Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 2: Selecting a Location
• Method 2 of 2: Building a barn
• Warnings

Barns can be a place for keeping farm animals and storing tools for caring for them. A properly designed and built barn can save time, money and effort by becoming a comfortable and enjoyable place to work. When building a barn, the following questions need to be considered.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Selecting a Location

1. 1 Review building and zoning codes for your area. This will help you determine what types of barns can and cannot be built, and also provide a starting point for planning your barn.
2. 2 Choose a location with good drainage. Ideally, the barn should be built in a location with sufficient slope for drainage, but without sinking the ground.
3. 3 Find out the direction of the winds. Take the time to find out the wind patterns at the proposed construction site and determine which side is the strongest wind blowing. Having determined the preferred direction of the wind, design the barn so that it is at an angle of 45 degrees to this direction; this way you can ensure excellent air circulation without turning the barn's center aisle into a wind tunnel.
   • If the wind blows equally strongly from all four sides for an equal amount of time, then you can make the barn square by providing an entrance from each side. This will allow you to open and close individual doors to ensure proper ventilation.

Method 2 of 2: Building a barn

1. 1 Organize the space according to the specifics of your work. Arrange work areas so that the most frequently performed tasks are located in adjacent areas, and the infrequently performed tasks are located in the most distant ones. By placing animal stalls nearby, you can simplify the task of cleaning and removing manure.
   • If you have a large number of stalls, group them around the feed room and the locker.
2. 2 Lay a good floor. A basic concrete slab floor will provide a smooth surface for doorways and make cleaning easier, while making it more difficult for animals to dig under the dividers between the stalls. But the concrete is too hard for the hooves, so it is better to cover it with bitumen or rubber along the central aisle and clay and gravel in the stalls.
3. 3 Build wide center walkways and stalls. Central walkways should be at least 3.7 m wide, or better still 4.2 m, to provide additional space for animals and equipment to move. Stalls should be 3.7 x 3.7 or 4.2 x 4.2 m with rafters at least 3 meters above the floor so that animals have room to move, but they do not walk on their own manure.
4. 4 Provide adequate air and lighting. Good air flow is important for animal health, and good lighting keeps flies away and makes it easy for people to work with. Design ventilation windows in the barn of sufficient size, placing them out of the reach of animals, and provide 1 or 2 exhaust fans for good air exchange. In addition to natural lighting, it is worth adding separate lighting for the stalls and rows of fluorescent lamps in the central aisle.
5. 5 Easy access to water and electricity. Ideally, light switches, sockets and water taps should be located between each pair of stalls, allowing convenient buckets to be filled with water without using carriers.
   • In addition to 110 volt outlets, it is necessary to provide at least one 220 volt outlet for a water heater, dryers and other equipment.
6. 6 Provide sections for cleaning. An outdoor stall for cleaning animals requires only a fence and running water, while an indoor latrine can be adapted to clean up oneself, clean shoes and equipment, as well as the animals themselves; keep brushes and other animal cleaners in nearby cabinets.
7. 7 The locker room and the feed shop are in separate rooms. If you spread the locker and the feed workshop to different rooms, then the equipment will not be covered with dust from the feed. It will also be possible to make separate cabinets in the premises.
   • A small refrigerator for storing medical supplies for animals can be placed in the storeroom, as well as a sink for mixing medicines.
   • The feedroom needs to store a week's supply of grain and a day's supply of hay, and the rest should be stored in a separate building (storing more hay can increase the cost of fire insurance; not all companies insure barns that store hay).
8. 8 Use the correct doors. The main entrance to the barn should be a double sliding door that opens to the width of the central aisle, which will last longer and will let light through even when closed (if in your area you have problems with flies, then you should install mesh doors with hinges). The entrance to the stall should be hinged, have a wooden bottom, and openings on top for ventilation.
9. 9 Premises for your own convenience. A separate pantry for storing tools for cleaning stalls will not clog or clutter up the locker and feed room, and the restroom will save you and your helpers from having to run home and back, spreading dirt everywhere.

Warnings

• When hiring workers for the design or construction of a barn, it is necessary to make sure that they have initial experience in barn construction and are aware of the above requirements.