While planning the new barn, I keep coming across conflicting information on barn orientation (ie., north-south vs east-west). Both sides list the various pros/cons and the preference does not seem to be geographically linked (cold vs hot climate).

I have been studying the old structures (dating back to the depression era or earlier) on our plot and see that all of the buildings and remaining pads have been rotated approximately 12 degrees from the east-west axis roughly like so:



There are multiple pads/buildings situated like this and they span over several acres so I believe that it was intentional. Any ideas as to why they would have rotated the buildings (does not appear to be topographically related)? Also. how has everyone else oriented their barn(s)?

Normally if you have a center-aisle barn you align it with the prevailing summer winds. Mine, therefore, faces SSE to allow the wind to blow through down the aisle.

My barn which has a 14' wide center aisle, faces roughly north and south for the same reason. We have about a 300 day growing season and it really does help keep the inside cooler.

Mine is the same thing. Aligned perfectly with the summer winds so it faces SSE.

Thank you all for the input.

After reading your responses, I checked our Texas location on USAirnet and we are located in the transition zone between SE to E winds. So, it appears the buildings were situated to take full advantage of the breeze, too.

It is odd that the university, association and government sites seem to focus on the alignment of a barn in relationship to the sun's daily and annual position and not the prevailing wind direction. I will go ahead and follow suit with all of you (and with the buildings already present on our land) and run the next barn in the same direction as the others. It seems to me that any benefit received by running the barn purely E/W or N/S in terms of heat reduction (sun position) is negligible in comparison to the cooling effect from the breeze and ventilation boost received by rotating the barn.

Again, a thousand thank yous!

I'm late to the party, but I do have a comment. Our barn is situated on a north-south line, the prevailing winds are southwest/west. I'm not sure why they built the barn the way they did, but there were too many times that I wished it had been east-west for drainage purposes - nothing worse than coming to the barn first thing in the morning and finding poo laden gutters full of water. Now, the direction of the barn seems to fit well with the new section of the barn open to the breezes in the summertime with the curtain walls. I'd say check your prevailing wind, but also check your drainage and the direction that water will run out of the barn.

I pulled a topo map initially when placing the building and we are good to go. Our new barn will be rotated like the older buildings and, fortunately, that orientation just happens to prevent water runoff from entering the buildings as well as capturing the breeze.

Thank you for the reminder, though. I would be very unhappy to find the barn flooded.

When we built our barn we had an excavator come and reshape the land to provide proper flow and drainage.

I have one barn north south and one east west with northwest main winter wind and south west summer winds. They were here long before I was . Think snow drifting is main concerns when built?

Red barn open bottom facing east open white barn to south
My fall project to put metal roof on white barn.

And I am late to this parade too, but I have to ask.............what is the use of this barn going to be?

The barn (along with several other buildings) on our place date back to the depression era. Although the old barn is working well for the sheep and goats, I would like a new one for a couple of milk cows and the dairy goats. We do have what I believe is an old milking shed (ramp and all) but it is so dilapidated that it is time for a new place to milk.

Jeff- beautiful barns!

Jeff- snow drift would not have been a concern as we are located in central Texas.