Barn Dirt Floor
Here s a look at the types of flooring found in horse s stables.
Barn dirt floor. We re building a barn now with a dirt floor. Lidingo wikimedia commons cc by sa 3 0. Going outside where there is acres of dirt or concrete and at times they prefer the concrete especially when it is hot hot. Overlap the bottom of the walls with two inches of the sheet edges raised upward along the wall s surface.
My sheep have options. Concrete floors are stronger more durable and easier to clean and maintain than bare dirt or gravel floors but they can be hard on your animals hooves. Cover the dirt floor with a layer of 10 mil plastic sheeting to serve as a vapor barrier which will keep moisture from seeping through the dirt and onto your wood floor. If your barn shop or storage shed is subject to air currents that keep dust hovering in the air consider using a dust mask.
Flooring needs to have good traction so that horses and their handlers don t slip and fall. Barn flooring is the foundation of a clean and safe barn. Lay the sheets in rows across the dirt floor. Dirt floors are the ideal option when it comes to livestock barns.
Since a pole barn s only foundation requirements are in the footers for the poles the central dirt inside can be left alone. Some pole barn owners start with a dirt floor to see how it performs. If you use your barn for equipment or wood storage and use raised storage areas to prevent moisture issues a dirt floor may provide the most economical solution. Consider covering your barn s center aisle with rubber pavers or mats and be sure to put down a bed of gravel clay or straw inside your livestock stalls.
Since barns are constantly exposed to the mess that goes along with horses including manure dirt and hair the floors need to be easy to keep clean. The easiest pole barn flooring option is dirt. Cool concrete to lie on and shade overhead it is a sheep s dream. Soil sand or clay.
Ours is maybe what you could call a modified pole barn. I ve always had dirt barn floors. Modified because there are internal weight bearing poles and we have a two level roof trusses on the upper level rafters on the lower level. But my barn is also a through barn design so cleanout just means a trip or two down each side with my tractor and the manure is.
For several types of barns this is the ideal solution when it comes to pole barn floors.