Barn - Horsekeeping on a Small Acreage - page 185

CONCRETE . Find three to six helpers (two of whom are strong and experienced) and
run your own concrete crew. All helpers should have good hand protection and tall rub-
ber boots, and wear old clothes. As the concrete truck unloads, initially there will be heavy
work moving and floating the concrete. After it is roughly leveled, there will be a lot of
edging and finishing to do.
TRENCHING . Pipes and wires to the barn and under the barn must be buried a specific
depth (as indicated by your county code). Rent a trencher and prepare the small ditches for
your plumber and/or electrician ahead of time.
ELECTRICAL . Never tackle something as important as wiring unless you are experien-
ced, because faulty wiring is a fire hazard. Check a book on wiring out of the library and
study the county building code; if it seems doable to you, you might want to do some of the
work yourself. If it sounds too complicated, hire an electrician to do the whole job.
You will need to hire a licensed electrician to make the connection from the power com-
pany's source to the barn site. If you want to do some of the work yourself, ask the elec-
trician if he will be willing to act as a consultant to advise you regarding the materials you
need for the interior and exterior wiring, including plugs, switches, and light fixtures, and
to supervise your work.
In a barn, all exposed wires must be run through metal conduit pipe. Cutting the pipe and
feeding the wire through can be time-consuming and costly in terms of labor. Your barn
may have as many as one hundred switches, plugs, and lights, each of which must be con-
nected. Working alongside an electrician or doing the work yourself and having the elec-
trician check it can result in a significant savings. Electrical work must be inspected before
the walls are sealed and the power is turned on, so be sure this is done before you call the
county electrical inspector.
SHEATHING . Save labor costs by installing the sub-roof (plywood or insulation board)
and sub-wall (insulation board) yourself. If you don't mind climbing around on a roof or
handling 4-foot by 8-foot sheets of material, you can put the “skin” on your barn. Nailing
these large areas can take a considerable amount of time.
MATERIALS . Pole barns are generally less expensive than post-and-beam, block, or
frame construction. Trusses are less expensive than rafters and beams. Metal roofing is less
expensive than shake roofs. The wall framing for non-horse areas (such as tack rooms, feed
rooms, etc.) can be made of 2x4s and covered with inexpensive siding or paneling or not
finished inside. To cut down on the number of windows for light, you can install fiberglass
panels at the top of the walls (clerestory) where they join the roof and at the triangular por-
tions of the gable ends.
FINISHWORK . You can do most of the finish work yourself, including landscaping, lin-
ing the stalls, laying stall flooring or mats, painting and finishing the tack room, painting
and treating wood areas, and installing metal antichew strips.