Cost of building barn and arena (Washington, California, Oregon, BC, alberta,

[WildWestCoast]

Has anybody recently built or heard of the cost to build an indoor arena, anything from a standard dressage size to larger (100 x 200) and the amenities included in that price (along with any other costs I may not be thinking of - i.e. Engineer, site grading etc).

Is there an average cost per sf that people use in building indoor arenas for budgeting purposes?

Also wonder the same for a two story barn, 4-8 stalls, tack room, feed room, blanket room, laundry room, etc).

Any recommendations or lessons learned? Footing options? I’m thinking of using GGT footing with silica sand with the rubber matting from same company on top of rock base. Feedback?

Slightly concerned with property elevation and the grade variation of the location of the barn. Any feedback from experience in this? There is probably a 30’ to 40’ change in grade where the arena and barn are to be located.

[Bluey]

These people travel nationally to build nice barns from the ground preparation up.
They can give you a bid:

http://www.ranchandgolf.com/

You need to know way more details of exactly what you want in your barn to know how much per square foot, too many variables there.

Whoever you pick do check them very thoroughly.
There are some horror stories out there about barn building companies that are shady or some that were fine before and by the time you have a contract with them, they hit a rough spot and you get left in the dust of their problems.

[Calvincrowe]

Spane is a local company (in business since 1945) that has built a number of facilities in WA. http://www.spane.com/

Have you asked your local barns who built theirs? Are you thinking metal pole building or wood?

http://www.wildturkeyfarm.com/wilsonville.html This place is amazing–the website shows the builder.

[WildWestCoast]

I realize that the cost is dependent on many things - what I am looking for is what people have paid for their facilities to be built in the last few years and what that included. I want an idea in the range in cost.

My budget for everything is around 1 million and I want to know if that is realistic. I’m hoping that I can get a feeling by what others have recently done.

[Calamber]

If you can’t get a good indoor and barn/pastures built for a million dollars, something is very wrong. The size of all will matter but there are plenty of reputable companies to get estimates from which is what I would do first, there is no way anyone can give you an estimate for cost based on an internet posting. I would definitely get a civil/land engineer to look at the soil at least so you know what you are dealing with in terms of drainage and that will determine your arena (inside and or outside) base.

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=WildWestCoast;7959647]
I realize that the cost is dependent on many things - what I am looking for is what people have paid for their facilities to be built in the last few years and what that included. I want an idea in the range in cost.

My budget for everything is around 1 million and I want to know if that is realistic. I’m hoping that I can get a feeling by what others have recently done.[/QUOTE]

Priefert has a department that does just what you are looking for, consult on equestrian facilities.
They have built all kinds for counties, cities and private individuals.
Our own county is talking to them about one such project for a county barn complex.
They tend to use Mr. Kaiser of ABI products for their arena work.
He is a nationally recognized expert on footing for arenas.

You may see what Priefert or Mr Kaiser say about your project.

Great idea for you to go looking for advice for your project.
No sense in making mistakes that later you will say, why didn’t I think of that?
Best see what those that have built before have done and what they have learned didn’t work well.

[poltroon]

A million for the improvements you list only should get it done; a million if it has to include the land, maybe not.

The cost is going to vary a lot based on the precise site, both in terms of the grading it needs and how far it is from your service providers and materials. Now is going to be a relatively good time to build when fuel costs are low, because moving a lot of heavy stuff to your place eats money pretty quickly.

There are other improvements your land would need in addition to the barn and arena - perimeter fencing, running electricity, adding a well and/or plumbing, building driveways, etc. What about hay storage and storage for your tractor? It’s not clear to me from your post if you already have land or not - the area you list is a huge net with a lot of variation in cost, logistics, etc. and I don’t think, if you’re looking for estimates to build in California, that costs in Alberta are going to be useful information.

Most of the big barn companies have consultants on staff, and there are other people around doing that work too. A horse professional who knows the area could be invaluable in finding you that consultant and in walking your land and getting you a good sense of what you need. Beware, of course; spending other people’s money can get out of hand. And definitely assume any construction project will go over budget.

[Gloria]

[QUOTE=WildWestCoast;7959647]
I realize that the cost is dependent on many things - what I am looking for is what people have paid for their facilities to be built in the last few years and what that included. I want an idea in the range in cost.

My budget for everything is around 1 million and I want to know if that is realistic. I’m hoping that I can get a feeling by what others have recently done.[/QUOTE]

1 million budget? Yes, unless you go out out crazy fancy. You should be able to get a nice one built (indoor + barn) for less than half million.

[airhorse]

[QUOTE=WildWestCoast;7958612]

There is probably a 30’ to 40’ change in grade where the arena and barn are to be located.[/QUOTE]

This could be a six figure deal in itself. We boarded at a facility that had a 15’ drop over the lenght of the arena and it was well over 100K to fix it nearly 20 years ago.

[airhorse]

@WildWestCoast;7958612

Is there an average cost per sf that people use in building indoor arenas for budgeting purposes?

$15-25 per square foot for building and excavation (assuming relatively flat ground). $7-10 per square foot for concrete, 10-20 per foot fencing. Plumbing and electrical, permits, lighting all add up quickly.

I would say you would be quickly at your million for a 100X200 arena and stall barn.

Most areas now want storm water management for that large of a project. Retention and drainage areas with storm water drains can be a 100K plus deal very quickly, not to mention the need for additional acreage.

Make sure your zoning even allows for your project and intended use.

[airhorse]

We have friends currently building a VERY basic 70X120 arena. They are going to be close to 120K without lighting, plumbing, electrical, concrete or footing.

[horsepoor]

[QUOTE=WildWestCoast;7958612]

Slightly concerned with property elevation and the grade variation of the location of the barn. Any feedback from experience in this? There is probably a 30’ to 40’ change in grade where the arena and barn are to be located.[/QUOTE]

I wasn’t sure if this meant that the grade changed that much in between the sites for the two buildings (arena and barn) or over the area where those buildings are to be placed? If the latter, which will involve some significant grading, etc. to make things level, that can add a huge amount to the cost. I have an outdoor arena built on the side of a hill (because we did not ever plan to make this a horse property when we bought it; that came later when I was completely fed up with boarding). I think we had a 10’ or so drop across the short side of the planned arena, and doing the dirt work plus building retaining walls easily doubled the cost of a very simple outdoor arena. And that was just to do an outdoor – if we’d been putting up a building, I’m sure that would have cost even more to prep the site.

I can’t imagine buying property and planning to put up a $1 million horse facility without involving builder and architect from the beginning. But if you all ready have the property, I would think consulting with an equine design team would be money well spent to help with the planning.

[costco_muffins]

A covered arena, 72x125, with a machine overhang on one side, three stalls, tack room, wash rack, bathroom and small septic, 12x24 classroom, 12x24 hay room, with concrete under all the people amenities and stalls, including site prep, 12" base, and 2.5" sand footing was in the 300K ballpark. This was built about 6 years ago and most of the finish work was done by the owner.

That said, this was on a relatively flat area that was already cleared. There was maybe a 5’ change in elevation over the entire site, higher in the middle and sloping towards the sides.

[winter]

Do not underestimate the cost of ground work. Your budget will be tight, in my experience but I live in a very expensive area. Spend a LOT of time looking at your property layout and deciding barn/arena location. We had about a 6’ grade from one end of the arena to the to other that we had to level, very expensive. Land that appears flat (like where we built our outdoor) is not.

In hindsight, I wish I were more creative with placement. I have since been in a facility that was built on multiple levels, so you walk down a ramp from the barn into the arena. I wish I had potentially investigated something similar. I trusted my builder too much as an advertised one stop design/build firm, and wish I had worked with seperate designer and builder. Have a very detailed survey done of the property with elevations and current drainage before you start. Think about distance from your power/gas/water and how you are getting all of that to the barn.

Do not underestimate the cost of gravel and do not skimp on your arena base. Think about lighting and times of day that you ride. I put windows on the south side of my arena, nice in the morning but weird in the afternoon. Think about prominant wind direction and where your main entrance will be. Think about access from barn to muck heap, access for hay delivery and where to store feed. Think about turning a trailer.

Think very carefully about the logistics of how you will maintain your footing, will it need watering? We went with no water footing which was very expensive but required no plumbing to arena and no water ever. Not having the condensation in your building from the footing means a lot longer lasting building.

[Wirt]

“A little rebellion now and then is a good thing”

Thomas Jefferson