Thanks for the help on the floor - lets talk doors
Thanks for all the feedback on how to floor a horse barn. Seemed like a rather contraversial subject though. Since I don't have any horses (yet) I can probably think a bit more about the floor.
Now I'd like input on doors and windows. Again, assuming a horse (they are likely the biggest critter I would have to accomodate) what are good door dimensions for the stalls, entrance doors and so on?
I think windows are nice for light and ventilation. What heigh should they be placed (i.e. how high up from the floor).
This is going to be a modest barn (40' x 25'), and I'd like to get it mostly right. It seems that in most of the free plans, doors & the like are up to the builder.
Re: Thanks for the help on the floor - lets talk doors
Most people go 4' OC for the posts on either side of the door. This gives 4' minus the width of the post. This usually provides a good opening size for use with a 4' wide sliding door.
Horses love windows, especially if they open. They should be covered with a steel (or AL) grill (a barred grill like used on stall fronts) to keep the horses from the windows. It's much easier to get the grills first, then get some cheapo sliding windows the right size to work with the grills. Planning ahead before you build will save you the hassle of having to have custom window grills made. The other option for window grills are the non-welded kits that can be trimmed to size with a sawz-all. We actually did the later and it worked out pretty well. It was easy to trim the width and we didn't have to trim the height (but you could trim every bar if you wanted). I'll try and take a picture and put it up next week (the wife is away w/ the camera). Our windows are 3x3 and about 4' off the ground. A lot of people go w/ the 3x4 wide and that also looks good.
>I'd like to get it mostly right. It seems that in most of the free plans, doors & the like are up to the builder.
I found he best thing is to go around and look at a ton of barns and talk to people about what they like and dislike. The main thing with horses is that everything should be very heavy duty and very safe for the horses (no small protruding objects).
Re: Thanks for the help on the floor - lets talk doors
We put an opening window in each stall, 4 x 4. Used 1/2 sheet of 3/4 plywood, then bounded it with 2x4 fram arounf the perimiter and an x pattern in the middle. Two hinges allow the whole thing to swing open and let the horses stick their heads out when stall bound. I'd make them at least 4 feet off the ground, much less and a big horse could actually think they could jump out and may try!!
Re: Thanks for the help on the floor - lets talk doors
Thats an interesting solution, especially since you are in upstate NY. This is going to sound like a stupid question, but do you have to heat horse barn? I'm right near Toronto, and I think our winters are milder than yours, and I wouldn't think you have to keep a horse warm during the winter.
Plus, a 4x4 plywood 'window' is not going to get broken by the average horse!
Now 'tall' should the door ways be. I'm guessing 8 feet?
Re: Thanks for the help on the floor - lets talk doors
Glass windows are nice if you do not keep an open barn in the winter. They let light in and let the horses look out without letting in the sub zero wind. I live in Southern New England and the winters here are bad enough. I would guess they are much worse in Toronto.
The barn doesn't have to be heated for the horses, they don't really care. It is more important to keep their water a little on the warm side so they are encouraged to keep hydrated. Any water that sits to long in the cold of winter will drop pretty quickly to the freezing point. Horses will drink this cold water, but not as much as they should. Dehydration increases the risk of colic. A hot water heater (and a heated utility room for it) in a barn is a wonderful thing all year round.
Our barn is not heated but we have a kerosene rocket heater we use for our own comfort. Whenever we go up there and it's really cold we turn it on and it's feeling much better in 5-10 minutes. You'd be amazed how cold a barn stays once the cold really sets in and the floor freezes. The kerosene heater is really great for taking the edge off [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Re: Thanks for the help on the floor - lets talk doors
Actually, I suspect Toronto is warmer than where you are. I used to live in Montreal (talk about cold!) and it seems that its almost always a fair bit warmer here in winter.
That's a good suggestion about the water & windows. I read elsewhere that heated water bowels are the ticket. I seem to remember that those are self filling, which brings up antoher question: how do you keep the water pipes from freezing in an unheated barn? I guess plastic piping is the name of the game, but I would think the water would eventually freeze anyway.
Its funny, my wife & kids have left all kinds of 'how to build a barn' books all over the house, and these details seem to be missing ....
Re: Thanks for the help on the floor - lets talk doors
I used National sliding door hardware with the "nail on board" type of track. I would highly recommend this type of track compared to the ones secured w/ lag bolts. Simpler and stronger.
Re: Thanks for the help on the floor - lets talk doors
This type of track alowed me to nail a board to allong the top of the stall fronts. Since my stalls were built free standing in a clear span building this I did this to stiffen up the stall fronts.
Reply With Quote
