# Barn build questions



## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

I wouldn't use mulch it holds moisture. I would put a stone base down with lime screenings (crushed lime, lime dust...it's known by different names) on top. If the contractor has a machine that compacts it you will be ahead of the game, if not you may have to add stone & lime several times before you get a good base built up. 

Facing the overhang to the southeast would be a huge plus if you can figure out a way to do it. That will keep the rain from blowing directly into it for the most part.

You've picked out a pretty barn.


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## Horseychick87 (Feb 5, 2014)

That looks like one of the barns from Horizon Structures. I love their barns!

I'd put down some type of 'hoof grid' HoofGrid™ in horse stalls - how it works

And then lay some gravel over it and possibly mats depending on how the area drains.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

JCnGrace said:


> I wouldn't use mulch it holds moisture. I would put a stone base down with lime screenings (crushed lime, lime dust...it's known by different names) on top. If the contractor has a machine that compacts it you will be ahead of the game, if not you may have to add stone & lime several times before you get a good base built up.
> 
> Facing the overhang to the southeast would be a huge plus if you can figure out a way to do it. That will keep the rain from blowing directly into it for the most part.
> 
> You've picked out a pretty barn.


Yes, a stone base makes the most sense to me too. They're going to be putting down some kind of stone material under and around the foundation for drainage so maybe we can keep going on one side. I would get him to compact it for me, definitely. Not a DIY type 

I agree, southeast would be better, so if anyone can tell me how to do it without losing pasture space I'm all ears! I've tried every angle... but I need the doors to open into the paddock and if I put the paddock on the other side of the barn, the tractor is driving right through it. The overhang will help with the rain and snow blowing in. On more severe days, the doors will have to be shut of course. 

And the picture is not necessarily a depiction of our barn, just the overhang part  I like the posts though. Great place to put cross-ties, etc.


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## Joel Reiter (Feb 9, 2015)

My horses are on pasture 24/7 365 days a year. Just so I understand your dilemma, you want the horses to be able to return to their stalls freely for shelter while they're on the pasture?

Because otherwise you could lead them from their nice SE facing stalls around the corner to the pasture gate.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Joel Reiter said:


> My horses are on pasture 24/7 365 days a year. Just so I understand your dilemma, you want the horses to be able to return to their stalls freely for shelter while they're on the pasture?
> 
> Because otherwise you could lead them from their nice SE facing stalls around the corner to the pasture gate.


Yes, I want them to be able to come and go as they please except on the worst days. I am also looking to keep things as simple and easy as possible. I feel horses are happiest living outside, but don't want to have to build an additional shelter and also want the option of stalls for when it's necessary.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

Is your land picture situated so that the top of the picture is north, etc...?

If so you could face the barn & overhang to the east very easily. Have the end of the overhang attached to the corral instead of the front and then use the support posts to attach fencing to. Boards painted the same color as the barn would look nice.

The end where the tractor is would be facing the end of your house instead of the road but that shouldn't be an issue if you run the driveway to the barn off your current driveway instead of off the road.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

JCnGrace said:


> Is your land picture situated so that the top of the picture is north, etc...?
> 
> If so you could face the barn & overhang to the east very easily. Have the end of the overhang attached to the corral instead of the front and then use the support posts to attach fencing to. Boards painted the same color as the barn would look nice.
> 
> The end where the tractor is would be facing the end of your house instead of the road but that shouldn't be an issue if you run the driveway to the barn off your current driveway instead of off the road.


Do you mean like in the picture below (added white portion would be the overhang - of course none of this is really to scale)? A few issues:

- cuts into the winter/sacrifice paddock
- we lose road access (bringing everything in from the house driveway is undesirable for a number of reasons)
- the tractor cannot drive out from the end of the barn that is now facing south-west because there is a large garden that runs between the line of trees and the house. For the same reason, machinery could not get in and out of the barn (the back end of the barn would now be in the paddock area)
- manure disposal is made more difficult. The location we have in mind is beside the baby barn. I would not be able to haul it out there without either going all the way around the outside of the barn (not always realistic in snow) or right through the tractor bay area (not good for marital harmony since there will be machinery in the way)


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

Yes, facing that direction but I didn't picture it quite that way. Barn would be a little closer to the road and not taking up part of your corral. If I knew how to copy your picture and make the changes I would but I'm computer illiterate. Sounds like it wouldn't work anyway as I didn't notice you had trees between the house and the barn.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

It sounds as if you are going to have to put the barn in a direction that will accommodate the tractor and being able to get hay to the storage area --- regardless of whether the placement is what you want.

You can re-align your paddock area. When we bought raw land, DH thought things should be placed his way. I told him the land was going to tell US what it wanted. It did and it turns out the land knew more than we did. Even our farm & horse owning insurance agent was impressed with the end result.

It isn't anything that resembles staying in the guidelines but the horses have everything they need, we have good access, and nothing floods. 

FWIW, when I gave the contractors the spot to build the barn and the spot/angle to build the house, I had eyeballed the two most level spots on this property, and I let DH know that, lol. Our house is on a small knoll, at 15 degree angle, facing SW. The sunsets are amazing to behold while looking at my horses in the pasture.

That might be something else to consider ---- setting the barn on a subtle angle to accommodate your needs.

What you might do is take some good pics of your land ( from the road facing into the land) and leave the house out, if you want to. Just say, "this is the property, the house is on THIS side, the boundaries are ------ then see what folks have to offer


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

You can always put rubber matting down on top of crushed stone in walkways and standing areas - a layer of gritty sand helps level it, its easier to keep brushed off in muddy weather and clean generally.

Have you thought about storing hay, bedding, feed and tack, blankets, tools and stuff?
I don't use my stables as run in field shelters, they get shut out and they stay out until I put them back in (other than K who will jump out and put herself back in if the mood takes her) I'd have horses trying to get in each others stables for the heck of it and then resulting injuries plus some days they'd just never set foot out in the weather and I think they need outdoor time for fresh air and exercise regardless of rain or snow


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

JCnGrace said:


> Yes, facing that direction but I didn't picture it quite that way. Barn would be a little closer to the road and not taking up part of your corral. If I knew how to copy your picture and make the changes I would but I'm computer illiterate. Sounds like it wouldn't work anyway as I didn't notice you had trees between the house and the barn.


We can't put it any closer to the road because of agricultural building regulations. We have to be a certain distance from wells and there are two houses across the road that have wells  

Otherwise your idea would have been a good one!


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

walkinthewalk said:


> It sounds as if you are going to have to put the barn in a direction that will accommodate the tractor and being able to get hay to the storage area --- regardless of whether the placement is what you want.
> 
> You can re-align your paddock area. When we bought raw land, DH thought things should be placed his way. I told him the land was going to tell US what it wanted. It did and it turns out the land knew more than we did. Even our farm & horse owning insurance agent was impressed with the end result.
> 
> ...


Yes, well the slope of the land is something we had to consider since you bring up what the land dictates! It does slope gradually at the site of the barn, but in the area we've reserved for paddock # 2, which is adjacent to the sacrifice paddock/winter paddock/riding ring, the land slopes more steeply. So much so that the only part of the property that is usable for riding is that top part right up against the side of the barn. We thought of locating the barn behind our house, but there is such a slope there that I would constantly be going up and down a hill to get to the horses. I'd rather use it as a pasture for that reason. 

I could post pictures of the house but the view of the property would be obstructed by a lot of things like trees and the lay of the land because it slopes away. 

You must indeed have amazing sunsets! Our aren't bad either and we can enjoy them off our back deck  Soon there will be horses down there to make the view even better!


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

jaydee said:


> You can always put rubber matting down on top of crushed stone in walkways and standing areas - a layer of gritty sand helps level it, its easier to keep brushed off in muddy weather and clean generally.
> 
> Have you thought about storing hay, bedding, feed and tack, blankets, tools and stuff?
> I don't use my stables as run in field shelters, they get shut out and they stay out until I put them back in (other than K who will jump out and put herself back in if the mood takes her) I'd have horses trying to get in each others stables for the heck of it and then resulting injuries plus some days they'd just never set foot out in the weather and I think they need outdoor time for fresh air and exercise regardless of rain or snow


Yes, since we will have four stalls and two horses, only two stalls will be in use as such. One stall will be for bedding, wheelbarrows and a few bales of hay while the other will be a completely closed off tack and feed room (ie, grain). Hay will be stored in the baby barn which is not far away. I expect to buy it in two installments (already have my supplier lined up so he is reserving some for us for the summer) of about 200 bales each.

The dutch doors are a bit of an experiment. Those I've talked to who have done this successfully go through a training period during which each horse is led and fed in his stall at night. It doesn't take long before they know which stall is theirs. I also don't think there are many horses that would choose to stay indoors. Where we board, even in the middle of a blizzard, the horses are usually outside (they have TWO shelters which are barely used). However, if it becomes a problem, I can always close the doors of course. I would still have the advantage of being able to just open the doors from the outside in the morning to let them out and leave the top part open so they get lots of fresh air and can enjoy the sights and sounds of the outdoors on days that they can't be turned out. If it's too miserable, or if I want them to rest quietly, the top gets closed.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Oh my horses know only too well which stable belongs to them but they'll still go and check out another one to see if they can steal that horses food if they're left to their own devices. 
I have to drag them out kicking and screaming on bad weather days - they don't appreciate 'natural' and if the paddock gates not closed before they're loosed off they'll be right past you and back in their stable before you can blink!!!
A lot of horses don't use communal shelters because they're afraid of being trapped in them by a bully horse and no easy way of escape


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

what if you moved it all forward , closer to the road so there would be room behind the barn .
Which direction is your prevailing winds ? openings opposite of that.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

That is a *spectacular* sunset!

I have a friend whose original barn is behind the house, down hill hill then back uphill. They were able to build a new barn recently and that one is only slightly up hill.

They are also limited as their seven acres is odd shaped with a small woods and creek running thru it. The lady is my age, this was her mom's property, and she now says she wishes she would have sold it years ago because she is sick of walking up/down, after all these years of feeding twice a day, lol

Meaning you are right to not put the barn where you have to slide down a slope to feed in bad weather


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

stevenson said:


> what if you moved it all forward , closer to the road so there would be room behind the barn .
> Which direction is your prevailing winds ? openings opposite of that.


Can't put it any closer to the road than it already is because of building regulations on agricultural buildings. 

Winds are generally north-east to south-west, but can sometimes reverse. Either way, the barn is built with openings south-east and north-west so we should be ok. Also some windbreak on the north-east from some mature trees on the other side of the paddock.


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## Jan1975 (Sep 7, 2015)

I've just decided I'm moving in with you. It will be perfect because you'll have two extra stalls and I have two horses. Actually, my Patrick is probably that dead-broke horse you're looking for, so I'll even share him with you. Give me your address so after my house sells I know where to go. :rofl:


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Jan1975 said:


> I've just decided I'm moving in with you. It will be perfect because you'll have two extra stalls and I have two horses. Actually, my Patrick is probably that dead-broke horse you're looking for, so I'll even share him with you. Give me your address so after my house sells I know where to go. :rofl:


Ok, I'll tell the contractor to put in a loft apartment. You can work off your board doing barn chores. You don't mind living in a barn do you? Don't worry, we'll put a port-a-potty out back for your privacy and you can bathe in the water trough :smileynotebook:


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