Mona
Well-Known Member
Well, we ALMOST have the barn done. We ran out of time before we were all done. Hubby had to go back to work (his REALjob) today, so whatever needs doing yet will have to wait until next weekend. Still have all the gate latches and door knobs to put on. Also some little things like hanging my hay racks in each stall, need another sheet of OSB to sheet in one of the door openings, and I might also put some metal corner strips on the gates so they don't chew on them. Next summer (it's too cold to do now) I will have to paint the walls of the door openings,(have to repaint my feed shed too, so will do that at the same time) then varnish the stalls and apply lots of velcro to those window vents, as the snow does blow in when it slides off the roof and hits the ground and all the snow flies up, it comes up in between the flap and the screen, so ends up right inside. That is minor, because before long, the snow that falls from the roof will be higher than the opening so it won't happen anymore anyway! It will insulate itself that way, making it warmer for the horses! I am so happy we got as much done as we did!
Here are some pics I took...as I said, still some finishing touches to do, but the major part is done now anyway!
I was going to just put a new roof on the old barn and renovate the one side to add more stalls. Hubby and I were on our way to Fort Frances(80 miles away) to get the things we needed to do this, when I saw a big "portable" type building along the way that I commented on. He said if you want one like that go ahead. (we were only 10 miles from our destination!
) I said, "But then we will have made this trip for nothing, pulling the trailer". "No problem", he said, "just order something when we get home". OK, that was now the new plan...BUT, once I got looking at them and inquiring, I reallized it would take 4-6 weeks to get one made...with winter/snow soon coming, we had no time! So again, I changed my mind and decided we would just do the roof and make the additional stalls. It would be much cheaper that way too. So, a friend of ours took me up to International Falls(90 miles away), trailer in tow, as hubby was working, and we loaded up all the roofing tin, lumber, and whatever else we needed. We got it home, and when Chris took the old roof off, and then I started having thoughts about what I would all like to do to the barn, and reallized to do it, it would cost so much, so we should have just built a barn from scratch. Well, you know how it goes..."a woman has the right to change her mind" and since no one mentioned how many time, again, I changed my mind! 
OH! Thank God I have such a patient husband!! So, now we loaded the lumber and roofing tim back onto the trailer and returned it! We would go with a portable shelter afterall!
I would have liked a "real" pole type barn building (and it was cheaper too!), but again, we had no time before winter set in, as hubby works 5 days a week, so only leaves weekends he can work at home, and it was already way late in the season, so no time. A portable one could be set up in a day, so then all other work needed done was inside work, so would be OK to work after the snow and cold came and could take his time as the horses are only kept in during foaling season anyway.
So anyway, we ended up ordering one, had it delivered on November 10 and our son and his girlfriend, our son-in-law and hubby got it put up in a day, then got most of the floor put in the next day. I finished up the floor while hubby was working and then he started his huge task of making the stalls. LUCKILY for me, he got last week off of work as his boss had to go away for the week to take a course, so he put in the full week working on my new barn!
This is a "before" photo and then some showing how my lawn got wrecked by my husband hauling gravel out with the bobcat trying to prepare the site a little after the old barn was ripped down and before the new one was put up. I could have just cried!! And then after we had to hire someone to come in with gravel and a grader type of machine to fix things up so it looked a little better.
Then this next series is of the "construction" process of getting the shelter put up. The frame is made with a 2" square tubular steel. It is a 24'x40' shelter with vents over the door at each end and along each side. It is like a tent, in that it is screen and has a roll-up/down window cover. The doors are a double sided extra heavy duty zipper, but we built in doors instead.
This shows the shelter after the construction was complete, the floor being set down, and one of the "road" after I got it all raked and the large rocks all picked out. I had a wood floor in my old barn, which lasted me 15 years and could have gotten many more out of it yet if we had not tore it down. This one is made the same way and should last even longer since it is set on a raised gravel base.(the old one was on the plain ground) It is all done in rough lumber, with 2"x6" lieing on edge, with 1'x6' screwed onto that. I don't want the natural ground and I don't want concrete. The wood works nice for me as it has small little spaces between the boards so urine can run below, and the wood is easier on the horse than cement is.
Now the FUN starts...the interior work of making the stalls. This just shows the start of that and my very first stall!
And finally, here is the "completed"(or close to completed) product. As I said, still have finishing work to do, but I am very pleased! We used 1'x6' tongue and groove(also called carsiding I guess, in the US) and is plenty strong enough in all areas except for maybe the stall dividing walls if the mares get to rubbing their butts on it. But, I am expecting the worst, so we are prepared to put in 2"x6" boards there instead, if and when the problem arises. I am also going to put horseshoes under the opening on each stall door. My stalls are about 50" in total from the floor to the very top. It is 40" to where the latice starts.
Can't wait to see all the horses in there with their fuzzy little faces all sticking through the gates!
Here are some pics I took...as I said, still some finishing touches to do, but the major part is done now anyway!
I was going to just put a new roof on the old barn and renovate the one side to add more stalls. Hubby and I were on our way to Fort Frances(80 miles away) to get the things we needed to do this, when I saw a big "portable" type building along the way that I commented on. He said if you want one like that go ahead. (we were only 10 miles from our destination!
OH! Thank God I have such a patient husband!! So, now we loaded the lumber and roofing tim back onto the trailer and returned it! We would go with a portable shelter afterall!I would have liked a "real" pole type barn building (and it was cheaper too!), but again, we had no time before winter set in, as hubby works 5 days a week, so only leaves weekends he can work at home, and it was already way late in the season, so no time. A portable one could be set up in a day, so then all other work needed done was inside work, so would be OK to work after the snow and cold came and could take his time as the horses are only kept in during foaling season anyway.
So anyway, we ended up ordering one, had it delivered on November 10 and our son and his girlfriend, our son-in-law and hubby got it put up in a day, then got most of the floor put in the next day. I finished up the floor while hubby was working and then he started his huge task of making the stalls. LUCKILY for me, he got last week off of work as his boss had to go away for the week to take a course, so he put in the full week working on my new barn!
This is a "before" photo and then some showing how my lawn got wrecked by my husband hauling gravel out with the bobcat trying to prepare the site a little after the old barn was ripped down and before the new one was put up. I could have just cried!! And then after we had to hire someone to come in with gravel and a grader type of machine to fix things up so it looked a little better.
Then this next series is of the "construction" process of getting the shelter put up. The frame is made with a 2" square tubular steel. It is a 24'x40' shelter with vents over the door at each end and along each side. It is like a tent, in that it is screen and has a roll-up/down window cover. The doors are a double sided extra heavy duty zipper, but we built in doors instead.
This shows the shelter after the construction was complete, the floor being set down, and one of the "road" after I got it all raked and the large rocks all picked out. I had a wood floor in my old barn, which lasted me 15 years and could have gotten many more out of it yet if we had not tore it down. This one is made the same way and should last even longer since it is set on a raised gravel base.(the old one was on the plain ground) It is all done in rough lumber, with 2"x6" lieing on edge, with 1'x6' screwed onto that. I don't want the natural ground and I don't want concrete. The wood works nice for me as it has small little spaces between the boards so urine can run below, and the wood is easier on the horse than cement is.
Now the FUN starts...the interior work of making the stalls. This just shows the start of that and my very first stall!
And finally, here is the "completed"(or close to completed) product. As I said, still have finishing work to do, but I am very pleased! We used 1'x6' tongue and groove(also called carsiding I guess, in the US) and is plenty strong enough in all areas except for maybe the stall dividing walls if the mares get to rubbing their butts on it. But, I am expecting the worst, so we are prepared to put in 2"x6" boards there instead, if and when the problem arises. I am also going to put horseshoes under the opening on each stall door. My stalls are about 50" in total from the floor to the very top. It is 40" to where the latice starts.
Can't wait to see all the horses in there with their fuzzy little faces all sticking through the gates!
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