# New House + New Barn!!



## Werecat (Aug 23, 2015)

FINALLY after years of dreaming, I finally have accomplished my main goal in life, and that was to have a cute little house on some good horse property with a cozy little (but functional barn). So here is my barn progress thread. 

My house is nearing completion, here is what it looks like as it sits:









The house should be complete in a month and a half or so. Barn is scheduled to be built first of September, but we're meeting with barn builder to discuss the details next week and hoping he can move us up. The builder is going to build us the entire exterior, but my father and I are going to be building all the doors and finishing off the entire interior. It'll be a pole barn, metal exterior, wood interior. Concrete center isle and concrete in feed & tack rooms.

I've already ordered my stall fronts (just 2 to start since only have 2 horses at the moment, 1 is my friend's horse who will be boarding with me) from Ramm (got their standard stall fronts with feed doors). Also ordered 4.25" Ramm flex-fence for the fencing around the house and corral, will be doing 4 rows. Think I'll be going with Horse Guard electrical tape fencing to cross fence off 3 pastures. We'll be using tongue and groove on all 4 walls of the stalls, with half walls with galvanized bars on fronts and dividers between stalls. Each stall will have its own dutch door leading out to the corral.

The corral is going to be 36x100, unless I should make it bigger and the barn'll have a 10' or so deep by 36' porch for horses to have shelter when locked out of stalls, though I always bring them in during the day in summer, and at night in winter, and if the weather becomes sketchy. I have a little under 6 acres total, the house and lawn don't take up a ton of space, I wanted to keep as much pasture as possible, and I've got a pond and some trees down the hill, but otherwise it's all grazing space. The only time horses will be locked int the corral without access to pasture is on sketchy weather days where it's damp/rainy or bad days in winter to stretch their legs or if a horse is to be confined for medical reasons but needs limited turnout time. I'm really excited about my pastures, I've been haying horse quality hay off of it for the past 2 years, my horses have been enjoying the fruits of our labor this year, and the grass looks great. Needless to say my boy will probably have to stay in a grazing muzzle longer this year. :/ He's an air-fern.

Since I wont have a loft, for now I'll be keeping my hay in that 16x12' room I've drawn out in the floor plan. Later on I may add a separate building, but the two hay dealers I buy from lets me pick up hay a little at a time, so we've never had to buy more than 75 bales at a time, but do plan to be able to store more in the 12x12 empty spot where the 3rd stall will later be if necessary. Later on I -may- build a 12x24 out building for the hay, but being on a single income and having to literally get E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G, I couldn't afford a barn AND a separate hay building.

Anyway, here are my plans:










The one negative to the property already being fenced off from the road, is that it's cattle style fencing, and WAY overgrown with brush, to the point where during the summer it does provide privacy. I'm going to have to somehow get in there and cut the barbed wire down. I do plan on planting some trees on the inside of the fence to offer more privacy and a barrier, but for now may have to put up a temporary electrical fence as extra precaution to keep them away from the barbed wire. It's hard as heck to get to it because it's so overgrown.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

Congratulations! it is a lot of work make sure the barn /stalls can open up enough to get a small tractor into, if you have to add dirt /flooring its a pain to do with a wheelbarrow !


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

_*Congratulations on dreams coming true...*_

_Nice house and nice barn design._
Can I make a suggestion...
If possible raise that barn higher, or if already in place make your center aisle door taller.
Right now you could barely drive a hay truck or a standard 7' height horse trailer through.
You would be amazed at how convenient it is to be able to drive through your barn when making deliveries or getting equipment out of bad weather.

If you can hay your land yet, do so...
Consistent quality hay that is what your horses consume can save you a $$ of money.
Round rolls need a tarp over and a wood pallet under to store...bales need indoors.
Saving $$ and having on hand to feed your is priceless...
If your fields yield that much product use it to your advantage.
:runninghorse2:....
_jmo.._


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## k9kenai (Jul 1, 2017)

Congrats! How exciting!  The only advice I can give (after my friend went through with building her barn and regretted not putting in more electrical outlets!) is add more electrical outlets than you think you'll need, water faucets/pumps close to the stalls, close to the corral, and maybe one close to the entrance of the pastures too if you are planning on putting a stock tank or some other drinking water source out there (besides the pond), and plenty of ventilation.

Also for a separate hay building you could just get a small metal hay shed that is only walled in on three sides. That's what a lot of people in my area do, and they keep the hay on pallets for more air flow and to keep it off the ground (no floors in these buildings which further keeps the costs down). I've seen a couple people hang a large tarp and tie it down on the open side if they needed more protection during winter or monsoon season. It's not as expensive as a full building but still keeps the hay protected and is more fire safe than keeping large amounts of hay in the same barn as your horses.

Good luck! Everything sounds/looks good so far!


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

If you are looking for suggestions on the actual building of your interior...
A metal building gets brutally hot in summer...insulate the ceiling or put a wood roof then the metal roof on top to help with heat and noise that is deafening in heavy rains. Doing this will also alleviate some of the winter freeze/thaw drip your roof will do when the horses are housed indoors at night...amazing how much condensation they produce breathing.
For the feed and tack room, use doors 36" wide minimum inside the barn. Full ceiling to keep cleaner inside is wonderful too.
The exterior feed room door you might investigate a double opening door with a steel pin to lock in place.
It is amazing how much space is helpful to walk through with arms full of feed buckets, hay or a saddle in your arms and not need to turn sideways to enter/exit...
Wheelbarrows are wider than you think too and rubbing door jambs and doors is just not so nice to "the barn looks"...
Outlets, yes in front of every stall.
Outlets in the area where you will store equipment.
LED lighting where you will be grooming and outlets in there on 20+ amp circuit breakers as some medical equipment pulls more than a 15 amp can supply without popping off.
Exterior spot lights for night time vet visits...
Use several circuits to isolate areas of lights in or off...no need to have every inch of space ablaze if not needed.
If you can have wired your outside lights of the barn to go on from inside the house it is a great way to check your horses at night if needed or run to the barn safely if someone is sick, hurt or thrashing sounds are heard in the house at night...no flashlights are needed.
Encase all electric in steel tubing so never a rodent chewing issues arises.
A frost-free hydrant is a must...
Bury your water lines deep so no frost/freeze danger.
Run those water lines to your paddocks while you are planning so it is easier and mark well where the lines are and keep a paper copy on your survey so if you do any more improvements, renovations you _not_ hit a line by accident. :twisted:
Just some ideas...
:runninghorse2:....


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

How exciting! Congrats on the new place, looks like it's going to be really nice. Everyone else has already covered some of the important stuff but I wanted to make the suggestion of covering the exterior of the barn in wood where ever the horse will be exposed to it. I helped doctor a friend's yearling filly one time that sliced off a good portion of her foot by kicking through the metal from the outside (inside was lined with wood). That experience has made me avoid metal siding + horses ever since.


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## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Good for you!

One thing I want to mention is the gravel floor in the hay storage area. My personal preference is to sweep out the hay and clean the hay storage area up each time before we get a new load, so that we don't have accumulating old hay underneath the wood pallets. So trying to sweep hay on a gravel floor would be difficult. I imagine the hay getting mixed in with the gravel whether you try to rake/sweep it out or not. I personally think that concrete in that area would be worth it.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

A HUGE congratulations!!!!! Well deserved

1. 100' X 36' paddock is a good size. Mine is 24' X 100' and is plenty of room.

2. You don't say how high your barn is. If you can afford to make it 13' in the center, that would be better all the way around. 13' in the center would offer better air circulation, you could get a little over 100 bales of hay in your hay storage area, and you could have 10' sliding doors.

3. I would rather spend the money on #2 than on concrete in the hay storage area. We use Visqueen (rolled, heavy black plastic) on the gravel areas where we store hay, with pallets on top of the Visqueen.

4. My barn is 24 X 40. We have a 220 amp service breaker box. The way my barn had to be set up, I only have electric sockets in two key areas but it works. If you can afford more sockets, all the better.

4.1. We paid an electrical contractor to run the wire underground from the house to the barn. DH did all the wiring in the barn and put everything in conduit to keep chipmunks, squirrels, and other rodents from being able to chew the wiring. 

Spend the money on conduit, it greatly reduces chances of a fire.

4.2. I dont know what my overhead lights are. They are great when they come on BUT it takes them two minutes to warm up and come on. I would have done something different, had I known that:-|

4.3. Make sure the barn is grounded from lightening strikes.

5. Water: have water spigots in at least two places (each end of the barn). The frost-free spigots are the best but they are only as good as the person preparing the underground. DH had to dig those up, too. The subcontractor laying the water lines didn't know straight up (or didn't care) how to properly prepare below the frontline to keep Frost-free spigots from freezing up.

I still wrap them in the winter because I am anal and worry about what to worry about next, lol

6. Regarding the barbed wire and the overgrowth covering it: I still have several hundred feet of the same thing, running along the road, in the yard. Even when I up had four horses and let them loose in the yard, they never went near all that thrashing covering the fence.

My IR horse has been living in the yard and a small pasture for three years and won't go near that bramble-infested fence. That's because it separates the property from the road, horses are naturally on alert over things they can hear but can't see, if he spooks it's going to be AWAY from that fence.

I would make that fence a lower priority and just leave all that "stuff" continue to grow on it.

7. You're in East Tennesee so I don't know if you have the high heat/humidity issues I have in southern Middle Tennessee. I keep all my tack in the house. I also don't feed grain so all my supplements are kept in the spare bedroom. 

@sarahfromsc has retired up on the Plateau, she might be able to offer better input, regarding keeping your feed and tack in the barn

Make sure you keep tight lids on everything, as the ants will come a-running if you don't. I had to start keeping the cat food in a big jar with a screw on lid, and keep the cat bowls on the counter to keep the ants away.

Congratulations again, I know how excited you are:cowboy::runninghorse2:


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## sarahfromsc (Sep 22, 2013)

I keep my feed and tack in the tack room, but I do run a dehumidifier in there. I haven't had a problem with moldy tacky or soft hay pellets for almost the year I have been here. I usually have to dumped the catch bucket once a day. I turn it off at night, dump the bucket, then turn it back on in the morning.

I can't believe it has been a year!


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Wow it's gorgeous, congrats!!!  Super exciting!!


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

Congratulations!
Looking forward to keeping up with your progress


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## Werecat (Aug 23, 2015)

Hey Everyone! I didn't expect to get so much wonderful feedback! Thanks so much for taking the time to look it over and provide some insight! This is my first barn build and my first personal barn (current barn we had to work with what we had, so I changed everything that I didn't like about current barn, for new barn), so I like hearing other people's experiences to try and learn from them. I'm actually saving all of these to show to my father 

@horselovinguy Thank you!  So many great pointers! Since I last posted, I actually had a call with my father, and he said the barn end doors WILL be 10ft tall, so that was a huge relief! The isle itself is over 10ft, I think around 14-16, unsure yet but the sidewalls will be 10ft. How we're going to build the barn end doors, I'm not sure yet, hah. Guessing we'll have to use a tractor to raise them up, they'll be sliders on a 24ft track. The dutch doors we have figured out, but the bigguns are another story. For dutch door sizing we are looking at 8x4ft openings. The barn end doors will probably be made from wood, the builders want a bit much for metals doors, IMO. Also, the roof is going to be white metal with double bubble insulation. Thanks so much for pointing out controlling exterior barn lights from house, current barn has that and it is a HUGE luxury, something I want to have.

@k9kenai Wonderful advice  I am an outlet junkie haha. Never can have too many!! I've got to figure out where I want the interior barn water, I'd like a slop sink in my feed room and a hydrant in the isle somewhere where I can easily fill buckets. We're going to wire the outlet where the stall fans go to work with a switch outside each stall, but I'd like a double outlet at each stall front to power heated water buckets in winter, while having a free one for anything else. I'll add some outlets to the other side and in feed, and tack rooms as well.

@JCnGrace This is actually something I'd like to do. The barn will be exposed on 3 sides to horses. I'll mention this to the barn builders, but it's also something my father and I have talked about doing ourselves since this company specializes in metal buildings, I'm not quite sure how much they'd charge to work with lumber. The safety of the horses is priority but I've got a rubber and I can imagine him tearing up the metal over the course of a few months lol.

@walkinthewalk Thank you so much! You have heavily rested my mind about the perimeter fence. It's identical to the rear perimeter fence is at the current farm, and we've not had a problem in the year+ we've been there. They tend to stay away from it and closer to where the nice grass is. It feels so natural that it doesn't feel real, does that even make sense? Like I feel like this is what I'm supposed to be doing with my life. Anyway, hehe the center of the barn is going to have the same pitch as the tallest point of the house which you can't see very well in the photo I provided, so it'll be quite tall since the side walls are going to be 10ft, the center will be at least 14ft and open with no loft. I have the barn facing the proper direction on the property to get the right amount of airflow through the isle, which sacrificed being able to connect all 3 pastures to the paddock, but the barn facing where it needed to be facing for optimum ventilation trumps convenience. It also looks great with the paddock facing the front and it's niiice and level over there, and where it has low spots, we have plenty of fill to make it even, before crush'n run or whatever is the best, most affordable option. 

Also, being in Crossville, right on the plateau, luckily we get some cooler temps than Knoxville and the surrounding areas however we deal with some horridly humid days. You can see a 10 degree difference between us an Nashville, but the humidity is a drag. What I've been doing is keeping my main saddle that fits my horse out in the barn so I have easy access to it, but have been constantly wiping it down to prevent it from getting moldy. The new barn will have sealed up, insulated tack and feed rooms, so I can run a de-humidifier in there and have a little easier of a time with it. @sarahfromsc is up here!? That's so neat! We keep all feed and supplements inside barn in sealed plastic containers and luckily no moisture or rodent issues  

I am so excited it's unreal! When it first started, I began panicking that I may have gotten in over my head, but it seems to all be falling into place. 


@horseluvr2524 Having to start from scratch sadly I have to sacrifice some things and put them off for later projects, but I'll try to eventually do concrete in the hay area later on  Sadly, for now I'll probably do what @walkinthewalk suggested, and use Visqueen just to save on cost. I can always add concrete later on if I can afford to, but the place I'm at now has gravel and dirt, however now it's mostly dirt and I just take a garden rake to rake all the loose hay up, and it's very easy. It's one of those old school floppy metal rakes, and it leaves the gravel and just takes the hay up. All of our hay is up at least 6-8 inches on pallets, and so far we haven't had any issues with **** or moldy hay thankfully.

Thanks @PoptartShop!! 

@Zexious I'll hopefully have barn progress to report soon. We have to go pick up the stall fronts and fencing rolls this week, crazy stuff.

*Some general points:*
Barn will be 10ft on the side walls, around 14-16ft at highest center point.
Barn end doors are planned to be 2 sets of 10x6s (for a 10x12ft opening, I'm sure doors will be a littler bigger than that to account for overlap on the sides) on front and back of barn. Exterior dutch doors into stalls are planned to be 4x8. 
We'll be using dust-proof conduit
Fans will also be sealed motor
Using frost-proof hydrants, smart idea having one on each end of barn
All wiring for house and barn are underground
Using LED lighting throughout and want ample lighting, especially in stalls; the 60w incandescent bulbs in the stalls at current place make us waste a lot of bedding lol, is it soiled or is it not? Can't tell, better be safe and toss!
Double Bubble Roof insulation
Standard insulation for feed and tack rooms
Lots out outlets! 
Hydrant on outside of corral where water trough will be, want to eventually put concrete pad outside that fence by that hydrant with rubber mats and hitching posts for wash area. Any tips on that is much appreciated as well! 

I'm sure there's something I'm forgettiiiing. OH, is it worth getting interlocking stall mats or should I just go square and make sure they're properly fit so they don't separate?


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

How exciting to have a lovely brand new home and barn!! :loveshower:

I will only add one thing to all the other suggestions...make sure the stalls face south. Sun in the winter and shade in the summer will make for much happier horses.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

You mentioned something about the barn being level...I take that as "inside" level.
Outside before starting anything make a pad and put the barn on it, elevated 1' *or more* above the highest point of close-proximity grade...
It will make more of a difference in heavy rains and winter snow thaws you get to keep inside dry from water seepage and assist in finding those cooling breezes during the worst of the stagnant summer humid weather.

Another thing I learned..._from the school of hard knocks searching for wandering beasts.._
Your large sliding barn doors... sink a 4x4 sleeve each side of the door opening...you can add the actual wood later after construction is finished.
What this will allow you to do is make a post you can add/make a l_l to slide a board through so at night you can put the horses in and leave the barn doors open for cooling air to enter..._however _should someone escape they not go for a walk down the lane to another property.
During the day you can lift it off out of the way or leave it up and always have that one more safety precaution in place.
If you do this carefully you can use that elevated "sleeve" piece to hold your sliding door bottom from swinging out from wind gusts.
You can also sink a posts and use chain that is covered in vinyl/rubber as that barrier but a wood piece is more a deterrent to meandering horses..

If you use water off a frost-free hydrant you can hard pipe to anyplace in the barn area...including to your wash-stall. To siphon empty you just shut off the hydrant and open the tap, something you need to do no matter where it is in the barn during winter. The lines may not freeze but the spigots do easily. :twisted:
Might I suggest you put several spigots to the outside strategically placed...
Vets need a fresh water supply, farriers do and sometimes you will need to rinse something off and it is far easier to turn on a faucet than drag a hose out. Planned for it can be incorporated into the building walls with no problem.
And consider placing the hydrant center of the barn as less carrying distance is you don't use a hose and more importantly it is warmest in the center of a barn like yours than near a end = reducing "freeze" percentage for all connecting pieces.
Hydrants can wear out just like anything else so having a hose to use for on & off is better for the longevity of the hydrant guts...
:runninghorse2:....


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## sarahfromsc (Sep 22, 2013)

@Werecat, I'm an hour up 127 in Jamestown!


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## Werecat (Aug 23, 2015)

*UPDATE:*
So, my father is back in town and we were discussing the barn. We mentioned our idea of just doing a 36x36 full slab of concrete for the entire barn to my builder vs. just in the isle and tack/feed rooms. This way, we wont have to worry about stalls being properly packed and level due to dirt/gravel/sand, etc. I've seen more and more people do it this way (several even mentioned it in @Acadianartist's thread which even further made me want to do it). Regardless we were going to go with thick, interlocking mats anyway which would add cushion along with thick bedding in the stalls which would absorb urine as well as provide a soft bed for them to lay on. My reasoning for this, is as @horseluvr2524 suggested, gravel can be a pain in areas where there wont be concrete, and if it's just a few thousand dollar difference, I can make up for it and save in other areas, where I can. Also, if there ever was a time I couldn't have horses anymore, or for resale, it could be turned into an equipment storage or garage, even though that'd be a crying shame (and that's coming from a car enthusiast lol).
@horselovinguy you always have the best suggestions.  We currently use the yellow chains to block our horses from getting into the isle from their pasture at current barn, and luckily they've never once challenged it, but I can see how a horse can, and easily bust it/get through it. I'm saving all this to show to my father. 
@sarahfromsc I am getting all my lumber for the barn from Jamestown! We get our stall bedding from Talent Lumber and camp in Timber Ridge. We're actually planning a day ride in Ridge Top Acres as soon as the weather cools down a little, I -love- it out there!


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## sarahfromsc (Sep 22, 2013)

I have ridden up to ridge top from my house. All the trails interconnect. They have a fun obstacle course too!


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## Werecat (Aug 23, 2015)

@sarahfromsc That's awesome, I haven't seen their obstacle course yet, but that's exciting. We're hoping to camp at Timber Ridge again in fall.

*UPDATE!*
So this week concludes the house construction! Just about everything is there, except for closet shelving (guy is coming wednesday to discuss) and a few odds and ends that need tweaking, but otherwise it's about move-in ready! However, the rain is killing us! The concrete guys were supposed to be here this week to set up the mold for us to install water etc. before they pour but the rain is setting everyone back.

My meeting with the barn builders went great, I decided to go with a stud & truss building on a concrete foundation vs. a pole barn. It'll be metal, but it'll be stronger this way and a lot easier to build the interior off of. My father pushed for 9' doors over 10' so that anything that goes through the doors will also clear any hanging fixtures, trusses, etc. and not cut it too close since the truss span will sit on 10' falls. I forgot the angle of the pitch, but will be same as the house.

My builder who has become more of a friend at this point, sourced hopefully enough telephone poles to use as the end/angle points for the flex fence. They'll be painted to match the rest of the fencing. Anywhere where money is saved at this point, is a win. Started mower shopping and -really- don't want to get a tractor or compact tractor (unless the price is right on the latter), because I really, really don't want to take on another payment. I was thinking maybe a large 52-60" deck on a standard belly mower paired with a 4-wheeler to handle everything else (dragging pastures, pulling manure cart/spreader, etc.) would be more than enough for 6 acres. 4 3/4ish worth of pasture. I'd like to cross fence into 3 pastures and would drag then mow one at a time when rotating... so I wouldn't be mowing EVERYTHING in one day. 

Side note, the 6 acres next to me sold, so no chance for later on expanding sadly. Boooo.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Werecat said:


> Started mower shopping and -really- don't want to get a tractor or compact tractor (unless the price is right on the latter), because I really, really don't want to take on another payment. I was thinking maybe a large 52-60" deck on a standard belly mower paired with a 4-wheeler to handle everything else (dragging pastures, pulling manure cart/spreader, etc.) would be more than enough for 6 acres. 4 3/4ish worth of pasture. I'd like to cross fence into 3 pastures and would drag then mow one at a time when rotating... so I wouldn't be mowing EVERYTHING in one day.


Craigslist will be your friend looking for this piece of equipment...
So will agricultural auctions... or farm machinery auctions.
Equipment need not be new, but taken care of not abused.
For what you will pay for a belly mower _and_ a ATV you could purchase a bucket loader tractor and bush hog.
Used implements are a pittance in cost from buying new....
If you purchase the right set-up you can mow and drag at the same time and save a lot of time...not sure it is happening though with belly mower power.
Even a tractor without a bucket but able to pull a bush hog will do a far better job of mowing pasture than a belly mower of what I think of.
I have a Craftsman 26 hp garden tractor for around my house...took me nearly 2 1/2 hours last Saturday to mow front and back yard of about 1/2 acre. Mower has a 54" cutting deck. 
You *will* spend much of your time mowing if you buy to small a piece of equipment to maintain your land. Forget all the other chores land and home ownership demand. To small a piece of equipment will also kill it and wear it out quickly needing replacing. 
Sometimes it is better to spend $ once, buy equipment what is right for the job and not have to find replacements when failure occurs.
I _*would *_search for a farm tractor, truly I would.
Tractor and bush hog will get you well started. 
If a bucket loader then you have a large wheelbarrow for the stall chores...and you can then make compost which you will need to make the landscape area around the house...
As time and $ avails itself add implements to lighten your workload.
We just recently bought a post-hole digger and auger. 
What a godsend when we redid some fencing and needed to drop new posts...yanked 50 old posts out and dug 60 new holes in 6 hours...let me see you do that by hand! 
Sat on the tractor seat, had eyes on the ground to help center over the marked spot and moved a lever twice...new hole done. 
My son followed with the truck and dropped posts off the back into the new holes. All needed done then was centering and refilling/packing in dirt.
Strung and tightened the new horse wire the next day and it was done....

How are you going to move, raise & lift telephone pole sections and settle them into the ground???

More things to think about.

Not sure if I mentioned...
Get yourself on Tractor Supply email list {they don't see your email}. You will be sent coupons for anything in the store usually at minus a 10 - 15% up to a savings of $1,000.00 per event.
Finishing a barn takes a lot of $$ and those savings can help. When they have barn fans on sale they are really good pricing. 
Also look at fans in Northern Supply. I bought mine {sealed motor} for $59.00 for 24" fan blade size which moves a nice amount of air in my garage, not my barn, for when I am working out there.

Oh...all such happy news for you you have shared.:grin:

Do continue to enjoy this journey...
:runninghorse2:......


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## elkdog (Nov 28, 2016)

It may be too late but: I would run plumbing for a bathroom and kitchen under the concrete. Make it ready for a "mother in law" room. If you ever intend to resell it will increase the appraisal value a lot. Up to 3 times the investment it takes to put in the plumbing. Finish the hay room, and adjacent room to living quarters and increase the appraisal $50,000 or more if you sell. Cheap square footage to build and who knows mother in law may have to move in.


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## Werecat (Aug 23, 2015)

@horselovinguy The telephone poles are cut in 8' sections. Probably use a tractor to move them, and man power to stand them up into holes. 

@elkdog Ahh, I saw this post after we poured the concrete. The idea is that it can be easily converted into a shop/garage if I resell and people don't want to have horses/animals. It has water and electric and would make a nice garage.

So the house is done and I've been living here for 2 weeks. They poured the concrete the 2nd week of august, and they started the barn today.  Here is the progress:

Slab before we added more fill and gravel around.









Today's progress:









The barn is at the top of a hill, and even still they had to add nearly 3ft of fill to level it out in the back.


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## LoriF (Apr 3, 2015)

I can hardly wait to see it finished. I'm really excited for you.

That's a lot of progress for one day!


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## Werecat (Aug 23, 2015)

@LoriF It really is  They're like worker bees. hehe.

Here's today's progress. Despite work and getting the house in order killing me lately, I wish it were Monday already so they can continue! 









I noticed that the support for the center isle door tracks are all to one side. I think they misunderstood that I wanted two large doors, not one huge door. So my builder is coming over tomorrow to verify then we will discuss it with the barn guys. Other than that, I'm quite pleased.


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

subbing--I'm looking forward to seeing the finished results.


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## Werecat (Aug 23, 2015)

Today we marked off where the fencing will go around the house and barn. The entire property is already fenced. Not pretty fencing, but it's kept horses in for years before I bought the property, so for now all I have to do is put fencing up around the house and barn. I'll be cross fencing with electric ribbon. We use that at my leased barn, and I really like it and it's a lot more cost effective than trying to use more flex fence just to separate pastures. 

Hopefully we can start digging post holes this week. My father's buddy is coming with his tractor and auger, so that'll make our job way easier. 

We've got the stall doors already built. So once the barn guys are through we're going to build the big sliders and dutch doors on site and get those up. Once the fencing, barn doors, and stalls are up, hopefully in that time our friend will have hayed my pastures, I want to get the horses moved. We'll get the other rooms closed in after they're here.


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## iloverains (Apr 1, 2011)

Looks like a lovely barn! Excited and jealous 😂 Ponies are going to be very spoilt in there I bet! 

Hope it continues to progress so quickly and smoothly!!


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## Werecat (Aug 23, 2015)

iloverains said:


> Looks like a lovely barn! Excited and jealous 😂 Ponies are going to be very spoilt in there I bet!
> 
> Hope it continues to progress so quickly and smoothly!!


Thank you!  hope so. The current barn we're at, has 8x9 stalls, so being back in a 12x12 during their down time will make them happy.

Today's progress!  They ran out of metal for the back, so they're waiting for the new pieces to arrive and are expected to finish up on Wednesday. In the mean time, we're going to hopefully start building the doors and get going on our end.


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## Werecat (Aug 23, 2015)

Exterior of barn is complete minus doors!  They came first thing in the morning today and got the sheet metal done. Working currently so can't get away to go help shopping, but my father is on a purchase run to buy the wood to start on the doors. Will post our progress.


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