All-Concrete Barn Cooler In Summer, Warmer In Winter LIVESTOCK Buildings 27-4-20 After watching one wood dairy barn go up in smoke, Dennis Luedtke wasn't anxious to build another. He contacted a local supplier of precast concrete slabs to see if there was another way. "We put the numbers together, and the price for concrete was similar to a wood frame building," says Luedtke, Wells, Minn. Once a design was drawn up and the order placed, the dairyman and his family began pouring concrete floors and removing fieldstone walls from the old barn. At the same time, Wells Concrete began pouring slabs for the barn walls and ceiling. Construction began on a Friday as wall slabs were hauled to the farm and set in place. Each panel consisted of a 2-in. layer of concrete, a 4-in. layer of foam insulation and a 3-in. layer of concrete for the exterior. By the following Tuesday, the entire 50 by 175-ft. barn was up, including the roof which is made of 8 by 50-ft. concrete panels. Each wall and roof panel has weld plates on its sides and ends. As panels were laid in place, each was welded to its neighbor. Roof panels were notched into the wall panels to create a sunken roof. A layer of Styrofoam insulation topped by a rubber membrane and a layer of rock provides R32 ceiling insulation. The rubber membrane keeps water from seeping through the precast sections and a slope of 14 in. on 50 ft. drains away water. Less than 2 1/2 months after starting, Luedtke moved his herd into the new barn. The clear span roof panels meant no interior support poles to get in the way. Nothing is bolted to the floor. All equipment is hung from the ceiling which makes cleaning easier. In addition to tie stalls for the milking herd, there are pens for young stock and calving. "The cows and calves can see each other, and there is a lot less bellowing when you take the new calf off the cow," says Luedtke. The insulated concrete barn has proven to be warmer in the winter, cooler in summer, and drier year æround than the previous wood frame barn. "We used to see an 8 to 10-lb. drop in milk production when the heat hit in July and August," reports Luedtke. "That has been reduced to 3 to 4 lbs. There's no wall sweating in the winter, and we haven't had a sick calf in this barn. I think the air quality is better." One other benefit of the fireproof construction is that insurance rates are much lower. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dennis Luedtke , 56360 200th St., Wells, Minn. 56097 (ph 507 553-5633; fax 507 553-6591 or Wells Concrete Products Co., 835-T Hwy. 109 N.E., Box 308, Wells, Minn. 56097 (ph 800 658-7049; fax 507 553-6089; website:www.wellsconcrete.com).

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