INTRODUCTION
Contrarytopopularbelief,planningandconstructinganewbarncanbechallenging.This statementappliestoeventhemostexperiencedequineenthusiast.
It’snotdifficultbecauseit'scomplex,butit'sdifficultbecausetherearemanythingsto consider.Variablesbegintostackupasyouthinkaboutyourbarn’sarchitecture,geography, animals,andthepeoplewhooperatethebarn.Therearemanyfactorsthatcontributeto buildingasuccessfulbarn.
What do we mean by a “successful” barn?
AtAmericanStalls,asuccessfulbarnisabarnthatworkslikeawell-oiledmachine.
Thatmeansthatthehorsestallsarebuilttogracefullyworkwithyourworkingstyleand yourhorses’behavioraltendencies.
Thatmeansabarndesignthatnaturallypromotesventilationandamplesunlight.Itmeans selectingmaterialsbasedonyourbarn’sgeographyandclimate.
Simplyput,a“successful”horsebarniselegant,safe,andbuilttoserveyouforgenerations.
Asyouflipthroughthisguide,werecommendkeepinganotebooknearby.Whilenota definitiveguide,thisguidewillpromptquestionsabouthowyoudothingsandyourhorses’ dispositions.Makenotes.Writedownquestions.Annotatecertainpagesthatpiqueinterest. Thiswillthenallowyoutomakelogicaldecisionsthatwillserveyouwellforyearstocome.
YOUR HORSES
BUILDING TYPES
Intoday’smarket,therearevarioustypesofbarndesigns,buildingmaterials,andbarntypes Thatbeing said,thereare3to4basicstructuresthataremostpopularforhorses
Thefirst–andmostcommon–isthepostandbeambarn.Thisbarnisalsoreferredtoasapolebarn,a framedbarn,andapanelized,orpre-fabricated,barn.Secondly,wewilldiscussclear-spanbarn structures.Thirdly,wewilldiscusstheincreasinglypopularblockbarnsfoundinhotterclimates.Lastly, wewilldiscussotheroptionssuchasstablinginsideindoorarenas.
Post & Beam Barns
Itislikelythatyouhavebeenthroughhundredsofhorsebarns.Ifso,itislikelythatyou’vewalkedin numerouspost-and-beambarnsgiventheirpopularity.Thepost-and-beambarn(alsoknownasa“pole barn”)isespeciallypopularalongtheEastCoast.
Thisparticularstyleisverypopularbecauseitcanbeinstalledcost-effectively Sometimes,ageneral contractorputsuptheshell,andthebuilderdoestheremainingwork
Additionally thepolebarnhascostadvantagesbecauseitisusuallypre engineeredformostlandsites
PUTTING TOGETHER THE RIGHT TEAM
Asequestrians,weunderstandjusthowmuchtime,energy,andfinancialresourcesgointobuilding yourdreambarn.
Formanyclients,adreambarnisaonce-in-a-lifetimeproject Thatiswhyitiscrucialtoworkwiththe rightindividualsandcompaniestoensurethebestbarnbuildpossible
Anyhorsebarnisbuiltprimarilybytwoparties,includingtheclient(yourself)andthebarnbuilder (orcontractor) Althoughmanyotherindividualswillbeinvolved,yourbarn'ssuccesswilllargely dependonyourrelationshipwiththebuilder
Forstarters,let’scoverthedifferenttypesofconstructionhelpavailabletoyou Understandingthe differenttitlesandtheircapabilitiescanbequiteconfusing Herearecommontypesofconstruction contractors:
HANDYMAN –
Ahandymanisusuallygreatforfixingandinstallingsmalleritemsaround yourbarn(orhome)aftertheconstructioniscomplete.
FRAMER –
Aframerisusuallybestfortheskeletonstructuralpartsofyourbarn(orhome).The framerisusuallynotinvolvedwiththebarn’sfoundation,northeexteriororinteriorfixings We sometimesseeclientshireaframertoinstallexteriorwindowanddoorcomponents,butthiscan leadtoconfusionduetotheframer’sexpertise
GENERAL CONTRACTOR (GC) & BUILDERS –
Thisisthelastandfinalcategoryof industryprofessionalsforbarnconstruction Theyarealsoexactlywhowerecommendtohirefor yournewbarn’sconstructionorevenrenovation Bothtypesofindividualswillmanagethe constructionofyourbarn
Working with an Architect
Selectinganarchitectisjustascrucialaschoosingtherightcontractor.Anarchitect’sbenefitsare immeasurable,asthethoughtfulplanningwillsaveyouinthelongrun.Anexperiencedequine architectwillhelpwiththeaesthetics,butwillalsohelpyoudesignanefficientandfunctionalbarn. Thebestequinearchitectswillhelpyouthinkaboutyourbarnsite’slocation,thesurrounding topographyandclimate,andotherdetailsthatwillimpactyourbarnexperience.
Onceyouspeaktoanarchitect,besuretocommunicateyourvisionandneeds Asisthecasewith anything,themorehonestyouareupfront,theeasiertheprocesswillbeintheend Itiseasyforyou orthearchitecttogetcarriedawaywithouthavingproperdiscussionsofyourbarn’svision,budget, horses’breeds,andhowyouseethebarn’sfunction
Whilewerecommendthatclientsworkwithanarchitectiftheirbudgetallows,sometimesan architectisunnecessary Forexample,yourproject’sscopeorbudgetmaynotrequireanarchitect Anotherexampleiswhenaclienthasadiscussionwithanarchitectandrealizestheywantasimple, prefabricatedbarn Inthiscase,youdon’tneedanarchitect
Anarchitect'sinvolvementistrulydependentonyourbarn’spurposeandtheproject’sbudget.No twoprojectsarethesame.Forexample,wecanworkwithaclientwhowantstobuildan18-stallbarn withanindoorarena,office,laundryroom,washarea,tackroom,andclientlounge.They’dlike Europeanstallfronts,DutchDoors,shutterwindows,andrubberpaversasflooringfortheir stabling.Theconversationwillinevitablyleadtoaquotationwhenaclientasks,“Whatwill somethinglikethiscost?”
Thetrueansweristhatsuchaprojectcouldcostanywherefrom$80,000to$3M Thefirstamount
YOUR STALLS
SELECTING YOUR STALL FRONTS & DOORS
Yourchoiceofastallfrontiscrucialtoyourbarn'ssuccess Thehorsestallfrontanddoorarethemost usedcomponentsinabarn,openingandclosingdozensoftimesperday Yourchoiceinthestallfront willgreatlyvarydependingonyourpersonalpreference,yourhorses,andotherpersonalfactors
Tostart,therearetwobasictypesofhorsestalldoors:slidingandhinged Bothtypescanrange drasticallyinpricefrom$400tomorethan$6,000 Avalue-engineeredstallfrontwillusuallyentaila "kit" Thissimplydescribesakitofhardware,lumber,grills,U-channels,andothercomponentsthatyou mustassembleon-site Thisalsousuallyincludesframingthestallwithyourownlumber Incontrast to akit,our"fullywelded"productiscompletelyframed.Theseproductsareusuallyreadytoinstallon-site, butstillrequiredoorpostsinmostcases.
Intheindustry,youwillseeawidevarietyofstallsystemsintermsofquality,design,andsafety.The lower-endoptionswillhavewidebarspacingandusesolidsteelgrills.Ataglance,mosthorseowners can'ttellthedifference,butthesesolidbarsareactuallyveryweakbecauseoftheirtensionpoint, comparedtoourhollowbars
Additionally,thebarsareusuallyspacedveryfarapart,creatingasafetyhazardforhooves Bewareof these,asthebarsareweakandthespacingisincorrect Lastly,inexpensivestallfrontsmayalsobemade fromblack(carbon)steelorgalvanizedsteelandthenspray-paintedonthewelds Bewareofthisfinish, asitcancausetheweldandjointtorust (seesectiononcoatingsforsteelstallfrontsandpartitions)A higherqualitystallfrontsystemwillincludepre-galvanizedsteelwithalong-lastingpowdercoatfinish Althoughthesepointscomewithacost,theseare"upgrades"thatshouldnotbecompromised
BelowarespecificationsthatwefeelstronglyaboutandarestandardatAmericanStalls:
Thepreviouspageissimplyastartingpointforthebasicsofhorsestalls.Similartoour philosophyforbarns,yourchoiceinstallswillbeuniquelydrivenbyyourlifestyleandyour horses.Wehighlyrecommendspendingtimemakingacomprehensivelistofquestionsthat helpyouunderstandhowyouliketouseyourhorsestalls.
Cost Drivers in Horse Stalls
Beforewemoveon,we'dliketocovercostdriversinhorsestallfrontsinmoredetail.Wehavemultiple phoneandemailconversationsperdaywhereaclientwillsharephoto(s)ofastallfrontdesign.Often, clientswillshareaparticularphoto,buthavelittleexpectationofthestall'sactualpricingoran accurateballparkestimate.Asaluxurystallmanufacturer,wecompletelyunderstandthis,andwe'd liketoaddressitbyexplainingthecostdrivers
Whileweworkwithclientswhohavefewbudgetrestraints,wealsoworkwithclientswhohaveavery firmbudget.Inanycase,weunderstandtheneedforvalueforanyproject.Tobegin,twofactorstend tobethemaincostdrivers:
1 Materials–QuantityandCost
2 Labor–Welding&CADDesign
YOUR STALLS
EuropeanStallFronts–Thefirstdecisionthatdrivescostinahinged,EuropeanStallFront("Euro") istheheight.Webuildboth"low"EurosandhighEuros.
Themaindifferencebetweenthetwoissimplytheheightoftheleftwing,thedoor,andtherightwing
Theadditionalsteelmaterialisthemaincostdriverbetweenthetwotypes
Theseconddecisionthatdrivescostisthearchandradiusbendoftheleftwing,therightwing,and thetop-mosttubingofthedoor OurEurosstartwithastraightdiagonaldesignorabentdesign
Laborandspecializedmachineryisthenrequiredtofurtherbuildlargerswoopsandarches
Theverylastcostdriveristhefinishingtouches,suchasendcapsandfinials.Thesecanbemade outofeitheraluminum,brass,orpowder-coatedtomatch.Eachcap(left)orfinial(right)ishandpolishedin-housetoensurethemostelegantfinishingtouchonyourstall.
Diagonal Design
Bent Design
Arched Design
YOUR STALLS
AbarnlocatedinNewEnglandwillexperienceheavysnowandheavywinds ThisNewEnglandbarn willoftenrequiredifferentconsiderationsthanabarnlocatedintheSouth,whereissueswithinsects, humidity,andrustarise Belowisalistoffactorstoresearchandconsiderwhendecidingonlumber:
1 Doesthelumberhaveagoodnailingholdingpowder?
2 Istheremoderateandreasonableshrinkage?
3 Isthelumbereasytoworkwith,finish,andclean?
4 Willthelumberresistdecayandwarping?
5 Doesthelumberwithstandsplitting?
Theaboveisastartingpointforyourdecisionregardingthewoodforyourhorsestallsandbarn doors.
