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How to enclose a unique? barn

The openings to the barn are facing northeast, and southwest.

In TN the prevailing wind direction is S/SW. So I would not put anything you want to keep dry on that SW end. (ETA: Wind speeds tend to be low all across the southeast in general. I work in windpower, there’s a reason not many windfarms get built in the SE) That said, terrain and trees create a lot of swirling wind, so no guarantees.

You can always live with it for a year and then decide. Moving and setting up a new farm is expensive and I guarantee there will be unexpected costs. So maybe defer major work on the barn which will give you a cash cushion for any first-year surprises, and more time to get to know how the building will work best.

I haven’t read all the responses but if it hadn’t been mentioned, if you make end walls why not install a ventilation fan on one end? We just built and did that and I’m SO happy to know when it gets really hot I can pull fresh air in addition to inside fans pointed in the stalls. Just a thought.

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Good idea.

A local trainer has just that, his barn has an overhead door on one side of the aisle, the other one has a 4’ huge fan up on the gable that draws a nice breeze thru the barn and makes it a good place to be when is super hot outside.

And what about installing windows down both sides? More ventilation and so pretty.

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My husband was just talking about installing windows! So that is definitely on our list of things to look at.

What’s your budget? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
image

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I definitely don’t have a budget like that but NICE!

If it’s 75’ high, I bet rain could reach the stalls. My 14’ doors have let rain in 50’+ down my aisle. Though if TN never has high winds, maybe.

I’d check out the ends Farmtek has for their fabric buildings as an option. Also, maybe for ventilation something like an awning at the end would be better than enclosing?

A friend has one that is a lake cottage. The back half, lower and loft, is bedrooms. The front half is kitchen, dining, living space that overlooks the lake. The metal has a spray foam insulation to make the structure more liveable.

There are many places that make/sell end walls or roll up doors for this type of structure.

I wonder about that figure of 75’ tall.
Quonsets with round design are generally no taller than the radius or less, the diameter being the width of the structure.
Our Quonset is about 40’ wide and 20’ high.
For that building to be 75’ high, it may be around 150’ or so wide?
That would be some kind of really huge barn, which it may be, can’t tell from a picture.
You could sure have a nice riding arena inside of that without needing to use it all the way to the walls and have all the room someone wants for stalls, tack and feed rooms and a shop.

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Here is one such barn used for an arena:

Ditto. A 75’ tall building is a 7-story building. Is it really this tall: image

It’s really easy to overestimate dimensions. But, building height doesn’t matter all that much when you’re just using it for a barn. Any space above 12’ high isn’t really utilized (unless you build a loft, which isn’t a terrible idea).

Definitely put in a garage opener at both ends for cross-breeze. You will need it in TN.

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I may have severely over-estimated the height of the building (I’m not very good with distances visually). So, I’m going to ask my husband to measure it when we get up there. The kids and I are planning on moving in with my aunt hopefully the second week of February (our house is not installed yet…foundation is being set Monday, home should be delivered hopefully by next weekend…but then we have well, septic, and electric to attend to), while DH stays behind to get the house in FL ready to list. Our neighbor was going to buy it, and had us “hang onto it” until they could get the cash in place. Three months later and last night we get a text that they just can’t afford to buy a home right now, even with financing. What the what?!? Anyways, when the kids and I get north (our property is right behind/beside my aunts), I’ll try to measure to get better measurements.

My husband does want to build a loft. He used his CAD program to figure out a design that flows and maximizes the space. It does include a loft in a portion of it. We do know if we do any sides on the ends at all, we will at least need a door wide enough to drive a truck through to unload hay etc. Once we get up there and settled and we are ready to move on things, we plan on contacting an engineer at my aunt’s architectural firm to see what they think is doable, wind loads, etc.

I really appreciate everyone’s input.

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There are lots of measurement apps available for iPhone or Android, just download one of them. Google’s “Measure” is good. And heck, if you have CAD skills in the family and engineers / architects you can informally consult, you’re waaayy ahead of most people approaching this situation. Have fun!