck!


----------



## Elizabeth Bowers (Jan 26, 2012)

Thanks! And i know i've seen alot of amish work when we went out to Lancaster Pa to visit his aunt. Its beautiful. Hubby i think has decided to build the barn, and his garage first, then our house. I'm not totally sure, he keeps changing his mind on whats going on. I'm definitely going on a budget for this, whether or not he really likes it!!


----------



## myhorsesonador (Jun 21, 2009)

Elizabeth Bowers said:


> Thanks! And i know i've seen alot of amish work when we went out to Lancaster Pa to visit his aunt. Its beautiful. Hubby i think has decided to build the barn, and his garage first, then our house. I'm not totally sure, he keeps changing his mind on whats going on. I'm definitely going on a budget for this, whether or not he really likes it!!


Be carefull. We wanted to build a barn, metal building for my dad, AND our house. Well all we got was the house and now we are broke broke.


----------



## Elizabeth Bowers (Jan 26, 2012)

Thanks. We're going to take our time with this, i just feel my horses need a barn before i need my house. Hubby just wants a garage he can store his toys in LOL. I'm being very careful with our money. As of our present financial moment we live from pay check to pay check.... :/


----------



## littrella (Aug 28, 2010)

well, you could do a simple pole barn for starters & build your dream barn later.


----------



## Elizabeth Bowers (Jan 26, 2012)

That just might end up happening...since the recent change is jobs and whatnot..


----------



## scottjul2 (Mar 3, 2012)

*Barn type ?*

The best advice I could give you is figure out what you like and need and can afford but before you sign on the dotted line get at least 2 or 3 references. We are having a 4 stall barn built as we speak by Amishman in southern Lancaster Pa. I shopped around talked with builders and when I found what I wanted ,I narrowed it down to 3 builders and had them quote apples to apples, as it turned out the builder we decided on came with 3 great references and most of the options for his barn were included. Footers were in on time and the barn is half way completed (we went and visited his shop yesterday) Good Luck!! don't forget the references , get a contract with completion dates on it before you sign anything. I got burned by a builder that seemed like such a "Good Guy" a few years ago and lost lots of $$

Scott


----------



## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

I spent a winter with graph paper and per square foot costs for DIY. I started out drawing to scale what I'd love to have then worked out the cost. Holy Cow! OK, let's pare this down a little, actually a lot.You need to decide how much you want to spend vs what you really need. As my teen gal-friend's mom used to remind us "Live within our means, not our dreams".


----------



## Elizabeth Bowers (Jan 26, 2012)

I've been shopping around, and comparing apples to apples, and i've talked to a couple of different builders. I really just want to get what i need, nothing really fancy, i mostly will need it as hay storage, and if a horse gets injured can be separated from the group, and it would be nicer for my vet and trimmer to work under compared to nothing now. its a little difficult, and i'm really working on saving and having everything ready before i sign anything. I learned a lot from my mom, she knows alot about this stuff too. The most reasonable company i've found so far is from Altglen Pa, Horizon structures. I really like some of there barn floor plans too.
Thanks everyone for the input!!!


----------



## Almond Joy (Dec 4, 2011)

Something you could also do is build 2 run-ins (Openings facing eachother) with a 10-12 ft space in between, and later close it in, turn the two run-is into stalls, and then hay storage above the middle part. I'm not sure if that makes sense.. Haha


----------



## Elizabeth Bowers (Jan 26, 2012)

ha ha thats a good idea!! Thanks


----------



## stephshark (Jun 19, 2012)

Another option is to have a barn built with living quarters on the top story, about the size of a 2 bedroom apartment. Two of the stables I've worked at had the owner /manager living above the horses and it was a great arrangement!


----------



## Elizabeth Bowers (Jan 26, 2012)

Stephshark i actually thought about it, but my husband was kind of weird about the whole idea. I liked it though i've always wanted to live in my barn!! I will keep it as an option!! Thanks


----------



## littrella (Aug 28, 2010)

I would so love a barn house, but sadly, with my husbands alergies to hay dust & horse hair, that wouldn't work


----------



## xJumperx (Feb 19, 2012)

Ooh, living quarters :3

Anyway, I'm assuming this from your post -
- Your horses live on Pasture 24/7
- You need a dry place to store hay
- You'd like somewhere to tie the horses in the shade, that way you/farrier/vet can work in a safe dry place
- You'd like a space to keep an injured horse.

Okay, below I've done a rough sketch and general picture of what I think would work well for you  










The outside. It's very simple, really. It would be a bit bigger than this in the closed off part, and there would be a horse-sized door leading to the closed part as well, accesable from the open area.
You would put the building in the field, so the horses have a spot to get out of crus weather as well. There would be 2 tie chains in the open part to serve as a crosstie. I'll show you what I mean in the sketch.


----------



## Elizabeth Bowers (Jan 26, 2012)

Hey thats not bad xJumperx. I have 4 horses so the run in area would need to be a little bigger, since my one gelding is very dominant and keeps the others out when he chooses to be in a certain area.
Not a bad idea at all!! Thanks


----------



## xJumperx (Feb 19, 2012)

Elizabeth Bowers said:


> Hey thats not bad xJumperx. I have 4 horses so the run in area would need to be a little bigger, since my one gelding is very dominant and keeps the others out when he chooses to be in a certain area.
> Not a bad idea at all!! Thanks


 
My pleasure  Yep, you could adjust anything to however you want. Could add more stalls, more hay storage, bigger tack room, bigger run in ... everything is adjustable when your building  Just keep in mind that if you make the open area bigger, you need longer crossties. I recommend making a clipping mechanism so that you can clip the crossties to the wall when not in use, but thats something easy that your average joe could do. 

Best of luck!! Let us know what you decide


----------



## ponyboy (Jul 24, 2008)

No way I'd store hay right beside a stall and tack room. But that's just me.


----------



## Elizabeth Bowers (Jan 26, 2012)

xJumperx said:


> My pleasure  Yep, you could adjust anything to however you want. Could add more stalls, more hay storage, bigger tack room, bigger run in ... everything is adjustable when your building  Just keep in mind that if you make the open area bigger, you need longer crossties. I recommend making a clipping mechanism so that you can clip the crossties to the wall when not in use, but thats something easy that your average joe could do.
> 
> Best of luck!! Let us know what you decide


Could just add another run along side the previous one too. Hmmmm all the possibilities here. Thank you!!
I've had to store hay in my tack room because it was the only space available, and its not that bad, just dusty sometimes.


----------



## xJumperx (Feb 19, 2012)

ponyboy said:


> No way I'd store hay right beside a stall and tack room. But that's just me.


There is going to be a wooden wall there, dear  It's not like it's chicken wire. That's why it was seperated with dotted lines - It stands for walls within the structure. The black lines on the outside were just for the exterior walls


----------



## marley1986 (Jul 23, 2012)

Elizabeth Bowers said:


> My husband and i are debating on whether or not to move. SO i was looking into properties that had barns, some new, some needed restored. And i was looking into just having enough property for the horses and maybe to add a structure later. :?
> I was wondering if it would be best to get a place with a barn, or if we should look into a prefab barn to put on the property. Or if we should just wing it and put up a pole barn ourselves. :shock: Pros and cons of both would be great. I'm really liking the prefab barns JMO. Any kind of input would be great! :-|
> 
> Thank you!
> ...


You guys should definitely check out www.dcbuilding.com. They travel all over the US and build the most beautiful barns/ barn homes I have EVER seen. You should definitely think about prefab barns. They can be pretty cost effective, and customized to your liking. I love mine


----------



## ponyboy (Jul 24, 2008)

xJumperx said:


> There is going to be a wooden wall there, dear


Wood burns too.


----------



## Elizabeth Bowers (Jan 26, 2012)

You know ponyboy i know all about barn fires, but my grandfather and great grandfather built their barns out of wood and have been standing for 30+ years now, and we store grass hay in one barn and mulch hay in another, meanwhile he has like 5 separate barns. I'm not much for a metal structure, but have considered it. My personal OP i like the natural texture of wood. Just because you have issues with fires doesn't mean all of us should. My husband's parents lost their home when he was 14, and his grandparents lost their home when he was 19. 2 of my dads garages burnt. We know all to well about fires. And yes i worry about it every time a storm hits, or i leave the house for a while. My animals are my main concern when i'm gone. I will build what i can afford, and for my needs thank you. 
Thank you all for your sites and ideas!! Making lists....


----------



## xJumperx (Feb 19, 2012)

ponyboy said:


> Wood burns too.


Ah, but in your pretty 100% metal structure, if a pony decides to touch his bum to the wall in a lightning storm, it's lights out. If a pony in a wooden barn with aluminum walls decides to snooze against a comfy wooden wall, it's see you in the morning  Don't want to start a fight, but this clearly isn't your strong subject, so why not go look elsewhere that you can actually provide decent facts at  Kay?


----------



## ponyboy (Jul 24, 2008)

When did I say metal would be better? The better thing would be to have a separate hay barn! The problem is that your stall is too close to the hay.


----------



## Elizabeth Bowers (Jan 26, 2012)

Yea but what about all of those old barns that store hay above all the stalls, the whole loft thing. I don't have that much money to keep adding buildings, plus it will raise my taxes. I know i can always get one later, but as of the moment i'll have to use what i've got or decide to get.


----------



## xJumperx (Feb 19, 2012)

ponyboy said:


> When did I say metal would be better? The better thing would be to have a separate hay barn! The problem is that your stall is too close to the hay.


Because horses are hologramic figures that can jump through walls. 
My horses have their hay living right across their noses, in the loft. A seperate hay barn is one more thing to catch fire. And hay spreads fire -fast.-


----------



## ponyboy (Jul 24, 2008)

xJumperx said:


> And hay spreads fire -fast.-


Which is why I don't understand how it's better to have your horse RIGHT NEXT DOOR to the hay instead of further away from it. 

But no matter, I have a cheap solution: Move your hay to the other side of your cross-tie area. At least that way smoke is unlikely to get into the stall and fire would take longer to get there too. 




xJumperx said:


>


----------



## ponyboy (Jul 24, 2008)

Forgot to add: Because of the way fire/smoke spreads even a loft is safer than storing hay *beside* your horse.


----------



## xJumperx (Feb 19, 2012)

ponyboy said:


> Forgot to add: Because of the way fire/smoke spreads even a loft is safer than storing hay *beside* your horse.


Hmm, now there IS a good point! Keeping hay in a loft will also keep it dry from flooding, come to think of it. Now we is coming to a consensis  So, maybe keep your hay in a loft above the stall and tackroom, with a built in ladder in the crosstie area? But if you were to do this, trust me from experiance, I HEAVILY reccommend you put a big window and a pulley system up on the top floor, on the side of the barn where the hay is. This is so that you can pull your truck w/ hay next to it, and send the pulley up and down to get the hay going around.  Lifting/throwing hay up onto that second story gets *exhasting* after about 40 bales ...


----------



## Elizabeth Bowers (Jan 26, 2012)

Hay elevators are nice, even if its not that high, they can be adjusted and just throw them on and let the elevator do the work, then you just have to stack them...


----------

