The Complete Guide to Building Classic Barns, Fences, Storage Sheds, Animal Pens, Outbuildings, Greenhouses, Farm Equipment, & Tools

A Step-by-Step Guide to Building Everything You Might Need on a Small Farm

The Complete Guide to Building Classic Barns, Fences, Storage Sheds, Animal Pens, Outbuildings, Greenhouses, Farm Equipment, & Tools: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building Everything You Might Need on a Small Farm

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The complete guide to building classic barns, fences, storage sheds, animal pens, outbuildings, greenhouses, farm equipment, & tools : a step-by-step guide to building everything you might need on a small farm : with companion CD-ROM.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-60138-372-3 (alk. paper) -- ISBN 1-60138-372-X (alk. paper) 1. Farm buildings--Design and construction. 2. Farm buildings--Designs and plans.

TH4911.C57 2012

690’.537--dc23

2012000679

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A few years back we lost our beloved pet dog Bear, who was not only our best and dearest friend but also the “Vice President of Sunshine” here at Atlantic Publishing. He did not receive a salary but worked tirelessly 24 hours a day to please his parents.

Bear was a rescue dog who turned around and showered myself, my wife, Sherri, his grandparents Jean, Bob, and Nancy, and every person and animal he met (well, maybe not rabbits) with friendship and love. He made a lot of people smile every day.

We wanted you to know a portion of the profits of this book will be donated in Bear’s memory to local animal shelters, parks, conservation organizations, and other individuals and nonprofit organizations in need of assistance.

– Douglas and Sherri Brown

PS: We have since adopted two more rescue dogs: first Scout, and the following year, Ginger. They were both mixed golden retrievers who needed a home.

Want to help animals and the world? Here are a dozen easy suggestions you and your family can implement today:

• Adopt and rescue a pet from a local shelter.

• Support local and no-kill animal shelters.

• Plant a tree to honor someone you love.

• Be a developer — put up some birdhouses.

• Buy live, potted Christmas trees and replant them.

• Make sure you spend time with your animals each day.

• Save natural resources by recycling and buying recycled products.

• Drink tap water, or filter your own water at home.

• Whenever possible, limit your use of or do not use pesticides.

• If you eat seafood, make sustainable choices.

• Support your local farmers market.

• Get outside. Visit a park, volunteer, walk your dog, or ride your bike.

Five years ago, Atlantic Publishing signed the Green Press Initiative. These guidelines promote environmentally friendly practices, such as using recycled stock and vegetable-based inks, avoiding waste, choosing energy-efficient resources, and promoting a no-pulping policy. We now use 100-percent recycled stock on all our books. The results: in one year, switching to post-consumer recycled stock saved 24 mature trees, 5,000 gallons of water, the equivalent of the total energy used for one home in a year, and the equivalent of the greenhouse gases from one car driven for a year.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Dairy Farm Buildings & Equipment

Chapter 2: Cattle Barns, Hutches, Pens & Equipment

Chapter 3: Horse Barn & Trailer

Chapter 4: Pole Corn Crib & Pole Building Parts

Chapter 5: Storage Sheds

Chapter 6: Small Farm Animal Buildings

Chapter 7: Feeders

Chapter 8: Fences & Gates

Chapter 9: Corrals & Chutes

Chapter 10: Cattle & Auction Barn

Chapter 11: Greenhouses & Accessories

Chapter 12: Case Studies

Chapter 1: Dairy Farm Buildings & Equipment

Plans Include:

• 60 Cow Dairy Facility

• 120 Cow Dairy Facility

• 200 Cow Dairy Facility

• 200 Cow Freestall Barn

• Milking Parlor Grounding Details

• Hay Rack & Entry Ramp

• Manure Lip & Continuous Ridge Ventilator

• Sloping Post Free Stall

• Tilt-up Concrete Silage Bunk

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Chapter 2: Cattle Barns, Hutches, Pens, & Equipment

Plans Include:

• 18x30 Wood-Framed General Barn

• Partial Hayloft

• Calf Hutch with Moveable Paddock

• Elevated Wood Calf Stall

• Steel-Framed Portable Calf Pen

• Wood-Framed Portable Calf Pen

• Feed Rack for Portable Calf Pen

• 9x4x4 Cattle Breeding Rack

• Cattle Guard I

• Cattle Guard II

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Chapter 3: Horse Barn & Trailer

Plans Include:

• 24x36 Three-Stall Horse Barn

• 2 Horse Trailer with Tandem Axle

Table of Contents

Chapter 4: Pole Corn Crib & Pole Building Parts

Plans Include:

• Pole Corn Crib

• Pole Building Wall Construction

• Pole Building Framing for Sliding Door

• Pole Building Framing for Hinged Door

• Pole Building Roof Overhang at Endwall

• Pole Building Window Installation

Table of Contents

Chapter 5: Storage Sheds

Plans Include:

• Storage Shed I

• Storage Shed II

• Storage Shed III

• Case Study: Storage Sheds I

• Case Study: Storage Sheds II

Table of Contents

Chapter 6: Small Farm Animal Buildings

Plans Include:

• Portable Lambing Unit

• 10x12 Poultry House

• Poultry House II

• Rabbit Hutch

• Dog House I

• Dog House II

• Dog House III

Table of Contents

Chapter 7: Feeders

Plans Include:

• Two-Wheel Self-Feeder for Cattle

• Moveable Calf Creep Feeder

• Mineral Feeder for Cattle

• Mineral Feeder for Sheep

• Fence Line Sheep Feeder

• Self-Feeder for Hogs

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Chapter 8: Fences & Gates

Plans Include:

• Cable Fencing

• Wooden Fence Types I

• Wooden Fence Types II

• Wooden Fence Types III

• Farm Gate Type A

• Farm Gate Type B

• Farm Gate Parts I

• Farm Gate Parts II

• Variable Clearance Gate

• Automatic Gate

• Telescoping Type Gate

• Pasture Creep Gate

• Pasture Creep Gate Type I

• Pasture Creep Gate Type II

• Walk-Through Head Gate

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Chapter 9: Corrals & Chutes

Plans Include:

• Simple Corral for the Corner of a Barn

• 50 Head Beef/Cattle Corral

• Basic Working Chute for Cattle

• Moveable Chute for Loading Cattle

• Circular Crowding Pen for Swine

Table of Contents

Chapter 10: Cattle & Auction Barn

Table of Contents

Chapter 11: Greenhouses

Plans Include:

• 5x8 Lean-To Greenhouse

• 7x10 A-Frame Greenhouse

• 10x21 Hoop Greenhouse

Table of Contents

Chapte 12: Case Studies

Building Barns

Mark Johnson

Sales manager, Green Design and Construction LLC

info@greendesignandconstruction.com

www.greendesignandconstruction.com

Mark Johnson started his building career in 1973 by building pole barns, and in 1976, he built his first home from a timber frame barn he salvaged, moved, and rebuilt. He now buys, restores, and builds pioneer farm log cabins and timber frame barns into homes and barns.

Johnson said the three most important design considerations when selecting a building plan are functionality, aesthetics, and cost. Before building a new structure, he recommends homeowners perform a comprehensive wants/needs analysis for the building’s function. He said to estimate the building’s basic cost in a way that puts a dollar amount on the elective options so builders can prioritize each option according to whether it fits within the budget. He also explained the size of the barn or shed will dictate the amount of time and skill, as well as the types of tools, required.

“Every job takes less time with some help, and if the help has experience it’s a plus,” he said.

Johnson said floating slabs are the most economical flooring option if a floor surface is necessary, but in general, barns and sheds do not require very complex foundations. Floating slabs can resist frost heave, but if the building does not require a floor, post and beam foundations are the most economical option. He suggests using steel siding and roofing on buildings because they not only provide a maintenance-free exterior finish, but they also replace the need for sheathing on a building.

One thing he has noticed from his experience building barns is many people prefer the look of the traditional barn. He recommends salvaging an existing barn or home as a great way to achieve the look of a traditional building.

“There are plenty [of barns] available in the Midwest, and most owners would be glad to see them salvaged and rebuilt instead of bulldozed and burned.”

Storage Sheds I

Gen Sterenberg

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Gen Sterenberg and her husband built a 12-foot by 16-foot storage shed in her Michigan backyard that she uses to store items that just won’t fit in her garage. Sterenburg said she and her husband decided on that size for their shed because they wanted to keep the building small enough that it did not need a building permit. She and her husband originally planned to do the work themselves, but when their friend who is a licensed builder offered to build it for them, they took him up on his offer and worked alongside him.

“We were very happy with our building,” she said. “We wish we had made it larger, but then is it ever big enough? We really didn’t want to take up more yard space, and we didn’t want to deal with building permits.”

Sterenberg’s shed houses garden hoses, lawn sprinklers, shovels, rakes, a rototiller, boating equipment, large carpentry tools, beach toys, and other things that just don’t seem to have a proper place of their own. Although the shed currently only has four walls and a concrete slab foundation, she hopes to install freestanding shelves to offer more storage options. The shed isn’t wired for electricity, which is acceptable most of the time. In those instances where the Sterenbergs need a light source, they run an extension cord from the house.

The advice she offers to other homeowners looking to build a shed or other building on their property is to check the zoning and building codes for their area. She also suggests that homeowners opt to build a larger structure as opposed to a small one.

“Build large because whatever size it is, it’s not big enough!”

Storage Sheds II

Thomas H. Kocourek

Two Rivers, Wisconsin

In 2009, Thomas Kocourek built a 25-foot by 25-foot two-car garage and workshop, which he attached to a heated workshop on his 5-acre hobby farm. Because of the work he does on his hobby farm, Kocourek said he is always repairing some piece of equipment or working on a small project and said he’d need a larger heated workspace. He hired a contractor to work on the structure, and Kocourek did the electrical work on the building himself. He said he is pleased with the results of his building, but wishes the space was larger. He is planning to build a 40-foot by 60-foot outbuilding in the next few years to store several big boats.

“I think the biggest mistake people make when building is they always wish it was bigger,” Kocourek said. “Often, limited funds are the reason for not building bigger or not using the most energy efficient designs.”

The first piece of advice Kocourek offers is to build large because he said homeowners will always wish they had more storage space. He also recommends that homeowners try to incorporate as many energy efficient designs as possible because energy costs will only continue to climb in the future.

In addition to the structure he built, Kocourek has a 105-year old barn on his property. He said he is always amazed at the engineering that went into building the structure and how well it has stood the test of time given the limited tools available when the building was constructed. He put on a new roof only five years ago and is replacing the weathered boards that have lasted more than 100 years.

“Old barns are a great piece of history. It is often cheaper in the long run to tear down those old barns and build new [structures], but preserving these great old historical buildings is worth the effort and added cost,” he said.

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