construction base plan question

[Welshmom]

In the planning stage for a new 30X70 deep straw bedded hoop barn for hogs.
This will have a gravel (actually, limerock screenings) base.
The barn will have electric and water, and will have sidewalls 4 feet high, anchored with wood posts in the ground.
Question, what is the best order to do things?
Posts, water/electric lines, limerock?
Or Limerock, posts, underground lines?

I have a neighbor who can supply the screenings (and presumably level them), and would have to hire another guy with a backhoe to dig in the trenches and auger the post holes.

[retire2$]

I would:
Mark out post locations.
Install all utilities - making sure they do not cross where you marked out
the post locations
Haul in and level base
Install post

[texican]

Pardon my ignorance...
But how do you plan on maintaining (cleaning) such a barn?

Won't the hogs tear up your base?

Small timers I know have dirt floor barns for their hogs... but usually only for farrowing.

Commercial (non hobbyists) have concrete, that can be cleaned down.

I'd be leary of underground lines... I'd rather have them suspended on beams... they're accessible if repairs are needed. One of my neighbors has 150' of buried lines... after four years, something 'happened', and now he has no power... I troubleshot the lines, and the problem is underground... 4' underground... he's looking at replacing the lines, and losing 1K in original installation costs.

[rancher1913]

neibor has a simalar set up for hogs. he learned the hard way to put a large concrete ring under the waterer with an access port--this keeps the hogs from tunneling under the slab and gives access to water lines and electric. incoming lines are sleaved in 4 inch pvc to the outside of building, so if something happens he digs outside building and can push new line in to the ring with out disturbing pigs much. pigs do much better under a roof.

[Lazy J]

Iowa State has done more research on this housing system than anyone else. Here is the first publication I found:

http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/hooped.html

[Welshmom]

Thanks for the responses.

I know about the Iowa State site, in fact I have been on contact with them a bit. They may be the ones who say it can be done on hard packed crushed lime, with a thick layer of straw over it. When it's time to clean it out, use a loader to scrape down to the base, may need to replace some now and then. I know it would be better to use concrete all the way, but expense dictates that I'm only going to put concrete on the end under the waterer and feeders for now, anyway, until more funds come available. I was told concrete is about 3X the cost of the rock base, plus you still need rock under the concrete anyway. I'll have to make sure I follow a good worming program.

I like the idea of putting in an access port for the waterer, I was thinking about how to address that.

I'm in Wisconsin, and water lines above ground are frozen water lines.

[fishhead]

You could still run your electric in conduit from the rafters or walls.