Functionally classified barn
Encyclopedia
A functionally classified barn is a barn whose style is best classified by its function. Barns that do not fall into one of the broader categories of barn styles, such as English barns or crib barns, can best be classified by some combination of two factors, region and usage. Examples of barns classified by function occur worldwide and include apple barn, rice barn
, potato barn, hop barn, tobacco barn, cattle barn (pole barn), and the tractor barn. In addition, some barns incorporate their region into their style classification. Examples include the Wisconsin
dairy barn, Pennsylvania
bank barn
, or the Midwest feeder barn.
, have sponsored programs which discourage the cultivation of tobacco
. In 2001 Maryland's state sponsored program offered cash payments as buyouts to tobacco farmers. A majority of the farmers took the buyout and hundreds of historic tobacco barns were rendered instantly obsolete. As tobacco barns disappear farmer have been forced to change their methods for curing the crop. In Kentucky, instead of curing tobacco attached to lath
s in vented tobacco barns as they once did, farmers are increasingly curing tobacco on "scaffolds" in the fields.
d roofs, frame construction, and some system of ventilation
. The venting can appear in different incarnations but commonly hinges would be attached to some of the cladding
boards, so that they could be opened. Often the venting system would be more elaborate, including a roof ventilation system. The interior would have its framing set up in bents about ten to fifteen feet apart so that laths with tobacco attached to them could be hung for drying. There is no one design that typifies tobacco barns but they share some common elements not seen in other barns. However, tobacco barns do cross over into other barn styles of their day. Some common types of barn designs integrated into tobacco barns include, English barn
s and bank barn
s.
Also known as hop houses or hop kilns, hop barns were very common in areas of the United States where hops were grown. Hop barns were so common it was said that "every other farm" had one. In New York state's "hop belt" numerous hop barns were constructed between the early 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Ostego, Chenango, Madison, Oneida, Montgomery and Schoharie Counties were the primary areas contained within the hop belt. As hops production basically dwindled down to only Washington state, in the U.S., the remaining hop houses elsewhere have begun to disappear. Defunct hop kilns are found in areas where hops production is still ongoing, in Kent
, England
, for instance.
. Later hop barns evolved into taller, more narrow buildings, often topped with a cupola
over the drying kiln
area. Later in the history of New York hops production, with farmers focused on more efficient means of production, pyramid
shaped barns were built, eventually evolving into multi-pyramid hop barns.
storage or livestock
shelter, and larger structures are also used for indoor horse stable
s and riding arena
s. This type of barn is not only very common in modern agriculture but is also used for other applications where large spaces are needed, including boat and truck storage, warehouses, strip malls, retail stores, public exhibit buildings at a fair
grounds, and related uses. Residential garages are also built as pole barns because of their quick construction time and efficient use of materials.
The advantages of pole barns include their low cost and their ability to store large quantities of hay
or other materials in areas easily accessible by vehicles, machines, and people.
In the United Kingdom a pole barn refers to a type of Dutch barn
.
Depending on the function of the barn, there can be slight differences in style. For instance, a barn used for storing hay may lack any kind of lower exterior wall, whereas a pole barn used to house livestock would have some form of wall meeting the roof.
In the 1950s and 1960s, metal-plate-connected wood trusses were developed, increasing roof spans, eventually up to 100′ (30 m).
In the 1970s and 1980s, solid sawn posts were supplemented by laminated 2×6 and 2×8 posts, allowing taller buildings.
Since the 1980s, pole barns have been adapted for a variety of uses, including residential garages, retail stores, light commercial buildings, and professional offices. Corrugated metal is still very common, but other exteriors such as vinyl siding, stucco, and cement board are also used.
The National Frame Builders Association is a trade group for the post-frame construction industry.
rice barn
s were especially common in the U.S.
state of South Carolina
.
. In Asia
a common barn design is a four pole, open-walled building; a structure that does not resemble the classical image of a barn
in any way.
and the other being occupation. Different types of barns tell much about what inhabitants of the past cultivated and in what type of climate they did it in. In the United States climate allows regional barn variation to easily be divided along a north/south axis. Design divided along these lines speaks to how farmers responded to the severity of the winter
. In the north, where cold, harsh winters are common, buildings were more extensive and spacious, to house animals, crops and vehicles. South and west, in the U.S., where the weather tends to be more mild, barn design focused on smaller more specialized structures such as tobacco barns. It is regional differences in North American climate that produced the major differences in northern and southern American barns.
After climatology
the biggest factor in barn design is function. All over the United States barn designs, such as those discussed above, were developed based upon the individual needs of specific crops or livestock.
Rice barn
A rice barn is a type of barn used worldwide for the storage and drying of harvested rice. The designs, usually specialized to its function, vary from country to country. Rice barns in Asia appear quite different from rice barns found in other parts of the rice cultivating world...
, potato barn, hop barn, tobacco barn, cattle barn (pole barn), and the tractor barn. In addition, some barns incorporate their region into their style classification. Examples include the Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
dairy barn, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
bank barn
Bank barn
A bank barn or banked barn is a style of barn noted for its accessibility, at ground level, on two separate levels. Often built into the side of a hill, or bank, both the upper and the lower floors area could be accessed from ground level, one area at the top of the hill and the other at the bottom...
, or the Midwest feeder barn.
Tobacco barns
Tobacco barns were once an essential ingredient in the process of air curing tobacco. In the 21st century they are fast disappearing from the American landscape in places where they were once ubiquitous. U.S. States, such as MarylandMaryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, have sponsored programs which discourage the cultivation of tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
. In 2001 Maryland's state sponsored program offered cash payments as buyouts to tobacco farmers. A majority of the farmers took the buyout and hundreds of historic tobacco barns were rendered instantly obsolete. As tobacco barns disappear farmer have been forced to change their methods for curing the crop. In Kentucky, instead of curing tobacco attached to lath
Lath
A lath is a thin, narrow strip of some straight-grained wood or other material, including metal or gypsum. A lattice, or lattice-work, is a criss-crossed or interlaced arrangement of laths, or the pattern made by such an arrangement...
s in vented tobacco barns as they once did, farmers are increasingly curing tobacco on "scaffolds" in the fields.
Design
Design elements which were common to American tobacco barns include: gableGable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roofs, frame construction, and some system of ventilation
Ventilation (architecture)
Ventilating is the process of "changing" or replacing air in any space to provide high indoor air quality...
. The venting can appear in different incarnations but commonly hinges would be attached to some of the cladding
Cladding (construction)
Cladding is the application of one material over another to provide a skin or layer intended to control the infiltration of weather elements, or for aesthetic purposes....
boards, so that they could be opened. Often the venting system would be more elaborate, including a roof ventilation system. The interior would have its framing set up in bents about ten to fifteen feet apart so that laths with tobacco attached to them could be hung for drying. There is no one design that typifies tobacco barns but they share some common elements not seen in other barns. However, tobacco barns do cross over into other barn styles of their day. Some common types of barn designs integrated into tobacco barns include, English barn
English barn
The English barn, or three bay barn, is a barn style that was most popular in the northeast region of the United States. New barns in this style were constructed for over a century, from the 1770s through the 1900s.-Design:...
s and bank barn
Bank barn
A bank barn or banked barn is a style of barn noted for its accessibility, at ground level, on two separate levels. Often built into the side of a hill, or bank, both the upper and the lower floors area could be accessed from ground level, one area at the top of the hill and the other at the bottom...
s.
Hop barns
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, for instance.
Design
The design of hop houses changed significantly over time, as did the area hops were grown in. In New York, for instance, early hop barns were low with some ventilationVentilation (architecture)
Ventilating is the process of "changing" or replacing air in any space to provide high indoor air quality...
. Later hop barns evolved into taller, more narrow buildings, often topped with a cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
over the drying kiln
Kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, or oven, in which a controlled temperature regime is produced. Uses include the hardening, burning or drying of materials...
area. Later in the history of New York hops production, with farmers focused on more efficient means of production, pyramid
Pyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
shaped barns were built, eventually evolving into multi-pyramid hop barns.
Pole barns
A pole barn in North America is a barn that is essentially a roof extended over a series of poles. They are generally rectangular and do not require exterior walls. The roof is supported by the poles, which make up the perimeter of the barn. Walls may be added to pole barns but are not required for structural integrity. The roof can be gabled or hooped. Pole barns are often used for hayHay
Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
storage or livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
shelter, and larger structures are also used for indoor horse stable
Stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...
s and riding arena
Riding academy
A riding academy or riding center is a school for instruction in equestrianism, or for hiring of horses for pleasure riding.At the time of the Napoleonic Wars large buildings were constructed for them, like Moscow Manege, Mikhailovsky and Konnogvardeisky maneges in St Petersburg....
s. This type of barn is not only very common in modern agriculture but is also used for other applications where large spaces are needed, including boat and truck storage, warehouses, strip malls, retail stores, public exhibit buildings at a fair
Fair
A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...
grounds, and related uses. Residential garages are also built as pole barns because of their quick construction time and efficient use of materials.
The advantages of pole barns include their low cost and their ability to store large quantities of hay
Hay
Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
or other materials in areas easily accessible by vehicles, machines, and people.
In the United Kingdom a pole barn refers to a type of Dutch barn
Dutch barn
Dutch barn is the name given to markedly different types of barns in the United States and Canada, and in the United Kingdom. In the United States, Dutch barns represent the oldest and rarest types of barns. There are relatively few—probably less than 600—of these barns still intact...
.
Design
The design of most pole barns is simple. Poles make up the outer walls and support the roof system, usually pre-engineered wood trusses with a roof sheathing. Poles are usually spaced 8' apart, with the trusses bearing directly on the poles. Some variations in design call for truss carrying beams between the posts with trusses sitting on them. The exterior walls consist of girts attached horizontally to the post with the exterior sheathing attached to the them. Exterior walls may be finished with corrugated metal, plywood sheathing, vinyl siding, or other cladding. Roof materials are generally corrugated metal but may be finished using any typical roofing product.Depending on the function of the barn, there can be slight differences in style. For instance, a barn used for storing hay may lack any kind of lower exterior wall, whereas a pole barn used to house livestock would have some form of wall meeting the roof.
History of Pole Barns
In the 1930s, post-frame construction had its start with the development of two key components: availability in rural areas to wood telephone and electricity poles and corrugated steel sheeting. By using poles embedded in the ground and steel roofing and siding, the amount of framing, siding, and foundation materials needed to construct a barn was drastically reduced. The columns were literally telephone poles – hence the term 'pole barn'. After World War 2, 'poles' were replaced by solid sawn posts, usually 4×6 or 6×6. The posts were chemically treated to resist decay, greatly increasing the useful life of a building.In the 1950s and 1960s, metal-plate-connected wood trusses were developed, increasing roof spans, eventually up to 100′ (30 m).
In the 1970s and 1980s, solid sawn posts were supplemented by laminated 2×6 and 2×8 posts, allowing taller buildings.
Since the 1980s, pole barns have been adapted for a variety of uses, including residential garages, retail stores, light commercial buildings, and professional offices. Corrugated metal is still very common, but other exteriors such as vinyl siding, stucco, and cement board are also used.
The National Frame Builders Association is a trade group for the post-frame construction industry.
Rice barns
Rice barns are used ubiquitously in the rice cultivating world for the storage and drying of harvested rice. They are prevalent in many Southeast Asian nations, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia among them. In North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
rice barn
Rice barn
A rice barn is a type of barn used worldwide for the storage and drying of harvested rice. The designs, usually specialized to its function, vary from country to country. Rice barns in Asia appear quite different from rice barns found in other parts of the rice cultivating world...
s were especially common in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
.
Design
Rice barn design varies greatly from region to region and, especially, nation to nation. South Carolinian rice barns were often clad in cypress shinglesWood shingle
Wood shingles are roof shingles made of cut wood, used for roofing material. Such roofing material made from split wood is referred to as "shakes"....
. In Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
a common barn design is a four pole, open-walled building; a structure that does not resemble the classical image of a barn
Barn
A barn is an agricultural building used for storage and as a covered workplace. It may sometimes be used to house livestock or to store farming vehicles and equipment...
in any way.
United States
Barn design, overall, bears architectural, cultural and historical significance, as well as some anthropological and sociological significance. Barn design speaks to two distinct parameters in agricultural history, one being climateClimate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
and the other being occupation. Different types of barns tell much about what inhabitants of the past cultivated and in what type of climate they did it in. In the United States climate allows regional barn variation to easily be divided along a north/south axis. Design divided along these lines speaks to how farmers responded to the severity of the winter
Winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...
. In the north, where cold, harsh winters are common, buildings were more extensive and spacious, to house animals, crops and vehicles. South and west, in the U.S., where the weather tends to be more mild, barn design focused on smaller more specialized structures such as tobacco barns. It is regional differences in North American climate that produced the major differences in northern and southern American barns.
After climatology
Climatology
Climatology is the study of climate, scientifically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of time, and is a branch of the atmospheric sciences...
the biggest factor in barn design is function. All over the United States barn designs, such as those discussed above, were developed based upon the individual needs of specific crops or livestock.