building a new barn
- Thread starter ROAD WARRIOR
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hey red can i get more pictuers of your barn.
i am thinking a 50x50 barn. with a 38 foot tie out on the west side, on the north wall 3 10x12 stalls, a 10x10 place for hay, a 10x10 place for the showboxes, on the east wall a 10x10 sliding door , a 18 foot feed stroage,and then on the south wall 2 10x12 stalls and a 10x12 washout, and then a 10x10 sliding door.
what do you think would be the best fans. that i can use in the barn and still take them to shows.
i am thinking a 50x50 barn. with a 38 foot tie out on the west side, on the north wall 3 10x12 stalls, a 10x10 place for hay, a 10x10 place for the showboxes, on the east wall a 10x10 sliding door , a 18 foot feed stroage,and then on the south wall 2 10x12 stalls and a 10x12 washout, and then a 10x10 sliding door.
what do you think would be the best fans. that i can use in the barn and still take them to shows.
knabe
Well-known member
this is probably a minor point depending on what the interior structure is, but if you make 12 foot increments, its easier for plywood and other lumber so you won't have so many shorts left over. 10 foot lumber is not common out here. if you do 12 foot center to center, there is a few inches left over after you trim, especially if you use 6x6 posts. plywood is obviously in 4 foot increments. you could use a four footer and split it obviously. the "standard" for horses is 12x12 stalls. also, 10x10 is not very big for hay. also on the door, consider what height is convenient to move hay into the barn. you probably won't move a stack of 96, but they are pretty common out here. my neighbor has a barn with the hay section so she can put three stacks of 96. i move hay way too much and i'm not that much stronger than dl. whatever size you make, make it expandable. also, install a mister and a room with a low ceiling for a cold room, vents on top,(hot air rises).
red
Well-known member
Pigguy- what do you need to see?
I like the Sullivan's Turbo fans. We have the barn fans hanging plus the big stationary fan on the ground which we can move as needed. I take the smaller 20" fans to shows.
Red
I like the Sullivan's Turbo fans. We have the barn fans hanging plus the big stationary fan on the ground which we can move as needed. I take the smaller 20" fans to shows.
Red
pigguy said:
Maybe the engineers among us can respond to this but unless you are cooling a short ceiling room I think it becomes oven like in the heat - with high ceilings the heat rises way way above the cattle, with low ceilings and tall cattle you can cook on the hoof (lol)
ROAD WARRIOR
Well-known member
Unless you insulate and use a refridgeration unit, I wouldn't go with low ceilings. As DL said heat rises and needs to be dispersed not contained. As far a barn fans go - I mount squirrel cage fans permanently in the barn. They are usually cheap at farm actions, move a ton of air and I can keep my show fans in the tack room out of the dirt and not burn up the motors.
Here is the philosophy on high ceilings versus low ceilings.
Back in the day all homes/buildings were built with high enterior ceilings because heat naturally rises because heated air is lighter (think hot air balloon). When air conditioners became available ceiling heights began to shrink (bad idea). Since this is the case a taller ceiling will help let the heat rise, so make sure the ceiling is high enough to keep the heat above the cattle, just as important is to allow the heat out of the top of the barn. By creating an escape for the heat natural airflow occurs. you can actually create airflow through the barn with open sides and open ridge vent which is how we built our barn down here in Texas. We are in the process of designing a new barn and I will take what I have learned on the old barn and hopefully improve it.
If you want a good example of heat try this, duct tape all your eaves vents on your house attic and then see how high your electric bill will get in the summer. Plus during the winter you get the added benfit of moisture in your home if you forget to take the tape off.
The best scenario would be to install an exhaust fan in the ceiling attached to a thermostat so you can control how and when it will come on. Creating airflow in your barn will help keep your animals from getting ill.
Our high school ag barn has tall ceilings but no vents for the hot air to escape so it is miserable in it. We have shorter ceilings in our barn but have a way for hot air to escape so it is significantly cooler.
"Fine Print"
The above statement is only from experiences and should not be taken for exact engineering guidelines. Not responsible for spelling or grammar mistakes (I'm from Texas). By reading this you agree you have to much time on your hands.
Back in the day all homes/buildings were built with high enterior ceilings because heat naturally rises because heated air is lighter (think hot air balloon). When air conditioners became available ceiling heights began to shrink (bad idea). Since this is the case a taller ceiling will help let the heat rise, so make sure the ceiling is high enough to keep the heat above the cattle, just as important is to allow the heat out of the top of the barn. By creating an escape for the heat natural airflow occurs. you can actually create airflow through the barn with open sides and open ridge vent which is how we built our barn down here in Texas. We are in the process of designing a new barn and I will take what I have learned on the old barn and hopefully improve it.
If you want a good example of heat try this, duct tape all your eaves vents on your house attic and then see how high your electric bill will get in the summer. Plus during the winter you get the added benfit of moisture in your home if you forget to take the tape off.
The best scenario would be to install an exhaust fan in the ceiling attached to a thermostat so you can control how and when it will come on. Creating airflow in your barn will help keep your animals from getting ill.
Our high school ag barn has tall ceilings but no vents for the hot air to escape so it is miserable in it. We have shorter ceilings in our barn but have a way for hot air to escape so it is significantly cooler.
"Fine Print"
The above statement is only from experiences and should not be taken for exact engineering guidelines. Not responsible for spelling or grammar mistakes (I'm from Texas). By reading this you agree you have to much time on your hands.
sawboss
Well-known member
I use permanent mounted Sullivan Turbo Fan over each 8'x16' pen, then I have a 16" Porta Cool Fan that blows across all four pens. I like the water cool fan because it does not blow a mist. You can take it to shows, weighs 80 lbs., all you need is 110 volt outlet and water faucet. If water is not available they make a portable stand with water reservoir. This little unit will drop the air temp by 20 degrees over a 600 square foot area. This is probably the best investment I have made! Fan cost without stand $750, with stand and 50 gallon reservoir $1030. Look on their website for models and options. I bought mine through Tractor Supply Co. they gave me the best deal. They are made in Center, Tx. 40 miles from my house, but will not sell direct. A great product, it is the unit you see on the sidelines of NFL, NCAA and High School football games.
afhm
Well-known member
Best thing to do is take a road trip a look at other peoples facilities. Take pictures and notes, ask them why they did this ir that and what they would do different. Then take what you like about each place and put them together for your barn. The main things I suggest is if you think you have enough electricity, you don't. You can put in double what you think you need and still come up short at times. Also don't get land locked so to speak, position the barn where you can add on to it when you decide its not big enough (always just a matter of time).
Jill
Well-known member
Where are you located? I will try and get you some pictures, thing have been very hectic.
I agree though, we spent years planning our new barn and toured every barn we could to come up with what seemed to works best for others.
I agree though, we spent years planning our new barn and toured every barn we could to come up with what seemed to works best for others.
red
Well-known member
pigguy- that's what we did when we built both our barns. We went around looking at different set-ups to get ideas. since our big barn also stores some of the farm's equipment, we knew we needed high ceilings & big doors.
My hubby made most of the gates we use for pens. I realize not everyone can do that but it really saved $ & also he made them to a specific size.
Lighting is very important too. You need good lights & also lots of electrical outlets. My biggest mistake was not having an indoor washrack put in. Although I just wash outside the door, it gets very cold & icy in the winter. I don't think the hubby thought we'd continue washing calves after the daughter was done w/ 4-H. Surprised him when I keep going out in below freezing weather. I know OH B checks to make sure I haven't snuck an extra heifer into his place!
Red
My hubby made most of the gates we use for pens. I realize not everyone can do that but it really saved $ & also he made them to a specific size.
Lighting is very important too. You need good lights & also lots of electrical outlets. My biggest mistake was not having an indoor washrack put in. Although I just wash outside the door, it gets very cold & icy in the winter. I don't think the hubby thought we'd continue washing calves after the daughter was done w/ 4-H. Surprised him when I keep going out in below freezing weather. I know OH B checks to make sure I haven't snuck an extra heifer into his place!
Red
garybob
Well-known member
I'd be tickled to death, with the structures you guys are complaining about! Be thankful for your blessings.
garybob - I am not complaining about my barn - I love my barn!
On another related topic something we haven't really specifically discussed..cow comfort ...including air quality, footing, temperature etc. When I designed my barn I thought about cow comfort, safety (cow and human), and convience - as a work in progress it is always being tweeked!
On another related topic something we haven't really specifically discussed..cow comfort ...including air quality, footing, temperature etc. When I designed my barn I thought about cow comfort, safety (cow and human), and convience - as a work in progress it is always being tweeked!
farmboy
Well-known member
wish i had enough to build a new barn, ours is only good for leading in circles, hay, water, and a feed room
red
Well-known member
I think we all can dream about what if! I think that is some of the best & cheapest thing to do in life.
Red (clapping)
Red (clapping)
ROAD WARRIOR
Well-known member
dragon lady said:
I think air quality is something that is overlooked alot, a friend of mine has a spectactular facility in every aspect except air movement and quality - in the summer there is no air movement whatsoever, even with turbo fans it stays hot even with 14' side walls. I personally like limey chips for a base on the barn floor (natural PH balancer) cows have good footing on it and when you clean the barn, anything you haul out can be replaced easily and cheaply. Safety and convienience - I work by myself most of the time so convienience and functionability are big issues. I do not like tubs at all, I preferr long twisting - turning alley ways that lead to the scale and chute.
Jill
Well-known member
We dreamed for 20 years before building this new barn, they don't happen over night, everything is very expensive! Take your time and make sure when you build that you get what you wanted.red said:
Ok, here are the pictures I promised. This 1st set is other peoples barns that we felt were the most functional from a show side.
1. The 1st picture is for Red, this barn belongs to Barry Queen (J-Bar Ranch), his facitlity is a little older and very functional. The inside right of this building houses a walk in cooler, the 1st section is a wash rack and then you walk through a set of doors into the actual cooler. The outside pen sections are all connected to the fencing and flow through to an outside chute and load out.
2-5. These pictures are from Bonham Show Cattle, they have one of the best facilities that we toured and we built the cooler following his set up. Our cooler is a 12 X 48 enough space for 12 calves and his is (I think) a 16 X 50 X 2 cooler sides alike, we didn't think we needed the 16 feet extra space in the back, but really wish we had gone ahead with it. The pen systems they have are excellent for show cattle, well designed and functional. The wash rack is still on our list of to do's however we will build ours indoors other than that wouldn't change it, I don't think it gets as cold there as it does here.
