[Fwd: Barn Suggestions?]

[flemmerl@rcbhsc.wvu.edu (Flemmer, Linda)]

Linda Flemmer wrote:
> 
> JPascu@aol.com wrote:
> >
> > I am building a barn, 36x36 (5 stalls, tackroom), 8 Ft. overhang on one side.
> > I am wondering if anyone has positive or negative opinions about, BarnMaster,
> > Lester Buildings or Cleary.
> 
> We looked at literature from Barnmaster & Lester as well as WedgeCor.
> We never saw Cleary before.  Are they local?  In our minds, WedgCor was
> the best deal & higher quality (www.wedgcor.com).  We put in a 36 X 52
> barn from Wedgcor - 3 stalls (10X12), aisle way (10'), 2 rooms (10X12
> each - One feed/tack and one for bedding), a 10X12 open area for
> woodworking and an equipment and parking/workshop area 22X36.  All
> concrete flooring (w/ rebar, roughed up in the animal areas) with rubber
> matting and a 10X52 concrete pad out in front + a gravel driveway.
> There is a 20X36 hay loft down the center.  It was plumbed for water,
> minus the faucets (Mike to do this part - still waiting after 18 mos).
> We had the barn completely installed by a local WedgCor contractor.
> They took our drawings and made the blue prints at no charge.  Ours has
> a steeper roof (to match the house) since the roofs with less pitch
> (like on WedgCor's barn section of their web page) tend to accumulate
> too much snow where we live.
> 
> We got steel walls w/ 20 yr guarantee on the paint, galvalume roofing,
> VERY high quality sliding doors for the aisle way (seals well against
> snow & wind), ridge vent (opens & closes) standard single metal garage
> door to the bedding room (for deliveries) and an oversize garage door
> for the trailer or large equipment.  All the girders and supports are
> steel.
> 
> > What would you look for in a barn that your horse was being treated in?
> 1)  Clean floors with good footing.
> 2)  Dry bedding (?indoor storage of bedding)
> 3)  Sliding doors with spring back latches (prevent them catching the
> horse's sides/gives more aisle way room
> 4)  Aisle way wide enough to turn the horse in.
> 5)  Swing out grill on sliding doors - allow the horses to either be
> completely confined or to poke their heads out & socialize.  (We used
> stalls from Northern Lites - very happy with them.  www.nlstalls.com
> they look nice, they are functional, and "chewing" surfaces are banded.)
> 6)  Water buckets - NOT auto waterers.  I want to know how much they are
> drinking when upset or in a new place.  Also, not all horses know how to
> use an auto waterer.
> 7)  Insulated roof, if it is a metal roof - cooler/warmer/less
> condensation.  We didn't know about this, but our contractor insisted on
> it.  We're glad we did this!
> 8)  Good air circulation
> 9)  "Quaranteen stalls" where new-comers can be isolated
> 10)  Individual turn out areas
> 11)  Good circulation in the summer.  We have always preferred center
> aisle barns for the "breezeway" and the ability to work in there
> comfortably during adverse weather.
> 12)  Water easily available to the barn.  We (will) have water at the
> center of the aisleway and at each end of the barn outside.
> 
> I hope this gives you some ideas.  Have fun designing your barn.  Our
> last barn in VA was nice, but we learned from it & improved.  I hope
> that this is our last one.
> 
> Linda Flemmer
> Bruceton Mills, WV