Looking for recommendations for best source for loafing sheds? I’m in MO. I’m thinking I want a 10 or 12 by 36 with three walls enclosed. I was just looking at Steel Building Empire and their prices seem reasonable but want to shop around.
I’ve never had a run in before, anything else I need to consider? It’ll be located in the dry lot connected to the pasture and will be home to 3-4 horses at a time.
I’m in Amish country and have lots of options (though most are resellers), not sure about sourcing in MO. IME a seller of sheds will beat pricing for built in place unless you are handy and have all the equipment.
Generally, metal will last longer but be hotter than wood with a shingle roof. Assure sturdy kickboards and place in a fenceline outside of the paddock to avoid risk of a misplaced kick at metal sides. Or, with wood, chewing. If you can definitely go 12’ deep. Mine rarely use to get out of the cold/snow but frequently to get out of the bugs. The extra depth really helps in the summer. Position with back side to your prevailing winds. For me that is West which mitigates worst of the winter winds as well as offers relief from the worst of the summer afternoon sun.
Not sure about tornado risks for you? That could a whole other consideration, thankfully pretty rare here is southern PA.
Ability to withstand wind is a big issue with those sheds-- a strong wind (doesn’t have to be nearly tornado category) will pick them right off the ground. After a big storm around here, it’s common to see those 3-sided sheds lying in a crumpled heap in the middle of the field. So choose your shed kit, installer and foundation type wisely. It’s counter-intuitive, but once you engineer these things properly for wind, it often turns out a 4-sided building is less expensive.
These are not too far from you and have a good reputation, good to call and check prices:
https://www.gobobpipe.com/horsesheds.htm
Those kinds of sheds are portable, once loaded they can be shipped any place.
There are width restrictions to shipping, most sheds are at most 12’.
That is so they can be shipped without getting into extra wide regulations.
Those sheds are very versatile, can be moved around, re-sold easily.
We were making our own, then tied them down with post holes on each end, concreted a chain in the hole and tied the chains to the corners.
Have not had not one of those blow off and our winds can be up around 100 mph, substantial.
Good tip about 12’ deep! We have all of the fun weather swings here, bitter cold, miserable heat, and yes, tornados!
Yikes! So would you recommend wood over metal or is it more about proper anchoring/installing?!
Will check them out, thank you!!
I love my Klene Pipe Structures run-in. It’s a decade old now and has been through a couple of hurricanes (in middle GA, so not a direct coastal hit,) and a tornado that was on the ground one mile away.
https://www.klenepipe.com/run-in-horse-shelters/
Ask them about the Maverick with a saltbox roof. It’s not on the page anymore but they will do it if you ask. That’s what I have. It has more internal support than the other model, you can see the extra 2x4’s in the album:
@SugarCubes Not about the roof materials, it’s about how the underlying wood structure is tied together and anchored to the ground. @Bluey’s chain-in-concrete method sounds good to me (but I’m not an engineer. Hire a good contractor, they’ll know what works).
In some respects, you’re better off with excellent anchors and rafters, but flimsy roofing materials. In other words, make the “single point of failure” be the inexpensive metal roof panels that you can easily replace if they blow off (and by blowing off they’ll save the rest of the structure from damage). Of course, you don’t want to constantly be repairing a structure-- build it to withstand the conditions of your site. But when push comes to shove, you’d sure rather tack on replacement roof panels than go pick up the whole shed that’s in pieces 1/4 mi away.
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