Barn doors??

[Coolbreeze89]

I see three door options for my planned metal barn (doors that the goats/pigs will use to access corrals): typical “garage door” lift-up, roll-up doors, and sliding doors. Here in Texas, we have tons of mud daubers and wasp nests everywhere, and they love to get into sliders/tracks, etc. No concerns for snow (heavy rains seasonally, barring drought). I plan to have a lean-to over all sides where these doors would be, and honestly, I’d expect the doors to be open the vast majority of the time for ventilation (multiple LGDs, so I don’t need to lock up against predators...knock on wood). Any experience with one type versus another for long-term durability or problems to expect? I don’t have a metal Dutch-door option (I’ve seen several people on BYH who like those). Thanks!

 

[Baymule]

Roll up doors annoy me. I have to open them up all the way to walk in, versus opening a sliding door just a little to let me walk in. Swing, hinged doors are ok too, I just don't like roll up doors. It comes down to your personal preference, what is easiest to operate, what gets in the way, the roller tracks that mud daubers clog up or the door that falls off the track, door hinges that sag and then the door won't open/close properly...……

If animals hit doors that operate on a track, it can get wonky too. I have a horse that has beat up the corner trim on both ends of the barn (no doors) because he likes to gallop through the barn alley bucking and kicking.

 

[mystang89]

My personal opinion would be slide doors. I agree with @Baymule ,I don't like roll up. Too many times I've had the springs break and it's just more work than I feel like giving when I lift. The swing doors are ok but then I always worry about the hinges beginning to sag.
As far as the mud dobbers etc, we've got those but I've never had a problem with them making nests in my tracks mainly because I open those doors every day which keeps them clean. The ones I don't open every day, if I find they have nests in then, a few good wacks with the door rollers and everything is better. I generally don't have to worry about them the rest of the year.
Rust is generally the biggest concern for me with sliding doors but a couple squirts of oil once a year and it's ok.

 

[YourRabbitGirl]

I see three door options for my planned metal barn (doors that the goats/pigs will use to access corrals): typical “garage door” lift-up, roll-up doors, and sliding doors. Here in Texas, we have tons of mud daubers and wasp nests everywhere, and they love to get into sliders/tracks, etc. No concerns for snow (heavy rains seasonally, barring drought). I plan to have a lean-to over all sides where these doors would be, and honestly, I’d expect the doors to be open the vast majority of the time for ventilation (multiple LGDs, so I don’t need to lock up against predators...knock on wood). Any experience with one type versus another for long-term durability or problems to expect? I don’t have a metal Dutch-door option (I’ve seen several people on BYH who like those). Thanks!

We usually use sliding doors for most of the farms here. It is very convenient, especially when it's cleaning, when the doors are opened they can easily get out,

 

[YourRabbitGirl]

I see three door options for my planned metal barn (doors that the goats/pigs will use to access corrals): typical “garage door” lift-up, roll-up doors, and sliding doors. Here in Texas, we have tons of mud daubers and wasp nests everywhere, and they love to get into sliders/tracks, etc. No concerns for snow (heavy rains seasonally, barring drought). I plan to have a lean-to over all sides where these doors would be, and honestly, I’d expect the doors to be open the vast majority of the time for ventilation (multiple LGDs, so I don’t need to lock up against predators...knock on wood). Any experience with one type versus another for long-term durability or problems to expect? I don’t have a metal Dutch-door option (I’ve seen several people on BYH who like those). Thanks!

Let's talk about the material to be used, Barn doors are typically built from materials that are available locally. They are made in most cases from rough sawn lumber which is similar to the barn boards used to build the barn. We are using that.

 

[YourRabbitGirl]

I see three door options for my planned metal barn (doors that the goats/pigs will use to access corrals): typical “garage door” lift-up, roll-up doors, and sliding doors. Here in Texas, we have tons of mud daubers and wasp nests everywhere, and they love to get into sliders/tracks, etc. No concerns for snow (heavy rains seasonally, barring drought). I plan to have a lean-to over all sides where these doors would be, and honestly, I’d expect the doors to be open the vast majority of the time for ventilation (multiple LGDs, so I don’t need to lock up against predators...knock on wood). Any experience with one type versus another for long-term durability or problems to expect? I don’t have a metal Dutch-door option (I’ve seen several people on BYH who like those). Thanks!

I like it too. Metal doors are the way to go. I hope we can produce multiple metal doors, That will be very advantageous.

 

[YourRabbitGirl]

I see three door options for my planned metal barn (doors that the goats/pigs will use to access corrals): typical “garage door” lift-up, roll-up doors, and sliding doors. Here in Texas, we have tons of mud daubers and wasp nests everywhere, and they love to get into sliders/tracks, etc. No concerns for snow (heavy rains seasonally, barring drought). I plan to have a lean-to over all sides where these doors would be, and honestly, I’d expect the doors to be open the vast majority of the time for ventilation (multiple LGDs, so I don’t need to lock up against predators...knock on wood). Any experience with one type versus another for long-term durability or problems to expect? I don’t have a metal Dutch-door option (I’ve seen several people on BYH who like those). Thanks!

My son actually jokingly gave me an idea. can these things be in some sort of mechanical? I mean that it will be very nice if they are right?

 

[WyoLiving]

We have replaced the swing doors on the machine shed with garage doors with openers. That is a must for our area as it is a pain-in-the-arse to shovel out an area to swing open 2 huge doors to get the tractor out to clear snow, lol.

DH is thinking of putting in a roll-up door on the back of the barn to make it easier for me to get in there to clean out the chicken coops and get to my gardening equipment. Right now it is 2 old wooden doors that have sagged down to the ground and sit in a channel in the concrete floor. Real pain to get open. The a standard garage door eats up too much head room and wouldn't work with the 7' high rafters.

Our hay loft has the "barn door" style (rail and wheels) that we recently replaced with new. The old wheals had rusted out and were catching on the rail really bad. It works beautifully for the 20' opening. The 2 ten-foot doors slide out of the way with a slight push. The only problem we have with those doors is that if it is really windy, they will bang all night long. But, that can be fixed with a latch.

 

[YourRabbitGirl]

I see three door options for my planned metal barn (doors that the goats/pigs will use to access corrals): typical “garage door” lift-up, roll-up doors, and sliding doors. Here in Texas, we have tons of mud daubers and wasp nests everywhere, and they love to get into sliders/tracks, etc. No concerns for snow (heavy rains seasonally, barring drought). I plan to have a lean-to over all sides where these doors would be, and honestly, I’d expect the doors to be open the vast majority of the time for ventilation (multiple LGDs, so I don’t need to lock up against predators...knock on wood). Any experience with one type versus another for long-term durability or problems to expect? I don’t have a metal Dutch-door option (I’ve seen several people on BYH who like those). Thanks!

That sounds pretty tough, I bet that will last for a long time. The only issue i see there is rust. risky for animals.

 

[YourRabbitGirl]

I see three door options for my planned metal barn (doors that the goats/pigs will use to access corrals): typical “garage door” lift-up, roll-up doors, and sliding doors. Here in Texas, we have tons of mud daubers and wasp nests everywhere, and they love to get into sliders/tracks, etc. No concerns for snow (heavy rains seasonally, barring drought). I plan to have a lean-to over all sides where these doors would be, and honestly, I’d expect the doors to be open the vast majority of the time for ventilation (multiple LGDs, so I don’t need to lock up against predators...knock on wood). Any experience with one type versus another for long-term durability or problems to expect? I don’t have a metal Dutch-door option (I’ve seen several people on BYH who like those). Thanks!

Rolling, barn-style doors may be the thing, but they're more than just trendy. ... While you can purchase doors built for barn-door installation (Home Hardware and Home Depot have lightweight K-and Z-style doors), practically any door can be converted to a barn door with special tracks and hangers.