The Barn..
There is probably no part of the homestead that has taken as much of my time and thoughts as the barn, I have sketched numerous ideas, went back and forth over a prefabbed steel barn versus a Pole type barn went form one to two story to one again and if I wanted earthen floors or cement, finally I just had to sit down and figure out what exactly did I want this barn to accomplish? I came up with the following.
1. Want a large central area where I can put machinery for storage, so need about a 12x12 sliding or swing type door on one end.
2, Want an area on the east side that will serve as the main chicken coop area, the nesting boxes will open into the main hall of the barn.
3. Want another area on the east side that will serve as a cold weather/farrowing area for the hogs, this area will be able to be spit into two pens.
4. Want a area on the west side that will serve as a work area/Butcher area- Want a concrete floor in this area.
5. A foot area for non hay feed storage - Must have rodent proof flooring
6. A storage area for Hay
7. The barn must have large openings on the south and north sides in order to move Cattle though the barn and into the pasture area, this will also serve as the loading area for cattle to be moved to market.
8. Simple enough structure to be built by hand and by non-professionals for the most part
I searched through so many floor plans to find what I wanted and still could not find exactly what I was looking for, I found one close however I had concerns about the load bearing capabilities of the ceiling since it was designed in the south and did not really have to worry about snow load. So I basically combined a few to meet what I was looking for, what I came up with is as follows..
The Barn will be a post barn type construction with a "main" barn section measuring 24X48 and being 16 feet from ground to the rafters. The main area will have a earthen floor, the barn will be built on an elevation of about 18 inches of built up ground. On the north and south ends of the barn we will have a 12x12 sliding door.
On the west side of the barn will be a 12X48 foot "Shed" extension. This shed will have a concrete flooring and will be split into two "halves" with the southern half being the work shed/Butcher area and the northern portion being the feed storage area. The work shed area will have a standard door on both to the outside as well as to the interior of the barn. The northern portion will have windows to the north and west and a double door that opens into the barn area. The height of the shed will be from 10 feet to about 13.5 feet where it will connect to the main barn.
On the east side of the barn will be another 12X48 foot shed. The southern 12X24 portion of the shed will be the chicken coop. On the floor I will put chicken wire and on top of that will be 6 inches of dirt on top of it. The coop will use the deep litter method of flooring with about 6 inches of additional wood shavings, the coop door will be about 18 inches off the ground with a ramp to let the chickens in. There will also be a window on the southern side and two more along the eastern wall. There will be a door in the wall with the barn to allow entry into the coop. As the floor will be elevated due to the wood shavings and built up earth steps will be needed to enter the coop. Nesting boxes will be built into the barn wall so they could be accessed without disturbing the chickens.
The last portion of the shed will actually be two open stalls to the inside of the barn with side by side sliding doors that open into the pig area. These stalls will be able to be used for either the pigs if the weather gets to bad or if needed to separate Cow Calf pairs so that the mother can be milked. It will be a base 12X12 foot stalls that can be further narrowed if needed.
I played with the idea of a hay loft, really wanted one but was too difficult to ensure that the foundation was strong enough to account for both it and possible snow weight so I had decided to expand the foot print instead to give the extra room. The whole barn concept was a challenge in trying to keep costs down and at the same time give me what I needed/Wanted. Some hard choices had to be made such as not cementing the whole interior but with a 48X48 foot print plus having to make it strong enough to hold farm equipment that would have added a lot of cost. As it is I am hoping to keep the cost below 20K with me providing most of the labor.
As of right now only the rooms with concrete will be insulated, the workshop will also have a wood burning stove installed. I will have an electrician come in to install the lighting system that will be throughout the barn. I am still working on the water system but more will come on that when we talk about the well. Please let me know your inputs and what I am sure I am forgetting!!!!!
There is probably no part of the homestead that has taken as much of my time and thoughts as the barn, I have sketched numerous ideas, went back and forth over a prefabbed steel barn versus a Pole type barn went form one to two story to one again and if I wanted earthen floors or cement, finally I just had to sit down and figure out what exactly did I want this barn to accomplish? I came up with the following.
1. Want a large central area where I can put machinery for storage, so need about a 12x12 sliding or swing type door on one end.
2, Want an area on the east side that will serve as the main chicken coop area, the nesting boxes will open into the main hall of the barn.
3. Want another area on the east side that will serve as a cold weather/farrowing area for the hogs, this area will be able to be spit into two pens.
4. Want a area on the west side that will serve as a work area/Butcher area- Want a concrete floor in this area.
5. A foot area for non hay feed storage - Must have rodent proof flooring
6. A storage area for Hay
7. The barn must have large openings on the south and north sides in order to move Cattle though the barn and into the pasture area, this will also serve as the loading area for cattle to be moved to market.
8. Simple enough structure to be built by hand and by non-professionals for the most part
I searched through so many floor plans to find what I wanted and still could not find exactly what I was looking for, I found one close however I had concerns about the load bearing capabilities of the ceiling since it was designed in the south and did not really have to worry about snow load. So I basically combined a few to meet what I was looking for, what I came up with is as follows..
The Barn will be a post barn type construction with a "main" barn section measuring 24X48 and being 16 feet from ground to the rafters. The main area will have a earthen floor, the barn will be built on an elevation of about 18 inches of built up ground. On the north and south ends of the barn we will have a 12x12 sliding door.
On the west side of the barn will be a 12X48 foot "Shed" extension. This shed will have a concrete flooring and will be split into two "halves" with the southern half being the work shed/Butcher area and the northern portion being the feed storage area. The work shed area will have a standard door on both to the outside as well as to the interior of the barn. The northern portion will have windows to the north and west and a double door that opens into the barn area. The height of the shed will be from 10 feet to about 13.5 feet where it will connect to the main barn.
On the east side of the barn will be another 12X48 foot shed. The southern 12X24 portion of the shed will be the chicken coop. On the floor I will put chicken wire and on top of that will be 6 inches of dirt on top of it. The coop will use the deep litter method of flooring with about 6 inches of additional wood shavings, the coop door will be about 18 inches off the ground with a ramp to let the chickens in. There will also be a window on the southern side and two more along the eastern wall. There will be a door in the wall with the barn to allow entry into the coop. As the floor will be elevated due to the wood shavings and built up earth steps will be needed to enter the coop. Nesting boxes will be built into the barn wall so they could be accessed without disturbing the chickens.
The last portion of the shed will actually be two open stalls to the inside of the barn with side by side sliding doors that open into the pig area. These stalls will be able to be used for either the pigs if the weather gets to bad or if needed to separate Cow Calf pairs so that the mother can be milked. It will be a base 12X12 foot stalls that can be further narrowed if needed.
I played with the idea of a hay loft, really wanted one but was too difficult to ensure that the foundation was strong enough to account for both it and possible snow weight so I had decided to expand the foot print instead to give the extra room. The whole barn concept was a challenge in trying to keep costs down and at the same time give me what I needed/Wanted. Some hard choices had to be made such as not cementing the whole interior but with a 48X48 foot print plus having to make it strong enough to hold farm equipment that would have added a lot of cost. As it is I am hoping to keep the cost below 20K with me providing most of the labor.
As of right now only the rooms with concrete will be insulated, the workshop will also have a wood burning stove installed. I will have an electrician come in to install the lighting system that will be throughout the barn. I am still working on the water system but more will come on that when we talk about the well. Please let me know your inputs and what I am sure I am forgetting!!!!!
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