Outside stall doors

[appendix100]

So the barn on our property did not have outside stall doors when we moved in. We essentially had three fancy run in sheds. Was fine until we had one horse that needed confinement, & my daughter started showing the other.

We put a gate up on the one stall, & did some homemade dutch doors on the the second stall, so we could accoplish what we needed to. However, I would like to be able to close the barn completely in inclement weather, so we are looking at doing real stall doors now. DH wants to do sliding doors because the people that built this barn never heard of a 90 degree angle. The dutch doors we have currently are mounted on the outside of the frame because of this, & snow etc can blow in depending on the angle of the wind.

Will sliding doors work? I am concerned about being able to use them w/ mud/manure in the corral
If we go with dutch again, how do we get around the builder’s dismal grasp of geometry so we can set the things in properly?

Any suggestions that will make this project be not the giant cluster I am afraid it will be are appreciated.

[JB]

There’s no reason sliding can’t work, assuming you elevate them above the point any reasonable amount of mud/snow will impede them

The aisle end doors in our barn are big sliding doors. The back side is never a problem, largely because the ground slopes front to back, so it’s falling off the back concrete anyway. The front is a little more challenging with a big snow, but our snows aren’t SO big that it’s a ridiculous effort to remove enough snow to slide them.

So it’s a general footing management practice you’ll need to keep the outside footing from piling up against the bottom of the sliders

[trubandloki]

@appendix100

If we go with dutch again, how do we get around the builder’s dismal grasp of geometry so we can set the things in properly?

The easiest solution probably would be to just take down the existing door frames and rebuild the door frames while installing your new doors. This should not increase the amount of work involved, since what you are starting with sounds like it will make everything more work.

I agree with the above post on using sliding doors. It is just a footing management thing.

I want to add, even with doors you will probably have some weather blowing in, unless you make them seriously weather tight.

[2DogsFarm]

In my Midwest Winters I generally lose use of my big (12’W X 16’H) sliders when snow melts & refreezes in the tracks.
The Dutch doors on the backs of my stalls are much easier to dig out if I need to close them.
Caveat: YMMV, as I leave the stall doors open 24/7/365 regardless of weather.
So I have effectively the same Fancy Runin situation as you describe.
This works for me.
Only a rare storm from the East allows weather in & then usually minimal, just the sills.
Though I have had to sweep/shovel snow out of the Southernmost stall if we get a real blizzard.

[Weezer]

My sliding door has an overhang over it to prevent snow and ice from building up on the tracks, you could build a little pop - out over the track to protect it. If you think footing would be a problem, you could make your doors a little shorter. Not much wind or precipitation would get in through the bottom. Just be sure to make the gap wide enough that a hoof can get in and out rather than getting stuck.

[jawa]

I have been at places that have sliding exterior doors. Some have been good and some have been awful. The ones that were awful were poorly designed and poorly installed.

1. Make sure you have a high enough threshold so that the door can be hung high enough to clear and obstacles.

2. Make sure the track has it’s own flashing to keep snow and ice a non issue.

3. The type of roller to move the door makes a difference. Pick one that is known for ease of sliding even if the door is heavy.

4. Be sure the end of the track is covered to discourage nest activity.

5. Be sure that you have end stops and guards so that you don’t accidently open the door too far and send the door off the end of the track. And so that a gust of wind won’t cause the door to lift up and away from the barn. AND so that a horse kicking or pawing at the door won’s cause it to swing away and then catch of hoof between the door and the threshold.