# The barn is finished!



## awonderer (Feb 18, 2014)

It took me almost 9 months, but I finally finished the barn this weekend. I am really happy with how it turned out and everyone moved in last night. So far they seem to be enjoying their new digs... Thanks to those of you that have provided advice along the way.

































Sam

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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

Very NICE!


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

Yep. Barn envy! Congrats


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Wow it is very very beautiful and looks really functional as well! You did a wonderful job!

Is the floor in the third photo concrete?

Looks like you have a lot of space to fill in there!


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

Wow that is beautiful. Do you want to come redue mine? Congratulations. It is so nice.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Very nice! You did a wonderful job! And, besides the beautiful barn, you 
have Green Grass! (we haven't seen green in months!). 
I am sure your goats will be very happy!


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## awonderer (Feb 18, 2014)

SalteyLove, the floor inside is decomposed granite, watered and packed down. It will harden up and be a good base. Softer than concrete and cleaner than dirt. 

My wife refers to it as the goat McMansion... Probably need to have a few more goats. There are removable stall panels that clip into place and create four kidding stalls.

And we have good green grass for now in CA...


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## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

Wow.. that is a well thought out and planned barn. Very nice and love seeing such a good set up. The oaks in the background tell me that you maybe from Northern CA.


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## Tapestry (Feb 5, 2015)

Nice!!


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## awonderer (Feb 18, 2014)

We are in Templeton, CA in the Central Coast valley.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

Cool! Never heard of such an option for flooring. Does California even have granite? I grew up in New Hampshire! haha

Another nosey question - why did you choose to have a completely enclosed/separate room with solid walls for milking & kidding it looks like? And the wire panels that go all the way to the ceiling - any particular purpose? Excited to see your removable kidding jug panels set-up, haven't finished the interior of our barn yet! Ours is square (32'x32') - definitely should have gone rectangular, I'm running out of wall space quickly despite the numerous drawings and renditions completed before hand! (of course the very first drawing was 64'x32'...until we began pricing stuff out. We still may add on a covered extension/lean-to area in the future if we find we need more shelter.)


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## dnchck (Mar 24, 2014)

Very nice!! Great job!


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## awonderer (Feb 18, 2014)

Ha! Yes, we do occasionally find granite. Probably ship it in from New Hampshire...

Not nosy at all-we have a lot of coyotes and even a rare mountain lion in the area, so I like to lock the herd up at night. Also, we do get a couple of weeks of below freezing night time temperatures, so they can stay cozy inside. While I only have four SCI does now, 2 more are pregnant. I hope to eventually get to 12-15 goats so feels like I will need the space. I have enough room for kidding stalls, as well as room to wall off a milking parlor if I end up wanting it. If you are interested, the plans I designed are posted in another thread here. It was really fun building this. I learned a ton!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

What a great barn! You did a fantastic job!


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## awonderer (Feb 18, 2014)

And the wire panels going to the ceiling were intended to provide ventilation. It gets above 100 in the summer and any cross breeze through the loaf area will be nice. The wall is 5' and the horse panel extends up another 4'. The problem is after I got that installed I decided to put siding on the hay area as well. So the ventilation will be lower. But it looks good anyway...


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I love it.


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## caprinelivin (Mar 6, 2014)

Fantastic barn! I love it  Do you have plans for it or are they in your head?!?


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## awonderer (Feb 18, 2014)

I made them up... Spent a lot of time asking questions on here. Here they are again.








I also have electrical and plumbing plans, but can't install the utilities until I pass the county AG building inspection. I also need to design the solar power system.

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## caprinelivin (Mar 6, 2014)

awonderer said:


> I made them up... Spent a lot of time asking questions on here. Here they are again.
> View attachment 89453
> 
> 
> ...


My husband is the same way...his plans are in his head with little notes here and there! He follows blue prints and "builds" all day, and even when he is at rest he is building something in his mind...lol
We have electricity and water out to our barns and boy is it a big help! We have light fixtures installed so that we can put in heat bulbs. If we have to use clamp lamps we have beams that we can attach them to so they cannot fall or come into contact with anything including goats!
Thanks for sharing your plans


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## awonderer (Feb 18, 2014)

A couple of you asked for pictures of the portable kidding pens I was planning. Here is one of them in place. Ophelia is getting close so it was time to get her set up. She walked right in.
View attachment 93295
View attachment 93296
View attachment 93297


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Nice!


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## goatylisa (Dec 29, 2012)

We are in the beginning process of putting in a new barn. We are going to use decomposed granite as well. What did you use to pack it down? Hubby wants to rent a machine (forget what it's called) and I'm not sure if it's necessary. Once packed does water drain through or is it like concrete? I am wondering if we need a drainage for urine if we put mats in the stalls. Thanks in advance, your barn looks beautiful. We are using more metal than wood only because our last barn was chewed on so bad it looked bad in about five years. I think that was boredom too, our pastures are bigger now so I'm hoping things will be different.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Very nice job!! Can you feel me patting your back ..I love the barn!! and the set up...think I need to show my son lol


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## awonderer (Feb 18, 2014)

Lisa, I packed it down using a vibration compactor that I rented for a couple of hours. So far I haven't needed a drain. It is a hard surface, but water soaks in. And I have mats in the stalls and it is working great. Good luck!


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## goatylisa (Dec 29, 2012)

Thank you so much, it looks like the granite is really the way to go.


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## anawhitfield (Jun 9, 2013)

oh my ! I'm in love !!!
I am going to print these pictures and show them to my husband - we are doing our barn now.


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## goatylisa (Dec 29, 2012)

awonderer said:


> Lisa, I packed it down using a vibration compactor that I rented for a couple of hours. So far I haven't needed a drain. It is a hard surface, but water soaks in. And I have mats in the stalls and it is working great. Good luck!


We are having a hard time with the decomposed granite, I wanted to post a follow up. Its a love hate relationship, I takes sooooooo much once you start compacting. We are having to improvise now, on top of the granite we are going to use another layer of base rock where my stalls are going. Only becUse it's compacted so much and we've been through so many truckloads of dg.


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