New Barn Built The "Old Way"

New Barn Built The "Old Way" BUILDINGS Livestock 30-5-2 Told it would cost the same to build new as to fix up their old hip roof barn, Sandy and Gregg Reisinger did the smart thing. They tore it down and built a brand new hip roof barn. "We like the style and so do others in the community," says Sandy. "People drive by just to look at it." The new barn isn't just for sentimentality. It is a working horse barn. The Riesingers manage a brood mare band of mostly quarter horse/paints. The old dairy barn built in the 1920's was used for horse shelter, but was dark, cold and wet. While the old barn had a low 7-ft. ceiling on the first level, this one has 10 ft. Where the old one had floors that held the moisture and sucked away warmth, these have in-floor heating that keeps young foals and the people who work with them warm and dry. "The heated floors are really nice," says Sandy. "They help keep down the humidity, and the foals really like them." Even the timbers from the old barn were past using. The Reisingers hired an Amish crew to build the new one, fashioning beams on site. One difference is the siding. The couple opted for maintenance-free steel. The old style works well with the horse business. The 40 by 72-ft. barn holds 11 12 by 12-ft. horse stalls big enough for foaling. The mow keeps 5,000 square bales in good shape with easy access for filling with doors at either end. All in all, it has proven to be a good investment for man and beast, suggests Sandy. "With the high ceilings, we have much better ventilation," she says. "It is comfortable for us and the animals." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gregg and Sandy Reisinger, 2213 Washington St, Eldora, Iowa 50627 (ph 641-858-3233).

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