by Cynthia McFarland
In a hectic, high-speed, high-tech world, many horse farm owners are still drawn to the barns of yesteryear.
As farmland disappears and suburbs encroach ever farther into the countryside, the conversion of old barns into homes is common. In horse country, while some of those old barns are indeed undergoing conversion, they are being renovated to house horses, not humans.
Those who have converted barns admit they find something deeply satisfying about taking an abandoned or unused structure and giving it new life. They also enjoy the opportunity to restore a structure that may be rich in history or tradition so that it can endure for future generations. On the practical side, converting an existing barn can also save money, provided it does not require major repair.
“People like to restore old barns to keep the heritage,” said Jack Hart, a general contractor and the owner of Advanced Equine Construction in Corbin, Kentucky. “A lot of farms are handed down, and when someone’s grandfather used the barn, you hate to just knock it down if it’s still a good building. If nothing else, you can usually fix it up for use as a hay building and save it. We take a lot of pride when doing an old barn to make it look perfect when we’re done.”
Advanced Equine Construction has been in business for 27 years and specializes in medium- to high-end masonry and wood structures. Born and raised in Lexington, Hart works in Kentucky as well as around the country.
Four crucial elements
Converting an existing barn can be a successful alternative to building a new barn, so long as several key components are in place. Those four crucial elements are foundation, framework, siding, and roof.
“Ideally, you’ll have a barn with a good foundation, framework, and roof, and siding in good enough shape that you just need to paint it,” said Charles Parker of Parker Inc., who has been in the barn-building business in Central Kentucky since 1974. In addition to building many tobacco barns in the past, the Paris, ¬Kentucky-based business is often hired to convert older barns into horse barns.
“If two of the four components are bad, you’re going to spend as much repairing the old barn as you would to build a new barn,” Parker said. “If you have a bad foundation, that’s a big mark against you.”
Hart said an intact roof is important. “The roof needs to have been fairly well maintained so there is no water damage inside the barn. If the tin is off the roof, you see a lot of rotting and structural damage.”
Tobacco barns often make good horse barn conversions because of the architectural features of the design, such as excellent ventilation, and because they were usually well built to begin with.
“In the past, when people built tobacco barns, they built them right. You can’t find anyone today building pole barns the way those old tobacco barns were built,” Hart said. “A lot of them are similar to the way Amish barns were built with mortise and tenon joints, in which wooden pegs instead of nails are driven through the complete joint. This makes them very solid. Not all tobacco barns are built this way, but you see a lot of them in Kentucky and up toward Pennsylvania.”
“Your old, solid tobacco barn is usually a good [conversion] candidate if it’s a four-post barn,” Parker said. “They make a nice, airy barn that is healthy for horses. It always helps if you have a concrete foundation already.”
Other candidates
While tobacco barns are common in Kentucky, other barns can be worthy candidates for horse barn conversions, depending on style and condition. Parker notes that some post-and-frame barns can be handily converted for horses, and dairy barns can sometimes make good renovations.
One of the problems with dairy barns, however, is that many have lofts running the entire length of the barn, which make the barn hotter in the summer and doesn’t contribute to good ventilation. The cost of converting an old livestock or dairy barn to house horses will increase because in these barns the first tier is much lower than in a standard horse barn, Hart said. “In a barn like that, you have to do more structural changes than in a tobacco barn.”
The amount of time required for converting an existing barn depends on how much work is needed and the finishes involved. “Barns are like trucks in that you can have a lot of options,” Parker said. “If it’s a good candidate, we can convert it much quicker than building a new barn.”
If you’re working with an old structure that needs a new roof, or has to be jacked up and leveled because it has settled, these important details are taken care of before any interior conversion begins. Once the exterior is in good shape, Parker explained that the renovation usually proceeds in steps, as follows:
• Complete existing concrete foundation;
• Install flooring surface (asphalt or other material);
• Construct stalls;
• Install wiring and plumbing;
• Place finish on stalls (poly¬urethane, stain, or paint, for instance); and
• Add metal fabrication, which includes steel stall doors, grills, and window guards.
“A normal tobacco barn just has a foundation around the outside perimeter, but in a horse barn you need concrete under the fronts of the stalls to get the lumber off the ground so it won’t rot and turn dark over time,” Parker said.
“You’ll need to do some concrete work down the front of the stalls, as well as down the back side when you put the stalls in. Once you put the stalls in, the barn will be much stronger than when it was just a tobacco barn.”
Recycling barns
Farms large and small often take pride in preserving barns for horse uses.
“Here at Three Chimneys [Farm], we’re really big into recycling and reusing materials,” said Brad Caron, facilities director at the breeding farm in Midway, Kentucky. “Refurbishing a tobacco barn is the ultimate form of recycling.
“Not only are we reusing a perfectly good shell, but we’re also able to take many of the old materials out of the barn, such as beams, and use them on other projects.”
Caron, who has been building and maintaining large horse farms for his entire career, is responsible for all new construction and maintenance at Three Chimneys. The farm has converted two tobacco barns for horses, and Advanced Equine Construction currently is refurbishing a third.
Renovating an existing structure can be an economical way to house your horses. “If you’re building a barn, you have to pour a foundation, erect walls, and build a roof,” Caron said, “but with a tobacco barn renovation those three key ingredients are already in place, so you’re steps ahead.”
Proper ventilation is a key element in building any horse facility, and Caron pointed out that tobacco barns make good conversions to horse barns because they have been built with ventilation already in mind. If you leave the gaps open in a former tobacco barn, you will have maximum air flow, he said.
Not every old barn makes a worthy horse barn renovation. It is critical to consult with a knowledgeable contractor who is experienced in barn conversions before getting started. He can evaluate the barn to make sure that time and neglect have not left the building with serious structural problems that would keep it from being a viable candidate for renovation. It is better to find this out before you start spending money on materials and labor.
Caron has found that converting a tobacco barn involves several challenges.
“The interior grade must be evaluated and made suitable and safe for horses because it’s always best if the grade is totally level,” Caron noted.
“You will need to remove the nonstructural timbers inside—the tier rails—to create good head clearance. It’s almost always imperative that the doors at either end of the barn be raised to allow for safe passage of horses and vehicles.”
Any time there is a question about removing or relocating beams in a barn, you want to be sure an expert is involved, he said. Structural damage or partial collapse can result if the wrong beams are removed, or are removed at the wrong time.
Financial considerations
“You have people who really can’t afford a high-end barn, so they go toward the conversion because you can’t beat it as far as money,” said Hart. “You can convert an old tobacco barn for about one-quarter of what it would cost to build a new block barn of the same size.”
Although saving money can be an incentive for renovating an existing structure rather than building from bare ground, it is important to not cut corners on materials.
“Longevity is important. You want a product that’s going to last a long time, so use the right materials. You want to use durable materials, such as oak, for the stalls, beams, posts,” Parker said. “If you don’t use oak in the stalls, they’re going to chew it up. If you use yellow pine, horses will eat right through it.”
Parker said he does more metal roofs on barns than shingle construction because metal is more cost effective and will last much longer than a shingle roof, if done properly. It is important to make sure the ridge of the roof is properly vented to allow rising hot air to escape. A ¬well-ventilated barn will be cooler in the summer than one without adequate ventilation, he said. Farms with yearlings to prepare for sales certainly will appreciate that benefit.
While saving money is a consideration in converting an existing barn instead of building new, the final cost of a renovation can vary dramatically from one project to another. Even if you have two older barns in virtually identical condition, owner preference determines the investment in the interior conversion.
“There’s tremendous versatility in the level of finishes. You can do it basic or very upscale,” noted Caron. “A small farmer can renovate a tobacco barn for about $2,500 a stall, but I’ve been involved in many projects in the past where it ran $16,000 a stall. With a barn conversion, you can really save money if you want to, or you can dress it up.”
Once the basics—foundation, framework, siding, and roof—are in good shape, everything else becomes a matter of personal preference. You can cut windows into the outside walls to increase natural light and ventilation. Stall walls can be fabricated in a shop or built on site. Just be sure to use oak or similar hardwood, because it will not take long for horses to destroy pine and other softwoods.
You may opt to enclose one stall and use it as a feed-preparation area or a tack room. Stall walls may be stained or painted. Plumbing and electricity can be added.
Hart prefers to have exterior exit doors on every stall. “This way, you can get animals out of the barn in case of a fire, without going into the barn,” he said.
All of these options will determine the final numbers when it comes to how much a barn conversion costs.
“You want to carefully choose a competent contactor because the very word ‘remodeling’ signifies that caution must be taken,” Caron said. “There will always be the odd challenge or issue to deal with, so you need to be in good hands with a qualified contractor who can meet these challenges head on and work through any issues that arise.”
Word of mouth is one of the best ways to find a qualified contractor who specializes in barn renovations. Always ask for references and, whenever possible, go look at barn projects in person to see the contractor’s work for yourself.
Cynthia McFarland is Florida-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent