dave said:That's interesting about the raccoon penetrating your barn via the roll-up door. In our case the rollup doors have absolutely no openings. They are rock solid and nearly air tight. I can't imagine an animal getting in when those doors are closed. We went with a commercial grade rollup door that is actually developed for the self-storage units.
We had Mueller design and pre-fab our workshop and we used their doors (and recommended installer). Although there is no gap when the door is open, when the door is fully rolled down, a small gap forms between the door's axle/pin and the door jam/header due to the change in the diameter of the barrel (if that makes any sense). The door appears to be fully sealed when you look at it from ground level but after the raccoon incident, we investigated further and found we could see the gap from a higher and more angled vantage point. Although it is 5" at best, it was enough for that critter to work its way in
We will be adding a fascia piece as the permanent fix. Had it not been for Mr. Rocky, we would not have even been aware of the gap.
I think the problem arose because of the placement of the door in conjunction with the slope of the ceiling. The roll couldn't be place any higher without scraping the ceiling nor could it be placed any further back without tying into the rafters or cutting into the overhead space (??) I added some pics:
The photos were sent via phone so I apologize for the clarity. The last photo should show that, when the door is down, the barrel is too thin to seal the gap
dave said:
Every sliding door I've ever seen was loose and hard to secure. Inconvenient to open from the inside and the way they swing the rock back and forth in wind is disruptive to a calm environment. They always seem to leak water into the barn, too. The rollup doors have none of these issues and when the door is open the door is all wrapped up into a nice tight barrel in the ceiling that's out of the way.
We use dutch door sliders that are steel framed and which run in a upper and lower rail/track system. Although they do not sway at all, the design requires a sill which makes cleaning more difficult and poses a trip hazard (also, they are very heavy doors). We haven't had issues with water leakage but, because a gap is necessary to allow the doors to slide properly, it allows snakes, rats, mice, etc to gain entry into the stalls. Many years back, we almost lost a horse to a rattle snake bite so it is a real problem. Also, you are absolutely right - they can be difficult to open from the inside (the extra weight doesn't help either) although having a grill as the upper portion of the dutch door helps.
dave said:
As promised, here's some more pics:
The rollup door in the closed position:
You can also see how we have a ring right in the entrance to the door. So during hay feeding season, we can put hay into that ring and it keeps the hay out of the rain. The cows just walk up to the barn and stick their heads right in and eat. The manure falls onto the porch that they are standing on and we scoop it up daily and put it into a pile for composting.
What a great idea!!!! I hope that you won't mind if I borrow this idea for our new barn.
I am also going to go ahead and use roll-ups, too. I will be more aware this time, though, about how placement (sloped ceiling, etc) can impact installation. It is always a learning process...
You really have incorporated some nice ideas with the layout -and having the pump far from the work area makes a lot of sense for so many reasons. Not only is your barn aesthetically pleasing, it is so functional and user-/animal friendly, too. Great job!!!! Thank you so much for sharing - you have given me quite an education
looks like you really thought things out to make it efficient and a nice place to work in. 
