aisle widths

[mybeau1999]

I think this has been discussed before, but I didn't turn up anything when I searched.

We got the blue prints for the barn we're going to be building and I noticed that the guy only drew the aisle as 10'. I thought we were getting 12' but I was wondering if you guys think 10' is okay.

I mean I know it's do-able. But would bigger be better?

[Tom King]

I built ours 15' wide so I could use 16' (longest common length lumber)ceiling joists and have never been sorry I did. I can easily drive the tractor or truck with loaded trailer through it and there's plenty of room when we turn the herd in. I absolutely would not want a 10' aisleway and 12's feel cramped since we have gotten used to 15.

[bludejavu]

One of our barns has a 12' wide aisle, another has a 16' wide hallway and our main barn has a 24' wide hallway. I LOVE the 24' wide hallway - it allows ample room for just about anything including turning my golf cart around. I would throw out plans that only included a 10' wide hallway - way way too narrow. If you are going to have horses hanging heads out of stalls, it will be difficult to lead a horse down the hall without being nipped at. If you want to pull in with a vehicle, you'll have to be careful when opening the doors so that you don't hit the stall walls. And it will leave no room if you want to sit trunks, chairs, etc., in your aisle. Truthfully I've never seen a barn with less than a 12' aisle.

[manyspots]

We built our pole barn on a budget, but I did go with a 12' aisle (and 12 x 12 stalls). The width is great for working and grooming, etc, but tight for a truck. Actually, we found once we installed the door we could no longer get the Ford F250 with huge mirrors in. Not a big deal, because the future tractor of skidsteer will still fit! Just take into consideration all the things you could possible NEED the aisle for then go from there.

[Bluey]

I agree 12' would be the minimum, but more is always better.
Ours is 16', as are those of most barns I see built today.
12' or more is safer to get away if a horse slips and scrambles around, or acts up in there.

[SidesaddleRider]

Ours is 16'. I certainly would not want it any narrower. It leaves room for us to put trunks in front of the 3 stalls on the left, and still have plenty of room for the horses, or I can drive a truck through it or back a trailer up into it.

[Evalee Hunter]

Do NOT agree to 10 ft. You will be sorry. We have a 12 ft. aisle (widening the barn raises the price quickly) & 12 ft. has been OK but wider is better. We leased a barn with a narrower aisle & it was HORRIBLE.

[Sparky Boy]

I have a 10' x 75' aisle and never had a problem. I've never needed to drive any equipment in the barn though, so that may be a concern if you want to do such a thing.

I don't think swing out doors would be a good idea with a 10', or even a 12' aisle though.

[DiablosHalo]

I have 16' aisles and sometimes wish they were wider!

Definitely scrap the 10' aisles and get 12 as a minimum! good luck!

[Foxtrot's]

Wider the better - it is so nice not to be always squeezing past someone or something.

[pines4equines]

We have a 20 foot aisle and it's super. We can drive trucks in to unload hay and bedding. In the winter, we even school in hand in that aisle.

Also wanted to ask if your stall doors were sliding or opening, you need to allow room for swinging doors if that's what you have. That's a big UGH if you are trying to lead a horse down a narrow aisle and those doors are open all over the place.

Good luck.

[subk]

As you are looking at plans through this whole building process you must remember that many measurements are "based on center." In other words it would be the center of the pole that divides the aisle from the stalls and does NOT reflect the actual measured distance once you put in an 8" (or whatever size) wall. So it could easily mean that your 10 foot aisle when it's all said and will done actually measures closer to 9 1/2 feet. Yikes! that really does get narrow.

My barn has "12' aisles" that actually measure 11' 6" and "13' x 14' stalls" that some measure 12'4" x 12'8" and some 12 x 12'8". (I have a barn on a foundation, not a pole barn.) The wall width is easy to forget about, but really came into play when I was trying to squeeze, stuff like a bathroom, a washer and dryer, water heater and fridge into my tackroom. I had everything so nicely placed but had forgotten that I needed an extra 6" for the bathroom wall! I got it all in, but that space is designed down to the 1/2 in!

For what it's worth I have a private 6 stall barn with a separate building for hay and other storage and I think the 11'6" aisle will be fine--although in a perfect world I would have made it 14'.

[Summit Springs Farm]

We have 12 foot and I can drive my truck through to unload the feed, we also have garage doors at either end, and love it, just press the button and up or down or somewhere in between.;)

[Sparky Boy]

I have a 10' x 75' aisle and never had a problem. I've never needed to drive any equipment in the barn though, so that may be a concern if you want to do such a thing.

I don't think swing out doors would be a good idea with a 10', or even a 12' aisle though.

Keep in mind this barn is just for me and my one boarder. So it's not like there's a lot of traffic. If you're building a large barn for boarding and business then I'd say go as big as you can. If it's a private barn like mine, then it's not as necessary.

I also only use the stalls on one side for horses. The stalls on the opposite side are used for hay and storage.

[TrueColours]

My aisles are just over 15' wide and I love them. I can turn my little tractor around in there, hand walk easily, breed easily in bad weather, school the youngsters in standing and walking and jogging off and we will also put a phantom mare in the front "T" section and do the collections in that area as well

One barn I was at had 8' aisles and they were awful awful awful ... you always felt cramped and passing by a horse with pinned ears always left you feeling that you had nowhere to go if they took a pot shot at you

Go as wide as you can - you will be happy that you did ...

[Sarabeth]

Is a 10' aisle wide enough for crosstying a horse?

[MunchkinsMom]

My aisle is 12 feet, and I would not want anything narrower than that! I have swinging track style mesh doors and I fasten them open with bungie cords so they won't be in the way. Would love sliding doors, but not in the budget right now.

[MistyBlue]

I would go with 12' minimum if you have stalls on either side. Even in smaller barns, when you have a horse in the aisle it makes life easier to have more room on either side of it. Your farrier and vet will appreciate having that extra 2' of room too when they're working on your horse in the aisle. If you're only having stalls on one side of a small barn then 10' wouldn't be the worst thing in the world either...we all get used to what we have.
Now if you're designing a new barn...may I suggest as much storage room as possible? And overhangs on the outside? Seriously...I could live with 10' aisles a LOT better than living with not enough roofed storage area. I have never heard a single person ever complain they had too much storage space. :winkgrin:

[seabreeze]

My barn aisle is 10' and I wish I had at least 12' and more would be better. There is room to crosstie a horse, and there is room to drive through a regular-sized pickup (dually wouldn't go through)--although it's tight. However, there isn't really room for two horses to pass safely, and horses with their heads hanging out over the stall door will nip at horses walking through. As others have mentioned, putting a trunk in the aisle would make a 10' aisle seem cluttered.

So, yes, a 10' aisle is do-able. However, for the little added expense of a wider aisle, the happiness factor will be well worth it.

[cherham]

My barn aisle is 10 feet and I have no problems at all with this width. My stall doors are dutch swing out doors but we designed the doors so that they are not opposite each other so no concern with interfering.

I have no concern with walking horses past each other or using the aisle crossties. I simply did not want to spend my day sweeping unncessary floor space. I cannot even imagine a 15 foot barn aisle to sweep 5 or 6 times a day.

If I had to build another barn I would still insist on the 10 foot width as it works perfectly fine for me.

[equusvilla]

Ours is 13' wide. I don't think our dually truck would fit into a 10 foot one.

[Trevelyan96]

Mine is 10' wide and everyone who comes to my barn thinks its huge. Of course, its just for private use. Overall the barn measures 34x36. As noted however, I can't drive either of my trucks through, but its plenty of room for my Kubota.

[Daydream Believer]

Ours is 16 feet also and I love it. I've had one as small as 12 feet and it was OK. 10 ft sounds narrow to me.

[Blue Yonder]

Go bigger, if you can swing it. At least 12, although I love love the 14-foot aisles in my barn.

[saddleup]

I have a 16 foot aisle in my 6-stall barn. I love it. I park my tractor in there in the winter so it's not covered with snow when I need to use it, and there's still ample room to take the horses out and just maneuver around in there. I think a 10 foot aisle would be very tight quarters.

[mybeau1999]

Thanks everyone!

We just talked to the architect and builder and they both said that the aisles will be 12'. Although I still don't know why they say 10' on paper:confused:
My dad assured me that they will be 12'. problem solved, but thanks for your input, I'll keep it in mind when I build *my* barn 10-15 years down the road:D

[Bluey]

Thanks everyone!

We just talked to the architect and builder and they both said that the aisles will be 12'. Although I still don't know why they say 10' on paper:confused:
My dad assured me that they will be 12'. problem solved, but thanks for your input, I'll keep it in mind when I build *my* barn 10-15 years down the road:D

Since the framers will get the plans, be sure they correct that 10' designation there, to be sure all are on the same page.
Insist until the plans are what you want.

That happened to me with my house, that I told the builder this and that were not right on the plans and he said he would let the framers know, then went to a builder's convention and they framed as in the plans.
We had a big discussion over that.:eek:

Just get everying right, don't let them poh-poh what you don't like, make them write it in the plans right.

When they change that one little figure in their CAD program, the framing may change, the size of the lumber, all.

You are right, it IS important that the plans show the right dimensions.:yes: