building a new barn

[farmboy]

i really like yours jill  (clapping)

 

[Jill]

Ok, here are the pictures from our barn.  We did things probably a little different, we needed a multi-function barn, we have a construction company and have machinery and parts in part of the barn.  We have the show cattle and needed it to be functional for the cows calving also, our winters are cold and when it gets too cold we calve everything out in the barn.  We built a 72 (the most with no interior beam) X 120 main barn and a 36 X 120 lean to that is attached.  We live in a VERY urban area so we built it so that it could easily be converted to an indoor riding area with horse stalls in the lean to on 12 foot centers.  If I read this right the barn doors are 30 X 16 and we have them on the West, North and South, on the East we have 2 6 foot sliding walk through doors and figured if we ever have a sale those would work great.  Our working facility is set up on the South end of the lean to with a drive through load at gate at the exit of the barn.  We didn't really like the tub idea, it seemed single function for no more cattle than we process, we went with the WW called Classic 300-S-10ft with a Stampeed Steele chute.  We liked this set up because 1 person can work cattle on it can be all shut down to make 3 pens for calving.  Our center alley opens up into pens that we have set up as 24 foot width, but can be 12 foot if needed, there is a feeder panel and a walk through gate in each pen and a richie water at the 12 foot divider panel so each 12 feet has a water hole.  I don't know how far out it is, but the overhead you see it the clean out alley, these pens can either be long runs (when money and time permits the pens will run the full length of the pasture for rotational grazing option) or the gates can be shut to make additional short pens.  The pens on the west side of the lean to are the calving pens.  The cooler and wash rack are inside the main barn.  It has 16 foot side walls and the east and west sides will both have second story hay storage areas, the cupalos are vented and have attic fans that kick on at I think 85 to pull the hot air out of the top of the barn.  The floors in the lean to are all a thick lime base on a slope.  The gutter drains, wash rack drain, cooler drain, office and bathroom drains all are connected underground and daylight out in the pasture. As far as electric goes, we have an 800 amp service that does both the house and barn.  If you instal a seperate meter for the barn you are charge a commercial rate for your power, check with your electric company before you make a decision to get a 2nd meter, it may be a costly mistake, it would have been for us.  Anyway, I have probably rambeled enough, l like DL we love our barn, it is a work in progress and we still have a ways to go, but it is so nice.

 

[red]

great set-up Jill, I'm jealous!
But where were the corgis?

Red (dog)

 

[Dan]

It all depends on whether you are fancy functional or plain functional. If you are fancy go to Jac's Ranch in Bentonville, AR (very, very nice) If you are plain, like most of us are go see Wilson Cattle Co. in Cloverdale, IN

Both are big time angus outfits, both have really functional facilities. Just one is fancier than the other

 

[shorthorns r us]

jacs is pretty flashy

 

[ROAD WARRIOR]

I want it to look nice but it needs to be functional above all. I've been drawing out blue prints and pricing materials. This is for sure a sizeable investment and one that takes alot of forethought.

 

[Jill]

Good idea, we had everything on paper before we started, the flow we wanted and the pens coming out of the barn.  The ASCS or whatever it is called now was very helpful with drawing up the rotational fencing and the lines to pump water from the pond, they have a computer program that does that and it give you your square footage of each fence line.  Good luck, it is alot of hard work and very costly, but it is so much fun.

 

[sawboss]

I hope you have fun, our new barn has been a pain.  Make sure you check out all contractors you use, some will tell you what you want to hear and then do what they please.  Do not get in a hurry because their timeline and yours will not be the same.  I will post pictures of ours as soon as it is finished.  I had everything drawn out from rough construction to electrical outlets, they will not see it the way that you do unless they are in the showing business.  Good luck and don't let the stress get to you.

 

[knabe]

INSURANCE

make sure you get a copy of the insurance and if they are using subcontractors (so they can use illegal aliens sometimes), make sure you can have a copy and have your lawyer look at it.  my neighbor had her roof redone and a skylight put in and a guy fell through the ceiling, broke his ankle.  they didn't have insurance, contractor skipped town, contractor's son left with the bill.  could have easily been my neighbor stuck with it.  can't believe there wasn't a swarm of lawyers.  you might also consider a blanket insurance policy up to a million.  it's not that much to purchase and it covers most everything except gross negligence.  two neighbors down are building a small barn.  hired illegals to dig and put the posts in.  not level, not square, they didn't put the posts square in the hole.  one side was 4 inches short of a full sheet of plywood.  get some measurements of satisfaction and look at their work.  it's probably not as bad as in CA where almost everyone is a crook in the construction business that lowballs.  be very careful and don't take the lowest bid like the government and suffer the consequences later.  also be very careful of cement work.  again in CA, there is something to do with the pH of the soil and the cement deteriorating and make sure it is reinforced adequately with appropriate base for your area.

 

[Jill]

Knabe, you are a gem, but I agree you can get shoddy workmanship anywhere.  We did most of the work ourselves, we are in that line of work so we did our own barn pad, concrete, electric, water and such.  We hired Morton building to build the building, they are probably a little more expensive than some that are out there but I guess our feeling was you get what you pay for on this type of thing.  It was worth the extra cost to us to not have to worry about the building, they are insured and guaranteed, they are a pleasure to work with and if we built again today we wouldn't do anything different.  Most important remember this is your barn, they will do it the way you want or you find someone different to work with.

 

[Dan]

By now you've read alot of diffrent ideas and looked at alot of pics of other peoples facilities. But only you really can make this decision. You know about the location and the drainage of the plot of land where you want to build. All you really need to keep show cattle is 3 major things. SHADE, WATER(with good pressure) and ELECTRICITY ( plan on running 20 fans and half a dozen blowers all at the same time, if you plan big you might have enough.) Other than those 3 things I'd have to say that I agree with a previos reply that I read "Don't skimp on the concrete" Good luck and I hope you will post pics of your barn during construction and after it is  finished

 

[chambero]

Any shoddy work we have on ours is our fault - we do most of it ourselves.  We have enough steel pipe in the ground at our place to mess up a compass on a plane flying overhead.  But they work and will be there long after we are dead.

If you can lay it out on paper yourself, there are usually no shortage of local welders that will build things for you much cheaper (and often better) than a typical professional contractor. 

 

[DLD]

Any shoddy work we have on ours is our fault - we do most of it ourselves.  We have enough steel pipe in the ground at our place to mess up a compass on a plane flying overhead.  But they work and will be there long after we are dead.

If you can lay it out on paper yourself, there are usually no shortage of local welders that will build things for you much cheaper (and often better) than a typical professional contractor. 

I second that statement. We're actually just finishing up a new show barn - I'll try to get some pics up, but we're having some problems with our camera and this computer getting along...

This one's pretty much just a show barn, and is alot smaller than many of you are talking about. Maybe part of it's 'cause we build 'em ourselves, but we tend to prefer 3 or 4 smaller buildings over 1 big one. I do have a friend that just built a big sale barn/show barn/shop, with a really nice set of pens - I'll try to get some pics of that one too,  if he doesn't mind (doubt he will, he's pretty proud of it).

 

[afhm]

DLD is this friend of yours in Canute?  I heard he was building a real nice one like you described.

 

[DLD]

No afhm, that's not who I'm talking about. I do know Dean, and I hear he's really doing it up nice this time, but I haven't seen it yet. His old facilities were pretty dang nice anyway. The friend I'm referring is an Angus breeder - Tim Henricks. His place is only about 3 miles from mine, and we help each other out alot. They had their bull sale in it this spring, but they're still working on a few things.

David

 

[mommacow]

A bathroom!!  Just a toilet and sink, but besure if you do have this to clean it on a regular basis I have been in some nasty barn bathrooms....

 

[ROAD WARRIOR]

The extra expence of a sceptic system is hard to justify. The barn will be within spitting distance of the house anyway. I will have sinks there though. When we have anything that there might be several people attending we usually rent the lovely blue houses.

 

[knabe]

if we put a toilet in a barn out here, we have to get a permit, taxed at a different rate, and must sign a document no one can live there, can't generate revenue from someone living there.  ha, and to bring up the neighbors again, as i'm looking through the archives of our shared water company, one neighbor told the county inspector about someone using a barn as a rental and how on many levels it didn't comply with local ordinances.  yet another neighbor rents porta potties to preserve his septic all the time as he has lots of kids and their partiers are blowouts.

 

[mommacow]

Most places any barn (Group U) over 120 square feet needs a permit I would personally check with your building department.

 

[ROAD WARRIOR]

Fortunetly we live far enough away from civilization that we don't have to deal with building permits and that type of thing. Sceptic systems are about the only thing that require permits for new structures.