Carport to Barn Project

[Anguissette]

Hey everyone I just wanted to share our project. We have two mares and while I wanted a palace of a barn for them, my practical husband said we needed to be a little more minimalist until we could afford more. He asked, could we not do something with what we already had that would be safe and servicable to serve our short term needs?

This is the result! I'm kinda pleased with it to be honest.

http://intentionalfamily.wordpress.com/2011/04/22/farming-friday-do-a-lot-with-a-little/

 

[lockedhearts]

I think it looks great! We built our "temporary" barn one stall at a time. We were going to completely redo it this year, but hubbys heart attack changed plans. We shored it up and have decided to take the next 2 or 3 years and slowly build exactly what we want.

I think , considering you used an existing structure, you have a great place for the mares

 

[Bossroo]

Just a caution... Whare is your septic tank and leach field? A large animal such as a horse or cow could do great dammage to it or break the horse's ( cow's) leg ( as it steps through/falls through ) not to mention your pocket book of vet bill and repair of the septic system or legality of keeping a large animal over that area. Also, check out your local zoning laws and regulations... you may be in violation of health and zoning laws of a large animal being housed right next to a human occupied structure.

 

[babyblue]

I like your barn and depending on your climate I might not even change a thing. it is clean safe, protects them from most of the elements (not sure what climate you are in) and particularly for an older horse there is tons of ventliation so heeves and such is much less of a problem.

 

[Anguissette]

Locked--Thanks! We're just taking it one step at a time. We'll have that sweet barn I mapped out when I was 12 someday!

Bossroo, thank for the tip but that isn't an occupied dwelling. Its a garage. Our house is much further up from that area and the septic/leach fields are mapped out and no where near. We do graze them over it on a rotational basis when the ground is dry.

Baby--We live in eastern NC. So the setup is actually really good for our hot hot climate. Installing the fan has been a big help already this year not just for the heat but for the flies too! I know when I do build a barn, this structure has shown me that a shed row barn is really the way to go in this area. I told my hubby we should keep it when we build the main barn because it is a perfect foaling stall regardless!

 

[lockedhearts]

I rented a barn that had ceiling fans, best thing ever! When we build our "permanent" barn I plan to put ceiling fans above every stall and in the aisle.

 

[EweSheep]