Case Study – American Timber Barn

American Timber Barn with 6 stables installed in East Kent

Our client initially called with a clear picture in her mind of what she was looking for, an American Barn with tweaks.

The Barn

An American Barn is an investment so it is better to get it built just how you want from the start. Set in Kent countryside the barn is surrounded by acres of good quality grazing land and will be complemented by a menage in the near future. For this reason our client wanted to get everything right from the start.

There is stabling for six horses, planning for the future and growing children or even liveries meant two of the stables are slightly bigger than the others. Thus there are 4 x standard 12’ x 12’ stables and 2 x 14’ x 12’ stables. Storage space and wash down is something people often forget, one of the benefits of the fully contained stables is the opportunity for a covered wash down area. This barn includes 2 x 12’ x 12’ wash down storage bays with the plan that if required one could become extra stabling in the future, handy for a foal or to overwinter a horse that is normally in the field.

In true Olson Timber Building style, there were a few changes from the basic building, each stable can be accessed either from the centre covered part of the barn or from a two-piece external stable door. The reasoning is to give more options for the horse to stand and be groomed or take the air. There is a chance that the stabling will be used for livery and that means more people coming and going, this change just gives maximum flexibility. The same ethos was behind the choice to have a large sliding door at both ends of the stable block rather than just one. Apart from a couple of minor size tweaks, everything else is from our standard American Barn specification.

The stable build was managed by Spencer Olson but the footings were laid by the clients builder (who was doing other work on site) with our guidance. This is standard practice although we can also offer a base laying service when required. Of note with an American barn is there should be a slight angle towards a central drain or gulley so any water runs away cleanly from within the stables.

About the purchaser

As a family with children the main the use for the stables will be for ponies for the next few years. Set close to their house the American Barn is a long-term investment that the entire family will enjoy for many years to come. Working long hours means cold early mornings and dark nights are a fact of horse ownership for the time poor, this style of timber building goes a long way to make mucking out a little more pleasant. 

Your own American Barn?

An American Barn offers a lot of space and utility for the money, it makes caring for horses more pleasant in winter months and centralises a lot of the activities. There is ventilation built in but the option to shut out the wind on a cold day is a big bonus. You do need to plan ahead a little more than a more traditional stable block, planning consent is likely to be required, but we are here to draw up plans for you and can even help with the footings. As an all in one stabling, wash-down, and storage option that makes you and the horses more comfortable it is certainly an option worth serious thought. For more details about and Olson Timber Buildings American Barn click here.