"I love all of the options and add-ons...My horses and I thank you" - K.D., Bedford, Indiana

About The Chestnut Horse Barn Plans

The following information should answer your questions about these barn and garage plans. If not, you're very welcome to order the plans, review them at your convenience, show them to your contractor or building department and then return them at any time for a full refund if they don't meet your needs.

The Design

All of the different designs in the Chestnut series of small pole-frame horse barns can be built from the same set of plans. You'll receive detailed construction drawings for a 20'x24' Main Barn with two 10'x12' stalls, a 10' wide front-to-back alley, big sliding doors and a 20'x24' storage loft. You'll also receive plans for a variety of optional sheds that can extend the Main Barn on either side. Build the 20'x24' two-stall barn now. Then add one or two additional stalls, a garage or tractor shed, a workshop, a tack room and open shelters for grooming areas, run-ins or storage. Build little-by-little as your needs grow, or build exactly the layout you want right away. You can customize your barn with your choice of layouts and your selection of exterior materials. Blueprints, by architect Donald Berg, include all the drawings you'll need to build any of nine sample designs shown on the plans, or you can create your own custom building layout. Click here to see all of the sample designs

Dimensions

Areas: Floor Area of Main Barn - 480 Sq. Ft., Floor Area of Storage Loft - 480 Sq.Ft.  

Add-On Sheds: Sheds are 10'x24' (240 Sq.Ft.) and 12'x24' (288 Sq. Ft). They are designed for use as additional stalls, open shelters, run-ins, carports, garages, tractor shelters, workshops, garden sheds, open equipment shelters and woodsheds, and are planned to be easy-to-build on either side of the Main Barn. They may be built at the same time as the main barn, as shown in the various sample designs, or added later as your needs grow.

Heights: Main Barn Ridge Height - 20'-4", Main Barn Side-Wall Height - 11'-4", Main Barn Ceiling Height - 9'-3", Loft Height at center: 8'-0", Loft Height at outside walls: 1'-8", Roof Pitch of Main Barn: 10/12, Roof Pitch of Add-On Sheds: 4/12 

Mean Roof Height: 15'-10" (Most Building Departments will accept the Mean Roof Height for sloped roof buildings)

Doors

Doors: The sliding doors on the front and back of the Main Barn are each 9'-6" wide and 9' high. Dutch stall doors are 4' wide by 7'-4" high. The garage doors on the add-ons open 8' wide and 7' high.

Overhead doors may be substituted for all sliding doors and hinged doors shown on the plans.
 

Construction and Finishes

Construction & Finishes: These barns, garages and sheds are designed to provide you with inexpensive parking and storage space, the look of traditional country outbuildings and the best quality modern construction. All of the materials shown on the website illustrations are just suggestions. These buildings can be constructed with any of a variety of exterior finishes and details so that they can match your home or other buildings on your property.

The plans are all designed for post-frame construction. That's the modern version of "pole-barn" construction, using pressure treated 6x6 posts as the main structure and post hole or concrete pier footings. Post-frame construction eliminates the need for full foundations and can save you as much as 20% of the cost of construction by reducing the amount of site work, excavation and concrete needed.

Do-it-yourself?: The drawings are intended for experienced builders and use standard methods, abbreviations and symbols. They do not include step-by-step building directions. These are fairly large buildings and are not recommended for first-time builders.

You can find qualified post-frame builders in your area here: National Frame Builders Association  

 

Building Codes

Building Codes: The plans meet or exceed most national standards and code requirements. The pole framing is engineered to the standards established by the Northeast Regional Agricultural Engineering Service at Cornell University. The designs also meet or exceed the requirements of the national ICBO Code for type S and U buildings, if built no closer than 5' to an adjacent combustible building. The plans are easily modified to meet Residential Accessory building standards by using code-compliant egress doors. The drawings come with a New York State Architect seal, which is accepted by most building departments. Like all mail-order blueprints, these drawings should be reviewed by a building professional in your community to see if they comply with local ordinances and to see if they are suitable for your site and your planned use. In locations where environmental conditions exceed the criteria listed below, and in seismic zones, the drawings should be reviewed and modified by a state-licensed construction engineer. Check with your building department.

Design Criteria: The buildings are engineered to meet the following criteria:
90 Lbs/sf Ground Snow Load
5Lbs/sf Roof Dead load
35 Lbs/sf Loft Live Load (Typical of Residential 2nd Floor Attic Storage)
48" Frost Penetration Depth
90 mph+ Wind Load (10psf+ wind force)
1,500psf Soil Bearing Strength

Construction Cost: Post-frame (pole-barn) construction generally costs 20% less than conventional stud frame construction because continuous footings are not necessary and because site work is reduced. Built by a contractor, the Main Barn/Garage can cost from as little as $14,000 to more than $25,000 depending on your location, the season, your site, and your choice of materials and options. Add-on sheds can cost less than $2,500 for the smallest open shelter to over $9,000 for a 12'x24' garage and workshop. Material cost alone should be about half the range of these prices. Use your blueprints to get accurate estimates from contractors and building supply centers in your area.

Changes to the standard designs:  You can customize your building by choosing the exterior materials and add-ons that you want. The designs shown on the drawings and website illustrations are just a few samples of the many layouts and looks you can build from the standard drawings. In addition, other changes are fairly simple and can be done during construction by an experienced contractor. Adding or eliminating doors and windows and substituting overhead doors for sliding barn doors are changes that can be done by your contractor. We can't provide modifications to the standard drawings. However, you're very welcome to pass the drawings to an architect or construction engineer in your area for those modifications. 

About The Designer

Architect Donald Berg's designs, interviews and articles have appeared in Home Magazine, Traditional Building Magazine, The Old House Journal, Better Homes and Gardens, Country Magazine, Equine Journal, Country Extra, Yankee Home, Hudson Valley Magazine, Period Homes Magazine, Mother Earth News and many other publications. He's been a guest and consultant on HGTV and has published fifteen books on traditional American country building and landscape design.

The Drawings

Why you need blueprints: Accurate construction drawings will save you many times their cost. Use them to get competitive bids from a number of different contractors. Take a set to your favorite building supply center or lumber yard for a computerized materials price list. Then, substitute other materials to compare your savings. Your contractor will save time and expense in construction because details are worked-out in advance. You'll have the right documents to present to your building department, zoning board or community's building reviewers to get their approval before you start construction.

What the drawings Include: These construction drawings include floor plans, general specifications, exterior elevations, building sections, large scale details, dimensions and engineering standards for all framing and footings. The drawing sets include details for optional layouts and add-on sheds. All drawings are to 1/4" scale or larger. Your purchase of the drawings gives you permission to build one unit of the copyrighted design, or to have the basic design used as a starting point for a customized design by your architect, construction engineer or contractor. See a sample of typical construction details

Since the drawings are for horse keeping and storage spaces, they don't include details for insulation, interior finishes, electricity or plumbing. If needed, these can be added by a local building professional.

Material Lists:  Because these buildings were designed to be built with any of a variety of exterior finishes and with optional layouts, material lists can not be prepared in advance. Many home centers and lumber yards will provide you with a computerized material list and prices, from the construction plans, after you've chosen the exterior materials and options that you want.

Options and Optional Finishes: Sources for cupolas, weathervanes, barn and carriage house doors, rolling track hardware, stall partitions, post mounts, post protectors and special construction items can be found here: aBetterBarn.com

Your Order

Shipping: We try to process all plan orders within five days and ship by two-day Priority Mail.

Guarantee: Your plans will come with a complete money-back guarantee. If they don't meet your needs, for any reason, just return them for a prompt, complete refund.

How many sets of plans will you need?: These drawings are copyright protected and may not be reproduced in any way. Most people need at least three sets of drawings. You may need to supply drawings to your building department, zoning board, community review board and building supply center. You may also need extra sets to get competitive bids from contractors and subcontractors. Additional sets of plans always save more than their cost in your savings from competitive bidding. 


For more information, contact:
Donald J. Berg, AIA 
PO Box 698
Rockville Centre, NY 11571-0698 
516-766-5585
or e-mail: djberg@aol.com

 

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