Building a Barn 2021 - Costs & Tips?

[jlm0305]

Another reference point for you.

We have a 30x60 pole barn on our property with steel siding. It was used as a huge run in, so one long side is open. Luckily it already has electric and water run to it.

The plan is to eventually renovate into a four stall barn, tack room, etc. I got a quote for just the metal to redo the roof, siding (including fully enclosing the side that’s open), gutters, new double sliding doors, eight windows, and four dutch doors - $46k. That didn’t include labor, cement, or any work inside the building at all. Just to get the metal to my house.

[Alpha_Mare]

You mention a bathroom - if the site is bare land then you might be able to build a house + barn that share a septic. FWIW the septic can run a moderate amount or a lot, depending on how the land perks.

It would be helpful to know what area you are in - as far as I know Florida always perks but up north there are challenges.

[TheJenners]

@jlm0305

I got a quote for just the metal to redo the roof, siding (including fully enclosing the side that’s open), gutters, new double sliding doors, eight windows, and four dutch doors - $46k. That didn’t include labor, cement, or any work inside the building at all. Just to get the metal to my house.

YIKES!!

[js]

@lenapesadie

Far too much.

10/10 recommend buying a property with existing horse facilities. You can remodel.

^^^This^^^
With building prices as they are and possible shortages you are probably looking at the high end of your projection, maybe even much more. There are so many additional costs to add not counting the structure which will also drive up the cost. Something to consider is resale value down the road, while you may spend a ton of money to build it, if existing properties around you are valued lower, yours may appraise lower then you would expect. Our modest 4 stall barn with climate control tack room, etc. was over $70,000 6+ years ago. Find an existing property.

[jawa]

@clanter

Often building this type of project is sort of like building a bonfire of $100 bills

TRUTH!!!

[skip99]

In 2019 my 34x36 modular barn with five stalls, 2/3 loft, and unfinished tack room ran about $75k including excavation, but we had demoed the small existing structure so already had utilities on site. This included stonedust for the aisle and stalls. This year we are doing the aisle (pavers) and staining the exterior; the tack room will get finished DIY with the help of a handy family member.

Edited to add, located in NJ, and all of my finishes were pretty much the most basic I could get in terms of stall doors, windows, etc.

[happilyretired]

I built a larger equestrian facility in Central Florida 4 years ago. And DH and I recently built a new home (moved in in September). So my words of wisdom … as others have said it would be cheaper to buy if you can find a property with structures that meet your needs; if you develop a property it will cost WAY MORE than you think it will. The largest surprise I had with the equestrian facility I built is how much site preparation cost – and the property had been used as an equestrian facility before. And of course as others have said building materials are very expensive at this time — they’ve increased dramatically in the past year. Some of the increase is most likely due to pandemic related supply chain disruption but its impossible to know if/when costs will come back down again. My advice – find a reputable contractor with experience building horse barns in your area (and developing land for horses if you need to do basic site work) and get a quote. Then assume it will actually cost more than the quote but at least then you have some good data to evaluate.

[poltroon]

Blockquote

@JumpersNDressage

Follow up question: Is it more financially reasonable to buy a property with a barn already on the premises - even if I plan to completely demo the barn to redo it to my liking? Just trying to figure out what makes the most sense.

Hard to say. But at least what you might get out of that is utilities and grading to the structure location, as well as easier permit and zoning issues than working on an undisturbed site.

[saddleup]

I have a crew coming next week to tear down an existing barn and I’ve ordered a 36x36 modular barn to put in its place. I bought my place last fall and thought I could live with the existing barn, but after a winter dealing with it, I called the people who built my last barn and placed my order.

It will be on the same spot as my current barn, but I’ll have new everything, including the foundation. I need a place where someone can come in and feed without having to handle my three horses since I live alone and might need help if I’m out of town, and this old barn has everything situated where that’s not possible. This barn is “charming” but impossible to keep clean, has an unusable loft full of pigeons, and no doors. With the price of lumber I have a man who will take it down for free because he can salvage the wood.

My price for just the structure is $55K. I’m anticipating another $40K by the time everything is done. I already have a big outdoor arena with sprinklers and lights, and full fencing. I just figured life’s too short to hate my barn.

[TheJenners]

@saddleup

With the price of lumber I have a man who will take it down for free because he can salvage the wood.

What a great deal. The guy who built my arena pushed me back a few weeks because he got demo jobs and those paid better, so it can’t be cheap.

[JumpersNDressage]

May I ask who you ordered your modular structure through and if anything besides the shell was included in that 55K total? (stall fronts, walls, etc.) I have been looking at Horizon Structures.

[fourfillies]

Unsolicited but I’ll comment on Horizon. From a luxury/quality perspective you can do better. They are local(ish) to me.

[TheJenners]

Can you expound? For me there is a difference between luxury and quality. I keep looking at my bottom acreage and thinking that if I put like a two stall+feed room shedrow down there… I could, yanno, board a little or something. I contacted MD because my existing barn is a Barnmaster barn, and was quoted a little over $20k. To me they have great quality but not “luxury.” I’ve also been looking at kits from Versatube but they sure don’t like to respond to questions.

[lenapesadie]

@TheJenners

Versatube but they sure don’t like to respond to questions.

I had the same experience

[fourfillies]

Horizon buildings come off the same production line as a number of other barn/shed row suppliers locally. Pre this crazy price of raw materials their products seemed expensive for the quality, IMO. Luxury locally I think King, BandD, Morton. Quality as well with higher end fit and finish. Mid range pole barns builders and barn builders (Precise, Sunset Valley) IMO are better value at a similar price point to pre-fab like Horizon who now have prices very similar to a the mid range builders. Again, my experience which may be useless in this crazy environment. FWIW I bought a pre-fab run in from the same line as Horizon last fall. End of season special. It’s fine for what I needed. Just not luxury or high quality.

[saddleup]

I am using MD Barnmaster. They built my previous barn and I loved it. They are providing the barn (walls, doors, roof, stall fronts, tack room, 12 foot overhang over the attached runs, Hoof Grid in the runs, mats in the stalls and Richie waterers in the runs). The site prep will be by a separate contractor who is familiar with their barns but a separate business. Plumbing as well will be a separate contractor, although that’s going to be really simple since I won’t have a wash rack in the barn or hydrant in there, either. All electrical will be by my electricians here.

The electrical and water are already at the site, although will be temporarily moved and mounted on a pole outside the soon to be demolished barn.

[Red_Barn]

Oh, dear.

Unless you happen to be Bill Gates’ soon-to-be-ex wife, and your budget is basically limitless, this is probably the worst possible time to build. The cost of materials really is insane, and contractors are booked to the eyeballs with the new houses of people moving from cities to country towns.

I suspect your project would cost more and take longer than you’d ever bargained for, and I agree with those who recommend buying an existing property. It’s true that prices are inflated at the moment, but at least you’d know what you’re in for.

[EssexFells]

Recent Price datapoint: Midwest, Q1 2021 build
24x32 pole barn, with 6’ lean-to -$13k
(18ft o’head door, 1 man-door, 2 windows, compacted stone floor)
demo/removal of existing building, 3 stumps pulled, minor smoothing/grading - $6k
building installation- $10k

So, $30k for a no-frills small building, no amenities inside the building, and just a stone floor.

Seriously, buy a property with old lumber already on it.

[Libby2563]

@fourfillies

Horizon buildings come off the same production line as a number of other barn/shed row suppliers locally. Pre this crazy price of raw materials their products seemed expensive for the quality, IMO. Luxury locally I think King, BandD, Morton. Quality as well with higher end fit and finish. Mid range pole barns builders and barn builders (Precise, Sunset Valley) IMO are better value at a similar price point to pre-fab like Horizon who now have prices very similar to a the mid range builders. Again, my experience which may be useless in this crazy environment. FWIW I bought a pre-fab run in from the same line as Horizon last fall. End of season special. It’s fine for what I needed. Just not luxury or high quality.

Yes, I agree with this! I have a Horizon modular barn and the quality is underwhelming. I didn’t expect luxury at that price point, but I did expect higher quality than I got. At the time (2014), it was slightly more expensive than a comparable barn from some of the other sellers that use the same production line. I went with Horizon anyway because the sales rep was so helpful and I was able to negotiate the price down a little to split the difference. My friend has a gorgeous non-prefab Horizon barn but I don’t think the design of their prefab barns is very horse-friendly (the stall interiors have so many exposed pieces of soft, chewable wood), nor is the craftsmanship particularly good. I had to make a lot of improvements to solve problems I didn’t anticipate having.

To their credit, I will say that when I had a roof issue up 3-4 years after construction (some of the plywood sheathing warped and wasps built a massive nest underneath), they came out promptly to repair it for free!

[vxf111]

Would be really interested in hearing what you do for the ring and the cost