Working on Our Building Plan

I don't know if you can tell or not, but when it comes to making a decision I usually take a long time and mull things over A LOT! That is what is going on with our shed/barn'ish building plans at the moment. I figure you only get one chance to put up a big building (I'm not really into tearing things down) so I better make sure that we have the right placement, the right design, the right price, and of course the right idea. So, here is what I'm thinking ... I would love to hear your thoughts on the plan.

• Right now we are looking at building a 24' x 32' building with clear span trusses and 12' side walls. The building would have walls on three sides and be open across the front to the South with two 16' bays. I am also going to ask the building how much it would cost to add another 16' bay making it 24' x 48', but money is an issue so we will have to see.
• Off of the back of the building I would like to add a 16' lean-to that will continue the pitch of the roof. This should give us about a 7' or 8' side wall on the lean-to and this area would ideally become a winter feeding area for our cattle. We would be able to throw down hay from the main area and feed the cattle in deep bedding much like Joel Salatin writes about and does. The lean-to would also mean that all of the main area could be used for storage.
• One of the questions we are facing is how much we are going to hire done and how much we are going to do ourselves. As of now we are planning with the same builder who put up the building for our house because we are comfortable with him and pleased with his work, but we aren't sure how much to have him do. Initially we were going to have him frame up the building and put on the roof. That would mean that we would add the lean-to and the steel for it and the sides. The thing we need to figure out is how easy it would be to add the lean-to after the building roof is done.
• Another question that I have been thinking about is what all we are going to add to the interior or around the shed. What I mean is that I would like to run electricity out there so we can plug in our fencers there and also have lights. It would also be great to have a water hydrant out there for watering livestock, and I have even been thinking about installing a freeze proof cattle water thing (something like this one).

So, there are some of the plans. There are more things that are bouncing around in my head, but I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject. Either things from experience or ideas that pop into your mind.

Working On The Farm Layout

For quite a while I have been planning the farm layout in my head. I have thought about where I would put the hay shed in relation to the house and how far away would the garden be ... even how big the garden would be. But, now it is coming close to the time when I need to stop dreaming about and start nailing down some plans! We have the land (almost), so now we need to choose a building site and start laying out our buildings and future buildings. That will be the key, not only finding a spot for what we can build right away, but also thinking about how things will layout in the future.

There are two main building spots on the land that we are in the process of buying. From the very first time we saw the place we have looked at those two spots and thought that the place on ridge (sort of a ridge, I guess more of a flat spot on the Southern slope) near the woods would be the ideal place. It is down hill a little bit so we could hopefully have a bit of protection from the elements, it is near the woods so we have a neat view, and you could position the house so that you don't really see any other houses from your windows.

But, when we were out there the other day doing some measuring for the land release (for the building loan) we started to have second thoughts. At that building location the house would take up the most level part of the hill, and then we wouldn't be left with much else for other buildings. At the bottom of the hill it is rather wet and mushy in the spring and lots of snow collects there in the winter, so you wouldn't be the best idea to build down there.

I realize that I don't plan on having lots of buildings. But, we will eventually have a house, a hay shed, some sort of equipment storage, probably a brooder house, and of course the garden which will take up space. As I keep examining what we thought was the best site I have a hard time seeing the layout.

The second location is on the corner of the property where the road curves around. It is the highest point and fairly flat. The reasons that we have written in off in the past is because it is close to a neighbor and because it is up on the hill with no trees for protection.

But, it is back in the mix now because it would be the easiest place to layout a "barnyard". We have been researching fast growing trees like the austree to get up a wind, dust, privacy hedge quickly. Then follow that with some quicker growing pines and finally some hardwoods for shade. We need to go back out there and look at how a pole building (that we would live in), garden, hay shed, equipment storage, other odd buildings, and a future stick built house would all layout.

It is time for us to start doing ... instead of just thinking! That is exciting and scary at the same time!