It Looks like a BARN!

 THAR SHE BLOWS!!!   All 144' of red metal glory!  This thing is FINALLY closed in looks great!    Actually have a lot more done than these photos show as in the front gable is trimmed and doors are made, the door track is up and I just need 2 STOUT FELLAS to show up and help me hang them... then I can install stops and guides and we are READY to close doors and ride inside! 

From the kitchen, it looks like this out the window.  Our old barn we worked hard on 2 years ago is dwarfed by this monster!  We will still use it as much as we have just for other purposes...

I did get the water lines in and the frost free faucets plus another faucet in the pasture to allow us to water the horses easier without 200 feet of hose.  Also have the 100 amp line in and it is HOT to the box just waiting for someone to tie everything in when it is all wired (oh that's me again... yep). 

The lights I bought have plugs on them versus direct wire... I decided to go ahead and use them in the long hall (8 of them) and just have a plug at each one.  It's not much more trouble to do that than it is to wire the lights direct.  I'll install 3 "vapor proof" lights in the wash bay and just porcelain receptacles in the stalls up high with LED bulbs.  I have some of those in the old barn and they do great.  I didn't want those "barn lights" with the glass thing on them... hard to screw on and off and just not my favorite.

So on the to do list is the electrical plus stall walls and fronts and doors. I have one frame made to test and we have to get a load of boxing lumber at the sawmill as soon as we can... however the budget has been depleted and there are a few more expenses to eat.  Like the 50 or so bulbs for the lights at $2 each, stall door latches, livestock wire for the stall tops, the barn lumber, more gravel and something for the hallway floor. 

Outside we are in great shape.  The pad has been groomed and pretty sure we have the water going where it needs to go as it runs off the roof.  There may be a spot or two but we will know tomorrow as it has rained all morning and we expect more today.  It's time to "trim 'er out" inside and get this barn to use.  We are excited, but tired... and I figure I have some late nights coming so I can get this done in the next few weeks.

Show season kicks in the middle of May and I need to be riding and training my horses starting next week... so hoping I get a majority of it done THIS week!  Would I do it again?  Yes.  I would budget a little "heavier" and I would have more done by outside labor now that I know what I know but I also know that if I need a SMALLER building or a shed done I have learned more than I care to disclose and could do a bang-up job on something small... heck maybe even something big!

So we have a horse barn... a training barn and a place we can spend the rest of our active lives enjoying and THAT is what we did this for.  We want to have the next 20 years set up to enjoy and not dreading or working ourselves to death. To many it is "what are you thinking" but to us it's a dream come true. 

Final posts to come with all the work done... can't wait to share it!

Commmmcreeep....101

March ... March winds... NO DOUBT!  We have not been able to put siding on with these winds up to 20 MPH and gusting about every day.  Therefore we have been working on the other FUN tangibles we have left like ditches and comcreep (concrete) and electrical wiring.  Progress is being made slowly but the appearance isn't changing much with no sides or ends or doors! 

Here is where we are as of March 21st. 

The concrete was put in last Saturday.  It took 9 yards to cover it and had just enough left to fill in the posts that needed concrete... so no bags to mix!  The far end is the wash bay and tilts out the back wall... the balance is level and will be crossties in 24' of it and a feed and tack room in the end 12'.  So 12x48 concrete... something we have NOT had in the old barn.  Gravel and rubber mats... and a mess to keep drained.  We look forward to using this area hopefully in a few weeks!

We decided to start with framing up 4 stalls on one end and leaving the other end open for now (hay storage) as we know we won't be working over 3 horses for shows and by winter we can finish up the other stalls... plus my budget is dangling by a thread with just enough left to get some sawmill planks to get the long walls covered inside and do the stalls on one end. 

Overall we are moving along pretty well.  The wiring is about done, the ditch witch work is done and ready to set water faucets and we should have water and power by the end of March and hopefully be enclosed.  We hope to start using the barn no later than May but we shall see.... I don't have enough vacation days to use and get a lot done and these Saturdays are NOT long enough!  Daylight savings is helping a lot though... that 2-3 hours in the evenings will start to payoff BUT we have horses to work in that time as well so.... there you have it.

More to come as we wind this thing down and finish... thanks for following along with us on the journey!

Barn Build 101....102....coming along

March 14, 2016 


Thanks to some help from the community barn builders we are under roof and ready for metal siding!  This monster is looking good even after my "straighten up the walls" issue that only took about 2 hours to fix.  This thing is not perfect but it looks pretty darn good.  Thanks Jared Hammock and crew.... GREAT JOB fixing my mess... LOL!

I have gotten the inside posts in for the stalls and lots of the electrical boxes up... and we are formed up and ready for concrete this weekend IF the weather holds.  That is a huge IF this time of year.  The forecast is about as reliable as I am most days.  The good part is I am "in my realm" more now doing stalls, doors and electrical.  Matt Durham will help with the plumbing... okay he will DO the plumbing.... but I will do most of the electrical except for the line from the old barn.

We will call on a ditch witch expert to run a 40' from the old barn and run the water line.  We decided to extend another line to the pasture while we are at it to REALLY help us in the winter from rolling and draining hoses. The cost of the ditch will be -0- as he charges for a minimum amount anyway... and PVC is cheap so well worth it.

In the past three years we have added onto the original barn (30x32) and added 2 Lean to's on the sides as well (14x32), added a lean to on the shop (12x32) and built a pasture shed for the horses (12x48) and now the MONSTER 24x144 Horse Barn.  We also concreted the shop floor and ran 200 amp service to the barn.  We are trying to make this a very "friendly" usable place for us to enjoy for the next 20 years.  Thanks for following along!


Here are a few updated photos and as we keep going I will add a few more.

 Roof was on in about a half day.  The crew that came was organized and dang good at it.  They made it look square if it wasn't but said it was... who knows!

 Inside really looks large now that the roof is on.  Can't wait to ride in this hallway.

 Concrete area is graveled and settling... will be raking it and getting it leveled up by mid March to get this poured.

Stalls (4) on one end have posts set and most of the banding up waiting barn wood.  Good solid oak planks are ordered to go 4' up on the sides and front and 8' on the back and end walls.  We will also do a 8' plank wall down the hallway as well.  Thought about a 4' but decided 8'.  The near end will be used for hay storage (12 x 48) until we feel we need more stalls in this barn... we do have 9 stalls already in the old barn.

Learning ... the HARD way!

This barn has whipped me all over the place.... and I was determined to keep going but I did come to my senses yesterday and call in a builder to look at some things and help me out.  I am glad I did!  We did get the trusses up but as we put them on I felt that the walls were just too "wavy" looking down the sides. 

My suspicions were confirmed as the guy told me yesterday we need to "straighten up" the sidewalls before going further and explained how to do it.  It isn't awful, just wish I'd dug deeper on the HOW TO but the issue was everything I found was for a "small" pole barn... not a 144' long one! Lesson number one:  Pull string up high on the posts and LEAVE YOUR BRACES ON until after the trusses are in so you can keep the posts level and walls straight through the process... didn't do that.

Number two... Mark your trusses for LAD while they are bundled and strapped.  You can mark them ALL in about 5 minutes... that would have saved a TON of time on setting the lad on.

Number three... When you are over your head don't be prideful... LOL. I was NOT prideful as I called someone first thing Monday morning for help!  I can't afford to pay people to finish this thing but I am smart enough to pay for a couple of days labor to get help to make it right.  It is too big of an investment!

So... here is the latest photo and even though it looks pretty good there is some "adjusting" that this guy and his crew will do for me this week and I also decided die to time and safety that I going to hire them to do the lad, insulation and the roof for me.  Paying them for 2-3 days will be expensive ($2000 maybe) but I will be safe on the ground, the barn will be "straightened" up and everything will be ready for me to do on the ground.

I look forward to the "finishing" part and the siding.... but that roof... no.  Amy said she was glad I decided to bring someone in to get this part done as were my parents.  Yes, even at 52 my parents still worry about me.

Let's get this monster DONE!