yard, stable & paddock Case study - Livery yard development


The client: Sophie Spear Location: Dorking, Surrey Building dimensions Width: 37ft Length: 100ft Eaves: 11ft


Project background Sophie Spear from Dorking in Surrey had always dreamt of building her own unique equestrian facility from which she could develop a livery business. Having finally found the perfect location for her new venture, she contacted Graham Heath Equestrian Structures (GHES) in June 2016 to explore the options for the development.


The objective The brief was to design, fabricate and construct an American Barn with sufficient housing to accommodate up to 14 horses with additional space for storage. The site did not have a pre-existing structure in place.


The approach and technical specification: Given the level of expenditure required for the project, it was imperative that the materials used were designed to withstand the test of time. The principle objectives of the design were to deliver a practical building, that would also look great and crucially, come in on budget. From an aesthetic perspective, Sophie wanted the design to incorporate metal framework and wooden cladding.


Duane Roberts (Senior Draughtsman) has 15 years’ experience of steel-frame building design and was responsible for bringing Sophie’s vision to life. For the safety and comfort of the horses, Duane recommended building a 100’ x 37’ x 11’ facility with the following features:


• A lean-to extension to provide additional storage space for food storage and pony stables.


• Three stalls to accommodate a foaling area, open hay store and tack room.


• 14 internal stables, comprised of 12ft x 10ft stables for housing smaller horses and ponies and 12ft x 12ft for larger horses.


• Tack room – special size of 9ft to work with remaining space.


• 12.5-degree roof pitch with fibre cement roofing and lights (10%).


• Cold rolled steel purlins, eaves, beams and rails.


• Castle-boarding and tanalised timber boards.


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• The steel was painted green to complement the natural surroundings.


• GHES manufactured and fitted the 28 concrete panels used in the construction of the barn.


“The fibre cement roof with vent was a particularly important design feature due to the importance of adequate ventilation and air flow to a horses’ respiratory health,” commented Duane. “We recommended that sliding doors be placed at each end of the barn to make the building as practical as possible for moving the horses and machinery in and out. This feature was also an important contributing factor in improving the airflow,” continued Duane.


Design challenges Planning restrictions proved to be the greatest challenge, as the land is situated in a conservation area. Consequently, the local planning department stipulated a set of strict requirements that the GHES team had to satisfy. Luckily the design team is well versed in completing complex projects and understood the limitations of the build.


The result/benefits From the initial design, through to the project build, the American Barn took two months to complete. “As with many builds, the project ran over slightly longer than we had anticipated thanks to various external issues, but the result is exactly what we wanted,” said Sophie.


“It is wonderful to see the barn being used to its full potential. It currently houses Pony Club youngsters through to Eventers. The stables are proving to be fantastically durable and very easy to maintain. The internal plastic boarding makes the upkeep of the stables so much easier to manage. They can be chemically and thoroughly cleaned, meaning that they are much more hygienic. The building not only looks very smart, but it is practical in equal measure,” continued Sophie.


“We were delighted to work with Sophie to provide an inspirational solution for her exciting new equine venture. Her enthusiasm for the project was infectious – it meant that we could work together to find the ideal solution for her,” said Paul Hanson, General Manager, GHES.


www.theequinesite.co.uk Case study - Expansion


Sam Scott’s new barn facility has delivered all of the benefits she expected and she is understandably delighted


The client: Sam Scott Location: Brinklow, Coventry Building dimensions: Width: 40ft Length: 60ft Eaves: 11.10ft


Project background: Sam Scott has always been a passionate horsewoman. She has a special affinity with her horses and was therefore keen to expand her existing barn to provide them with the very best housing facility. Sam contacted Graham Heath Equestrian Structures as she wanted to work with a constructor who could take the project all the way from conception through to completion. By liaising with a single point-of-contact, Sam found that any time-sensitive questions were quickly and easily resolved.


The objective: The brief was to design, fabricate and construct a barn that would create sufficient space for an internal stable yard and that would accommodate the increasing number of horses on the yard.


The approach and technical specification: • Existing building to remain in- situ with an additional gable- end extension of one bay.


• The new barn included five internal stables on one side of the barn with windows looking out onto the adjacent property across the yard.


• A further three stables were included on the other side of the barn, plus a solarium stall.


• An additional stable was added to the back of the barn (facing the entrance) to take advantage of the available space.


• An entrance was left to the original barn, so that both barns were interlinked, allowing all horses to be easily accessible.


• Fibre cement roof cladding with ventilation ridge and roof lights.


• Clad with tanalised timber boards.


• High sliding door at centre of gable end.


The challenges: The complexity of adding the new barn next to the existing building, whilst leaving one


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