Kat, The US Dept. of Ag has a variety of free downloadable barn plans,.... http://www.ebackroad.com/0mwpsorg-freefarmplans.html That said, you will probably find that they are commercially oriented, but by pouring over them, you can figure out things like minimum space allotments for stalls and coops based on animal type. You need to figure out some things before you "guess out" your barn. Who and what you are going to keep there, how you will clean it, and finally once you have the size, how you will build it. The "cheapest" way to build a barn depends on local traditions and local materials. Around here, it is ether a pole barn constructed from standing timber like a log home, or a driven post and beam barn, (18" posts consiting of local timber, bottom treated with wood preservative, buried 5 feet in post holes, sheathed with 2' wide locally sawn planks lag bolted to the posts. For example, I have two barns, one for horses, one for "livestock", (really just peoples former pets and assorted characters living out their retirement in comfort). The horse barn in on the edge of a 1 acre corral, the livestock barn on the edge of a 10 acre fenced cross section. Both barns have concrete foundations and concrete floors. Entrance, Passage, stall gates and stall size are set up so that I can clean out the waste and soiled bedding with the Skidsteer. There is a central channel leading to a 3" drain and slurry pond, and a 2" water line, so that the walls and concrete floor can be hosed down clean and sterilised. For bedding, from the local Horse shop, I have gotten one inch thick 4 x 8 compressed rubber mats which line the stalls, overtop wood chips and straw are spread. As a result, cleaning all the stalls in both barns, washing the walls and sterilising the barns are a one person, one day chore, ( including loading the waste in the compost bins). The barns get cleaned out quite regularly, every couple of weeks in summer, every week in winter. You could use rammed earth or a floor instead of concrete, ( a 1:3 or 1:4 ratio of cement, rototilled into the dirt, dampened, leveled and compressed with a vibratory plate compactor). The horse barn is 24 x 24 x 12 high, with a 16 foot loft for hay and feed storage. The walls are 2 x 6 studded on 24" centers, R22 insulated, (gets cold here), sheathed on the exterior with patterned OSB panels, primed and stained, sheathed on the inside with unpatterned OSB stained white. Stalls measure 8 x 8 with 4 x 4 picket sides and a 8' galvansied economy gate. There are 4 stalls on each side with a 8 foot central isle. The hay loft has an 8 x 8 trapdoor in the center providing access from inside the barn, and at the rear, a 6 x 6 door providing access from outside. Also in the hay lofts are a 6" x 8" Barn Owl entrance. Entrance to the barn is through a 12 x 12 tack room, dressing room, where the horses can be groomed, examined, bridled and saddled and the gear can be stored on the walls leaving the floor space open. Each stall has one double pane 4 x 5 foot sash window, and the east wall of the tack room has the door, and two 2 x 4 windows. The south wall has 3 4 x 5 windows. Inside the barn, at the other end, is another sliding door providing rear access to the barn. We currently have one colt, two riding horses and three dog food horses living with us. The livestock barn is similar, except the stall sizes are different. 4 8 x8 stalls line one side, 8 4 x8 stalls line the other. The cow gets an 8 x 8 stall, the two pigs share a 8 x 8 stall, 3 goats share one 8 x 8 stall, 2 other goats have individual stalls, 2 sheep share a 4 x 8 stall, with 4 sheep total in the barn, and the lamma has the last 8 x 8 stall. Unless ill, injured or nasty weather, everybody spends the day outside in the fresh air, and gets called to the barn at sundown. Pretty sad actually, clearing out beetle killed pine in a manly man way, chainsaw, axes and everything, followed around by a mangy pack of animals looking for affection, treats or just to hang around with me and the dogs. Sad thing is, the Belgan Shepard is nuts about fetch, and so is one of the pigs. I am working hard on getting them to take turns, as open competition is not fair to the pig, but then, I have been doing that for three years now to little success.

I will have a corner breakfast nook in my new kitchen (new build) and am struggling with lighting. There will be benches on two walls - 6ft x 8ft and a table that will usually be 42x42 or 42x54 inches, but may expand to 42x66 with extra company. It will be our daily eating and work space (homework, bills, snacks) but we will have a separate formal dining room. I am trying to look at lighting and feel as though I don't even have a good sense of what I need in that space (style is no problem - just the specifics.) Do I need downlights? (I prefer up lights or candles but don't want to have trouble with tasks). How many? I was thinking about 5-6. I will have a dimmer. How many watts? Is 300 enough - and is that how I should think about this - in terms of total wattage? Thanks for your insight and experiences.

Hi, In either case you've got a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem. You'll need at least a concept plan to get a reasonably accurate estimate of construction costs. You'll need to invest some amount of money to develop the plans--whether by an independent architect or design/build firm. The good news is that you don't need a fully detailed, fully-engineered "biddable" set of plans for that. Absent a set of concept plans, you could use cost data published in Remodeling Magazine's Cost-Vs. Value Report to infer the likely cost for your project http://www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vs-value/2017/ In our market we've found the cost data to be pretty good for budget purposes. If you go the architect-first route, get your remodeler on board as soon as possible so the design can be informed by real-world cost information. Architects don't typically build stuff, don't write checks for materials and labor, and don't get a heads-up from suppliers about pending price increases. The cost information they'll have is for completed projects. With dimensional lumber prices up as much as 30% in the last year, using even 12 month old cost data is like driving by looking in the rear view mirror. Best wishes for a successful project.

Thanks for the feedback all, MB Custom especially. I’m going to try to sketch up those changes over the next couple days and get them to the builder. The only suggestion that I’m back and forth on is the doorway in the living room to the deck. I have it positioned there so that you go out under the covered portion of the deck. I know it will limit furniture position. To be honest, we aren’t really living room people. We spend our time between, kitchen, bedrooms and deck. Same with dining room. That table is more for collecting mail. It will be a small 4 person table. Regarding not making changes. I’m know I can still make changes but at the end of the day, I have 100’s of hours into this and looking at other layouts and this is the best I could do to meet our wants. My main goal with this design was to keep as much on the back of the house as I could. I’m sure I should have hired an architect but the builder seemed confident that the engineer could draw it up. I am going to try to incorporate suggestions and I’ll see what you guys think. Cheers.