Shedrow style barn stall fronts - anyone have a cover of sorts for their bars?

[hokie98]

We are giving serious thought to renovating an existing old shed/barn and adding stalls. It would be a shedrow style barn where the stalls would have exterior access. I’m in NC, so being cool in the summer is important (the barn would be in the afternoon shade), but while our winters aren’t harsh, we can get some nasty weather. I would like to have stall fronts that are open (with bars) for ventilation most of the year, HOWEVER, come winter if it’s cold & blowing, I would like to be able to close up the barn.

I’m just brainstorming…has anyone ever put any sort of movable panels over their exterior stall bars? Or maybe even put some sort of heavy insulating fabric up? Hum…what’s the best way to have a breezy stall in summer, but a cozy one in winter? I’ve been looking at stalls fronts online but haven’t found any that are quite what I am hoping to achieve! Thanks!!

Also, for what it’s worth, the building would be facing east.

[Bluey]

You can use heavy tarps or screens, lighter rubber mats, plain light exterior plywood, that you take down in the summers.

We had a shedrow race horse training barn and we ended up needing to use tarps for the front left there permanently, because of the rain and snow.

You could cover the front part way with canvas, plastic strips or curtains, shading fabrics, etc., rather than covering the stall openings themselves, if you have an overhang.

Go to the Farmtek web site and look at all the different kinds of barn curtains and shades and plastic strips and rubber mats, see if some of those may fit the bill.

[PeteyPie]

Is the shedrow front overhang quite deep, deep enough to be a generous aisle? I’m wondering if you could have panels to enclose that, so that the aisle would be protected as well and would provide a little more fresh air to the stalls while still creating a wind break. I’m thinking something easy to close like barn doors on sliders which would stay open all summer but could be closed easily in the windy winter weather.

This would probably be more expensive, but maybe not, if you are thinking of attractive custom stall shutters which can also be very expensive.

[hokie98]

[QUOTE=PeteyPie;8358016]
Is the shedrow front overhang quite deep, deep enough to be a generous aisle? I’m wondering if you could have panels to enclose that, so that the aisle would be protected as well and would provide a little more fresh air to the stalls while still creating a wind break. I’m thinking something easy to close like barn doors on sliders which would stay open all summer but could be closed easily in the windy winter weather.

This would probably be more expensive, but maybe not, if you are thinking of attractive custom stall shutters which can also be very expensive.[/QUOTE]

There is no overhang now, but I’m fairly certain we’d have maybe a 8-10’ overhang just as an additional buffer. The way the barn/shed is set on our property, no one will see the front of it, unless you are at the barn…so it doesn’t have to be super fancy.

Having grown up on the Chesapeake Bay, as a teen I worked in a shop that made sailboat sails, boat cushion covers, etc., out of heavy duty canvas. I’m almost thinking I could install the little turn rivets on the stall fronts and just snap on the canvas…but then that may be what you called custom stall shutters, which are expensive!

I’m also talking only 2, possibly 3 stalls.

[PeteyPie]

Years ago, I had a few projects at work which involved installing grommets on canvas or some fabric (I can’t remember now). There was a shop in town that did that and they charged a very nominal fee, like a dollar a grommet, and they were large, heavy-duty pieces of hardware. Since that time, I have done my own grommets on stuff for various projects and it is really easy, but you need the tap and die tools. So if you find the hardware and figure out how to install the turn rivets, it would be easy to do that project yourself. You could even avoid sewing the edges of your fabric shade by just turning the edges under like a hem and putting the grommets through both widths of fabric, although a neatly-sewn edge would look sharp.

I think your idea could look very neat and attractive, and it would function well – as long as the horses can’t press their noses on it and break the rivets or tear the fabric.

[Nestor]

[QUOTE=hokie98;8358061]
There is no overhang now, but I’m fairly certain we’d have maybe a 8-10’ overhang just as an additional buffer. The way the barn/shed is set on our property, no one will see the front of it, unless you are at the barn…so it doesn’t have to be super fancy.

Having grown up on the Chesapeake Bay, as a teen I worked in a shop that made sailboat sails, boat cushion covers, etc., out of heavy duty canvas. I’m almost thinking I could install the little turn rivets on the stall fronts and just snap on the canvas…but then that may be what you called custom stall shutters, which are expensive!

I’m also talking only 2, possibly 3 stalls.[/QUOTE]

OP, I have a shed row barn with an 8’ aisle and overhang. I found in my first winter that I wanted something to block the wind (bitter winters up here lately!), so winter #2 I got a large roll of heavy-duty plastic, cut it to size, and nailed it to the posts supporting the overhang on the open side. I left the end of the aisle open, but it blocked most of the wind and nastiness. It’s not pretty, but very effective. Since it’s “clear” plastic (by label - in reality its more translucent), it lets the sun in and keeps the barn 5-10* warmer than if it were exposed.

[Bluey]

Here is where we get our screens:

http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/custom-shade-cloth/shade-cloth

The price is extremely reasonable, they will put in as many grommets as you want, we get ours at every foot.
They do stretch, so we order a bit smaller.

Some like this, you could put down from the front of your overhang, as low as you want it, maybe 2’ or 3’ off the ground and be a good wind and rain and snow screen for your overhang in front of the stalls and the stalls themselves.

You can see thru those screens just fine, a solid canvas would give more protection but will be completely dark behind it.

Here are some pictures I found on the internet that gives you an idea of what those screens look like:

[hokie98]

[QUOTE=Nestor;8358113]
OP, I have a shed row barn with an 8’ aisle and overhang. I found in my first winter that I wanted something to block the wind (bitter winters up here lately!), so winter #2 I got a large roll of heavy-duty plastic, cut it to size, and nailed it to the posts supporting the overhang on the open side. I left the end of the aisle open, but it blocked most of the wind and nastiness. It’s not pretty, but very effective. Since it’s “clear” plastic (by label - in reality its more translucent), it lets the sun in and keeps the barn 5-10* warmer than if it were exposed.[/QUOTE]

I hadn’t thought about the clear plastic letting the sun in - good idea!

[hokie98]

[QUOTE=Bluey;8358171]
Here is where we get our screens:

http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/custom-shade-cloth/shade-cloth

The price is extremely reasonable, they will put in as many grommets as you want, we get ours at every foot.
They do stretch, so we order a bit smaller.

Some like this, you could put down from the front of your overhang, as low as you want it, maybe 2’ or 3’ off the ground and be a good wind and rain and snow screen for your overhang in front of the stalls and the stalls themselves.

You can see thru those screens just fine, a solid canvas would give more protection but will be completely dark behind it.

Here are some pictures I found on the internet that gives you an idea of what those screens look like:[/QUOTE]

Wow! Didn’t know this existed…thanks so much!!!

[lovemytbs]

Another thought if you want a super cheap easy way to close off the bars is to use Coroplast sheets. They are essentially corrugated plastic and come in many sheet sizes, but 4’ by 8’ is common. I know about them because my other half owns a sign business, and they are what many of the road signs, Realtor signs, political signs, etc are made from. So they can be in the weather. We used some sheets to block some wind in our sheep barn with success, just poked holes in the coroplast and used zip ties to secure it to the bars.

We use this company, and you can get a variety of colors if you are into that sort of thing! Or they come in clear to let light in
http://www.harborsales.net/Home/ProductList.aspx?ProductTypeId=64

[Huntin_Pony]

I have shedrow-type stalls with a 10-ft aisle and the opposite side from the stalls has a 4-foot wall with open-able/removable windows above the short wall.

This allows me to close it up in the winter and open in summer. Works well.

I have doors on each end too, but I suppose that would be optional depending on prevailing wind/weather direction.

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=lovemytbs;8358260]
Another thought if you want a super cheap easy way to close off the bars is to use Coroplast sheets. They are essentially corrugated plastic and come in many sheet sizes, but 4’ by 8’ is common. I know about them because my other half owns a sign business, and they are what many of the road signs, Realtor signs, political signs, etc are made from. So they can be in the weather. We used some sheets to block some wind in our sheep barn with success, just poked holes in the coroplast and used zip ties to secure it to the bars.

We use this company, and you can get a variety of colors if you are into that sort of thing! Or they come in clear to let light in
http://www.harborsales.net/Home/ProductList.aspx?ProductTypeId=64[/QUOTE]

Our Home Depot carries those in transparent, opaque and green colors and probably could order any color made.
They also have several sizes, or will cut them as needed.

I used an opaque one under the porch between posts years ago to protect the dog door from the prevailing winds and it worked like a charm.

[AKB]

My neighbor has a shed row barn with a high roofline and with overhangs in front of the stalls and behind the stalls. The stall doors on the back wall can be closed. There are big swinging barn doors that can be closed to enclose the front overhang. The barn seems warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

[hokie98]

Wow, you guys are full of fantastic ideas! Thanks all!!

[crosscreeksh]

Our shed row stalls…decades ago…had full wooden Dutch doors. Screens for the summer.

[FatDinah]

Stalls in a shedrow at a barn I was at had removeable wood-framed “storm windows” of corruated plastic that went on in the winter.