Pole Barn Insulation with a twist (Horses and dirt floor)

[RedNeckRacin]

Fellas,

I have been trying to do some research about insulating an 80'x100'x16' pole barn that houses 16 horses inside. It gets pretty cold in PA in the winter and with all of the respiration going on inside, the ceiling rains a lot. I have talked to a spray foam contractor and I have even figured up prices to stud and bat the walls. My concerns are mostly what direction to proceed in. The animals throw A TON of moisture into the air and I think sealing the whole building with foam is a recipe for disaster let alone heating the space in the trusses and not down lower where the people are. I was thinking that spraying the walls, and installing a metal ceiling with blown in fiberglass insulation would be best bet and that lets the soffit and ridge vents vent the unheated space above. Any thoughts?


Anybody have any experience with a project similar to this?

 

[tallyho8]

I can't really help you because I live in South Louisiana where it rarely gets below freezing. Several years ago we had a really cold winter and I covered my doors and windows with lexan sheets eliminating most of the air flow in the barn. Stall floors got very damp and the humid environment seemed very unhealthy. The hay in the hay room even started going bad faster.

Since then I have never sealed my barn and only put blankets on the horses during very cold nights. The horses seem to like it better and I am sure it is a much healthier environment.

 

[dave1949]

I can't really help you because I live in South Louisiana where it rarely gets below freezing. Several years ago we had a really cold winter and I covered my doors and windows with lexan sheets eliminating most of the air flow in the barn. Stall floors got very damp and the humid environment seemed very unhealthy. The hay in the hay room even started going bad faster.

Since then I have never sealed my barn and only put blankets on the horses during very cold nights. The horses seem to like it better and I am sure it is a much healthier environment.

That's what I have always been told. You don't want a humid barn, and I can't imagine you need to retain any heat. Folks around here often use three-sided shelters for their horses. Given a choice, unless it's really nasty weather, the horses prefer to be out in the open it seems.

They might have a blanket on if it's really cold with wind. I don't know if that is to make the owners feel better, or it's really a necessity. I guess it could depend on the breed too.

I think you need more ventilation, not insulation.

 

[Mike476]

More ventilation not insulation, exactly. The stables I just built I left open truss, soffitt and ridge vent to try to keep as much ventilation as I could through the building.

If you planning to heat it and close it in you'll need to consider an air exchange system capable of extracting the moisture from that volume of air and exchanging the heat before exhausting. If not your horses may be bothered by the air quality.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

WEll I dont think I explained myself well. The horses just happen to be stored in the riding arena and hence my problem. The heat is not for the horses, its for the people who are riding them in the building. I have a man door starting on the long way, followed by 10 stalls, turning the corner to finish up with two more, a 16' wide door and then 4 more stalls.

 

[KennyG]

I think you're on the right path here. Insulate above the ceiling and the walls. Make sure you have good vapor barriers so you control the heat you have in the building. Vent the attic space well to keep condensation out of there. Then I would add a good heat recovery ventilator in the enclosed space. It will cost some money but it will take care of the moisture problem and save your heat.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Thanks Kenny, I was really unsure of which direction I needed to take. If it was a few hundred buckets i'd give it a shot. Being that I'm in the neighborhood of 10k I really want to do it right the first time. I guess I need to get some estimates! It would have been so much easier to install without the lights being hung and the stalls in the way.

 

[Dr Dave]

How will you heat this space?

Dave

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Natural gas. I have a well approximately 200 feet away on my property.

 

[Dr Dave]

With the well on your property do you get it free or cheap? Is there, a limit, on what you can use?

About 20 miles from me,
there are 2 farmers that are cousin's, each has there own riding arena. The first one was built about 15 years ago. One cousin have to outdue the other, so he built an all steel 300x300 building, the arena is 300x200, with office's and stables in he rest. It is heated and air conditioned. So then the other cousin had to add on to make his larger. They both are very nice setups.

Dave