Barns

[HunterdonPaul]

This is sort of a continuation of the post "Where do you store your tractor?" but specific to barns.

Well, I think that I have decided to build a barn OR I have decided to have a barn built. I haven't decided. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif. In any case, I was wondering what experiences that you all have had with building barns. Did you build it yourself or did someone else build it for you? How large is your barn? What size property is it located on? Are you happy with its design? What would you have done differently? What do you use your barn for (storage, livestock, workshop, etc.) Is it recommended to build a barn that accomodates animals and machinery? Where did you get your barn plans? What type of construction was used? What sort of maintenance does your barn require? Do you recommend steel buildings (roof or siding)? Do you have running water? How about electricity?

Currently, I have a small wooden barn on my property. Well its sort of a barn - actually it is two 12'x12' stalls that the former owner of the property built. I am not really happy with its construction. I don't currently have horses but have promised my 9 year old that when she turns 11 she will have a horse or two.

**** I would love for you to post a picture of your barn ****

I have found two large outfits that build barns locally (PA/NJ). Obviously Morton Buildings builds fine (somewhat expensive) buildings. A local company called Kistler also builds some fine buildings which many neighbors have used.

I would love to build my barn completely by myself. However lack of time and bad back restrictions do not allow for it. I may consider GC'ing the job. I have no experience as a general contractor but I guess a barn is a good place to start.

Thanks for your replies!

Paul

 

[Youare]

I think the term barn is fairly subjective, what I may call a barn someone else would call it something else. I built a building about 12 years ago that did not start out to be a barn but ended up being one.

It originally was to be a 24 X 26 two stall grarage with a workshop area on the second floor. It has a gambrel roof line which gives it the appearance of a barn. The siding is rough sawed vertical boards which also feeds the barn mentality. When I built it I did not have to money to pour a concrete floor but did have an abundant supply of lumber so the floor is wood plank.

Just after finishing it our first horse came along with another to follow soon after so one side became two 10 X 10 stalls and a storage area. The car or truck occupied the other side before the new Kubota came along which displaced the car and truck.

The upper room became storage for 400 bales of hay and a few other items. The wood shop I wanted to put up there is still cramped in the basement of the house.

I have a portable saw mill so lumber was not an issue. The barn is close to the house, 12 feet away, because it would be taxed more if it was attached to it.

Now I think I would like to build another "barn" to keep the one horse we now have and the tractor stuff in a shed off the side. That way I can have the other building back as a place to park the car and truck in.

If you can build it youself you can save some money. I drew up my own plans and built the trusses for the gambrel roof on the second story deck myself. There are a few lumber companies in the northeast that have put up some nice barns, A&B Lumber is one I know of.

Randy

 

[rancar]

Hi Paul....

<font color=blue>**** I would love for you to post a picture of your barn ****</font color=blue>

See the attachment of my barn. It's an old dairy barn built in latter half of the 19th century with two car garage built on in front in 1984. The main part of the barn is post and beam framework. Upper part was used for hay storage; below was the milking parlor. In the back I have an add-on addition...again above was used for hay storage and below milking parlor. On right hand side in this pic is a 5-bay lean-to. Barn has become a labor of love to renovate. I have electric but no running water. I'll one day convert part of it into a wood shop with that fancy Delta and Rockwell wood working equipment. I store my tractor in the garage. I store my implements in the 5-bay lean-to. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

Regards,
Bob Ancar
Cambridge, NY

 

[rancar]

Here's another pic of the main section and rear of the barn looking at it from the northwest side. Large double doors open outward permitting access to the hay loft. This is where my wood shop will be some day. The 5-bay lean-to faces the north.

 

[rancar]

Last pic shows an up front view of the barn's big double doors and transom window. One of the bays is shown at the right with my JD forks and 4in1 parked underneath.

 

[HunterdonPaul]

Rancar,
Absolutely fabulous barn. I am really glad I asked people to post their pics. My wife and I are this evening talking about what the barn needs to look like.

Thanks again,
Paul

 

[Phred]

Rancar,

Very neat barn. I would love to have a vintage building like that one.

Can you get a picture of the inside construction? I assume it is based on poles set in the ground and topped with wooden trusses and then rough sawn siding and metal roof?

Fred

 

[rancar]

Hi Fred...

<font color=blue>Can you get a picture of the inside construction? I assume it is based on poles set in the ground and topped with wooden trusses and then rough sawn siding and metal roof?</font color=blue>

Actually, it's an oak post and beam frame called a canted Queenpost timber frame. It rests on a concrete foundation. Roof is made of common rafters supported by a canted purlin plate (that being the long plate, holding up the rafters mid-span,held by short angled beams). Original clapboard was made out of fir or spruce, now being replaced with novelty pine clapboard when needed. Roof covering originally was cedar shakes, now replaced with metal galvanized. Some of these cedar shakes were still in good condition over 100 years after they were originally put on.

See attached picture of inside roof rafters and support beams. More pictures are available in the Rural Living Forum under the thread entitled "Barn Renovation Project."

Bob

 

[Worksmart]

Paul - Here is my 26 X 40 barn. 2 X 4 construction. Attic & Scissor trusses. 14 X 18 loft. I developed a drawing and specs. Had a builder computerize the drawing and generate drawings for city approval. I live in the "city" so pole buildings are not allowed. It has full footings and concrete slab floor. Had the builder put up the shell and I've been finishing the interior myself. Chuck

 

[Worksmart]

Here's another shot. Chuck

 

[knucklehead]

Hey, Paul

Whatsamatter, don't like my tarps? /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif. There are, as you know, tons of web sites with plans, but there is one we find ourselves returning to over and over when looking at barn styles. <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.countrycarpenters.com/index.html>Country Carpenters</A> has a lot of styles and a good dose of pictures of finished projects of all sizes and types. We've taken a little design info here and there, mostly getting the idea of proportion, and tried to come up with a classic but functional idea for ourselves.

Our lot is long and narrow, sorta like 4 acres stacked behind each other, so we've decided to build in the same design - an enclosed "shop" at the Southerly end, and a pole-barn type, open, double pitched structure of maybe 3 bays at the Northerly end. The rough dimensions might be something like 20x20 (or 20x16) for the shop, and then three 10' or 12' wide bays. This would yield a structure, when measured in it's entire length, of around 50 plus feet. It will be a bit less than twice as long as it is wide. We've seen these long, connected structures around our area, and have come to like them very much. We've also decided to elevate the shop end on gravel, and dig down slightly and build the open end with the same roof height, even though it will be a taller structure. Of course, changes may be made as we continue to dream/plan/save. The big dilemma is whether to build a wood floored shop and dirt shed, or go concrete (floating slab) in part or whole. We're on the fence about that, even though concrete would be great.

Proportion is probably the most important part of the aesthetic consideration - even more than siding. Most of the barns we like are taller than current home-type shed construction - like a 10' or 12' side wall. Most modern sheds and barns have very low pitched roofs (rooves?). If you are interested in keeping the classic look, study these proportions, and even draw a few out. I have a photo of a simple timber framed open shed on the site of King's Landing historical settlement near Fredericton, New Brunswick. I re-drew it to add 4' of depth, and tried simply lengthening the rear pitch, and it changed it into an ugly shed. That was my first lesson in proportion- glad I didn't build it.

 

[Carl_NH]

Paul,

Here's our 24x36 frame built barn/shop with 12/12 pitch and 24' floor truss for no interior posts on a monolithic slab (concrete). I was GC, did site prep, bought materials etc. Matched the materials to the house and garage (cedar and trim etc).

I have wiring and water to it but no interior plumbing. The finish - siding and windows, doors and floor trusses were the major cost items.

Roughly $25K as it looks here, but has a full upstairs rated at 60Lbs PSF loading using the floor trusses.

Carl

 

[GSS]

Nice old barn! Glad to see people take the time to restore them and not let them go. I too have an old barn on our farm. It was built in 1876, actually a year older than the house we are living in. Typical bank barn, 40'x60', metal roof (used to be slate), with 4 sliding doors on the front to access the hay loft, where I park the 7360. Downstairs, one sliding door on the side and 2 open bays in the back. I currently have my "shop" down there, store lumber, and park the mowers, quads and tractor implements.

A few exterior pics can be seen at http://photos.yahoo.com/xteife under the House album. I think the last two are best.

Let me know if you'd like to see some interior pics. I have some at home.

Oh, try contacting the Amish. They make barns the old fashioned way. Might be on the expensive side, but darn nice.

- G

 

[RichZ]

I figure it's my duty to show you more barns from beautiful Cambridge, New York

Here's a shot from our "upper pasture"...

From left to right is our horse barn (former dairy barn), our tractor garage(former carriage house) and our hen house (modern Amish built shed).

 

[RichZ]

This is the tractor garage. It was originally a carriage house built somewhere around 1850.

 

[RichZ]

This is our horse barn, built sometime before 1800.

 

[RichZ]

And this is our hen house. An Amish built shed, built in 2000.

 

[knucklehead]

Very nice setup, Rich - I'm envious for one, and I'm sure there are more. I've also gotten a better understanding of why you use the particular signature you do, after seeing your robust & hirsute personage in several recent posts.

/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[rancar]

Gerald,

Yep...you sure have a dandy of a barn...a lot more outside detail on it than what I have. Much more work here I think to maintain but it also adds additional character to the structure. If it's not too much trouble, I'd love to see the interior pics when you have a chance to post them. Thanks!

I remember seeing the Amish erect a barn when I was traveling on I-76 east of Harrisburg many years ago. The barn was about a mile in the distance. It was a rather large structure and there must have been a good 50-75 fellas working on it. They looked like ants crawling around that structure. It was a sight to behold.

Bob

 

[Phred]

Bob,

Great building.

Thanks for sharing!

Fred