Barn Types

[rachels.haven]

Yes! We moved out to a more farmy, down to earth town and put up a fence around a hay field, making it a pasture. Now all that's left is to sell the old place, take down the old chicken barn and machine shed before either fall on anyone, and build the goat barn. I think we're on track.

And yes, yes, yes, I agree. We will do as much of that as we can within financial constraints (but I think if we sell our old house soon in the current market we will be pretty okay).

 

[Ridgetop]

So happy to hear that you have moved to a better location for your family and your livestock. If you are farther out in the country you might want to check into a generator for those Massachusetts winter power shortages.

Keep us posted on what is happening!

 

[rachels.haven]

So happy to hear that you have moved to a better location for your family and your livestock. If you are farther out in the country you might want to check into a generator for those Massachusetts winter power shortages.

Keep us posted on what is happening!

Hehehehe. House came with a generator on propane. We're also going to be looking into solar (and geothermal) because the grid us unreliable. Everyone likes solar panels and propane...

 

[Ridgetop]

Yes! Forgot to tell you to get a propane generator only. Apparently propane stores forever unlike gas or diesel.

So clever of you to get a house with one already there. Solar is easy to install yourself - DS1 and DS2 put solar panels on our barn. Unfortunately solar panels are only good for about 10 years before they start to go bad. That is one of the reasons we never had them installed on our house. Commercial installers tell you you will make your money back in about 10 years. Then just as you expect to see a return the panels start to go bad. Quote on our house was $30,000. No battery storage. Batteries were another $20,000!

 

[rachels.haven]

Yes, I heard about the solar scams. Pity. Thanks for the heads up. We will figure out something. Right now the moving dust needs to settle.

 

[Kusanar]

Yes, I heard about the solar scams. Pity. Thanks for the heads up. We will figure out something. Right now the moving dust needs to settle.

I know I'm a little late to the party, but, also please look into the liability of hooking solar power into the grid. You have to carry a larger homeowners insurance policy if you do hook into the grid because if they shut the power off to the main grid to do work and your solar pushes power back onto it and fries someone then that is on the homeowner. Now, there is a little device that should be installed that will prevent that, but as everyone knows, things go bad and if that device goes bad it can easily kill someone.

 

[rachels.haven]

Another good heads up. Thank you.

 

[misfitmorgan]

There are 100s of companies that offer "pretty" pole buildings, or steel buildings instead of the standard box with a peak. I tend to think any pole barn that has the double overhangs looks way nicer then the boxes.

This place has a bunch of different options. I've even seen places that will cover the entire barn with wood instead of metal.
https://www.superiorbuildings.net/agricultural-pole-buildings

This is a pole barn and I dont think many would say it was not pretty.

 

[rachels.haven]

The barns they have (and similar pole) are beautiful. The challenge will be finding someone in a snobby area that will build them. We are actually going that route though.

 

[misfitmorgan]

You might have to get someone from a goodly distance away to do it. When I owned a construction company we would travel up to 1.5hrs one way to go to jobs and just figured the gas and time into the bill, we were still cheaper then most local to them people because we were driving into new york state. Used to live in bradford, pa which is right on the border there.

Does the company you are looking at going thru offer subcontractor services at all?

We are opting for a style similar to the one beekissed posted.
It is going to look similar to this with the wooden pony walls and have an end wall along the back.