# Getting ready to build a hay barn open to suggestions.



## Ranger518 (Aug 6, 2016)

I am getting ready to build a 40x40 pole barn for storing small square bales. It will be enclosed on the 2 sides and 1 gable end with one gable end open the way I would like it is with the front open end facing the north will this be a problem with wind and storms?


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## Ranger518 (Aug 6, 2016)

This is how I have planned on building it for now with a opening at the top to allow air to blow through. I also have planes on adding 2 lean to off each side for additional equipment storage when money will allow.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Here we can’t leave the top open like that, it drags in too much rain when wind blows. If you have a 40 ft wall open I doubt you will need any more ventilation.


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## qcfarms (Dec 14, 2014)

Here is a 40x60 that I built a year ago. it has 16' walls which is great for small square stacking with a grapple. You can just shuttle in and out with no problem This is oriented with the openings facing south and east. I would think the openings at the top would let the rain come in unless you had maybe 2' eaves. This one is built on a hill in central Oklahoma and has withstood some pretty strong winds this year. Hay stayed dry but keep in mind my openings are south and east.


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## qcfarms (Dec 14, 2014)

Looks like the openings at the top are cover by clear panels. If that is the case then the 2' eaves would not be required. i should have looked at the photo closer.


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## Ranger518 (Aug 6, 2016)

qcfarms said:


> Looks like the openings at the top are cover by clear panels. If that is the case then the 2' eaves would not be required. i should have looked at the photo closer.


Yea you are right on that barn I was just using it as a reference. I was thinking about doing my side walls like that but at the top leave it open about 1'


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

If you are worried about a hard wind blowing up your building. A neighbor had that happen here. When he rebuilt he put some large vents on the closed end. Something like the vents that green houses use. So if the wind would blow in from the open end they would open and let air through. From the other side if when wind would be strong from outside the closed end the vents would stay shut.


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## Ranger518 (Aug 6, 2016)

Teslan said:


> If you are worried about a hard wind blowing up your building. A neighbor had that happen here. When he rebuilt he put some large vents on the closed end. Something like the vents that green houses use. So if the wind would blow in from the open end they would open and let air through. From the other side if when wind would be strong from outside the closed end the vents would stay shut.


That is a good idea. For ease of loading and unloading the barn it would be best if it faced north but it kinda worries me that a bad storm out of the north could damage it. My shop face north and I have had no issues with it but it is fulley inclosed.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

good luck ranger, what size did you say....40x40? Opt instead for 60'x40' not much more in the scheme of things.......unless you only think you need a 20'x20' 
These barns have a way of filling up fast....
Be safe


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## Ranger518 (Aug 6, 2016)

somedevildawg said:


> good luck ranger, what size did you say....40x40? Opt instead for 60'x40' not much more in the scheme of things.......unless you only think you need a 20'x20'
> These barns have a way of filling up fast....
> Be safe


Yea I know I will need bigger than 40x40 but I am going to start with a 40x40 and add on as I need and money will allow.


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## thendrix (May 14, 2015)

Decide on your wall height then add 2 ft. We use a stackhouse to store chicken litter to let it dry before spreading. Its a 40x60 pole barn with 1x6 wood up about 5 ft from the floor on the inside then metal from 5 ft to about 8 inches from the top of the wall on the outside. This gives a 4 inch wide vent (4x6 posts) right above the top of the litter pile and one at the top on 3 sides. Ours faces east as most of our storms come from the southwest. This lower vent works very well because the boards on the inside and the tin on the outside overlap by a few inches. Rain would have to fall, move horizontally, go up, move horizontally, then fall to get in through the vent


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## Ranger518 (Aug 6, 2016)

qcfarms said:


> Here is a 40x60 that I built a year ago. it has 16' walls which is great for small square stacking with a grapple. You can just shuttle in and out with no problem This is oriented with the openings facing south and east. I would think the openings at the top would let the rain come in unless you had maybe 2' eaves. This one is built on a hill in central Oklahoma and has withstood some pretty strong winds this year. Hay stayed dry but keep in mind my openings are south and east.


How do you like your barn so far as i hope you have got some use out of it by know. I am guessing it is on 10' centers How easy is it working bales in and out through the side? Any issues with rain being blown in? I built a 40x60x16 barn over the winter roof only so far and now I am trying to decide what I want to do on the sides and and gables to keep the water from blowing in. Thanks.


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## ttazzman (Sep 29, 2019)

Open to the north or east seems to be the best options in Missouri with primarily sw and nw winds

Also I would carefully consider you clearances on sides and top for whatever grapple setup your using...we use a 10 flat grapple and I would build 38' or 44' wide ....and we normally stack 8 high depending on our equipment....but fitting to your equipment sure helps


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## dvcochran (Oct 1, 2017)

My advise is to build it 1/2 again bigger (40x60). Every building I have built ends up being too small within a year or two. Much easier to build bigger in the beginning, assuming you have the dirt work done.
In TN I would say a westward facing building gets rattled more.


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## Markpnw (Dec 27, 2019)

The design you’re talking about is pretty much the set standard for all hay barns. I like it and most people do. 40x40 seems big but in reality is tiny. If I were you I’d build at least a 40x60. If you aren’t pouring Concrete it won’t cost much more to add the extra 20ft.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

I wouldn't be storing machinery in a hayshed. Especially tractors. The risk of fire burning your hayshed down from a tractor having an electrical short (have had 2 that did it. Lost one completely). Or , the risk of uncured hay burning and destroying your machinery is greatly over looked by most people.


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## Edd in KY (Jul 16, 2009)

I would try to figure out a way to make it a drive-through barn. That might mean adding double track doors on one end so you could open either side. As I get older, backing equipment into a barn is more and more difficult. Drive-through is nice especially when bad weather is coming. Barn that size would allow you to drive in a couple wagons fill one side of the barn and then stack the other side later. I actually think 30 x 60 is more usable for that purpose.


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## ruthdavidson (10 mo ago)

Thanks for the information guys, it was very helpful.


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