Your Farmstead Buildings Can Be of Simple Materials

By Lee Allen.

The type homestead you have will determine the kind of buildings you need or can get by with. They can range from windbreaks to barns.

A suburban estate or rural acreage within organized communities requires that structures be somewhat conventional. They will probably have to meet building codes, and the esthetic value may be important. Since the owner will have a source of income, the cash cost may be a minor consideration.

On the other hand, homesteaders far removed from codes, jobs, powerlines and neighbors will be primarily interested in low cash outlay and the structure's utility. The remote homesteader has much more latitude in design, and often will use different materials. In fact, the design depends on the choice of materials at hand. The labor must be done by the homesteader based on sound building principles, with the emphasis more on permanence than beauty.

The financial situation of many homesteaders will be somewhere between the two examples described. Most designs, then, will be a blending of features to accomplish the most desirable compromise of low cost, convenience, function, permanence, and beauty.

In all cases the structure will be a capital asset, and its effect on the overall value of the estate is important. Even though the structures may be planned for your sole use, consider what value different designs will have on your property value should you sell the property. In some cases the estate's increased value may be enough reason for a construction project, since many homesteads have been created only to be sold at a tidy profit.

The Building Site

For buildings to fulfill their purpose, they should be built according to an overall plan. While generalities of good homestead design can be stated, (placing buildings conveniently around the access and residence), differences in individual terrain make planning for each homestead a necessity.

First consideration in locating the buildings will be freedom from surface water drainage. Buildings should be situated on high ground. When they must be located on slopes, drainage ditches can be provided so water doesn't enter the structures. Each animal shed should be located where water can't accumulate, or a mound of some sort will have to be constructed.

In all cases drainage from the roof should run away from the building. Your plan should place buildings away from drainage channels.

Take care to see that contractors or other construction people do not leave a depression around building foundations, or that settling of fill does not result in low spots to collect water adjacent to structures. You also will need to see that future buildings do not block drainageways from your initial ones.

Observe the direction of local winds when locating structures, especially in northern climates where drifting snow may pose a threat to animal housing. Use natural windbreaks, and consider plantings for this purpose. Don't let valuable land blow away or your animals become sick or unproductive. If your site is wooded, cut only those trees that need removal; but don't allow excessive shade on your garden if you expect it to be productive.

Many factors will influence the location and orientation of your buildings. Winter sun shining into animal enclosures will do much to keep them dry and aid the health and productivity of the animals. Possible overflow from nearby streams that may become frozen or flooded should be studied. Many streams overflow in winter when ice restricts the flow in the main channel.

Neighbors or old-timers in the area may be able to advise You on quirks of nature that may affect the building sites you pick.

Of course, your basic wants and needs will be paramount. Estimate the size garden you need, and the kind and number of animals you wish to care for. Consider every factor you can in creating your homestead design within limitations imposed by the terrain.

Building Materials

Every building has two basic parts; the structural framework and the weather-protective material. Protection from weather generally is provided by a weatherproof surface material and a separate insulating layer. Sometimes all the needed properties are combined in a building material with structural strength, weatherproofing and insulating value.

Depending on the purpose the structure is designed for, and the climatic conditions, more or less of each building component will be combined to provide the degree of environmental control needed. Properties of materials chosen and the design also determine how long the structure will last. For instance, adequate roof overhang to avoid wet walls can compensate for using a building material that deteriorates or rots readily when wet.

Many conventional structures use a wood frame of poles or studs to support the roof. Walls are covered with wood or metal to cut down air exchange, and a non-structural insulating material is attached to the frame to prevent excessive heat loss. Add a waterproof material to the top of the structure to protect against rain and snow.

Many refinements or adaptations are possible but basic functions of the structural parts remain the same.

Often building materials can provide two or more required properties. Logs or sod, for instance, have structural strength, and can be cut to restrict air flow. They have good insulating value in the thicknesses commonly used and provide resistance to deterioration from moisture.

If a stout frame can be made, many materials will provide windproofing and insulation, especially if an adequate roof prevents major damage from moisture. Hay, straw or moss can provide good weather protection and warmth.

Remember, the key to homestead living is to cut cash expenditures. You can do this if you use ingenuity in your own designs and rely on materials gathered locally at little or no cost.

Ventilation

A primary design feature in structures, especially for animal housing, is ventilation. Most animals withstand cold, but not wet and drafty conditions. Animal hair gives good insulation unless it's ruffled by air currents or gets wet. Ventilation removes moisture from animal structures.

Air enters the structure and is slightly warmed by the animals' body heat. This warmed air is able to hold more moisture in the form of water vapor than does cold air, so it absorbs the excess moisture in bedding and from the animals' breath.

Replacing this warm moist air inside the structure by cool, dry outside air provides the drying effect of ventilation. Design of animal structures needs to provide for this essential air exchange. Besides its drying effect, ventilation provides fresh air for breathing and air exchange to carry away undesirable odors and air contaminants.

As the structure is made drier by ventilation, the inside environment becomes a poorer place for the increase and spread of disease germs or organisms that cause sickness in animals. In enclosed buildings, holes or slots are left in the structure to allow for air exchange.

For short periods when wind and temperature are severe, the holes can be closed. Open up the building when the storm is over so excessive moisture, odors and air contaminants don't build up.

Removing moisture from the structure by ventilation reduces a major threat to structures as well as to animals. Rot in wood is caused by microorganisms which can grow in the wood only when moisture is present. The rot stops when the wood dries out, but becomes active if the wood gets wet again.

The most common protection against moisture and wood decay is to place structures on concrete foundations above sources of ground moisture. Another way is to use wood in moist locations which has been treated with a material toxic to growth of rot organisms. Most of these toxic materials resist insects that burrow in wood as well. Many also deter attack by rodents or larger animals.

With treated wood, cheaper designs can be used, since considerable strength is gained by building around treated posts planted in the ground. Buildings that might otherwise last only 4 or 5 years can last 30 to 50 if made with foundations of treated wood.

Sources of Plans

If you want a conventional animal shelter, or storage for crops or machinery, there are several good sources of plans. State universities maintain plan services with plans suited to the climate of that area.

Building supply stores not only sell lumber, but have plans for structures. Plywood, lumber, and concrete trade associations will supply plans showing how to use their products economically and safely.

Metal building manufacturers not only provide plans and materials, but can probably suggest a reliable contractor in your area to erect the structure if you prefer.

Any farm magazine abounds in sources of commercial agricultural buildings, so buildings large enough for commercial production will not be discussed here.

If you use native materials found on or near your homestead for little or no cost, then you likely will have to create your own designs using the building principles discussed earlier. You can save money by cutting trees to take to the sawmill. Many small mills will saw your timber into rough lumber on a shares basis, allowing you to use more conventional materials and readily available plans at reduced cost.

Don't disregard dry straw, grass or weeds as insulating material. Wood shavings or sawdust are good sources of inexpensive insulation. Most of these materials have about half the insulating value of commercially available insulations, so you will need about twice the normal thickness.

Some materials that you can provide for yourself, like ground sphagnum moss or coarsely ground peaty materials have as good insulating value as commercially available fill-type insulations. Common moss from ponds or lakes can be dried, possibly ground up in a feed grinder, and then packed into your walls to provide good insulation. When packing in pieces of moss or other materials that are not ground up, take care that no voids are left to create cold spots in the walls.

As a homesteader you most likely will shun credit and, conversely, some suppliers of credit will shun your efforts to obtain it. You then will have to live within your present means, and the type buildings you elect to build will depend on your present financial condition. Most homesteaders will want to substitute labor for standard building materials as much as possible.