A new horse stable

[richardbro]

Just started the foundations for an 8-box horse stable. This will be a monitor-style (raised center isle), hopefully finished and fenced in for next summer.
Got contractors with Big-Boys to excavate and put in a road - my baby BX can't cope with this amount of earth moving - 36x48 foot foundation (5 foot deep) and a 200-odd foot trench and 200+odd foot road.

I hope to start the framing myself and continue throughout the winter (praying for a mild winter)...

 

[Rookie2320]

Looks like a nice project. What is the trench for?
Must have been fun having that big equipment around.

 

[dieselfuelonly]

I want an excavator now.

Or at least a little backhoe for my tractor.

What is the purpose of that trench that leads away from the pit?

 

[richardbro]

The trench is for drainage - the stable foundation footings are drained (French drains) and the output goes out the trench. This is heavy clay soil, so the water around the footings needs to be evacuated.
The trench is (alot) wider than I wanted it, but that was the bucket width of the excavator. This will be fun to fill in with the bx24...

 

[EddieWalker]

Very impressive pics. I really love the one with your Kubota and the Trackhoe. If the lighting was a little better, I'd think about framing it!!!!

Keep us posted, it sounds like you're going to build something pretty cool.

Eddie

 

[frwinks]

wow... now that's a trench
keep the info/pics coming as you go along..

 

[Rara Avis]

Just started the foundations for an 8-box horse stable. This will be a monitor-style (raised center isle), hopefully finished and fenced in for next summer.
Got contractors with Big-Boys to excavate and put in a road - my baby BX can't cope with this amount of earth moving - 36x48 foot foundation (5 foot deep) and a 200-odd foot trench and 200+odd foot road.

I hope to start the framing myself and continue throughout the winter (praying for a mild winter)...

These guys make a real slick product...
Modular Barns

 

[karman 4564]

Nicehole, How's the barn coming.Im looking to build a new garage/barn in the spring...I get excited when i see projects like your's.It gives me inspiration.
Just curious,why 5 feet deep for a foundation?
Is it possible to post more pictures as you go along,Thanks in advance

 

[Tororider]

You are in Ottawa and hoping for a mild winter? I thought Canadians were impervious to cold eh? Beauty of pictures though.

 

[weldingisfun]

Very impressive pics. I really love the one with your Kubota and the Trackhoe. If the lighting was a little better, I'd think about framing it!!!!

Keep us posted, it sounds like you're going to build something pretty cool.

Eddie

Here you go, Eddie!

 

[richardbro]

Here you go, Eddie!

Hmm, maybe I'll try photoshopping the original this weekend - I'll have some time this weekend.

 

[richardbro]

You are in Ottawa and hoping for a mild winter? I thought Canadians were impervious to cold eh? Beauty of pictures though.

Ha! Last winter was a write-off. I got the snowblower (JD 8hp) out only once! Previous winters needed at least a couple snow-clearings a week. Also got a big meltdown and thaw beginning of January when temp is usually around 0 degrees F (or -35 if you are real lucky). I had some shrubs starting to sprout some spring shoots at that time. Then got hit by a nice freeze and most everything died...

BTW, the foundation and trench are all filled in now. I've decided to postpone the framing to the spring due to several factors (family and things that went wrong with the design/pour of the foundation).

I will need to re-dig out the fill because of course we (I) forgot a water-well access hole so I need to drill out a couple of 4" hole in the foundation wall.
Also, it seems that the support pilars were poured to a height *below* the poured floor when they should have been sticking out of the floor by about 6 inches - again, my fault for not picking that up. At this point I'm not sure if I should just pour the floor slab on top of the support pilars or raise them myself by drilling in rebar and pouring concrete another foot or so in some forms. I will need to talk to the concrete contractor for some advice.

Once the fixes are in then I can start framing. I would have dug and drilled the water access holes this fall but the guy at the tool rental shop told be that the concrete is too "young" to be drilled - it needs to cure for a couple of months so that drilling it won't damage the drill bit (the drill spits out water to the bit to drill wet).

 

[richardbro]

Hmm, maybe I'll try photoshopping the original this weekend - I'll have some time this weekend.

New photo...

 

[richardbro]

Well, its been somewhat snowy winter and a wet spring, but the stables construction has been restarted.
This spring I did the following to get prepared for the framing:
-dug a 4+ foot hole on each side of the foundation wall in order to bore a couple of 4.5" holes that we forgot last autum. Bx24 came in handy there. Also installed the plumbing for well-water input and waste-water output.
- skimmed of about 2+ inches of gravel fill in order to increase the concrete floor thickness.
- added some poly and and 1" styrofoam sub-slab insulation.
- poured the slab!

Now that the prep work has been done, the fun of framing begins. I've got the mud sills installed and have started nailing and raising 12-foot long wall sections. The bx24 come in handy for raising the walls as shown in the photos - using the tractor makes it a one-man show... except for the rare times the kids want to get involved.

 

[richardbro]

Here's a quick update - got the walls up and finishing up the sheathing. The roof trusses will be delivered next week...

 

[EddieWalker]

Nice job.

Will you have it sealed in before winter?

Thanks for the update and posting pics. I'm looking forward to seeing more of them as you keep making progress.

Eddie

 

[richardbro]

Thanks Eddie...
Finally got the roof trusses delivered and installed. Got some OSB on the roof too. I didn't do this work myself - hired a pro crew to do this. Those guys really know what they are doing. Here in Quebec, framers go thru a 2000 hour apprenticeship and a tough exam.

Anyways, got the metal roofing order and I should start installing that this week.

Here's some pics of the framers in action...

 

[richardbro]

Its been a while and it seems I haven't done much in the past year. What I did this summer:
-finished soffits before too many pigeons moved in.
-installed metal roof.
-built and installed hanging doors front and back.
-cut out, built and installed stall windows
-applied housewrap and straping to exterior walls
-applied pine board&batten to exterior
-painted (C3-brand solid latex stain) red siding - got to cold to do the back wall
-started on white trim
-tamed some pasture, cleaned out junk, and filled in low spots for horse paddock
-built 3-board cedar-post fence
-painted fence white - kids helped for 2 hours then got bored.
-got electrical panel in and got power
-started on tack room walls

In progress:
-redigging 1200'+ ditch in main (wet) pasture
-insulating half of barn (hay in other half)
-laying out and install of 6x6 cedar posts of 4 stalls

What I didn't get done (my planning was too aggressive):
- 300-foot water line from house
- hay storage shed
- pasture fencing
- horse stalls

I added some pictures taken from the roof of the house...
Also, I'm gonna need a bigger tractor...

 

[dave1949]

That's a nice looking horse barn! Will that be pasture out behind it? Your place looks very neat and well kept.
Dave.

 

[SuperCobra]

Looks very nice. I'm curious why you put trusses in a monitor style barn. Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of the raised center aisle (loft)? Was it that much cheaper to build with trusses?