# Steel vs Wood Frame Barn



## helpatel (May 18, 2019)

I live near Albuquerque, NM, and we are putting up a barn soon. Any ideas on the survive-ability differences between steel and wood frame barns? I think steel buildings are a bit more common from what I've seen, but I can't seem to find anything on how well the frames hold up. Most people seem to be giving me quotes with a wood frame for my pole barn, but should I be trying really hard to get a steel frame, or do you think the wood frame might be sufficient?


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

My steel barn seems to hold up just fine in wet/humid Florida.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

What sort of survivability issues do you have where you live? I feel like in Florida people build with steel to withstand hurricanes, but where we just bought our place wood barns are much more common. I think wood does better in earthquakes.


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## helpatel (May 18, 2019)

We have lots of wind/snow, and occasionally some earthquakes, which now that you mention it, that might make at least wood framing more favorable. Externally, people seem to favor steel out here, but we're new-ish to the area, so I'm not sure what the reason is.


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## helpatel (May 18, 2019)

I just browsed through a bunch of different boarding stables' websites, and it looks like all of them use steel frames.


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## The Humble Horseman (Dec 5, 2018)

My Morton wood frame barn (metal exterior) is 13 years old and the supports and truss (the whole thing, actually) look brand new and shows no signs of integrity loss. This is in Colorado. The barn is built on a raised concrete pad and doesn't leak at all so water isn't a problem. There's more material that goes into wood framed structures than metal due to the strength of steel vs. wood, but with steel prices what they are right now wood might be more economical. 

My commercial shop is a 40+ year steel frame building and we haven't had any structural issues. It's been re-skinned twice, but nothing much more than that for maintenance. In general, I'm sure steel has a longer life, but I would think a lot of it depends on how well it was built and maintained. We get water in the metal shop because snow and hail work its way under metal walls where it meets the asphalt during times of heavy buildup. I don't have that problem with my personal barn because it's slightly raised and graded properly.

It would come down to cost and planned use for me if comparing the two like-for-like as far as snow/weight/wind ratings. My home barn is not as likely to have someone drive a forklift into it or have a tractor/trailer back into it. For a commercial application I would look into steel if I had to rebuild my shop, but for my home stable/barn I'm comfortable with the wood.


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## helpatel (May 18, 2019)

Do you think the wood frame would hold up as well on a gravel base? We didn't want to concrete because it is harder on the horses, but we still want good drainage, so we were going to do gravel and stone dust then top with stall mats inside.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

_*WELCOME to the Forum!!*_

Steel frame, as in uprights and girders is one thing.
Steel walls is another when you need, truly need to line the walls with wood planks or thick, thick sheets of plywood so the errant hoof kicked at a fly not go through the thin steel walls and de-glove or worse a leg.
For me, steel frame also means you need to ground that barn as lightening strikes are attracted to steel and barns are often in a open field or barnyard area...
I have a wood pole-barn...
Being my wood poles would be your steel frame, I was able to use those immense poles as my stall corners.
Different parts of the country have their favorites for construction...

One thing I learned the hard way is, either insulate or lay a layer of plywood under the steel roof as condensation builds up in cooler nights and drips all over the barn as the sun warms the building roof, it sweats interior.
Here in Florida we get torrential rains, my roof not insulated is deafening to listen to from the house and worse when I'm in the barn feeding and it is pouring.

Might I suggest strongly that you go look at some of those barn structures to visually see if you like the look, the way you then must work the inside configuration and speak to barn owners about pros and cons.
All barns have pros and cons and someone who only gushes fantastic everything is being paid off...proceed with caution.
Enjoy your research and future barn build.
:runninghorse2:...


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## The Humble Horseman (Dec 5, 2018)

helpatel said:


> Do you think the wood frame would hold up as well on a gravel base? We didn't want to concrete because it is harder on the horses, but we still want good drainage, so we were going to do gravel and stone dust then top with stall mats inside.


I think it would hold up okay if the footers are sill gasketed. Moisture is your enemy. Wood will absorb moisture from materials it's contacting, even concrete. I have sill gasketing on my wood supports as they are encased in the concrete. With dirt/gravel I would think this type of barrier would be even more important as moisture would have an easier path to the wood. Local building codes will dictate some of how this has to be done. They may require concrete footers either way. If you can engage with a knowledgeable local contractor they will most likely be your best resource. 

To reinforce what horselovinguy said, you'll want to add supported wood walls to any horse stalls or 'horse areas' in the barn if you go with a metal exterior. Mine has 8" spaced studs behind heavy sheet wood in the stalls. I will also second insulating the roof. I don't have the condensation issue here in CO, but anything more than a slight drizzle is deafening when in the barn.

Edit: I also meant to say that I do use mats on the concrete for the horses' benefit.


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## helpatel (May 18, 2019)

We are planning to have free standing standing portable stalls, those would have the wood paneling you guys are talking about, and we planned to have plywood up to 5' both inside and outside to prevent damage should anyone kick anything. We are definitely! planning to insulate the roof. Just realized when I re-looked at our barn quote that I was quoted 10K for the steel dutch door frames! If I kick those off, I can probably afford to do a concrete aisle, floors for the tack, feed, and wash area, and some for the outside edges to help seal all of the wood framing better!

Also, for the uninformed, what is sill gasketing?


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## The Humble Horseman (Dec 5, 2018)

Sill gasketing is a generic term for an air/moisture barrier. There are different types depending on the application, but you’re pretty much just looking for some kind of moisture barrier between the wood and the dirt/concrete.


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