# Anyone here build their own barn from scratch?



## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

We built our barn from scratch. My husband is very "gifted" in seeing in his mind a finished project.
My husband and I have decades of horse experience either working in the equine industry, having friends who are professionals in many areas and that has allowed us to see some incredible structures good and bad.
We also looked at many a blueprinted plan from several barn manufacturers, many actual pre-fab barns and then modified into actuality our dreams to reality.
Before you can truly search you need to be positive of how many animals total you need to provide for cause it isn't just a stall or shelter environment but all the support space needed to keep the animals properly on your land.
Design your barn and fencing at the same time to utilize the most effortless existence in moving animals from point A to B, keeping their feed/hay & shavings in a locale that is friendly to keep and friendly to get those supplies easily into locations of safe storage.
Water and electric need to be considered and designed to be efficient and work friendly.
What kind of fencing, placement of gates and all out-buildings need to be considered...aka layout of your project cause it makes a difference.
We goofed when we put a large free-standing garage with not aligning my drive-through gate into the barn area correctly...hence we moved the gate and it is now_ not_ good if you come in with a long hay trailer...it isn't easy access.
Plan, plan again and then think about your plans before making the first mark on the ground to start.

The other thing wish we had done is elevated the barn higher than we did.
I did not take into account the settling of the ground from horses meandering around the barn area and when we have torrential rains or hurricanes it can be a very close to losing my barn from flooding...we do not have a concrete pad but dirt and wish we had gone up another 8 - 12" higher on the dirt barn pad.

Do your research before anything else of what your county allows in construction because it makes a difference in what is permitted or not...and it would really stink to get finished and have a county representative knock on your door and tell you take it down it not meet code or allowed...and you would be forced to or they would by court order in some places... 
Hope that is not discouraging, but a heads-up to some good and pitfalls we fell into ourself. 
Enjoy your project...
🐴...


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## ksbowman (Oct 30, 2018)

I've built two by myself and loafing sheds. I it all myself and like @horselovinguy 's husband I'll sketch a rough idea but, mainly I can picture it in my mind. I've also built two houses. I was a structural steel ironworker for 38 years and the current 48' x 60' barn has roof trusses I made from bar joist that were damaged during the building of the horse track stands that I set in KC. The first I built at our old home near KC in the early 80's. I was setting the General motors plant there and I was able to build a two story, 3 stall , tack room, hay storage loft and ground and from the loft you could drop hay in all 3 stalls . It also had a common loafing shed L shaped over the front of the 3 stalls. This was done with materials left over from the job. I really wish we still had that barn. It is all do able in descent time if you stay busy after it. Many people start projects but, never finish so it takes dedication. I have a type A personality and I can't stop on something till it is done. When you are it gives great satisfaction to say you did it. I can take some picks of the current one if you'd like. You can do anything you set your mind to.


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## farrieremily (Jul 8, 2018)

Prices can really depend on area and I know currently lumber prices are very high. People around me can’t get the lumber they want at any price.
We (my dear husband, mostly alone) built a 34’x64’ pole barn. 
I do wish we had gone for the 12 foot aisle as well but we were maxing out our budget and had altered our plans three times already.
A friend is a builder so we gave our desired length, width and wall height to the lumber yard and they gave us a complete materials cost estimate good for six months.
They delivered what we needed as we needed it.

Our friend supplied the tractor and knowledge to set all the posts and showed us how to do the girts and dear husband put them up. 
Friend came back to help put up the headers and brought the Lull to put up the trusses and showed how to put purlins up.

It went like that bit by bit for months because both guys were working full time and doing my barn with spare time.

I will say building it ourselves cut the cost of putting up a barn by a bit over half.

Best advice, go as big as your budget will allow, you’ll find ways to fill it and always want more space.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

I have an Amish prefab that came with the property, and the reason I am posting is that pretty much everything was done right on it, from siting, site prep, design, build, quality materials ... it's a three stall stable with an insulated tackroom and a hayloft above. All we had to do was tweak some exterior things like the gates and pens. They have already worked out a lot of design challenges with these stables, so it is worth taking a look at their plans. 

Horizon Structures is one such company, there are a number of others.


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## Fuddyduddy1952 (Jun 26, 2019)

My Dad and I built his stable about 40 years ago. It was...rustic [emoji38]. He bought all sawmill random width rough cut lumber. On dirt. I'm guessing about 15ft x 60ft. Three stalls, small tack room, then one wood floor room for hay we cut and filled (no baler). Shingle roof. 
When I had ours built a couple years ago I used the same contractor who built garage.
They build and have built many horse stables. I did plumbing and wiring, I bought a new Deere tractor with backhoe.
It's 36ft x 60ft., 18ft to rafters. 
They started with a 50 ton dozer leveling/compacting area. I'm so glad I went with all reinforced concrete and a center isle pull through. 
Also glad it was completed before Covid...lumber prices are way up. I spoke with them recently and they said price would be double if built today.
Either end is compacted #57 gravel with sand over it. The gutters I trenched in drain pipe going down over hill.
Cupola center with whole house fan, end vents.
















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## Fuddyduddy1952 (Jun 26, 2019)

How my cat picture got there I don't know!

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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

My husband and brother law and myself built corrals with covers. They are pipe , c channels and aluminum sheeting. Also built the hay storage out of old oilfield pipe , c channels and aluminum sheeting. It is heavy sheeting. We bought the pipe and we found the sheeting as it was used so it cost a lot less. It was hard heavy work. We looked at structures on the internet, at various barns and properties. We do not require a barn in the traditional sense, as we get no snow , little rain.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

OH I should have added, be sure to figure what direction you get the worse weather from e - w or n-s . Make sure your barn sits on higher ground than the surrounding area, or build it up . Nothing worse than having puddles !


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## Maxify (Oct 18, 2010)

We bought bare land with a 25 yr old bare bones Morton Barn on it.
It's taken another 15 yrs to make it worth owning.
Now I'm too old to do anything with it & the daughter, for whom the Mrs. 
& I built it in the first place, has less than no interest in horses anymore.
That's the story of my life. A day late and no energy left to do anything anymore.







That's lemon grass under each window...natural bug repellent.
We'd sell it but, Hey, ya gotta live somewhere!


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## AragoASB (Jul 12, 2020)

I had a portable barn built then finished the walls, kick walls and mats myself. I Oregon you can get a 10'x20 building portable placed. They are called accessory buildings and if there is no electrical or plumbing fastening it to the ground they are property tax free.
Here is the first 2 stall barn with a porch over the front. I fenced the place myself with no climb horse wire.








It cost $6895 delivered and the porch built. It matches the cabin.








Then we moved to Oregon (I had been coming every summer from Texas to work on the place) and my cowboy husband admired my work but he does not like thickets, he likes to see around. So he bought a 16 acre place up on a hill above a river in the next county but it had no barn. So I had two of these portable barns built, brought here and connected by a roof that was lifted up by a crane. It is 2 stall. One is a regular box stall and the other is a double stall for my 16.5 Saddlebred. It is on the highest ground on the place. The other half is hay storage. I built the inner walls and kick walls myself and matted the floors. Here is a picture of it. The gravel rock that is the isle is now spread across and around the whole thing. The barns, roof, mats, and inner walls and 20 yards of gravel cost $17,000 total.

I am 65 and no spring chicken but still peckin'.








The stall fronts are corral panels with gates. Here is a picture of mini stallion Dinkus Maximus (Dinky) in his stall.


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## AragoASB (Jul 12, 2020)

Maxify, are there stalls on both sides? That is one beautiful barn.


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

While a horse barn with stalls, tack room and wash stall was nice and sounded like a dream come true, when I had it I hardly used it. I used the alley way of the barn to saddle horses in bad weather and in the dark when I needed to, the wash stall turned into a feed room and a place to put an extra fridge for cow meds/beer and a chest freezer. And this is where it is winter for almost 9 months out of the year.
It was already there when we moved in but I thought I would use it more for myself and I didn't. It goes back to what others already said, take strong consideration on how you keep your horses, the work involved and the weather.
We also had a shed row made out of RR ties. The covered part was about 12 x12 plus another 12 x12 added on in panels. making each pen of 12 x24 half covered. I used it the most and when I laid over horses that was the most sold.

We have since moved and building our own facilities. We are doing a shed row, framed out of oilfield pipe, channel iron welded to inside to slide boards down into for the walls so they can easily be replaced as needed, tin roof and continuous fencing panels to make 12 x 36 pens, 12x 8 of them covered. Gates can be chained back or used to sort cattle or horses in an alley way leading from a dry lot which also comes from a small pasture/holding lot. All can be closed off or opened up to be used as small pens, dry lot with shelter and /or small pasture with shelter. All shedrow, pens, alley is big enough to get a tractor in to easily scrape, clean and fill with material as needed. And pull in with a truck and trailer to load or unload cattle or unhandled animals.
Eventually we would like to add on the back side of the shedrow a saddle house with big doors to easily go in and out of with a saddle, lights, power and tie stalls all covered from weather with floor, mangers and grain boxes.


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## Maxify (Oct 18, 2010)

AragoASB said:


> Maxify, are there stalls on both sides? That is one beautiful barn.


Yes, there are stalls on both sides with many amenities but I shan't elaborate.
This side gets morning sunrise.
The opposite side is covered in century live oaks shading the brutal evening sun.


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## AragoASB (Jul 12, 2020)

Cowchick, that is some barn. Is it a sort of a Mare Motel sort of an arrangement but with solid walls between stalls?


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

AragoASB said:


> Cowchick, that is some barn. Is it a sort of a Mare Motel sort of an arrangement but with solid walls between stalls?
> View attachment 1106070


Well not really. Although I do love mare motels!

I tried drawing a quick picture and a pic of what we started.. It will be a work in progress at the rate we are going. At this point I'd be happy if we got the walls up for a wind break!
Looking at my drawing and the photo, the end wall is partially done and the back of the first stall wall in. No partition walls, the pens will be divided by the continuous fencing/panels. Because the gates will be big and long to go across the alley for sorting, they'll need an over hang brace. The last place we lived had an alley in front of the shedrow like I have drawn and we loved it, it was so handy! I could get a lot done by myself, I could sort and load cows or unhalter broke or hard to catch colts.

Saddle house will be off the back side of stall one. Tie stalls off of 2,3,4. We haven't worked out he dimensions yet as it'll be awhile before we get to that point. Traditionally the floor for tie stalls are RR ties laid in the ground but one placed I worked they did a raised floor planked in rough cut planks that was very nice. That will all be covered as well to be able to saddle out of the weather.


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## AragoASB (Jul 12, 2020)

Ok I can imagine that. What a good design.


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