A Barn Raising

[koikeepr]

Today I began laying the foundation for my new 16x16 barn down on my pasture. It will allow my 2 goats and a gelding horse to get out of inclement weather when they wish. It will be open in front, so they will be able to come and go as they please.

Here's a shot of the pasture:

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These are the 4x4 bottom frame and posts that I cemented in the ground today.

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It's going to be a real simple design with no fancy bells and whistles. Just walls and roof. Tomorrow I hope to put up the 2x4 studs that will create the walls. God help me!

[Kntry]

You're off to a great start. These barns go up really fast. Just don't make the mistake we did and use tin on the sides. Use wood.

My Buckskin ripped her side open through 2 layers of muscle when she spooked and ran around the side of the barn, pulling out the screws and tin. The cut has finally closed up after 2 months and twice a day treatments. I was going to post a pic but it's pretty gorey.

[koikeepr]

Yes, I remember that and I'm using 3/4" plywood for the walls and then we're going to paint that with exterior paint to protect it. Everything will be wood except for the roof where I'm using that corrugated roofing since it's lightweight.

[Meganne]

what a beautiful spot Lisa!!

[Carolinagirl]

Beautiful pasture!! We are getting ready to get started fencing in pasture and building a barn for my new critters too. I went to tractor supply yesterday and spent $1018 on 2 rolls of fence, 2 gates, corner posts and high tensile wire for corner tensioners. Dang! Will someone please tell me what I was thinking? I will need at least 4 more rolls of that fence too. It's 4' tall sheep and goat wire with 4"x4" whole spacing. So it's nice stuff, but so expensive!

[Kntry]

You need to breed a lot of goats to pay for that fence! Write it off your taxes as a business expense.

[Carolinagirl]

yeah...I am keeping receipts. This part of the fence is really more for my dogs than the sheep. It will fence in the area between the pastures and my house. It will also isolate my back yard so no dogs or kids can get back there without me knowing about it. Next thing to fence is the front pasture. The pastures between the house and the front pastures will be last, after all that dirt from the failed mud pond project gets flattened back out.

[koikeepr]

I got the Red Barn no climb fencing which has 2" openings. Goats are master escape artists, so it has to be a small hole. I got mine at Lowes and I bought 600 feet of it. Yes, it's not cheap, but it seems like very sturdy stuff. I did the metal poles every 8 feel, and then a 4x4 wood post concreted in the ground every 20 feet for added support. It is tough to stretch this stuff taut, but you figure it out. Endless projects...

[Carolinagirl]

I used to keep goats just fine in regular cattle fence, but the horns sometimes got caught in the fencing. Smaller holes keep goats in. Smaller holes also help keep predators out. I never knew a goat to actually climb a fence, but I did have a couple that would go through the larger sized cattle fence holes and also some that just flat out jumped the 4' height. Are you planning on putting a strand of electric wire on the inside of your fence? Take my advise...plan on it!! Goats will totally destroy a fence in just a couple years by rubbing on it. Probably not as much a problem with your little goats, but goats like to lean their entire body weight into a fence and rub. Before you know it, your nice tight fence is bulging out between the posts. And put a strand of hot wire on top to help keep critters (including the horse) from leaning over it or jumping it (predators too). If you can, put a hot wire on the outside to keep dogs away. Its also helpful to put a strand of barbed wire at the ground level under the first wire of the fence. This keeps predators fron digging under the fence.

[tranquility]

Yep what Cindy said...they do it to shed their winter coat---and then any other time they have an itch that they can't reach with a horn....I'd like to know how you keep them from eating a wood barn....our boys literally ate two holes in our outside wall overnight and then the leaned over the fence and ate the siding off of the outside shed....All though I love em' to death goats aren't the smartest animal in the paddock.....And they will literally eat you right out house and home ;)....
Lawanna

[koikeepr]

Our fence is 5 feet tall and we've got miniature goats, so I don't see them getting over that. I didn't get the larger 4" openings because as you said, a young goat could easily get it's head through it.

I have purchased a electric charger, but have not yet installed it. Will put a wire at the top, and a line at the bottom. I gotta get cracking on the project!

Lawanna, I'm going to screw that thick metal edging on the 4 corners to prevent them from nibbling the ends and the doorway.

[Carolinagirl]

you are right Lawanna...they are not too bright but they sure do have personality. The biggest thing that annoys me about goats is they seem to conspire to destroy whatever it is you just bought or built for them. I'd put a round bale of hay in the pen and not more than an hour later, a goat would be on top of it, peeing!! Of course now NO one will eat it because it has goat pee on it. I mean how dumb can you get??? You have to be one step ahead of them. Learn to think like a goat. That's why I am getting sheep this time. I am simply not up to the challange of goats anymore.

[koikeepr]

Here we are a few more days into the barn build. You will see my friend and I now have it largely studded out. I still need to add a second header to the opening in front and a sill plate on top of the roof line. We concreted in a few more 4x4's on the entrance, too.

Tomorrow, we need to put in a bunch of cross braces in between each stud to prevent racking of the structure and add stability, and we'll put the roof trusses on as well. Next comes plywood on the walls.

Finally, we've got to paint the whole thing. We'll paint the trim white, but I'm debating whether to paint the building a barn red or a dark hunter green. Green will blend into the pasture, but red would be darn pretty too. I just hate painting with red paint because it requires too many friggin' coats for good coverage, and it tends to fade pretty bad in the outdoors and then you've got a crappy looking pink-ish building. So, even though I like red (it IS my favorite color), I think I will just go with green in the end.

Also, on the negative news front, when the humongo tree fell the other day in the storm, I did not go into the pasture because it was blocking the path. When I finally got down there, a smallish tree fell on my brand new field fencing. Luckily, it's not broken, just bent. So I need to chop up the tree and repair the fence. Sigh!

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[addy1]

aww the joys of rural living, still worth it!

[Kntry]

I'm so glad there's another "woman builder" out there! It looks awesome, Lisa. What type of roof are you putting?

If you get a deep, dark barn red with white trim, it would be PERFECT!. Paint has come a long way. You can buy paint with primer already mixed in. It's expensive, about $30 a gallon but it usually covers in 1 coat. Go to a real paint store and not a big box store. There are paints that are UV resistant and you can also put a clear coat over it to seal it. I adore red, faded barns though!

[koikeepr]

We're doing one of those corrugated vinyl roofs since they are lightweight and fairly sturdy and come in long lengths.

I do love the idea of a red barn and will pay willingly for great quality paint. Usually I buy my paint at Sherwin Williams as I love their Duration indoor paint. I'm tempted, I just don't know...if it can't be done in one or two coats I can't even consider it. It brings back terrible memories of me crying about 15 years ago when I was putting the 5th coat of red paint on a dining room wall... LOL!

[Kntry]

I used Sherwin Williams top paint on the outside and it sucked. I paid $600 for enough paint that only wound up covering less than 1/2 the house. I went to PPG (Pittsburg Paint) and got them to match the color. We painted the rest of the house and the garage for under $200. I will never use Sherwin Williams paint again. I used their paint inside and it covered in 2 coats in the kitchen which is such a dark blue, it's almost black. All the others paints covered in 1 coat. Now they have the 1 coat paint and primer mix. I used that in my son's bathroom and it covered great in 1 coat.

[koikeepr]

I don't have a PPG near me.

When I did red years ago, it was that Ralph Lauren paint. It was dreadfully watery. Had no thickness to it.

Yes, the good Sherwin Williams duration is like $50 bucks a gallon. I've never had any trouble with it or their exterior stuff. Red is just a color that freaks me out to paint in. I've even met painters who actually refuse to paint in red. LOL!

[koikeepr]

Maybe I can do a deep red stain instead of paint?

[Carolinagirl]

The red paint I used in my house was red....it was an Eddie Bauer color, which is Olympic's premium line. The wall covered pretty well in a single coat but I put a second coat on anyway. most reds require a gray primer but the red I used did not. Red would look so good on that bard....but green would too. I might paint mine red. I can always redo it later if it fades. I do love the look of a red barn!

[koikeepr]

Another great day of work. Girl power was in force! We got the top sill plate in place, the roof rafters in and the header on the doorway opening. For good measure we even slapped up the first piece of plywood that will become the walls!

Tomorrow, we work on all the walls to get plywood up to enclose the thing.

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[Kntry]

Great job but can I make a suggestion? The plywood needs to be running horizontal. It gives the building more strength.

Somebody needs to be out there with a camera taking pics while ya'll are doing this!

[koikeepr]

Anyone know an inexpensive source for sliding barn door hardware? You know, the thingee that enables you to just slide a door over an opening?

[koikeepr]

We will be running it all directions--horizontal and vertically--as that's what the old timers say gives it staying power.

[koikeepr]

The new barn has walls and a roof:

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Still need to frame out the doorway, cover up a few seams with 2x4 trim, and put in a few windows for ventilation, but the building right now is essentially habitable. I'm going to buy some solar powered barn lights for the inside. I got one for my chicken coop, and I must say it's actually working marvelously well.

I got my hands on a 55g barrel today that I'm going to convert into a rain barrel to catch water off of the poly roof in a gutter so I don't have to drag water to the pasture.

Next week we are painting the wood red with white corner trim.

We are also looking at options for a steel track that we can hang a sliding panel door on the front so we can close it if there is a big storm. Saw some track today at Tractor Supply that was pretty reasonable and seemed easy enough to install.

[addy1]

Looks nice great job

[Will]

Yes, it does. I know you've been busy, too, haven't seen you here as much.

[Meganne]

color me impressed!

[koikeepr]

Will, I have thrown myself into this so I can be done with it quickly. Thankfully it's nearly over, as I'm really friggin' tired!

[koikeepr]

We've painted the barn a deep red. I still need to caulk a bunch of spots and cut out windows in the sides for ventilation and air. It turned out super sturdy, which I'm real happy with. Some day, I'd like put a door on a slider that I can just roll back.

I go to pick up my 9-week old goats, Scarlet and Gracie, on Sunday in Winston Salem. While I'm there I'm going to try to visit Ron at Tarheel Koi Farm and see what he's got to taunt me with.

http://i918.photobucket.com/albums/ad27/koikeepr/barnpaintedred.jpg

[Will]

That looks great, Lisa. Fast work, and looks well - done. That'll last you for a long time, I know it looks great in your field, love the colors.

[koikeepr]

Thanks Will! On a daily basis I keep asking myself...what the hell am I doing trying to get goats...or a horse?! It's kinda crazy, but I guess it's a childhood dream in a way.

[Will]

I understand. Goats, a horse, and staying up 'til the wee hours? I don't know. I do it too, though, a lot. Heck, think I'll even end up with chickens somehow.

[koikeepr]

Chickens have been super easy for us. The kids are bonkers over 'em because they've become so tame and will come around to say hello, jump on your shoulder, sit in your lap for a scratch on the head, etc. Just provide food and water and a coop, and they do their thing. Instead of throwing carrot peels and excess veggie matter and that sorta thing into the trash, we now recycle it all through the chickens. They've been fun, and the kids have learned a lot. I want them to know where their food comes from.

[Will]

That sounds good. I already recycle all my weeds, peelings, any vegetable based waste into my awesome compost (a key additive to both my home grown fruits and veggies and ornamental plants, plus my custom potting soil. But, I'm sure we could spare a bit for chickens. Just gotta get the time to clear land and erect a decent coop that will protect them from prowling cats, dogs, coons, and possums. I plan on putting them a good bit downslope from my home, kind of like your back yard, on a smaller scale.

Of course, I'll have chicken manure for the compost, I guess. Probably a lot better, at least a high nitrogen content.

[koikeepr]

Right. Mine are way down wind as well. I just used a 55g barrel to create a water storage unit with a nipples on a PVC line so I don't have to lug water a distance, too. Fill it with a hose from my house 200 feet away just once in a while.

http://i918.photobucket.com/albums/ad27/koikeepr/CIMG2978.jpg

http://i918.photobucket.com/albums/ad27/koikeepr/CIMG2957.jpg

I need to get a pressure flow regulator as there is lots of water in the barrel and the nipples are really tiny so sometimes they leak a bit. When I dial back the pressure, that will stop.

[Will]

That's a sweet looking barrel! Where'd it come from? BTW, clever system, I like it. I'm assuming a grate on the top of the barrel to filter any solids from the gutter? Now, I've got to figure out egg harvesting seasons and times, manure harvesting methods, nesting/bedding, coop construction, insulation... and chick availability! Jeez!

[koikeepr]

Yes, there is mosquito screening on the top to keep any debris or bugs going in. I got 4 barrels on Craig's List from a dude in SC. They held pickles! LOL!

[Will]

Too cool. That's like, a lot of freakin' pickles. I'll have to check with my local guy, he gets all colors and types. Every car wash in town has gone to 30g barrels..... bastards!