Loft or no loft?

[Joy in Eastern WA]

We're getting ready to build a barn, and have been thinking about putting a loft in. I'm totally on the fence with this, so I'm looking to you folks to get me to swing one way or another.

Here are my thoughts... good -
It will be an extra storage place for hay and other stuff that collects here on the farm.
A loft would provide warmth to the livestock below during the winter months, easier to feed them too!
A loft could eventually become an appartment for one of the kids when they want to get out of the house!

Now, the bad -
Extra expense of putting one in.
Possibiliy of hay fire destroying the building
The labor involved in getting hay up there.

Now, we already have a small hay barn, but it doesn't hold all the hay we store each year. Some has to be tarped. It would be cheaper to add on to that building than install a loft.

So, what's your thoughts on this, loft or no loft?

[LisaInN.Idaho]

We put a hayloft in our barn and I love it. The hay keeps perfectly up there and it does keep the bottom part warmer. I found an old hay elevator for a couple hundred bucks and it does the job of loading the loft just fine.

[RichieC]

If I had the space (and it sounds like you do) I would never put animals and hay storage in the same building. The fire risk is just too great if you have any choice at all.

I know that some will say that farmers had haymows for centuries. But they also lost barns and stock to fire for centuries.

[lgslgs]

How old are you?

If I was older or setting up a homestead that I intended to live in as I aged, I'd tend to avoid lofts, second stories, or any other features that would be hard for me to enjoy or maintain in my old age.

Lynda

[Joy in Eastern WA]

Originally Posted by lgslgs

How old are you?

If I was older or setting up a homestead that I intended to live in as I aged, I'd tend to avoid lofts, second stories, or any other features that would be hard for me to enjoy or maintain in my old age.

Lynda

Well, I'm still in my 40's but 50 is approaching fairly quickly!

We already have a few outbuildings on the place, but we're wanting to put in a nice barn a couple hundred feet from the house. Winter feedings can get nasty here on the palouse; stong winds, drifting snow, and the like is prompting us to build a little closer to the house. It will make chores a little easier. A lot easier if we had a loft full of hay too! BUT, I'm always a little nervous about hay storage in the barn.

Can anybody calm my fears about this? We grow our own hay and it's stacked outside for months before it's even put up. If hay were to combust, wouldn't it do that earlier rather than later after baling?

[Jim S.]

Loft, definitely. Put your hay up there and it is E-Z, dry feeding if you have sheds and bring the shed roofline up to allow hay biscuits to be dropped from loft into feeders. Make your outside loft door wide enough and the loft floor low enough so that you can use a tractor and front end loader to lift bales up to it.

I quit square baling, but I store my rolls up in the loft, at least until it is full. I just break them down to feed inside, or roll them out the loft door to drop on the ground and be toted to round bale feeding areas with the tractor.

The loft also stores a bunch of other stuff for me that otherwise would not have a home.

My barn is 70 years old, made of solid oak, and has never had a fire. We have had 1,100 square bales in the loft, back when we square baled. It's all about curing it right and stacking it so it can breathe.

Hay loft and tractor with front end loader...a marriage made in heaven!

[Joy in Eastern WA]

Originally Posted by LisaInN.Idaho

We put a hayloft in our barn and I love it. The hay keeps perfectly up there and it does keep the bottom part warmer. I found an old hay elevator for a couple hundred bucks and it does the job of loading the loft just fine.

Lisa, when you put your loft in, what did you keep your ceiling height on the first floor? We're planning on having ours at 10 feet plus the stim wall from the foundation, so it will probably end up closer to eleven. That's if we do a loft.

We have to put a foundation in for our barn, it's on solid rock!

[MELOC]

i would go with the loft. as stated, an elevator really helps. if you feed square bales in the barn, what could be easier than tossing the hay down from the loft?

[Ramblin Wreck]

I'm putting a loft in mine, God willing and I start showing some initiative to get it built. The barn we used growing up had a large loft and was used for everything from hay storage to "curing" potatoes. As for fires, that can happen on a lower floor just as easily as an upper floor/loft. It's your barn, so build it any way you like...but I've yet to meet the person who complained about building their barn too big...their house yes, but never their barn.

[Violins&Roses]

Originally Posted by Jim S.

Loft, definitely. Put your hay up there and it is E-Z, dry feeding if you have sheds and bring the shed roofline up to allow hay biscuits to be dropped from loft into feeders. Make your outside loft door wide enough and the loft floor low enough so that you can use a tractor and front end loader to lift bales up to it.

I quit square baling, but I store my rolls up in the loft, at least until it is full. I just break them down to feed inside, or roll them out the loft door to drop on the ground and be toted to round bale feeding areas with the tractor.

The loft also stores a bunch of other stuff for me that otherwise would not have a home.

My barn is 70 years old, made of solid oak, and has never had a fire. We have had 1,100 square bales in the loft, back when we square baled. It's all about curing it right and stacking it so it can breathe.

Hay loft and tractor with front end loader...a marriage made in heaven!

I totally agree.

[ozark_jewels]

Jim S. and the others have it right. I'd go with the loft.

With the danger that damp hay can be, I always keep in mind never to leave an animal *locked* in the barn.

We are careful and have never had a fire problem, but just in case, the animals always have the choice of at least one wide open door.

[wy_white_wolf]

Are you going to feed the animals in the barn? Would be about the same work to put the feed in a loft as have to bring the feed in all the time. If setup properly you can drop feed down into the stalls or mainger (sp?) from the loft.

We didn't milk but had a milk barn setup like that when I was growing up. We modified it for feeding the horses. All along one side of the loft where chutes that fed into a manger for the horses.

Made feeding real easy for us kids and gave us some wild rides as we would break a bale and feed it down then jump down ourselves.

[Ole Man Legrand]

Lighting struck my barn in 1993, burn it down with 500 bales of hay in it . I had 9 horses in it. I was home and got all the horses out . The replacement barn has 10 stalls with a tack room and a feed room . This barn dose't have a loft in it. I store hay in a 45 foot semi trailer. I still miss the loft.

[montysky]

No question, put in the loft.

[rambler]

Loft.

I have an old barn, built around 1910. 90 or so feet long, 1/2 as wide, 8-10 foot downstairs, and an upstairs hay loft about 20 feet to the peak, all on a sidehill so you can drive into the upstairs. I have about 7000 bales of hay & bedding in it right now. Have 3-5000 bales in it most years. Sure is nice for feeding out!

Don't bale your stuff so wet if one is worrying about spontanious combustion.

--->Paul

[LisaInN.Idaho]

Originally Posted by Joy in Eastern WA

Lisa, when you put your loft in, what did you keep your ceiling height on the first floor? We're planning on having ours at 10 feet plus the stim wall from the foundation, so it will probably end up closer to eleven. That's if we do a loft.

We have to put a foundation in for our barn, it's on solid rock!

Our ceiling height is 10 feet on the first floor.

[francismilker]

I put a loft in my barn but really couldn't afford the second floor at the time of building so I just made my roof steep enough to allow it to be built at a later date. The only thing I have against the loft is getting the hay up there. Although it's only a once a year ordeal.
One positive note on lofts: I've never had a cow or goat get into the stored hay and make a trainwreck out of several bales.
One negative note: My chickens are free roamers so it's like going Easter egg hunting to find out where they've stashed there eggs today!

[Lynne]

The main reason that I don’t like about having a hayloft over the animals is the dust that accumulates from years of storing hay. This is not good for the animals’ to breathe; a gust of wind sends it through the barn; walking in the loft showers it over their heads.
No more overhead storage of hay for me.

[LisaInN.Idaho]

Originally Posted by Lynne

The main reason that I don’t like about having a hayloft over the animals is the dust that accumulates from years of storing hay. This is not good for the animals’ to breathe; a gust of wind sends it through the barn; walking in the loft showers it over their heads.
No more overhead storage of hay for me.

We don't have any issues of hay dust or blowing hay whether from wind or while walking in the loft. Maybe it just depends on the barn. This is my barn...or at least the plans we used.
http://www.homesteaddesign.com/austin.html

[Michael W. Smith]

As long as the hay is dry enough prior to baling, you shouldn't have any fire worries. (Some people throw some salt around as each level of hay bales are put in for extra insurance.)

While putting the hay in the loft may be hard (although a hay elevator certainly makes that job easier!), there is nothing like having hay up above the livestock that you simply drop down to them!

Would you rather go to one area to take care of your livestock, or have to lug hay from one place to another through all kinds of weather - battling snow and drifts, battling mud when it's too wet, when it's raining, when it's dark . . . . . .

And since you stack your hay on pallets and tarp after baling, I'm sure you have some waste where moisture has still gotten in. Bale your hay, get it in the loft and have 0 hay spoilage!

While putting hay above your animals may be more money now, just think of the TIME it is going to save you for the rest of your life!