Help me design my barn!

[sisu27]

A plethora of good info here. We will be building in the next year or so as well so this helps.

We we will not be adding a washroom. Septic is expensive. We will be building an outhouse. That way nobody has to take their boots off etc to use the house washroom. My SO is always chain sawing and other filthy pursuits so it would be a welcome addition. A well constructed outhouse is not a hardship. We are in northern Ontario so it does get very cold but those styrofoam seats are life changing lol. Our cottage in northern quebec gets winter use and I am experienced in these matters. It’s a cheap solution!

[beau159]

Sisu17: I have used my fair share of outhouses throughout the years! Most of them were constructed completely of wood - including the toilet seat. Nothing wrong with them and a good idea. Placement might be key, just so you don’t have the odor wafting where you don’t want it!

[Bluey]

Outhouses.

I grew up partly in the mountains and the “facilities” was a two holer in the horse barn, that was attached to the farm house.
Don’t know when the house was built, but the first deed was on an old sheepskin with the corners marked and a date of 1721.

We had to pull the box out about twice a year and, with a couple smaller metal buckets attached to a long pole, bail all that out and dump it.
Yep, outhouses, if you use them regularly, you have to either move them often, or bail them out to keep using them for long time.

[sisu27]

@beau159

Sisu17: I have used my fair share of outhouses throughout the years! Most of them were constructed completely of wood - including the toilet seat. Nothing wrong with them and a good idea. Placement might be key, just so you don’t have the odor wafting where you don’t want it!

Outhouse construction is an art! A good one doesn’t stink! Ours last years and we fill in and relocate when it gets a bit full. My parents lake house (which had a normal washroom) had a beautiful outhouse. Screen door with a
view of the lake. Very pleasant lol. No beach sand in the house!

We are on rocky ground here and I’m worried getting a minimum 6’ hole is going to be a challenge

[beau159]

Alright COTHers. Here’s my very rough draft drawing. The only thing I am struggling with is WHERE to put my feed room. I really don’t feed that much grain and won’t need that much room (heck, the collapsable rear tack in my trailer has served as my “feed room” for the past 4 years), so I thought about making the tack room a little larger and just leaving room to have it in there. Then my supplements can stay in the climate controlled tack room.

Or, I could put a counter on the other side of the wash rack rack and have it there…which I’d rather not do so that I have more room for hay storage.

Or I probably won’t need 5 stalls, and I can make the front “stall” a feed room instead. I just would like to have some sort of counter to set things on … rather than dumping stuff into buckets on the ground.

Based on your own barns, what do you like best?

[Bluey]

@beau159

Alright COTHers. Here’s my very rough draft drawing. The only thing I am struggling with is WHERE to put my feed room. I really don’t feed that much grain and won’t need that much room (heck, the collapsable rear tack in my trailer has served as my “feed room” for the past 4 years), so I thought about making the tack room a little larger and just leaving room to have it in there. Then my supplements can stay in the climate controlled tack room.

Or, I could put a counter on the other side of the wash rack rack and have it there…which I’d rather not do so that I have more room for hay storage.

Or I probably won’t need 5 stalls, and I can make the front “stall” a feed room instead. I just would like to have some sort of counter to set things on … rather than dumping stuff into buckets on the ground.

Based on your own barns, what do you like best?

You are right, for a handful of horses you don’t feed much grain, you don’t need a dedicated feedroom, but a spot on the tack room should suffice.
I would not lose that one more stall, that is more handy than a feed/storage room.

Many here are going to a complete pellet now.
They don’t feed hay any more but sacked pelleted feed.
Many show horses are on that and thriving.
It is easier to carry sacks to feed when traveling to shows than sacks and hay.

When building, we need to be aware that we won’t always do things the same way, so we should make what we build easy to remodel if necessary.

If you decide to have a tack room and feed in there and want to separate it some, get one of those rubbermaid storage cabinets.
Set it in the tack room, handy to the door.
Put the sack feed in there, it will hold several on the bottom.
Then put supplements and treats in the shelves above that:

http://www.rubbermaid.com/en-US/new-…oductImageLink

Those come in all sizes and models.
It Is the other side of having a main room with a tack room locker.
You have a main room with a feed locker.

[Bluey]

@sisu27

Outhouse construction is an art! A good one doesn’t stink! Ours last years and we fill in and relocate when it gets a bit full. My parents lake house (which had a normal washroom) had a beautiful outhouse. Screen door with a
view of the lake. Very pleasant lol. No beach sand in the house!

We are on rocky ground here and I’m worried getting a minimum 6’ hole is going to be a challenge

Right, ours also never did smell at all, other than when it was being bailed out.
Then you better go somewhere else for a bit.

[frugalannie]

AIR builders are much happier when the dimensions you choose are divisible by 8 so they can use 8 ft lengths of lumber. Cheaper for you, too. Obviously not the case for stall walls. If I’m misremembering, would someone please correct me?
If your feed is secured so a loose horse can’t get into it, you don’t need a feed room IMHO.
Consider putting your wash stall sink in one of the aisle side corners lest a well placed kick accidentally damages it. And what’s the orange mark between hay and wash stall for?

[beau159]

@frugalannie

And what’s the orange mark between hay and wash stall for?

Just marking my possible spot/option for a feed room.

As far as dimensions and 8 feet lumber, I can totally modify the rest of the barn (besides 12x12 stalls) when we are actually ready to build. Not a problem. This is just my little vision in my head.

[Jarpur]

Will bedding be stored in the hay storage area?

[PeteyPie]

Deep Overhangs: I don’t see the depth of your overhang off of the stalls but there was a discussion here a while back that it’s best to have at least 12’ and preferably 16’, especially in areas which get a lot of snow or rain.

16’ Aisle: I would take a foot or two off the width of the aisle and add it to the side with the hay storage and tack room. I think a 16’ wide aisle (plus a few inches for a wide door frame) is plenty.

16’ Overhead Door: Also, I see you have a 10’ overhead door on one end of the aisle, on the right side in your drawing. Perhaps you could put a 16’ wide, extra tall overhead door on the other end of the aisle. Several people have discussed how nice it is to have a door plenty wide and tall to drive machinery through.

12’ Door for Trailer parking: Just in case you need to park something else like a motorhome, a 12’ wide door would be much more accommodating. Also, if you ever sell your place, you can advertise that as RV parking which would appeal to non-horse owners.

Protect Plumbing from Freezing: I like that your sink/plumbing for the wash stall is on the warm wall next to the tack room. That is an important factor to keep pipes from freezing. Personally, I would have the whole tack room and wash rack designed as one big insulated space just to keep the pipes from freezing. You could still have a divider wall between the tack and wet area, but leave enough space for air flow to keep the pipes from freezing. There are lots of ways to do it, but the point is that (I’m repeating myself) you don’t want the pipes to freeze. Also, if you have the wash rack/room heated to above freezing, like someone said, that makes a good vet/rehab/farrier stall where it’s comfortable for professionals to work. Instead of limiting it to a Wash Rack, think of it as an all-purpose Grooming and Vetting Stall. Another advantage to that is that even in the winter, you can use the sink to wash things besides your horse, like your hands, towels you use on your horse, boots and leggings, etc. Heck, you could even design a space in there for a washing machine… (this is why I don’t have my own barn yet. I suffer from the As Long As We’re At It disease and the project keeps expanding :).

I’m excited for you!

[Bluey]

Once you have your last design on hand, run it by one of the places that puts it up in a CAD design, that will make it work with standard dimensions for materials, lumber, metal, sheeting, etc.
Those programs also will suggest cabinets here and there and any other you may want.

The sink in the washroom could be inserted into the tack room wall, like a cabinet that opens into the wash room.
I have seen some designs like that, which would keep it all in the warm tack room, other than when you use the sink.
That is what I had, until the plumber suggested a sink inside and one outside would cost less and be just as handy and with the new plex, it would not freeze if set in the tackroom walls.
He was right, it has not frozen and we were -2F this winter for a while.

[beau159]

Jarpur: Bedding will be either in the hay storage area or above the tack room.

peteypie: I did not list an overhang length. If possible, I would like to not have any posts on the overhand (easier snow and manure removal) so I’ll just have to wait and see how big of an overhang I can get without posts when it comes time to do blueprints.

I wrote down an 18 foot aisle because that’s about what I’m going to need to accommodate a 10 foot wide garage door (so I could drive a pickup and hay trailer through to unload) AND extra wide side door ( 3 1/2 feet). Of course, being a bit generous with framing needed in between each door.

I’m not going to need a 16 foot wide door on the barn. We will be building a separate shop. I want a “human” door on each side because I plan to have corrals on the backside and that will be easy to lead horses through than always having to open the overhead door.

Hubby and I will NEVER have an RV or motorhome, I can guarantee that!

Bluey: My hubby is a project manager for a home building company. We have all sorts of resources when it will come down to it! We currently just started on designing the house.

[BarnKid7]

Okay, this is a REALLY IMPORTANT thing to have. Make sure all the STALLS CAN BE OPENED FROM THE OUTSIDE, because if there is ever an emergency like a fire, you will be able to get the horses out easily without ever risking yourself to go into the barn to get them.

[sisu27]

@BarnKid7

Okay, this is a REALLY IMPORTANT thing to have. Make sure all the STALLS CAN BE OPENED FROM THE OUTSIDE, because if there is ever an emergency like a fire, you will be able to get the horses out easily without ever risking yourself to go into the barn to get them.

My horses are boarded at a farm that has this feature. My concern would be how much over hang you would need to be able to use them in the winter. I would want them to open onto a relief type paddock but have always thought it would be impossible to have properly insulated doors that would work well in the winter.

[2DogsFarm]

@RPM

I don’t like indoor arenas attached to barns, not only for the dust factor, but because I think horses in stalls rest better when they can’t see or hear their stablemates working in an arena so close to their homes. A barn manager once told me this, and in the years since then, riding at barns with attached as well as detached indoors, I think she was right.

Well, it’s just me here & honestly, when I lesson my 2 who are free to stay out in pasture if they choose, always come in to monitor what their stablemate is doing in there.
Well, the mini can’t see unless the front slider is open, so he comes in to polish off any hay left in the stall.
But I can count on a Hackneyface watching my lesson from his vantage point in his stall.

[MsM]

One thing I don’t see is a dedicated parking spot for wheelbarrows, forks, brooms, etc. That might be a good use for your orange area! I think your tack room is pretty large unless you are a tackaholic hoarder. So you should have plenty of room for grain, supplements, meds, etc.It can be as simple as room for a few cans filled with grain and a small cabinet with counter to work on. Think about how much grain you order at once and where you would store extra bags too.

I would keep the extra stall. You may end up using it for a horse, or it may be a convenient storage area. Building it as a stall will keep some flexibility.

[EquestrianRunner]

I’ve never built a barn, but worked in many barns! My thoughts:

I saw you said you were going to store bedding above the tack room. I worked in a barn that had an actual stair case that you could walk up to get to the loft. OMG it was AMAZING! They had a regular 12x12 wash stall then added the stair case on the side closer to the tack room, then put the hydrant and stuff under the stair case. It was amazing. It seems so simple but omg amazing!

Also, what type of bedding are you planning on using? (sorry if you already mentioned this!) Bagged shavings usually (in my experience) burst if you throw them down from the loft.

Are you going to keep most of your hay in the loft then throw down what you need (week or whatever) at a time into your hay storage? If this is your plan, make a railing or half wall to throw bales down with. The same barn that I worked in that had the stair case- you also could throw hay strait from the loft into stalls. A lot less mess that way too!

I don’t know if it is cheaper to have everything be in the same dimensions? Like 12x12 stalls, 12x36 hay, etc? I have no idea!

Think about where you are going to put water buckets, and other daily things like that. How do you want to be able to fill them? Are you going to have auto waterers? Feed buckets? Are you going to use ground feeders? If so, then think about if they will live in the stalls or if you will let them eat then take the ground feeders away - where will they live?

Think about the stall doors you want for inside the barn.

OUTLETS!!! Outlets at EACH stall! For water bucket heaters, for fans, all that stuff!!! More outlets than you think you will need!

Cross ties/tack up areas?

Do you want dutch doors in the middle of the stalls or on one side? Think about when you are feeding hay etc.

Is the trailer parking fully enclosed? Or was it going to be an overhang? Could you put extra hay/bedding/etc behind the trailer? Maybe add a second garage door on the other end of the trailer parking? Or is your trailer truck combo 60’ long? I have no idea, we just had a 2 horse bumper pull and unhooked trailer if we weren’t using since it was our daily driver!

Wheel barrow, pitch fork, muck bucket, regular buckets – where are they going to live?

Blankets? I know you said you don’t clip, but if you blanket, think about easy blanket storage!

Will you have a gator, or something similar? Where will that live?

Manure management? A spreader, dumpster, pile?

Think about your daily flow of barn chores…that might be very helpful when figuring out where you want things!

[beau159]

Barn kid: Yes, each stall will have a Dutch door to the outside corral. I don’t think I will do individual runs. On the rare occasion, I’ll probably just buy corral panels to make a temporary run if need be.

MSM: Good thoughts, but those items won’t take up too much extra room. There ought to be plenty of room on the wall for the tack room to hang up shovels, forks, etc. and my center aisle is plenty wide to leave out a wheelbarrow.

ERunner: The staircase is an interesting idea. Just depends if we end up having room for one. Since I do not stall my horses, I won’t go through very many shavings. Hence why it would be more of an item I won’t use too often. Just a storage idea! I may not even need to put them up there. May have plenty of room in the hay area, or even in an unused stall.

For the stalls, I’m thinking Stall Savers and bagged shavings. As stated in my original post, horse’s are going to be outside 24/7 most of the time. There will be autowaterers outside. But I will plan for outlets at each stall for fans, or heated water buckets, or whatever I may need if I do have to stall a horse in the summer or winter.

Not going to do a loft. Just will stack the hay in that area. The corral next to the barn, I am going to put in a little shelter and can have more room for hay storage there. Then everything is kept on the ground and no having to put it up into a loft.

Trailer area res will be enclosed or I’ll have snow blowing in everywhere in the winter! Based on how I think I am going to have to set up corrals, it will not be feasible to have a door on the back so I can drive through. I just don’t think there’s going to be enough room.

I did think about putting an additional door to the trailer parking from the hay area, so I wouldn’t always have to go through the tack room. Might be another idea for shavings storage (good idea!!). Right now, I have a 3 horse gooseneck slant but I’m planning someday to have a living quarters, so I do want to plan the area to be big enough to accommodate that.

[EquestrianRunner]

For some reason I thought you would be bringing in every day to feed (since that is what I am used to…my guys were never good fence feeders!), then they pee and ugh! But I don’t think you actually ever said that. LOL

If you aren’t going to do a loft a staircase probably doesn’t make sense/wouldn’t be worth it?

Could you put a human side door maybe on the other end of the trailer area? Or maybe even just a door from the hay area to the trailer area? Then if you do store things behind the trailer, you won’t have to drag it through the tack room? Or maybe that is me just being weird??

Not specific to the actual barn, but thinking about water situations for the fields:
1 - make sure the horses know how to drink from them. I had a gelding try to empty is Nelson water-er, over and over again… annoying, but he was hydrated! Also had horses who just hated the auto water-er situation.
2 - since they will be in the field, if you end up having more than one field, maybe put them fence line, and then they can “share” with another field. That is if your horses would be OK with that? Even if it just makes pasture rotation easier, and nobody is actually in the other field. Does that make sense?
3 - I would probably still put a hydrant at the field with an out let just incase the water-er breaks, then you can easily do a tub if needed. And do a water shut off in the barn so that you could just shut that off, unless you needed it then I don’t think you would have to worry about pipes freezing.
4 - if your critters wear muzzles, make sure the muzzle will fit in the drinker!

Barn water situations – my FAVORITE thing ever is to have two spigots in the wash rack. One for actual washing/bathing, and one for buckets. And then the one for buckets attached to a hose on a wheel. Makes doing buckets so easy! I think you said you would use hot water, but what type of water heater/where will it go? Do you want a washer for the barn?