Building a Barn: The Walls

We had nothing to keep chickens in, so we bought a small coop to hold the first couple. But that wasn't going to be enough. They needed space. They needed their own barn. Not a big barn, but a solid shelter to keep them safe and dry. We had settled on a 10x110 barn. We had to build it onsite, but that didn't mean we wanted to start entirely from scratch.


We ordered a small barn package from the hardware store. After 2 weeks, it was delivered. My sons, who at this point were 14 and 12, unloaded all the lumber and carried it back to our soon-to-be barnyard. Then construction could begin.

I'll freely admit that I'm not a lot of help. Oh, I can read directions and put small items together, but this was 2x4s and siding and windows and doors. A little beyond my scope. But my 14-year-old is a budding contractor. He took the lead. He grabbed those 2x4s and starting building the walls. He just threw them together. The walls were built on the ground to be erected later.


And yes, there are chickens inside the wall in the picture to the right. They're very attached to my son, who can barely be seen in the top right. So they follow him around no matter what he's doing.  There are always at least 4 chickens around Tristan at any given point.


Tristan spent a great deal of time measuring and marking to make sure his walls would be perfect. He was building them 24-inch on center, so the measuring was important. He took his time and he built the framing for the walls. He even added framing for the windows on 2 of the walls. This took more time as he measured and marked and carefully nailed in each board. But it was time well spent.


Next he had to attach panels of siding. He wanted his siding to run vertical, so that's what we did. Or that's what he did. Let's be honest here. I cut one panel, ended up not cutting on the line he drew, and was immediately banned from cutting any more panels. I could hold the panels in place while he cut them, but no more cutting for me. He even kept the saw battery with him so that I couldn't get a jump on cutting. I'm not great at cutting.

So he carefully marked and cut each panel, making sure to cut out the window sections. Then he nailed the panels in place. I helped by standing around with a hammer and handing him another bag of nails when his bag ran out. I also filled a chicken waterer. So I'm a ton of help. I did read the directions on installing the siding. Which was pretty straightforward. Measure, cut, nail. It wasn't hard. He didn't need my help.


But for the next step, Tristan would absolutely need my help. The next step would be erecting those walls.

At the Beginning

Everyone as to start somewhere, and we are no exception. Andersen Acres is the brainchild of my now 14-year-old son Tristan. He wanted chickens, goats, and a miniature horse. My younger son Rowan wanted rabbits. But we had nowhere to keep anything. No barns, no fences, no coops...nothing. So we needed something.


Back in 2019, Tristan had an idea. Two smaller barns and a coop to use as a nursery between them. Also a fence to keep everyone from wandering into the neighbour's yard. The very first thing he wanted was a barn (though we'd end up with a coop before the barn was erected). To build a barn, it would need a solid base.


The base of a barn is a tricky thing mostly because there are so many options. You can use concrete, wood, dirt, shavings, or literally anything else. After much discussion, Tristan decided he wanted a sand and limestone floor for his chickens. It would be easy to scoop clean and if he layered the sand over gravel and pea stone it would have excellent drainage.


Now to build it. It was the fall of 2019, so there wasn't much time before the first snow would hit First, he had to cut cedar beams to size. 6x6 cedar beams so they could support the weight of his barn. Then he had to cover those beams in liquid rubber. After that was the digging. To make them flush with the ground, he had to dig down several inches into the ground. It was hard work, especially when he was only 13 at the time. But he did it with a smile on his face.


Once the beam where anchored in place, he laid down landscape fabric and added some gravel. Then it was ready for barn, though that constructed wouldn't begin until the Spring of 2020...