Hi,
We-meaning my lovely parents who love helping me and my hobbies while I start my career :yes:- bought a farmette with a five stall barn. Here’s the thing though, there is no wash stall. How hard is it to add in a wash stall? An indoor wash stall, as an avid competitor, is a must! There are no concrete floors yet, we will add pavers into the aisle. How difficult is it to take out a stall wall? If anyone has any information, speak up! Thank you!
Where are you located? What kind of winter weather?. Where is the water source? Is there an existing hot water tank? If so where is it located in relation to the stall you want to use. If not where is the Electric service panel located. Do you have to deal with the code police? How many horses will need to be washed per day on average?
The answer: it depends. 
Gumtree has asked some very relevant questions. There are other relevant questions, such as how will you heat the washstall for cold weather use? Unless you are south of Orlando or in the Rio Grande Valley or in Southern CA there will a time in winter when washing a horse will be problematical. Where will the drain water go? Washing a horse generates a lot of waste water. How will you deal with it? How will you dry the horse? This is related to the heating the stall question but at least in part a separate issue. Unless you are clipping or using lights horses in winter develop heavier coats that take longer to wash and dry.
This is not an impossible task but may take more time and money that would appear at first glace.
Good luck in your project. 
G.
gumtree asks all the right questions.
if you have a moderately mild climate, a nice outdoor wash stall might be easier. There are several very nice ones on pinterest you can use for inspiration. And honestly, if it’s not too cold, hot water outside and then lots of coolers and heat lamps inside, can be doable.
If you really need one indoors, the hard part will the drain, which are really best installed during construction. If you can work out a drain in the back corner stall, and have a place to run hot water from conveniently, you should be fine. Take out the stall front, put some sort of waterproof covering on the walls (bathroom-type fiberglass maybe?) and then concrete the floor, sloping towards the drain, the same time you concrete or pave the aisle.
difficulty of removing stall walls is directly dependent on how/what they are constructed of.
You’re soooo lucky to have parents buying you a farm!!
Where are you located?
Central MD
What kind of winter weather?
Lows: 20, Highs: 40s
Where is the water source?
There is a waterline in the barn
Is there an existing hot water tank?
One was set up, and removed, but can be set up again.
If so where is it located in relation to the stall you want to use.
Right across the aisle.
Do you have to deal with the code police?
No, usually we are left alone.
How many horses will need to be washed per day on average?
Two to four, depending on weather.
[QUOTE=ElementFarm;8950172]
gumtree asks all the right questions.
if you have a moderately mild climate, a nice outdoor wash stall might be easier. There are several very nice ones on pinterest you can use for inspiration. And honestly, if it’s not too cold, hot water outside and then lots of coolers and heat lamps inside, can be doable.
If you really need one indoors, the hard part will the drain, which are really best installed during construction. If you can work out a drain in the back corner stall, and have a place to run hot water from conveniently, you should be fine. Take out the stall front, put some sort of waterproof covering on the walls (bathroom-type fiberglass maybe?) and then concrete the floor, sloping towards the drain, the same time you concrete or pave the aisle.
difficulty of removing stall walls is directly dependent on how/what they are constructed of.
You’re soooo lucky to have parents buying you a farm!![/QUOTE]
I am beyond lucky, my mother influenced me from a young age! 
Thank you also for bringing up drainage!! I definitely will get a few quotes, before I get my hopes up. This project seemed easy at first…starting to think otherwise haha
MD isn’t as bad as many states, but you’ll still have cold winters with below-freezing temps to deal with.
Water tanks and pipes don’t like below-freezing temps. So best case scenario, you’d have a heated room or at least an insulated closet-sized space with an plug-in space heater, to house said water tank and hot water heater. Then you need a way to drain water from any hose/pipe between water source, insulated area w/ hot water, and cold barn, or the water will freeze in the pipes, making a hot water heater irrelevant.
One of my OH barns had a corner of the (unheated) tack room walled off with the hot water tank and a space heater. The pipes went from the tank through the insulated wall (a few inches) and stopped there with a connector. The stall on the other side of that wall was the wash stall. A hose attached to the pipes from the tank/heater. In the winter, the hose had to be disconnected and fully drained every single time after use.
If you have the hot water across from the wash stall, you’ll need a way to get the hot water across. That means either permanent pipes under the aisle (which you’ll have to figure out how to keep from freezing) or a temporary hose that runs across the aisle – which would look messy but might work.
Keep in mind, that drainage path/pipe/area will also freeze and can make water back up into the barn aisle – which can then freeze into slippery ice patches.
Another option would be a high-volume on-demand heater. Then you just need electricity, but not a whole hot water storage tank/heater.
Still, if you intend to use this much during true winter weather, you’ll need to figure out drainage.
Lots of barns in cold places have systems that work, but they aren’t cheap and require expert planning.
I have a hot/cold indoor wash stall in a climate warmer than yours. I seldom use it in the winter. I’m not showing much that time of year, and if I am, it’s the bigger venues that have hot water washracks there anyway, so I just bathe at the show.
I keep the riding horses clipped and blanketed, and I have a vacuum. That’s enough to keep any horse (other than a gray or mostly white paint) clean enough for lessons, clinics, etc.
If you do need to get horses all-over wet in cold weather, consider drying options. IR/Heat lamps overhead, lots of coolers, a dryer in the tack room so you can put on new warm/dry layers every 10 mins.
I have a nearly-white gray mare. Showing her in wintery climates was tough. Clipping/blanketing/dry shampoo/keeping her tail up were what worked best. I tried to minimize full baths because even with warm water and heated horse show barns, she would shiver and be miserable.
A very nice outdoor wash area will be cheaper to install, won’t take up one of your 5 stalls, and still be useable 3 seasons, or for emergency leg/wound washing in the winter. Especially if you can use an on-demand to supply hot water.
