Whats the roof pitch on old time barns

[FarmboyBill]

Got a guy gonna price me for a pipe frame barn. Im figuring 30 X 40 for the main hay mow, with a lean to shed inbehind. I need to know what the roof pitch would have been on a 30ft wide barn. In other words, Standing on the floor of a hay loft. How far would it have been from floor to hay rail??

[wvstuck]

It would depend on whether you want an old barn style roof that had two or three different pitches or just a standard tall roof (a house style roof) if you don't want the old barn roof then the pitch would be either a 12/12 or possibly a 10/12.

In plain English that would be a 10 inch or 12 inch rise for every foot of run. On a 12/12 pitched roof, the center would be 15' high based on a 30' wide barn.

[Rusty'sDog]

I don't believe that there is a single "standard" pitch. Roofs are typically much steeper in heavy snow regions to prevent a heavy snow load. If you were housing livestock, you might go to a single, or double monitor roof to help increase odor control and summer heat buildup.

We have a neighbor who put a +/- 20x24 addition on his house...with a perfectly flat roof (he was probably trying to save a little labor... $$$). We don't get much snow load here in the PNW, but we certainly get our share of rain. After each rain, I see people up there with buckets of roofing goop, trying to stop the leaks. Hmm, I wonder how much he "saved"?

[FarmboyBill]

Well, there has to be a maximum, as if the roof is too tall, then it would pinch the hay forks loads of hay as they entered and went down the hay track.

[FarmboyBill]

I figured 10ft, with a foot drop from the top for the hay track, and another foot for the carrier, then allowing for 4 to 6 bales of hay in the forks. Looking at that on graph paper, it sure didnt look high enough, and yet, as I said in the other post. Any higher would pinch the hay comeing down the length of the roof at the top. Also, Seems like one would want it as tall as possible, in order to act better as a brace against the weight being put on the roof when hay is brought up along it. Not to mention, help keeping the tin on the roof.

[rambler]

It sure seemed steep when we re tinned it!

I'm thinking the 12-12 or 10-12 someone mentioned would be pretty close. My barn is wider of course, old 1900-1910 vintage, wood pegs holding the beams together. Maybe 50 by 90 or so, guess I never measured.

--->Paul

[jwal10]

Originally Posted by FarmBoyBill

I figured 10ft, with a foot drop from the top for the hay track, and another foot for the carrier, then allowing for 4 to 6 bales of hay in the forks. Looking at that on graph paper, it sure didnt look high enough, and yet, as I said in the other post. Any higher would pinch the hay comeing down the length of the roof at the top. Also, Seems like one would want it as tall as possible, in order to act better as a brace against the weight being put on the roof when hay is brought up along it. Not to mention, help keeping the tin on the roof.

+ the side walls. My barn was 12/12 pitch on a 30' wide barn with 12' side walls. I had a huge barn here that was 40' from haymow floor to peak, it had a Gambrel roof, held a lot of hay....James

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...ed=0CCYQ9QEwAg

[CarolT]

Old-style barns were a 7&12 pitch from the center and a reverse 7&12 further out, I believe?

[agmantoo]

FarmBoyBill
Draw a half circle over the width of the building you are going to erect. In your case you said 30 ft. The radius or maximum height at center of the roof would be 15 feet. The rafters are set at 60 degrees for the outer section of the roof and the center section of the roof would have the rafters at 30 degrees creating the gambrel design.

[uncle Will in In.]

Bill, Why would anyone put a hayfork track in a barn in this day and age? All the old barns here have hay fork tracks that haven't been used in 60 years. Elevaters took over when they quit putting up loose hay. Make the sidewalls higher and the roof with not as much pitch. Are you planing to put the hay from the ground up, or did you plan an a haymow? Put in a big high door in the end so big stuff can go inside. When you move up to large rounds or large squares like the rest of farmers you will need to have a tractor inside stacking the hay as it comes off the trucks or wagons. The old barns don't fit modern uses, and are being torn down often. I hate that.

[FarmboyBill]

Will, Ive tried to do things the old way all my life. At one time, I wanted to have a kind of liveing musium here, doing things the old way. I helped my grandad put up hay with the rope and fork. Likely, I might find it a bit easier to get help if I needed it. People might just want to help for the experience. Ive got an elevator. Its a grain elevator that my uncle gave my dad when he bought a longer JD hay elevator that would actually take hay up flat instead of leaning it against the side as we had to do with the KR.
Ive got the trolley. Actually, I should have 2. One for wood rail, and one for steel rail. Ive got a 2 prong harpoon fork, a 4 prong fork, rigid, and a 4 prong loose.

[uncle Will in In.]

Hard to keep a hold on the olden days ain't it Bill. The barn where we live was built in 1939 after the original one burned down. It was built with beams sawed off the farm woods. All put together with wooden pins. It was the last barn anywhere in this area built that old fashioned way. It has about a 10 12 pitch on the roof. The mow is divided into 5 bints. There is a 10x10 under the center of the oak rafters. It is supported with an angular 10x10 coming up from each cross sill about head high that ties the perloin plates together at the ends of the rafters. A carpenter that could put each section together laying on the ground knew what he was doing for sure. They put a steel track in it but it was only used about 10 years. It still has a mid sized Lantz 4 legged hay fork hanging up there. I tore out one half the haymow floor and put a 14 foot high door in the end so I could back my 5th wheel inside. Nothing beats stacking loose hay with a pitch fork when you get right up against an old black tin roof when it's a balmy 98 in the shade under the maple by the well. Pass that water jug Bill.

[FarmboyBill]

Never saw a black tin roof, But Ive sure been within reaching distance of the track in a barn. Ya forgot to mention, alla the wasp nests under the roof. Once we were at the top of the barn, and the guy we was working for was up in the barn with us, and his boy was loading the elevator. All of a sudden, he takes his hat and swipes at a bee. Then he picks up a bale, stops, drops it, then runs down the elevator while its running.

[djberg]

Bill,

Remember, old barns usually had lofts. A traditional roof with 10/12 or 12/12 pitch, but without high side walls might not look like an old barn.

Here's a bunch of free barn plans. Find the look that you're going for, print the plans and scale up, or down from the gable end elevation drawing to get your barn's dimensions.

Free Barn Plans

Don

[FarmboyBill]

Our barn had low 10ft walls and a loft that was made for a bank barn. We let in cows and horses on the S side, and brought up hay on the N side.
I dont have a printer. Im near 64, and have been around barns all my life, wanting on so bad, ive looked at alla them ive been near, in passing. Ive already drawn up plans for pipe frame bents. High 20ft walls, 30 X 40. Open center. Guy giveing me an estimate had his appendix burst, so I guess he ll be down and out awhile. Thanks for the plans. Ill sure look at them

[FarmboyBill]

I sure liked the big barn door hardwae. I have big barn door rollars, that dont look that old, but are dated 1912, that came off of our barn when dad redid the front and put up a new track.

[TNHermit]

Old barns with gambrel roofs for hay had a 18/12 pitch and then a 6/12 pitch. the 18/12 would go in the first 6 or 8 ft. then a ridge and the rest was a 6/12. Although the six 12 is not in stone. NOr the 18/12 How high do you want the walls above the top wall plate. figure it from there .

[FarmboyBill]

Nobody in NE Kans had a gambrel roof. Smart I guess. Dont know why these Okies have them, other than they think theyre cheaper to build. The winds here play heck with the upper slant on the roof and its easy for the wind to get up under the shingles, tin, and lift it off. Seen one old big barn that had a G roof, and it got blowed off and they put the roof back on A. Then they built another big barn, and built it with a A roof.

At my age, I dont want a loft. Can barely get up and down stairs. The whole barn area would be for hay. The walls would be as high as I could make them. With pipe bents, im figuring 20ft.

Outa courisity, Could anybody figure out how many bales square I could get in a 20 X 30 X 20ft high barn. Im getting some high numbers.

[FarmboyBill]

Thats just to the eves., rafters.

[djberg]

Bill,

Using 14"x18"x32" square bales and a 20'x30' barn with 20' high side walls, I get 2,380 tight-packed bales. With a 12/12 roof, you'll probably be able to fit another 260 or so bales up to the rafters, depending on the roof structure.

Do you need that much hay?

Don

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