Dog barn/workshop (4 Viewers)

[120mm]

My lovely bride and I used to fantasize about a house and barn combo since we met in 1985. We gave up on it when we moved to Middle Tennessee in 2019. Land here is expensive and/or unavailable.

This April, that changed.

While on a driving adventure south of the Cumberland river, I turned around in a driveway, at the end of which was the spitting image of the house we designed on a napkin at a local pizza place in 1985. It was post and beam new construction and it was for sale.

Fast forward to today and we are building a 40 x 50 barn for the purpose of rescuing dogs and working on old cars.

 

[Bob Morazes]

and your guardian angel heard you and your wishes were answered.
Amazing stuff out there that we , as humans, can never understand.
Love them puppies
Bobmo

 

[120mm]

Major progress today.

 

[spazzyfry123]

Love the story.

Any napkin drawings of final barn?

 

[120mm]

Love the story.

Any napkin drawings of final barn?

Framing done.

As far as drawings, we've been doing this one off the cuff. 3 parking spots in the first 1/3 of the building with a loft and dog kennels in the back 2/3.

The loft will be a combination storage/ playhouse.

The great thing about this style of construction is that you can configure it as you go.

 

[spazzyfry123]

That’s great. I want a monitor style barn here at the property, so it gets me excited to see it in action.

 

[greenbeast]

Congrats on capturing you dream! Sounds like it was meant to happen.

We just started living in our shop while we work on clearing old trailer where our future house is going.

Absolutely nothing better than having your own space!

 

[120mm]

That’s great. I want a monitor style barn here at the property, so it gets me excited to see it in action.

I like the monitor barns for heating/cooling reasons.

A traditionally configured building is a lot more cubes to heat or cool, with not much more useable space

Plus they look cool

 

[120mm]

Waiting for cement so they can side and insulate.

 

[PAToyota]

Waiting for cement so they can side and insulate.

I typically specify to side and roof before concrete to better control the concrete curing in shade.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

What’s your concrete spec and cure plan? Honestly just trying to help.

 

[120mm]

What’s your concrete spec and cure plan? Honestly just trying to help.

Not really sure. General contractor is on top of that and I didn't know I needed one.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

Not really sure. General contractor is on top of that and I didn't know I needed one.

You don't need one if you aren't concerned about what you are getting. At a minimum I would want to know concrete psi, thickness (in the middle and on the edges), whether or not there is welded wire (should be), rebar around the thickened edge (should be), finish spec, and cure plan.

My recommendations would be:

4000 psi concrete
6" with at least a 12" turndown around the edges
welded wire with 2 #4 rebars in the thickened edge
Machine trowel (slick) finish
14 days water cure by owner. You would just need to cover with plastic and keep it wet underneath with a hose once or twice a day. I agree with the above comment about having the roof on to help with curing but that isn't absolutely necessary if you do a good job with the plastic and water.

You're pouring in a hot time of the year so you really need immediate water curing to prevent shrinkage cracks. You can start water curing within a couple of hours of them removing the machine trowel. You also need to make sure they don't add too much water to the concrete when they place it. That will also cause cracking.

Edit: You also need plastic underneath the concrete if you are going to climate control any part of the building.

 

[120mm]

The cement guys showed up today while I was picking up my wife and her family from their river cruise in Chattanooga.

The cement pad went in as described above, and I put water on it and covered it about 2 hours after it firmed up

Before that, I helped transport a couple of sweet babies. One to a vet appointment and one to a foster.

We've settled on an interior plan. The great thing about pole buildings is their flexibility. This is a picture of the 2/3 of the barn dedicated to rescuing dogs. 8 permanent stalls in the center with a loft for activities above. This maximizes head room in the loft and minimizes the amount of space that needs heated/cooled 24/7.

We can add more temporary kennels along the outside walls as necessary

 

[WarDamnEagle]

Concrete my friend: concrete. Cement is just an ingredient in concrete. Sorry; married to a civil engineer.

Most people don't properly cure concrete and they get cracks. You will also get cracks but it will be much less if you keep it wet for a couple of weeks.

 

[120mm]

Concrete my friend: concrete. Cement is just an ingredient in concrete. Sorry; married to a civil engineer.

Such a high falutin way to say See-ment.



Yep, I know the difference. Just being linguistically lazy

 

[WarDamnEagle]

Coming along nicely. Pretty black and white. Border Collie?

 

[120mm]

Coming along nicely. Pretty black and white. Border Collie?

He's recovering from mange, so we haven't the slightest. We found these two in an abandoned house a few months ago. Once his hair comes back....

 

[120mm]

Popped the construction lid off the drain.

Nice little dog washing station/sink in the making.

Construction crew showed up bright and early to put on the exterior, and discovered the panels were 2 feet too short.

Crap. Now to wait for them to unscrew their mess

 

[120mm]

Aaand they looked just a little bit and found my 12 foot siding.

Going on as I type this.

Watching them install the insulation/house wrap makes me hungry for burritos