The rural scenery in most settings is incomplete without the appearance of magnificent, towering barns in the background.
An invention of the agricultural revolution, barns are a traditional construction marvel that was meant to house livestock, farm equipment, and harvests and shelter them from extreme weather changes.
They feature different designs and constructions, each describing a particular era in which they were constructed and purpose-built.
In designing barns, especially traditional barns, the weather is a key consideration as well as the cultural traditions of the area.
Functionality is also an important factor to consider when designing barns.
Check out Fair Dinkum for more barns options.
Some examples of barn styles have been listed below:
Contents
English Style Barn
Featuring a triangle-shaped roof design, an English-style barn is also referred to as a gable barn and has the most affordable roofing design.
It is native to traditional New England hence the name.
The roof slopes on both sides with the intersection angle depending on the desired width of the barn.
This barn style is advantageous as it can be expanded sidewards to create additional space without demolishing the old structure.
Prairie Barns
Reminiscent of the 1800s when Agriculture was fast spreading in the South and West of the United States of America, prairie barns are a construction marvel and feature long roofs that can reach the ground.
The prairie barns were designed to hold large quantities of grain and hay for huge numbers of livestock hence the magnanimity in size.
They are typically made of timber with an arched, smooth-edged metallic roof.
Animal enclosures are designed on either side of the central open space
Round Barns
A rare type of style for barns, round or polygonal barns were constructed in the early 1900s and taught in agricultural colleges as an efficient barn design.
Round barns were encouraged premised on the reason that circles have greater volume-to-surface ratios than other shapes such as square or rectangular), therefore their construction.
Not only saves on costs due to the reduction in required materials but also because it saves on space it occupies while increasing available storage space.
They are built with self-supporting roofs which makes them structurally sound.
It was made from wood or brick and housed cattle on the ground floor and hay in the space above.
Dutch Barns
Popular on the East Coast of America in the 18th century, dutch barns feature gabled roofs, center wagon doors, clapboarding, and corner stock doors.
Although similar in roofing to the English-style barn, dutch barns have a unique H-shaped design that provides for extra structural support.
They have half-doors which were situated in such a way that they allowed wind through and a center aisle with animal encasements with flanking doors on either side.
The structure of the dutch barn is time-tested and can withstand an array of harsh weather extremities.
Tobacco Barns
Visible throughout the South and East, tobacco barns as their name suggests were erected with the sole purpose of drying and storing harvested tobacco leaves.
They were common in the 18th century when tobacco farming was a major agricultural activity.
A key characteristic of this barn style is the numerous ventilations that were made originally to allow airflow required in caring for the tobacco leaves.
They have long, vertical doors that open along the sides
Crib Barns
Visible in the southern mountainous areas of Kentucky, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee, the name of this barn is derived from the one to six cribs built inside it.
These cribs are made for housing livestock or for storage. They were built majorly in the nineteenth century and were often made from logs.
The roofing structure is gabled in design and is covered with either tin or asphalt though traditionally the spotted shingles.
“Double-crib” barns, common in Appalachia and other parts of Eastern United States, are a modification to crib barns and have a second storey.
That provides for additional storage space for storage of hay and other types of animal feed as well as grain.
The first storey provided for stabling and animal housing and in grain-growing areas, it was used during the threshing of grains.
This was aided in part by doors that faced the breezeway.
