Ah yes its March. What a beautiful time of year, days are getting warmer, birds are singing and the snow is melting into rivers and lakes flooding the interior of my barn. *sigh*
We purchased a 30+ year old farm and barn which was made as quickly and as cheaply as possible. In other words neither proper location nor foundation was ever considered when erecting the 35’x75’ barn. Instead the barn sits at the bottom of the hill with no excavating or site prep. With rain or snow melt the 5 acres of pasture uphill from the barn has its entire run off focused straight towards the barn. I’ve done my best over the years to elevate the stall floors by 4-6 inches and dig trenches to divert water flow around the barn but it’s still a losing battle.
Instead, with snow pack higher than the floors of my barn the melt still flows right inside and through the barn. I’ve become accustom to this barn flooding season and know where to store items to allow the water to run through the barn and out the back side.
It is still disheartening when I just put down expensive fresh bedding in a stall just to check the barn camera’s 4 hours later to see a reflective lake shining back at me. All I can do is hope that the snow melts fast and leaves little damage in its wake.
Moral of this story: When building a barn make sure it’s on high ground and has good drainage. Also take into account snow pack being higher than the barn floor and have all run-in areas slope down and away from the barn.
