Barn blueprints

1stTimefarmer · #1 04/02/14, 11:05 PM

We recently bought a house with 5 acres. We are planning on doing a small hold farm; a couple mini-cows, goats, chickens, pigs and a garden with greenhouse. We have ,tentatively decided on building a California style barn, long and one level. As we are building it ourselves I am looking for some ideas/blueprints that are simple but economically functional for what we are going to be using it for. We have a big storage container we are converting into a toolshed and feed storage and such so we have that to save space and money on materials. Any info, ideas, suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated! I want to get this right the first time and not have to re-do and retry after a year or two! Thanks in advance!

Wolf mom · #2 04/03/14, 08:57 AM

There's a good book called How to Build Small barns and Outbuildings. by Monte Burch. It's a Storey Book. Has everything you need to build whatever you want.

A suggestion on your storage container: I have a 40 ft one & had a divider put half way between at 20 ft. Then on the opposite end from the double doors I had a large door installed on the side. 100 bales of hay fits perfectly in the double door side and sure keeps the storage side cleaner.

Be aware that anyone that wants to get into one of those containers, only needs a sledge hammer to wack away where you'd lock it & the weld breaks.

Robotron · #3 04/03/14, 05:37 PM

You can try this site. Lots of free plans.
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~mwps_.../ut_plans.html

LisaInN.Idaho · #4 04/03/14, 05:42 PM

We got our barn plans here and built the Austin. Lots of plans for reasonable prices and we had good luck with them:
http://www.homesteaddesign.com/

Michael W. Smith · #5 04/03/14, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1stTimefarmer

We are planning on doing a small hold farm; a couple mini-cows, goats, chickens, pigs and a garden with greenhouse. We have ,tentatively decided on building a California style barn, long and one level. I want to get this right the first time and not have to re-do and retry after a year or two!

Are you sure you want a long, one level building? The roofing can be a cost factor - thinking long term here. Even building it, if you cut the building in half and put the other half on top of the other, you cut your roofing costs. And eventually, when the roof needs replaced, you again replace a smaller roof rather than the one that is longer.

Besides, with the cows and goats - that says to me you will need hay. It would be really nice to have the hay over top of the cows and goats and drop it down a hole in the floor on the 2nd floor into a hay manger - rather than to lug a hale bale from one side of the barn to the other. (Think a bank barn - where a soil bank leads up to the 2nd floor.

Being on the 2nd floor, the hay will be dryer and won't draw moisture like being on the same level as the animals.

LisaInN.Idaho · #6 04/03/14, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael W. Smith

Being on the 2nd floor, the hay will be dryer and won't draw moisture like being on the same level as the animals.

Very true. I love our hay loft.

haypoint · #7 04/03/14, 09:53 PM

With goats, cattle, chickens and pigs on 5 acres, minus house and garden, you might want to make that barn taller instead of longer, to take up less of the precious land you have.

evan · #8 04/04/14, 01:11 AM

Where are you from? Your climate will determine a lot as well

wogglebug · #9 04/05/14, 01:21 PM

You can buy a set of roof trusses designed to bridge over the space between two containers. if you wanted it that way, you could substitute a post-and-beam wall for one of the containers, and get the extra width of a container inside the building. That strikes me as a useful way to build a living space, but you could also use it for a low-level low and level barn. Maybe even run a dividing wall down the centre under the ridgeline, and have one side barn, one side garage and workshop. Trusses are the most efficient use of materials, but if you can cut the lumber yourself, doing all post, beam and rafter may be the most efficient use of your money.

davel745 · #10 04/05/14, 01:44 PM

try this
http://bioengr.ag.utk.edu/Extension/...PlanList97.htm

FarmboyBill · #11 04/05/14, 09:58 PM

All your responses have been from someone much younger than me. you will get into your 60s and 70s. I can tell you that you WONT want to be going up and down steps then.
From one who used to want a loft also.

Dutchofsc · #12 04/06/14, 05:35 AM

I'm in my 20's and I'm already tired of steps. When I build my house on the property it will have one and only one floor. There will be no more than 3 steps and that's to the front porch. I will pay the extra money for the roof because it will be worth it. My current house is two story and I go up and down the stairs all day long, gets old quick.

Sent from my iPad using Homesteading Today

Michael W. Smith · #13 04/06/14, 07:56 AM

I understand the "step" thing - but how far do you want to be hauling bales of hay around every single day? Once the hay is in the loft, it's a simple matter of opening up the hay hole and dropping it down into the animals manger.

You don't have to fight off "attacks" by the goats/cows/horses let alone opening up the door and trying to get the bale of hay IN before the animals get OUT!

And as I said, if you have a hillside on your farm that can be turned into a bank barn - there won't be any steps other than if you don't want to go out the one side of the barn and to the other side / other level.

1stTimefarmer · #14 04/27/14, 01:32 AM

Wow! I signed up and wrote my question while I was deployed and had a stop over in Korea, I never thought I would get this much feedback!! Thank you all so much. I plan on looking into everyone's advice and opinions and figuring out what best works for us. You brought up a lot of things I hadn't considered so this has obviously paid off! It is good to be home and looking at my grounds from the kitchen window vice the image I had in my head! It's much easier to plan at home than half a world away!

Muleman · #15 04/27/14, 06:22 AM

make sure it is in a location which makes it easy to herd unwilling animals too. Also make sure you make at least one sick pen. When you have a sick animal is not the time to try and put together some makeshift holding area, sheltered from the elements. Plan small and keep in mind expanding it later, so make sure where you put it you can expand it in at least one direction later if need be, or add a lean to to one side later.

rambler · #16 04/27/14, 02:40 PM

If you happen to have a hill in the right place and can make a bank barn, you have the best of all worlds. Walk in level to the low side, then other side of the barn on the high side you apcan walk in level to the upstairs.

Hay is easy to store and very easy to feed, just throw down a hole, minimal carrying.

Far less building materials needed.

Paul

DaleK · #17 04/27/14, 03:06 PM

If you already have one storage container, put another one parallel to it and use them for walls and run the trusses over the top. Five acres tells me you'll probably end up buying hay anyway and you'll soon find out round bales are a lot cheaper and you don't need a mow

FarmboyBill · #18 04/27/14, 07:28 PM

As for lugging hay, I bought one of those old time mowers that has a side shaft engine and 2 belts running out to pulleys above the deck. I took off the engine and all other pertaining to the mower. I can haul 3 5 gal buckets of feed, just pushing it with them on it, and ive hauled 3 bales of hay same way.

You get older and u wanna still farm, you think smarter to not work harder.

Rosco99 · #19 04/28/14, 01:34 AM

Do not rush in to building check out whats in the neighbor hood find out why they did it. Try to make the long wall a wind brake for pasture or put open loafing closer to you but out of wind.
Subscribe to Farm Show (LOADED WITH FARMER BUILT IMPROVEMENTS) an Start a good idea list of things on how you want to use your barn an shop or plan on separate shop with drive thru large doors for a Semi to go thru an have room to work on large projects in bad weather. On 5 acres that could be a Income source, 1 by 1 steel tube frame with flat metal from roof mfg on both sides with 1 inch foam an screw the metal on should be cheaper than Roll Up, repairs will be simpler then. Use the corrugated wall pattern for siding an Screw it on, my thumb took years to recover from the ring shank nails