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| Here's the story: We are looking into what we need to do to possibly purchase a piece of land near us that already has a barn on it, but no house. It's been just sitting for 4 years. The barn is steel frame/metal barn and has 4 stalls on one side. That main structure and stalls are in great shape, ready to use. But, opposite the stalls, instead of tack/wash/worshop area, the previous people had built in a little apartment. There is a kitchen living area, bathroom, closet and bedroom. Due to an unknown water pipe bursting during the winter, there was about 2 weeks of water leaking that flooded a good part of the apartment so it will essentially have to be gutted.
Our problem: We currently own a house in a neighborhood. Problem is, we bought it right after hurricaine Ivan (when we got married), so needless to say we are upside down in it. We HAVE to sell before we can buy a house but, this property it affordable enough we can pay on it and hopefully fix up the apartment to be liveable so that when our house sells, we could live there temporarily while we build a house.
Why i need help: I can't find ANY information on having an apartment on the ground floor of a barn. Everything is with apartment on a second floor, which wouldn't be an option in this case.
Pros: i don't currently own a horse so i wouldn't have to worry about all thetypical barn noise/smells.
Looking for: ANY advice.
Thanks!
ETA: i live in the southeast to don't have to worry about any snow.
Edited by Staying Focused 2014-07-25 11:20 AM
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 Night Chatter
Posts: 1907
 
Location: Mississippi | Barn apartments are wonderful! Make sure to keep some cats around, though! Dogs are also helpful. I dont have a problem with any critters, really. And I have 9 horses on the property. It really is a lot of fun! | |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 520
| I've lived in a couple barn apartments. The one was at ground level and backed up to the wash area and tack room, there was noise during the day (it was a boarding facility), but I was outside myself most of the day. At night I could hear the horses, but it wasn't unwelcome noises. The only smell was from my own barn cloths inside. Our last apartment was above an old barn, it was a dump and had NO insulation. We raised goats and had them downstairs, so yes it sure did smell lol! If we ever just bought a raw piece of land in the future I would really like to have a barn apartment on the second level again (but with insulation!), and have the mud room downstairs so I could leave my stinky barn clothes.
Edited by Buckles 2014-07-25 11:34 AM
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| I have 2 dogs and i wouldn't mind a barn cat! I don't do creepy critters!! | |
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 Expert
Posts: 3104
Location: Arkansas | Our house/barn combo is all one level. We have a fly spray system and the entire barn has concrete floors with mats in the stall and saddlig area. Smells aren't bad and neither is the noise most of the time (unless you have a horse that really likes to bang buckets). It is very well insulated, so that helps with the noise. | |
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| Single story barn apt is the best ... too easy to freeze and shift around if located up stairs.
Gut what you have ... I am assuming the floor is already concrete ... and sewer plumbing set for the toilet ... ...
When you set your metal uprights in .. put metal runners to attach metal runners on the exterior and interior sides of the up rights... keep reading.
Put standard barn metal around the exterior sides with door and window openings and do a metal ceiling. Spray all the inside walls and the roof side of the ceiling with the super hard high foam insulation ... it will go to R90 with about 1 1/2 inches of spray on ... you have to hire this done. NEVER PUT FIBERGLASS INSULATION IN A BARN ... rats etc love it!!
Once interior and top of ceiling are insulated with window and door holes. Do the interior walls also with barn metal and choose the color you want for walls ... this is the reason you welded metal runners on the interior side of your up rights at the very start.
You now have metal walls on both sides with a sandwich of good hard foam insulation in between. This insulation is not the white sticky crap you find in cans ... you can even paint this foam and use it as your walls ...
Once you have you a metal ice chest as the walls ... you can lay your electric in conduit pipe inside the walls to plugs, lights in plain sight and paint it to match the color of your walls .... and any drains and water pipes inside under cabinets along the wall .....
My simple plan for myself has all the kitchen sinks, dishwasher, clothes washer, dryer, bathroom sinks and water for toilet all lined up down one wall to make installation easier and to lower electrical and plumbing costs. .. All the above except the toilet can be drained as grey water if you think the septic might overload.
As insulated as this metal walled apt will be ... it can be heated with a couple of small electric heaters and a small window air unit. If you are in the frozen tundra .. make sure you have a propane heater spigot run thru the wall to use in case electric goes down in a blizzard.
For most of the features I mention above ... go to Apple Bees or Chili's restaurants and start looking for their exposed electrical conduits, air conditioner vents etc etc ... they are overlooked because the ceilings are painted black and you are thinking food .. lol
On your metal walls ... a metal barn company like Mueller can order you cuts at one inch intervals so metal will fit tight and then use the trim to connect ceiling to walls ... it can be made very attractive and your cost is kept way below dry walls etc etc ...
Good luck ...
Edited by BARRELHORSE USA 2014-07-25 7:20 PM
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Single story barn with apartment. Needing help/advice.