Barn door location?

[npaden]

Okay, I'm about to pull the trigger on my barn. I know everyone said that 30' x 40' would be too small but that fits in the budget and I put an outline on the ground and parked all my equipment inside it and I think it will work for now.

With that said, I do have a question on what is the best location for the door. I think I want a 12' wide door instead of a 10' wide one because that will allow my tractor to stay parked in front of the door while the ATV's can go in and out.

I guess one option that I don't know how much would cost would be to put a small 9'x7' door in on the other side of the barn just to get the ATV's in and out of and have a 9'X10' door for the tractor.

If I just put in one door, I can't decide if it should go in the middle or if I should put it off to the side. I think I want the entry door on the side of the building that is nearest to the house. I thought with the window on the opposite side of the door and the predominant wind out of the South (where the main door is) I could get a nice breeze through there in the Summer when I'm in there working on something.

The plans are for all the equipment to be toward the front of the barn and my workbench and stuff like that toward the back.

I drew up a crappy sketch:

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks, Nathan

 

[Farmwithjunk]

The first barn I built (back in 1973) I put the main door along one side like you described. Never again! You loose "wall space" that way. With the door in the middle, you enter and turn either direction to storage space.

 

[daTeacha]

Have you considered dual sliding doors? On a good building, they can be locked to a center anchor point and the posts at the sides. You can use half the width of the building as door, or more if you don't mind the door track extending out past the wall. You can open them as wide or narrow as you wish, one side or both, etc. I think you might find them cheaper than the overheads, so maybe you could have both doors.

How about a large door in the left end and a smaller one in the right end?

I inherited a 28 x 40 shop building with a single OH on the side and a double in the gable end. I have a walk in door in the gable end next to the single. Right now, I have the place divided into hay storage and a shop, with the hay getting most of the room and the double door. I find the single OH in the shop a little narrow at times, but the location with respect to the shape of the shop is good. The shop is 28 x 16 and allows me to have benches along two walls. There is room to hang the truck cap, park the tractor inside, keep the bush hog in there, etc. I have a lean to that serves as parking sometimes and wood storage all the time. Another one on the other side and downhill is for the sheep and donkeys.

 

[1bush2hog]

A guy I was talking to from Morton recommended putting doors big enough to fit your equipment on both ends - unless of course you don't have room, or don't mind backing your equipment in the barn all the time

 

[KentT]

As far as your ATVs go, I'd think you could use a "double entry doors" approach instead of your single entry door and kill two birds with one stone.

That would give you a 6 ft wide door, 7 ft tall to take your ATVs in and out. You mignt even want to consider a set in front and back.

 

[npaden]

Okay, thanks for the quick replies.

A couple things I need to add. On the top side of the drawing I think that eventually I may add a lean to for storing implements. I guess that rules out a door on that side.

The other is that the back side of the building has about a 2' drop and a big tree on the bottom side. I don't want to get rid of the tree (they are rare around here).

What about 2 doors both on the front? One larger door for the tractor and one smaller one for ATV's and stuff. I could just leave the tractor parked in front of it's door and not worry about moving it around to get other stuff in and out. If a small overhead door is only $300 more that's what I think I will do.

How about this setup?

Thanks, Nathan

 

[bigtiller]

I think planning a project is half of the fun. Just keep on drawing and planning and you will come up with the perfect plan for your stuff on your ground.

I had a Morton building with a 2 foot drop on the back side so I put an over head door there and used it as a loading dock. The 2 feet difference was very handy when loading or unloading a pick-up truck.

 

[BB_TX]

I have a 30'x40' with 10'x10' doors centered front and back. Makes easy access to all areas. I don't have to move something out to get to something else. I have probably about a two foot drop at the back. Since you state there is a tree in the way even though you haven't built it yet, I assume you are limited on location of the barn. Is it not possible to shift 10' or so to one side to avoid the tree?
Attached is a rear view.

 

[BB_TX]

Here it is from the front.

 

[daTeacha]

Morton is about top of the line for pole buildings. They should be more than willing to make a site visit and help you sort things out. I've worked with the office here somewhat and they indicated that a site visit was no problem. They have some differences from other pole buildings regarding placement of posts and such that might let you make a slightly different size building at a more economical cost per square foot. Around here, Morton won't let you build one of their buildings, they have to do it, so take advantage of all the service you will be paying for.

When I used to build the things, a site visit, a talk with the customer about their wants, another visit with some plans I made up, some changes back and forth, etc. usually preceded a final plan from which I worked up a cost for the job. I found early on in that part time job that a lot of detail work in the planning stages not only saved time later but often meant we got the job instead of someone else. By detail, I mean drawing in all the wiring and plumbing, carefully calculating the best way to cut the parts to minimize waste, bird bars, vapor barrier, spouting runs, drainage runs, figuring the number and kinds of nails needed and allowing for some being lost, bent, or whatever, and so on.

Go into their office and talk with the sales guy. You will be amazed at what you can find out just by asking, and it may influence your plans.

On the other hand, if you go with a private contractor instead of Morton, you will be able to afford about 20% more square feet of space under roof.