When building your horse barn, it is crucial that you remember to provide plenty of natural light for the horses that you house. Natural light is made up of various wavelengths of light, and for the creation of Vitamin D (an essential hormone trigger) in the body, you need ultraviolet light that comes from the sun.
In addition to these health benefits, natural light in a barn completely transforms the look and feel of the space. Adding natural light to your barn is a great way to reduce energy consumption while giving your horses the illumination they need to stay safe and healthy.
Read on to learn how to design your barn so that it focuses on letting natural light in.
Roof Structures: Monitors, Cupolas, & Dormers
Adding structures to a barn roof gives you more room to hang windows, which allow more light into the barn. These features are easiest to include on a brand new, custom barn but can certainly be added later with some extra time, effort and money.
Monitor
Monitor barns are sometimes called RCA barns or raised center aisle barns. Just as the name suggests, the center of the barn has a raised section that has a higher roofline than a conventional gable-style barn.
Think of a monitor barn as three separate boxes, one on each side of an aisle and a third above that creates a roof. The boxes on each side are perfect for housing livestock in stalls such as horses, cattle for milking or housing goats and other animals.
One great advantage of a monitor barn is that the higher center area of the structure allows for more natural light and allows for better ventilation. Air is drawn up into the center area from open doors and windows on each side of the barn. Windows at the top center dissipate the heat while allowing in bacteria-killing sunlight and fresh air.
Cupola
If you have ever seen a weather vane spinning in circles on the highest point of a barn, chances are you have seen a cupola. Cupolas look like small castle towers sticking out of the roof’s spine. Their shape can range from a simple 4 walls, to octagons, or even a circle.
Dormer
Located on the sloped side of a roof, a dormer window brings natural light into an attic, loft, or any room with a vaulted ceiling. This type of window sits vertically in a framed structure that juts outward from the pitch of the main roof and features a little roof of its own above the window.
One of the significant advantages of dormers is their ability to bring in lots of natural light. Adding windows to your dormer can flood your space with sunlight, making it feel brighter, more inviting, and spacious.
Roof Windows
Beautifully lit barns often have light pouring in from the roof.
Skylights
Although there are many regular window types that add natural light to your home, skylights are unique because they are installed on the roof. Their placement on your ceiling offers much more light than regular windows and gives any room an airier and more expansive feel.
Wall Windows: Clerestory, Transom, and Stall
Clerestory Windows
Clerestory windows (pronounced “clear story”) are fixed windows used on vaulted walls. They sit above eye level, situated just below the roof line. They come in a variety of sizes, and are used to brighten the room with natural, ambient light.
They are similar—and often confused with—transom windows. However, the difference is that clerestory windows are not set above a door and transom beam, like a traditional transom window. Rather, they can be found on any upper portion of the wall in the horse barn. Placing clerestory windows higher up on the walls helps the area feel less claustrophobic and more inviting. In addition, a well-lit area makes it easier for a caretaker to notice cuts, scrapes, or other physical issues with the horse.
Transom Windows
Transom windows are installed above the main windows or doors of a shed and allow natural light to enter the space. This creates a brighter and more welcoming atmosphere, making your barn feel bright, open and inviting.
Stall Windows
Horses love stall windows because they can see outside, and staff love them because they can easily see when mucking out stalls. The most common types of stall windows will be open, barred or grilled windows with a sliding or hinged shutter.
Door Windows: Dutch Doors & Entrance Doors
Exterior Dutch Doors
Dutch Doors are the classic barn staple. These barn doors often flank the exterior facade of a barn and are attached to the back wall of each horse stall. While traditional Dutch Doors feature an all-wood design (top and bottom), Castlebrook and similar barn companies, offer clients the ability to safely add a barred or grilled dutch top to the horse stall doors.
Entrance Doors Windows
Entrance door windows will immediately make the barn look more inviting and allow you to monitor activity outside. This is particularly useful in the winter when the barn is shut up and you want to see if a vet, farrier, or boarder is pulling up the drive.
There are many unique ideas for barn doors, such as to use a garage door lined with windows, adding windows to your existing sliding doors or making your entrance doors a Dutch Door that will allow natural light and airflow in to your horse barn.
The Castlebrook Difference
Castlebrook’s barns have a warm, inviting look which adds to the beauty and value of your property. All Castlebrook round pens and round pen covers and designed and manufactured on site at Castlebrook’s facility. That is why we can provide you with an almost limitless choice of sizes and styles. Castlebrook can manufacture a round pen and cover to suit your exact needs.
Castlebrook never misses a ship date. We are so confident in our on-time guarantee that we are willing to guarantee it — in writing! Castlebrook understands how important it is for your project to go as smoothly as possible. This begins with your structure shipping on the date we’ve promised. Castlebrook knows of absolutely no other barn company offering this guarantee. Where other companies disappoint, Castlebrook guarantees to be on time, every time!
Please contact our professional team today at 1-800-52-BARNS. We gladly accommodate Saturday appointments!