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[DanielVT]

Hi,

I need to build a small barn for goats and for hay storage. I'm thinking about a dirt-floor pole barn, 20 x 40, with a hayloft. My concerns are mostly about the weight of the hay and the snow load - I can get a couple of feet at a time here.

I'd like to be able to store 100 bales of hay at a time, generally 2 x 2 x 4 square bales, 30 - 50 pounds each.

Now the problem is that I have no clue what I'm doing or where to start. Any ideas about this? Is pole barn up to the task? I'm planning to buy 8" treated poles if I can find them around here. I'm looking at a plan that has a pole every 10', the center pole on the gable end running to the ridge, and poles in the interior supporting the ridge, also every 10 feet - so 12 poles altogether. No idea how I'm gonna raise them.

Not planning to use trusses because I want that space for hay, and also for all of the worthless crap that's going to come out of the loft in the old falling-apart barn - yes I should throw it all away, but we all know that's not happening.

Thanks for any help,
Daniel

 

[EddieWalker]

Do you want the middle to be open space or are posts acceptable? Having posts in the middle of the building will give you a lot more strength. It will also allow you to build cheaper with less money on materials.

Eddie

 

[Ken45101]

Unless you have a hay elevator, it's going to be a LOT of work to haul 100 bales up to the loft. Considering the cost of building enough support for that loft, would it be less costly to just expand the floor space another 150 sq ft and keep the hay on the main floor?

I suspect there is reason that barns are NOT generally built with a loft today.

As for storage space for the junk, don't forget that junk expands to fill whatever space is available for it.

Ken

 

[Gittyup]

I agree to consider a single story approach. But, if you must have a loft, consider the kits made by armour metals

Armour Metals - Metal Roofing and Pole Barns

They are priced good and leave everything open span without going all steel. Look to be pretty straight forward to build. Don't know about the snow rating, though. Would have to ask them.

 

[Mousefield]

After building my barn, 24 X 32 ft, I started building goat pens in it. Well 2 goats turned to 4 and with babies we had to have 4 pens. So lost the hay storage inside the barn. My solution was to attach a 3 sided, (barn wall was one side) hay shed to the side of the barn. It has a dirt floor, I put a good heavy tarp down then pallets to put the hay on. I can get about 150 bales in this 10 X 24 hay shed. The front I left open and use plywood to keep the goats out of it.