Wet hay has caused many a barn fire for sure. Not to speak of the toxins produced in the hay itself.

I'm sorry for my ignorance, grew up in town and never had a barn or livestock How does wet hay pose more of a fire hazard than dry hay

Internal combustion...Will build up heat inside it self and burn down the barn...

Thank you, good to know.

I wonder a little about the 5" gap under the stall walls. It sounds as if it could be a hoof-catcher.

My GF was wondering why you chose concrete for the floor for cows? She grew up there in Jville with cattle. I know nothing of this stuff.

The concrete is to make it easier to keep clean and maintain. No ruts, no mud, no dust particles everywhere, no drainage issues, etc.

It even works for horse stalls, all you do it put mats over the cement.
Just need proper slope for drainage. : )

Great barn project Dave. I grew up with a huge abandoned dairy barn next door. They cut it into 24 huge sections and trucked it away. If anyone's interested I can take some photos of the round barn up at Hancock Shaker Village when I'm up in the area.

When my uncle died someone bought his barn (in northern Illinois), tore it down, and took all the pieces to Austin and built a restaurant out of it. I haven't had a chance to visit it yet... one of these days!

Just seeing this thread...so great to see your progress in one short month. I know you and the family will be using this barn for years to come.
Side note:
Having done some ladder climbing myself, I know that young man setting the first top rafter (20 ft off the ground) should not be standing on the top step of that ladder!!

Is the barn finished, Dave?

Yes Dave, we are waiting for up dates and lots of photos.

The windows were ordered a long time ago and they were supposed to come in 2 weeks ago. The timing was going to be perfect - we pick up the windows, install them, and then immediately go into putting the roofs, siding, and wall metal on.

When the windows came in, however, they were the wrong windows. The store had ordered the wrong kind. So we had to re-order and then through a series of problems they kept getting delayed.

So for the past 2 weeks, all that has gotten done is my own electrical wiring. I have wired up all the rooms and hung light fixtures under the loft and in the 3 rooms nearest the house. The electrical panel is in and I'm ready to rent a trencher and run the 200' conduit back to the house's panel.

This Monday the real windows should come in and we can then continue and wrap this up.

valleylynn said:

Dave, can the windows pose a fire hazard from sun shining through onto the hay?

I had wondered about this as well. When I built my horse stable I installed glass only on the north side of the building, just in case. I'd read stories of lost barns (and trapped horses ) as a child and the fearful thought has stayed with me to this day. What I read was something to the effect of: >a broken piece of window pane, laying on a bale of hay in direct sunlight magnified the rays and initiated combustion<.

A certain amount of space between glass and hay might be a good idea, just to be cautious.



Anyhoo ......It's a wonderful barn, Dave and Trish. Congrats!

It's a good thing to keep in mind.

I don't see how regular window glass could "magnify".