Building stables - what's the best design for you?
If you are lucky enough to have your own land and plan to build your own stables, then stable design and construction needs some serious consideration. One of the best things to do is to visit lots of yards to get ideas as to what works and what doesn’t. For example, where is the best place for the muck heap, the water taps and grid positions, are you having any parking? Are you hoping to extend in the future? Maybe in a couple of years you hope to build a manege and if so, you need to think about what you need now, but also how this fits in with what you plan to finally end up with in the future. Once it’s built, it would be very expensive to start knocking things down and moving drains to accommodate new facilities or buildings. In other words, plan for the final result and then scale down to what you can have now. If you need design ideas, there are various books that can offer design solutions. In terms of construction, there are many timber stable manufacturers advertising on the Internet, but again, ask around to try to get recommendations of good workmanship, timescales and costs (i.e. did they turn up on time and complete the job on time and on budget?). If you are thinking about brick built stables, then you are likely to use a local building firm, so again, try to use a company recommended to you. Other options include the re-use of old barns or the creation of indoor stabling using steel framed buildings. Unless you are lucky enough to already have barns that could be converted to stabling, one of the first aspects to consider is what type of construction you want. This will affect your planning application as well, of course, as the cost and time factors. Timber stabling is likely to be the cheapest option and often preferred by local authority planning departments as they are considered to be more temporary structures. Hence, the chance of someone at a later date trying to get planning permission to change the use of a timber stable to a house are practically zero (unlike the similar risk for brick built stables). Timber stabling is quick to erect, is lighter weight, something to consider if you have poor ground conditions and due to the facility to prefabricate sections, this is generally the cheapest option. Each manufacturer will have their own guarantee for the building in terms of its robustness and all the timber should be treated to reduce rotting and decay. Timber stabling looks very smart, but it is essential that you accept that it will need maintenance. Without care and attention, timber stables start to look very tatty. Horses often like to chew the wood, so try, where possible, to use metal strips around door and window frames. In addition, if you have a horse that kicks in the box, make sure that the kick boards around the inside are of sufficient strength or you could soon end up with huge cracks and holes in the internal wood, which will allow damp to seep through to the main timbers, causing decay. Brick stables can be constructed from various blocks or bricks and to a large degree, this will depend on the local authorities instructions (speak to your local planning officer to check if there is any preference in your area) and your budget. A masonry design will initially be more expensive, although it will require less maintenance and due to its solid construction, there is more choice of roof coverings available. In addition, this type of construction is generally more secure, is less likely to be damaged by the horses and there is less of a fire risk.
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