# What is the difference between a shed and a barn?



## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

Don't let other posts sway your definition, in your opinion what is each?

I looked online and found that my definitions were incorrect.


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

for me: shed is a small building for storage. OR a large building that's not completely enclosed. (like a 3sided pole barn type)

barn: larger, enclosed, doors, substantial. Not going to blow down soon  

I tend to think of "shed" as a one story building, too.


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

what she said


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## How Do I (Feb 11, 2008)

I tend to think of a shed as for light storage too, whereas a barn would be more for livestock - farm usage.


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

A barn is what your Mother asked you if you were born in when you didn't shut the door. A shed is what you build onto the barn when you run out of room. Out behind the barn is where you learned to smoke and other things....... A shack is........


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

:shrug: Don't know some would call my Barn a Shed.

Kind of like what is the difference between a Farm and a Ranch? I've seen several Farms around here be sold and become a Ranch.

big rockpile


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## Jerngen (May 22, 2006)

A barn is where you keep your livelihood, a shed is where you keep the tools to support your livelihood. 
That's why some farms the "sheds" are quite a bit larger then the barn!


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## o&itw (Dec 19, 2008)

I'm with Ann and Mare on this one.


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## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

In the area I grew up in a barn was always a facility for livestock although some of the hillside barns did have mow storage for tractors, cars, etc.

A shed was anything from a 6' X 6' city type unit to a 60' X 100' building to house things, work on things, or to store hay in. 

A granary was used for the storage of grain, ear corn in small enough quantities that a crib was not needed and along those lines.

In other words a pole barn as in the topic below would have always been used as a livestock facility and a pole shed would have stored things.

Interesting to find out what others are using as definitions often do to varying areas.


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## Murray in ME (May 10, 2002)

I've always thought about it the same way Ann does. And, for me, a barn is also set up to house livestock. Usually with an area for feed storage, such as a haymow.


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## uncle Will in In. (May 11, 2002)

A barn has walls so you can lock the door before your horse gets out. 
A shed is just something put up to SHED water. It might have some walls or it could be cobbled on to the side of the barn. It could protect a tool or a combine because size is in direct proportion to heft of your billfold. 

why is a chicken house not called a chicken barn?


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

To me a barn is the grand old 71 year old building that houses my milk cows and has hay storeage upstairs. A shed has poles with lumber attached to them with tin nailed on them, they will never be a barn in my mind. Thanks Marc


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## js2743 (Dec 4, 2006)

a shed is a building with a roof that only slopes one way, a barn is built with a A frame roof. there can be big sheds and lil ones the roof determines if its a shed or not.


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## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

Barn is for animals and feed.
Shed is for most anthing else.

What ever you do never build a "garage".......call it an "Ag building.....Tax thing.


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## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

This thread is interesting. I'm enjoying reading it.


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## PNP Katahdins (Oct 28, 2008)

We have a large 3-sided building, open to the east, called "the cattle shed," which stores machinery and large square hay bales in the end protected with gates. Sheep have access to the other end. We set the lambing jugs up in the storage part in the spring. It is about 35 years old.

We have a classic 1917 bank barn called "the barn," which stores small square bales of hay and straw in the second story as well as miscellaneous stuff and junk. Sheep have access to the bottom, which has three large openings facing east. That's where the former owners milked cows and stabled horses long ago.

So they both perform the same functions. Both have double-sloped roofs. One is a barn, the other is a shed. Hmm.

We also have a grainary now used for storage, a building used as a shop that used to be a farrowing house, and a garage that has a storage shed attached. Oh, yes, also a house used as a house for people, cats, and dogs.

Peg


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## rambler (Jan 20, 2004)

Windy in Kansas said:


> Don't let other posts sway your definition, in your opinion what is each?
> 
> I looked online and found that my definitions were incorrect.


A barn holds critters.

A shed holds implements, tools, etc. Non-critters.

A barn I always think of a big old dairy barn like is on every place around here, 40-60 by 60-120 feet, big huge open hay mow. But I can accept that there are other size barns that hold smaller critters or a couple horses.

I just have to smile when someone says 'barn' and they are talking about a machine shed. Just ain't right. 

But I say that only in fun, in jest.

--->Paul


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

A barn is red a shed is white...just kidding


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## hillbillly (Jun 28, 2009)

a barn is two [or more] levels/stories
a shed is one


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## sunshinytraci (Oct 20, 2007)

I can build a shed without a land-use permit. (12' by 12' or smaller)

I can't build a barn without a land-use permit. (darn it. So I will build my goats a few "sheds" to live in.)


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## General Brown (Jan 10, 2008)

"A barn holds critters.

A shed holds implements, tools, etc. Non-critters"

So, when I removed the tools and implements from my shed, and added critters, I turned my shed into a barn?


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## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

sunshinytraci said:


> I can build a shed without a land-use permit. (12' by 12' or smaller)
> 
> I can't build a barn without a land-use permit. (darn it. So I will build my goats a few "sheds" to live in.)


Now your catching on to the garage/ag building way of thinking.


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## dsarchette (Jul 11, 2009)

The difference is in the pronounceation , and the verbage of the one discribing it.


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## rambler (Jan 20, 2004)

General Brown said:


> "A barn holds critters.
> 
> A shed holds implements, tools, etc. Non-critters"
> 
> So, when I removed the tools and implements from my shed, and added critters, I turned my shed into a barn?


Yup. Two neighbors had machine sheds, they retrofited them to hold livestock, so their machine sheds became barns.

When this house was built new in 1926, the old house was pieced out, one part turned from house into hog barn up on the hill. Another part was used to shed an uncle's car, so it went from house to shed.

Barn is for critters, shed is for tools of some sort. How it's always been around 'here'.

The confusing this is that dad was a kid when a chicken barn was built. A few years before I was around, he had a new chicken barn built, and turned the old chicken barn into a pig barn. But you know how it is when you have a name in your head for something? About the time I was in middle school, both the hogs and chickens were gone, and both buildings became sheds for general small storage. I can't count the times dad would tell me to go to the 'chicken barn' to go get something for him, & I thought he meant the newer building, while he meant the older building.... And a big hill between them, no wonder my knees are wore out, all that extra running I did....

--->Paul


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

If a barn holds critters and a shed holds tools, where do you put your poles?


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## J2E1 (Oct 15, 2009)

For me it was always Barn = animals, shed = equipment. We definitely stored junk in the barn though.


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

Well, if this helps...... I've fallen asleep in a number of barns. I've never fell asleep in a shed.


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## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

geo in mi said:


> If a barn holds critters and a shed holds tools, where do you put your poles?


Chicago and Milwaukee.


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

hunter63 said:


> Chicago and Milwaukee.


LMAO! :dance::clap::happy::bouncy::rotfl::banana02:


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## mylala (Jun 3, 2008)

Wisconsin Ann said:


> for me: shed is a small building for storage. OR a large building that's not completely enclosed. (like a 3sided pole barn type)
> 
> barn: larger, enclosed, doors, substantial. Not going to blow down soon
> 
> I tend to think of "shed" as a one story building, too.


I like this one best! Ann actually uses the example of a barn to define a shed.:bow:


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

A shed is for storage a barn houses an agricultural operation.


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## edcopp (Oct 9, 2004)

Difference between a barn and a shed= about $50,000.:cow:


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## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

I always thought a shed was like a barn cut in half longwise and seperated, but shortened in size. It usually stood alone, B U T, I got to thinking, our grainery had a covered side built on either side of the 2 wood bins. What the origional builder of the grainery called them, I dont know. They might have been (Wagon sheds), as, when my dad bought the place, and grandpa bought the first tractor that I have now, he put it in the left place, opening , and he called that place the tractor shed. I dont remember him calling the opening on the right side anything. If something was in that one, and that was where grandpa parked his car, he would say go down to the grainery shed, where the car is and get ???. Now, there was a shed attached to both sides of the corn crib, which was a type of bank barn of building, as livestock penned in there could get underneith the crib, and in the case of hogs, get the kernals of corn that fell through the floor boards. The other shed housed a wagon for a long time, and then later a tractor, and then a truck, then a portable grinder, then a tub grinder, then round bailers. I( dont know whats in there now. Anyhow, neither of those attached sheds was called anything


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## DaleK (Sep 23, 2004)

THIS










used to be a shed. The one behind it is a barn. The one behind and to the left of that is also a barn. If you can finish dropping it in less than an hour after snowload kills it, it's probably a shed.


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## mamagoose (Nov 28, 2003)

Amazing question and answers. We actually filed a lawsuit over this. The gas lease on our property uses the term "barn". We built what we considered to be a barn to house goats or a mama cow, or even the bull, whatever was in need. Our barn could also be used to shelter hay. It was built for nothing other than agricultural purposes and was built on property in CAUV for more than 15 years. The gas company decided to call it a shed, the county judge agreed and I'll let you all know what the 4th District Court of Appeals has to say, since we obviously appealed the decision. The question of our lawsuit was simply that they did not have a right to drill a gas well within 300 feet of our barn. In the meantime, the gas company physically removed our livestock without a court order (the judge did not tell them they could do anything with our barn, just that since he didn't consider it to be a barn, that they could drill their well within 300 feet of it) and they destroyed our barn without our knowledge or consent while DH was sleeping from nightshift. (They paid out $60/hour for a third party to hire the county sheriff to park in our pasture field while they did this and other atrocities.) They never re-built it and we had to find alternate shelter for our goats for winter. Sorry to go off in another direction, but, as the replies clearly indicate, property owners alone have the right to identify their buildings and it should not be the right of a third party who does not pay the taxes just because they like bullying people around. BTW, the county auditor also declared our barn a barn and we are now assessed taxes on a barn which does not exist.

mamagoose


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