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bank barn floor plans

Around The Farm
#1

I’m still comparing barn types and my thoughts are swinging back towards a bank barn for the additional storage and visual appeal. The property is all on a slope, northern facing, not too much run off since we nearly own the top of the hill but not quite. Any traditional flat barn would mean a lot of excavating. Property is in Maryland, NW of Baltimore.

Tractor implements are piling up at an astounding rate. I’d like to be able to store them, the tractor and some round bales inside the barn. My horses live out 24/7 but I do wish I had stalls for feeding time, layups, and horrible weather. We’re making it through the winter with a big run-in and part of the garage converted to feed and tack storage.

I’m having a hard time coming up with a floor plan. The last bank barn I was in was laid out very awkwardly and I haven’t really seen a good one. I’d like at least 4 stalls (with one being flexible for storage or turning into a foaling stall, wash rack/gooming area and tack room. I feel like a traditional big center aisle design would be a waste of space and quickly lead to a massive structure that would dwarf our property.

Does anyone have a small bank barn with an efficient layout? I have 3 horses now, all 16hh+ but I’m even thinking of considering smaller stalls, or just two standard-sized stalls for layups and an area for tie stalls for feeding.

Oh CoTH, bestow your wisdom!

#2

I have noticed that the old bank barns are common up north (PA and NY). However, I wonder about them for horse friendly use as far as building one new. I have seen one new one built here that is a really neat design and I love, but…

ANYTHING here (and I know MD gets hot and humid too) that is in a bank/basement/garage type environment collects a ton of moisture. Hay molds almost instantly. A good friend has some bank storage below/on the side of her house. She learned the hard way, only tractor and equipment go in there, no perishables, blech.

In my anecdotal opinion – fine for things like tractors, equipment, etc. Hay, feed, and horses? I’ve not lived in MD, but have lived in VA for 4 years and here for almost 10 and I would not like the reduced air flow.

YMMV. :smiley:

#3

Well, if I recall the hay was stored on the top loft, in the old bank barns, and there were chutes to send things down. I would be like you, OP, bank barn all the way. There are ways to deal with the damp, etc, so be sure to get a good engineer or architect or builder who knows what they are doing. Good luck. I’d love to see pics of this project.

#4

OK, I googled “bank barn” with the quotes and the word redesign. And clicked images, and boy just that gave tons of gorgeous photos of great barns with great ideas for your design, if it didn’t give any actual plans, some great ideas. I did see several which had storage for the equipmet on the lowest level underneath. Give the google a look, it was great.

#5

Google does offer some great photos! The part I’m having a hard time with is choosing a first floor layout that doesn’t waste space so I can tell the builder to quote me a barn of a certain size. I don’t want to get too big. The only interior equine bank barn photos I can find are center aisle or dual aisle layouts in HUGE barns. I’m trying to stay a bit smaller.

I did like Horizon’s layouts for their mini-barns. I think I’ll modify one of those if I can’t find any other good examples

#6

I rented a beautiful old bank barn that had been converted. The top floor was of course the loft area then you went down stairs to a small feed type room. The barn was L shaped with two foaling boxes that opened outside and also to the utility feed room. Running from the feed room was a shedrow style set up with 5 large box stalls. The rear of the stalls was into the hill, and the fronts opened out. No problem with moisture, well no more than any other barn in VA, and actually, because of the shedrow style, less moisture than a center aisle

#7

Since you are building, I would recommend a design similar to what rustbreeches mentioned above: set the stalls along the outside wall, with stall doors opening to the outside and to an inside aisle. Feed / tack rooms could then be located in the corners of the hillside wall (where hopefully the slope will permit a window or two.) The center of the hillside wall becomes the grooming area / washstall.

A neighbor has a barn laid out this way and it is quite efficient and easy to work in. Too bad they were cheap-cheap-cheap in their selection of building materials and the installation of drainage … it leaked and rotted out constantly. It’s been empty for several years now and probably needs to be torn down and rebuilt from scratch.

star

#8

I have a bank barn that was built in 1824. It has 3 aisle ways running from front to back. If you go in the first aisle there are 4 14x14 stalls to the left along the outside wall. Then the aisle (6 foot) and then 3 12x12 stalls, and 3 more 12x12 stalls right beside them. Now you are at the second aisle (6ft) and to the right of that another set of 12x12 stalls. Then the 3rd aisle (6 ft) and to the right another 3 12x12 stalls and to the back a 20x18 tack feed room. Along the back of the stalls in the inside of the barn is a small human only aisle. So 16 stalls all together. The stalls along the front all have Dutch doors.

#9

… go over to the other board (Ultimate Dressage) and pm “Maple” her barn is the best I have ever seen… she designed and built the barn about ten years ago

#10

My daughter has a bank barn which she loves. It is cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Her stalls are along the back wall. The feed room is on the side and has an exterior door. The area in front of the stalls is a farrier work area that she leaves open so the horses can have shelter and come and go.

Don’t make your stalls too small or you will feel claustrophobic in the barn. The first thing my daughter did when she moved in was to rip out some small stalls.

#11

The only difference between a bank barn and a “regular” barn is one wall of the structure is built into a cutout slope of land. This was done for practical and efficient use of space. Back in the day they were pretty much used exclusively for diary. With a few stalls for their plow and work horses. If any stalls at all.
They all have huge lofts for hay, corn and some equipment storage. Building it into a bank saved having to build a long ramp to access the loft with wagons. Remember these were built before hay balers were invented. A lot of hay had to be put up to get their cattle through winter. A 40lb bale of hay when not compressed has a lot of volume to it.
The barns have a track mounted to the ridge beam with a grapple on wheels hanging from it. It was lowered to the wagons grabbed a pile of hay and slid to the area of the barn to be dropped and piled up to the roof.
And we think it is a lot of work running a modern day farm!
There is more expense in building a bank barn. Site prep requires more time and the use of expensive equipment. The dirt that is being cut from the slope has to be dealt with. Then a large “retaining” wall has to be built. Not cheap in this day and age.
Site selection is paramount so as not to end of with a damp barn. It has to be determined that there is no natural drainage under the slope you will be cutting from. Along with extra care installing “French drainage” of proper size. You also want to “site it” for good cross ventilation.
I guess our bank barn would fall under “large”. It is an English bank built in the early 1700’s with a “forebay” add in the early 1800’s. The forebay used to be an open area for the cattle to “hang” out in and fed before being taken into the milking area under the original section. The other added bonus back in the day was the fact the milk storage tank could be dug into the bank also which helped with refrigeration.
The “upper” section of ours has a 12’ center isle with 6 stall on each side. The grade in the forebay section is about 2 feet lower and has stall along the wall that backs up to the stalls on the upper level. With grilled “windows” between. The isle is around 15+ feet the exterior wall has a large bank of “recycled” 8 pane windows that I installed to slide open. There is a small gabled building added to the east wall with two 14X14 foaling stalls facing the morning sun. A 3 stall shed, lean to roofed attached to another part of the east wall that also has storage and contains the well and pump. These stalls have doors on both side so as to access from the outside and inside of the main barn.
This is a link to pictures of our barn and house while it was and still is being renovated.
http://s1136.photobucket.com/user/gumtreestables/library/Barn?sort=6&page=1
Don’t have any of the interior yet. Photo Bucket is a PIA to work with. So slow it reminds me of “dial up” days.

#12

Thank your for the descriptions… I have found tinypic to work much better than photobucket these past years.

Our property is VERY sloped… The area where I would like to put the barn you can’t even drive the tractor on sideways without fearing a tip over. The only flat part that we own is right next to the stream with poor drainage and likely won’t pass the zoning board because eof proximity to the stream. Any barn that I build will require a great deal of excavation and drainage planning because of the slope, and likely also a retaining wall. There shouldn’t be much of a problem of run-off where I want the barn as it is nearly to the top of the hill.

The stalls to the outside sounds like a good idea for access, but doesn’t that make it awfully dark inside? It will already have to face north. I had thought about putting large double sliding doors on the center of the front side in order to open them up for light and ventilation… creating something like a 24x36 with three stalls and a tack/feed room on the corners and a wash/grooming stall in the back center.

Or 24x48 with 3 stalls and tack room across the hill side and completely open to the front.

I just don’t know! I’m having a builder price out a 36x24 for me so I have some idea of a cost comparison. I may see the number of digits and completely choke and be back on here asking y’all about shed rows again.

#13

In the barn I had, there was no aisle at all. The stall backs were against the slope, and there was a 4ft overhang to allow you to feed etc out of the rain. Mine had grill fronts and sliding doors with the tops grilled, so I used stall guards, as I dislike horses not being able to stick their heads out. If your barn has to open north, I would think about Dutch doors so you can fully enclose the stall. And maybe sliding plexiglass on the outside of grills for the remaining stall front, so you can have ventilations, but in cold weather close it off. Or even just screw in large sheets of plexi glass when the weather gets cold and take down in the spring

#14

Why not consider a few solatubes for the dark corners? No matter which layout you decide to use, there will be a dark area on the wall next to the hill. The solotubes bring in a ton of natural light, are supposed to be easy to install especially during new construction, and fit between the studs and joists so they do not require special framing. The last time I checked, they were about $300 each but maybe there are other brands on the market now and cheaper prices.

http://www.solatube.com/
https://www.google.com/search?q=solatubes&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=hbXLUqS6FILqoATsqIG4Bg&ved=0CFQQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=629#imgdii=_

Here are some solar tubes from Home Depot:
https://www.google.com/#q=solar+tube+kit+from+home+depot&tbm=shop

#15

Not having pictures to work from I can only make assumptions/guess. Having to build the barn facing north, the bank to the south end would be a major concern for me. Being from Maryland and now just over the MD line in SE PA our weather is the same. By having to face it north you will completely loose all passive solar gain. And on a day like today it will be sorely missed. On just about all winter days. Throw in gloomy winter light especially the short winter days we have and I am pretty sure you will regret it.
It sounds like you will have to do a lot of site prep anyway you may want to think about just excavating a large flat area and building a standard pole barn or foundation stick frame.
Given the fact that the site is located on a slope all of the dirt that will be cut to make a flat area can be used to make an even bigger flat area around the barn. Saving the cost of having to haul it away. You will also save a lot of money by not having to build an expensive retaining wall and installing the required drainage. I am assuming no rock will be encountered which may require expensive "“blasting”.
I am all about esthetics when it comes to horse farms. And will spend the extra $$ to get the look I want to the best of my financial ability.
I love the look and functionality of Bank barns. We bale 80-100 tons of hay and buy and put up enough straw out of the field to get through to the next season at a discount. Being able to drive my wagons right into the loft makes the job so much easier. Being able to throw it down into sections of the barn needed is a joy. Contrary to popular believe storing hay and straw in a well maintained and properly wired barn is not a fire hazard. Statistics back me up on this. Nor does it increase my insurance one bit. Dust, particulates concerns are a none starter. All IMO intuitive but no bases in fact.
The “upper” level of ours has a center isle, yes the stalls that on located on the “banked wall” are “dark” but by using “high watt” low voltage compact florescent bulbs takes care of this. These bulbs put out very little heat so no chance of fire due to spider web or of dust collection. The stalls on the other side get enough light from the “lower” level forebay section that faces E-SE. Our horses aren’t stalled during the day anyway. Horse that are on re-hab, R&R are stalled in the ones that face S-SE. Both levels have sliders on both sides, South and North. The loft opens to the west which make for decent late afternoon winter light when loading hay to throw to the pastured horses.

Note, I make my living with horses. An average population of 30-50 at times. So all of my posts/comments are coming from a professional stand point.
Efficient use of space and workability is very important. My comments may or may not apply to the average horse/farm owner.

#16

[QUOTE=PeteyPie;7358043]
Why not consider a few solatubes for the dark corners? No matter which layout you decide to use, there will be a dark area on the wall next to the hill. The solotubes bring in a ton of natural light, are supposed to be easy to install especially during new construction, and fit between the studs and joists so they do not require special framing. The last time I checked, they were about $300 each but maybe there are other brands on the market now and cheaper prices.

http://www.solatube.com/
https://www.google.com/search?q=solatubes&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=hbXLUqS6FILqoATsqIG4Bg&ved=0CFQQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=629#imgdii=_

Here are some solar tubes from Home Depot:
https://www.google.com/#q=solar+tube+kit+from+home+depot&tbm=shop[/QUOTE]

I have installed these in a house and they work really well. But are IMO not practical for a lofted barn installation due to the cost. In our barn from the stall ceiling/loft floor to the roof is 20+’ on one side and 40’ where the other stalls are located which adds a lot to the cost. And I am not sure how much light they will throw given the length. They will also have to be “encased” in a wood structure so as not to be damaged, the loft is for storage which will add to installation costs. Generally be a PIA to work around.
Our loft doors are 30+ feet wide. When I rebuilt the floor I left a 4+ inch gap at the front opening and screened it. This lets in light to the stalls below and excellent ventilation of cool air in the summer. I have boards that “drop in” to cut off winter draft. The gap is small enough that tractor, wagon and car wheels do not to “drop into it”.

#17

[QUOTE=PeteyPie;7358043]
Why not consider a few solatubes for the dark corners? No matter which layout you decide to use, there will be a dark area on the wall next to the hill. The solotubes bring in a ton of natural light, are supposed to be easy to install especially during new construction, and fit between the studs and joists so they do not require special framing. The last time I checked, they were about $300 each but maybe there are other brands on the market now and cheaper prices.

http://www.solatube.com/
https://www.google.com/search?q=solatubes&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=hbXLUqS6FILqoATsqIG4Bg&ved=0CFQQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=629#imgdii=_

Here are some solar tubes from Home Depot:
https://www.google.com/#q=solar+tube+kit+from+home+depot&tbm=shop[/QUOTE]

The first time I encountered one of these it was in a friend’s bathroom… I could not find the light switch to turn the bathroom light off!! With the frosted cover on it I had no idea it was just sunlight.

As gumtree describes, I don’t think it would be great for a bank barn.

#18

The required north facing site also has be nervous about light… but it would be fantastic for ventilation. We always have a stiff breeze here out of the NW. The big upside to a bank barn for me is not only visual appeal but also having the storage above for hay and tractor which in a traditional barn would require quite a bit more square footage or a separate structure. Our long, narrow 8 acre parcel has about 3 acres unusable because of the stream, woods, and spring/swamp area. I don’t think we could get zoning approval for a second building so I’m trying to stay as compact as possible.

#19

I am thinking 24x36 may be too small to get all of the benefits of a bank barn. The downstairs should be cool in the summer and much warmer than the outdoors in the winter. You are going to want a good sized feed and storage room, as no one wants to have to drag feed and hay in twice a day. If you can make it 36x48, I think you will be happier.

#20

I have a lovely bank barn. It was built in the 1940’s. We added on a side wing in '91. The bank wall is one long stallwith double door that I used as a run in. The outer wall has four large stalls that all open out to the pasture. Three more stalls in the end wing. This barn works well for us. Warm in winter and cool in summer. The upper part is for storing hay/straw. I also have my tack room in the upper part with cross ties in the middle. Double doors front and rear in the upper part. The doors that overlook the back side (non bank side) are for ventalation and I have a fence pannel across the open space for safty when the doors are open.

The big thing you must remember is that you cannot store machinery (tractors, ect.) in your hay barn. Ask your insurance co and they will tell you that this is a big cause of fires in barns. Machinery must be in a seperate building. The floor of my bank barn is plenty sturdy to hold up a tractor as we do use the tractor to pull the hay wagons up to unload them.

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