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Building a new barn!

K

Kent in NB

Member
Going to build a new dairy barn this summer. Steel structure, with wood purlins. Naturally ventilated. My question; is there really any difference in strength between a cathedral ceiling(with tension rods holding the truss together), and a scissor truss( which will lower the ceiling a couple of feet, but still provide a sloped ceiling)? All designed and built to code. We prefer the scissor style,as it keeps the ceiling from looking to cluttered, but will build whatever works best. Kent in NB
 
Hi Kent!Congratulations on the new barn plans!(Roy has another saying for building/putting up somthing but I won't say it here lol)I have no idea which is better,but sounds like it will be really nice either way.All the best,going to be a very busy year for you guys.pd.
 
Personally I would go with the one piece wooden truss and leave the tension rods out of it.Probably cheaper to.

Vito
 
In a cold area I would want a lower ceiling to keep the heat in. Perhaps a good size fan in each end to push warm air out in hot weather. It's your barn so build it as you like. Good Luck.
 

I guess you are not planning to have a loft for hay..?
Probably not practical, but over-head mow was always handy and insulated in the winter, too..
Just a thought..

Ron.
 
I'd prefer tension rods to gain a bit of clearance. I'd use a wood preservative on your purlins as dairy barns are humid in the winter. I'm not a fan of pressure treated lumber for working with though.

Make sure you get stamped plans, there have been a lot of dairy barn collapses the last few years with the extra snow. Farm code allows weaker designs due to low occupancy but it doesn't cost that much to build for the 1/100 year snow vs 1/30 year or whatever the farm code uses.

If you do go truss, pay special attention to the bracing details. They really make a big difference in the truss strength and they are missed or don't get done right in most barns.

Spend some time planning your foundation carefully, it will affect your day to day operations a lot and you will be aware of your mistakes for a long time.
 
Kent, Have you looked into the fabric covered steel frame ones? That appears to be the choice in northern NH and VT now. The largest dairy farm in NH has about six of them now. I can get you a contact if you want to ask them about them.
 
Nest "barn type" building going up around here. Is going to have a shower,bathroom, laundry, change room, kitchen and bunk area. TV and beer fridge too.
 
You guys going tie stall?I don't know what's in your area for nice tie stall,but I do know there are some pretty incredible ones over here too.You should see Barry Uterlinde's,brick front plastic pannel curtains,I think it's pine on the inside too.pd
 
Well, you're the only person whose opinion counts. I say do whatever makes you happy. If both designs are properly engineered for the same roof and wind load, it shouldn't matter which one you choose, as far as strength goes. Price could be a quite different matter.
 
I'd tend to think that if it's engineered to meet codes it shouldn't matter. I'd be looking at the cheaper option...
We've been looking at options on barns lately as well and we're leaning towards a dome of some type.

I've seen some barns done with a scissor truss and I've also seen some done with big gluelams though I don't know what the gluelams will effectively span without getting way out of hand on cost...
I'd almost lean towards going entirely with steel myself. Clearspan... and keep the posts out of the way.
The way I see it, they simpler it is, the fewer gadgets it has... the better. Less to go wrong and less to maintain. We both know how well anything inside a dairy barn is maintained....

Rod
 
Yup! Going back to the old style. But with a few twists. Those pine paneled barns are ok for the first few years, and then it starts to get dark. I find them a dreary place to work in. Isocell walls and white ag-tuf will keep us nice and bright.Kent.
 
Hi Rod. I am not doing this litely. We are starting to have subdivision fever around us. We don't want to get bigger and we don't want to move. The consultant that ran the numbers for us could not get anything to work until we doubled our quota, and then we still could not build a new parlour. When we ran the numbers for a tiestall, it worked for my current size. So, we are building with stalls for 25% growth in herd size, but no plans to expand just now. My freestall is wore out and is wearing out my cows way to fast. We want to have something we can show off our cows in and make alot more milk in comfortable surroundings. I must confess! I am no longer a commercial dairyman. I like selling good cows for lots of cash.

These RPS buildings are really well priced. Little bit less than Ideal, little bit more than Houle. And the scissor truss does look nice. Kent
 
Around here all the guys are going to the lamply building trusses. I don't know how big of barn you are planning on building but a lot of the ones that I work with are 108 wide or wider, natural vent, freestall.
 
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