Chelsy Ranard
Writer/Blogger
Your barn is a safe place for your livestock and supplies to live, so it’s important that this environment remain practical and secure. Barns go through a ton of wear and tear being exposed to the elements, animals, and grime on a daily basis, so it’s important to focus on upkeep in order to keep your barn in shape. When the decision to renovate various areas of your barn is made, there are some things you’ll need to consider in order to make your barn as useful as you can for you and your animals. Some of these renovations are easy fixes and some are a little more involved, but either way a barn renovation will make life much easier for you and your animals.
Ventilation
Ventilation is of vital importance for the health of the animals that you keep in your barn. Without the proper ventilation the air in your barn will be trapped which is commonly filled with dust, debris, and odor. In the heat, ventilation can be vital to help with humidity and temperature in your barn as well. Animals in your barn breathing unventilated air or spending time in a barn that is too hot can cause serious health issues, so it’s an important aspect of barn renovation.
Focus on airflow, allowing heat to escape, and creating a breeze for the hotter months. Dutch doors on both sides of your barn can help along with mesh panel doors, ceiling fans, roof vents, or extra windows that open. Even relatively easy renovations like a ceiling fan or a Dutch door can do wonders for added ventilation.
Flooring
Flooring is important because your animals have to stand on it for the duration of their time in the barn. This means that your floors should have good drainage, should be comfortable, and easy to clean. Many barns just have dirt floors, utilizing the earth itself as reliable flooring. The issue here is the problems with cleaning them and the need to dig the floors out and replace the dirt every so often. An easy flooring renovation to replace earth floors is the use of rubber mats. These mats interlock like puzzle pieces so they are easy to remove and clean. They are also insulated to help the cold, great cushion for your animal’s feet, and they won’t change shape due to temperature.
Utilities
Renovating your barn for utilities can be quite the project depending on your access to those conveniences near your barn. Electricity and water are useful conveniences for you to take care of your barn, but not necessary. Adding spigots to each stall is a big convenience that ensures fresh water for your animals and makes cleaning a lot easier. Utilizing rain water is another great way to have water readily available using things like rain barrels. Having electrical outlets is a lot safer than using an extension cord and can make your barn into an area that is a lot more accessible and easier to be productive. Having the ability to plug in a leaf blower, mini fridge for medicines that may need to stay cold, or utilize a water pump can make a difficult process a whole lot easier. Just be sure to keep an eye on your water situation during the winter months to avoid any issues with winterizing your barn.
Lighting
Lighting can make a big difference in your barn. You can add lighting to your barn by providing overhead lights, although that requires your barn to have electricity. If you do decide on lighting for your barn, try to utilize lighting systems that are energy efficient in order to save you money on your electricity bill. If you’re renovating for lighting, you might also consider adding small lights to stalls as well in order to help visibility in each stall at night. You can also improve your natural lighting a ton by utilizing skylights and windows in each stall. Skylights allow for light but might allow more warmth in during the summer months and cause higher temperatures in your barn, so you might need skylight covers during summer months.
Extras
There are a ton of other little conveniences to think about when you’re renovating your barn. Creating a wash stall is a huge convenience and it’ll feel like you can’t live life without one once you have it. When it’s not being used to wash your horses or other animal’s it’s great for cleaning rubber mats, buckets, etc. Another extra renovation is to create a composting area for manure in order to cut costs on removing manure and also to utilize it as fertilizer. Creating separate feed, tack, and storage rooms are also good ideas for renovating, but can be quite the project depending on the room you have in your barn and the layout. But having separate areas for these things will help not to contaminate the feed and focus on keeping it a clean environment for your animals.
Renovating your barn involves a decision on what exactly you need from your barn or the issues you might be having with it. Decide on what is in real need of being renovated and what fixes are more of a convenience to prioritize your time and money. The health and safety of you and your animals should always be your first concern, and after that decide on what aspects you’d like to make easier on yourself. Consider the benefits of added ventilation, decide on if your current flooring is the best, look into adding utilities, decide on the benefits of more lighting, and any other renovations you think would make your barn a better place for all involved.