If you live in the country or have a big property, a new small barn might be just what you need to solve all of your storage problems.
Woodbury Barn Plans - The Backroad Designers
What’s the difference between a shed and a small barn? Well, size mostly. But, little barns tend to have style, features and flexibility that you won’t find in most sheds. They come in all shapes and sizes. You can find boxy designs for simple storage space, little barns with lofts that add high-and-dry storage, and rambling buildings with multi-function extensions. Sheds are just for storage, but a small barns can include your workshop, garage space for your car, truck or tractor, housing for your pets, a game room, a green house, a wood shed, and just about anything else you can think of.
Sheds and garages are usually designed for standard stud-frame construction. That’s great for most situations and probably best if you’re planning to build on your own. Small barn designs are also available for people who want a stud-frame building. However, you can also find barns that are designed for pole-frame construction or as post and beam building kits. Pole barns are usually less expensive to build in most locations. They don’t require continuous frost-wall foundations, just holes and small concrete pads at each pole ( usually 6×6 pressure treated lumber, nowadays ). Post and beam building kits are the modern, do-it-yourself versions of old timber frame barns. They are sturdy and durable and look beautiful inside and out.
Did I mention lofts? Part of what makes a traditional barn look like a barn is a second story. You might not need a hay loft, but you’ll find that there’s lots of other stuff that you can store up there. Because a second story fits under the same roof and requires no additional site work, it’s very inexpensive space to build - usually just about a quarter of the cost of ground level space of the same area. And, with pull-down stairs or a ladder, and an outside hatch with a lift post for bulky loads, it’s almost as easy to use as ground level space. I kept a 16′ canoe above my Dad’s garage for years. After a couple of trys, I found that it was easy to lift it up there with the help of a rope and pulley that he really added just for looks.
Lofts help make barns less expensive to build than one-level buildings of the same storage capacity. So do simple materials and details. If you build a garage or shed, you might be tempted to match the finishes of your home. In fact, some zoning boards and community review groups might insist that you do. But, clapboard, nice trimmings, shutters, flower boxes and such look silly on barns, and nobody would expect you to include them.
Design review boards actually love barns. In my own work, I’ve found that by designing garages that look like barns and are called “barns” on the drawings, I’ve always had much less trouble getting approvals. Review boards like barns because they add bucolic beauty to a rural community, because they can have a sense of history and because they look great in the countryside. Garages are just garages.
Small barns are easy to expand. Because traditional farm barns tend to ramble with extensions and sheds added over the years, new barns also seem to look good with an add-ons. The same high side walls that are necessary for barn lofts make it easy to tack on a lean-to shed or two on the side or across the back of a little barn. So, your small barn can grow if and when you need it to.
Most importantly, it’s way cooler to build a barn than a garage or shed. Did you see the barn raising scene in the movie Witness? Good luck trying to get friends and relatives to help you build a garage. But, invite them to a “barn raising,” and you’ll be surprised. You’ll have a great time and get a lot of help for the cost of cider and donuts.
Take a look at some of the designs that are available: The Small Barn Plan and Building Kit Directory >>>
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