We are doing a lot of upgrades to our barn, but adding heat is not one of them. Given our Midwest winters, I am wondering if it would still be worthwhile to add a sink? I can get hot and cold water, and a drain … but, if I can’t use it all winter, will it be worth the cost?
Having a sink in the barn is totally worth it, even if you turn the water off and drain the pipes for the winter.
You can always put insulation and heated tape around the pipes. If nothing else you have a drain to dump stuff in without creating an ice patch.
If your barn is insulated, and you have enough horses to heat the inside, your inside temp should remain above freezing. Our barn rarely goes under freezing and I wish I had hot water. We still carry it in winter.
I wish I could get one of those hot water on demand…husband it too cheap.
Oh, we don’t stay above freezing in our barn! We have heated water buckets for the stalls now, but previously, bucket-shaped ice cubes were proof of the freezing interior temps!
Both barns I’m really familiar with have sinks with hot and cold water but they are in interior rooms with insulation and some heat. My trainer has to run out her hose after she waters everybody and let it drain or no water for tomorrow because the hose is froze. I don’t recall having any bucketsickles at her place but we sure went ice fishing in the outdoor tanks, busting holes with a big pinchbar. Having one outdoors in the barn is SO useful, I’d have it just for seasonal use, winterizing as necessary.
I would love a sink in the barn even if I had to shut it down in the winter. I say “Go for it!”.
We use more water in the barn in the summer anyway cleaning tack, etc.
I have a sink in my tack room and love it. It’s very handy to have.
I say ABSOLUTELY! But make it one of those BIG utility sinks so you can scrub buckets.
We deal with a Midwest winter too, complete with heated water buckets. But it didn’t get that cold until mid-January so I think your sink would be useable for about 9-10 months out of the year.
You can use those well house heathers in your tackroom and keep stuff in there from freezing.
Another option, they sell all kinds of gardener’s plastic sinks for yards that get water from a hose you can use all year around, as long as you drain the water out when done in the winters:
http://www.buycheapr.com/us/result.jsp?ga=us59&q=garden+sinks+garden
Here is one of those outdoor sinks in our Craiglist today.
May want to keep your eye on your local Craiglist for such, if that may work for you:
[QUOTE=Bluey;7008269]
You can use those well house heathers in your tackroom and keep stuff in there from freezing.
Another option, they sell all kinds of gardener’s plastic sinks for yards that get water from a hose you can use all year around, as long as you drain the water out when done in the winters:
http://www.buycheapr.com/us/result.jsp?ga=us59&q=garden+sinks+garden[/QUOTE]
you can probably grab an old kitchen sink from a salvage place and rig it up in a similar manner. It should not be too complicated for a talented handyman.
My dad bought an old concrete utility sink, complete with the faucet and the metal stand at a salvage place years ago, and it was wonderful. I bet if you look at auctions or farm sales, or if there’s a good salvage place near you that you can get exactly what you want for a great price.
I would say, if you don’t want to heat the place, any one set up you have for a sink, just have it plumbed where you can drain it in the winters, so there is no water left in any pipes or hoses to freeze.
KR, another? idea is: cruise craigslist----I don’t? know how large your ‘wash stall’ is, but I LOVE my Corian countertop with sink…If your area is wide enough, you could mount the counter on the wall side where the heater is (my heater is going to be installed right above the sink portion of the counter. ) It can take all water/etc…gives you a workspace to set your stuff on/not on the wet floor, and the sink is just an added bonus! Not sure? if I’ll have mine plumbed with a drain, or just have muck tub under for water run out and dump/water flowers etc… My corian counter probably woulda been about $1,000.00 ‘custom’…but I just kept looking for the tear outs (so many folks upgrading to granite, etc) and when I found it, hooked up my horsetrailer and drove to Maryland to pick it up to the tune of $100 some bucks.
Thanks for all of these great ideas. I guess I will proceed with the sink concept – not sure if the wash stall is big enough, but I’ll try to think “outside the box” on this. Sounds like draining it in the winter time is just the best way to go and enjoy it the rest of the year!
They make little corner sinks that fit most anywhere.
Yes, it is worth it. You will die without a sink. I don’t heat my barn but just turn the water off when it gets really cold. Never had an issue even in 2010 when it was below zero.
It just occurred to me that I may have something really cool in my basement … I will have to look and see if it’s suitable. Years ago I bought a darkroom sink, and I never installed it (who develops film, now? It’s a digital age!). It has an iron framework / stand and … I will go see if it wouldn’t be just perfect! Would also help me clean out the basement!
That sounds perfect! Just be careful, because I remember my dad moving our sink and stand in, and it was a real pain because of how much the sink and stand weighed. It would definitely be a win-win situation if the sink worked, and it cleaned out the basement too.
Kings Random- please post pics if your son helps!! ;). ( couldn’t resist)
