# How much room do I need for my own agility ring?



## AgilityForLife

Hello, I am planning on building my own metal building for agility so I don't have to worry about snow and weather because I want to be serious about agility. The problem is that I don't have any idea on how big to make it to fit a course comfortably. I want it to fit AKC equipment with the spacing required. Does anyone know what the length and width of the building should be in feet? Or if any of you have indoor training, do you mind asking your trainers how big their facility is or how much is designated just for agility?
Thank you so much!


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## JakodaCD OA

I would want atleast 100 x 100.


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## Jax08

There are cheaper options than steel. Remember to make the height high enough for the A-frame.


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## wildo

Jax08 said:


> There are cheaper options than steel.


Such as? Steel buildings are quite cheap! Very curious on your response...


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## Jax08

tension fabric buildings. The cost of steel is skyrocketing right now and tension fabric is self heating in the colder months and self lighting due to the light coming through the fabric. The cost of a building isn't just the cost of the building materials.


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## wildo

Oh- I didn't even think about those... Yes, that would be a great option as well. And technically, they are considered portable structures so you can get a tax break from them. I have a friend who constructs them. Here are some pics of how they are constructed. Notice you can have steel, concrete, or wood sides even.

On the tax thing, my friend who constructs them said: "it's all nuts and bolts for the most part, so you can set them up and move them to another location... it's a tax break." I don't know anything more than that. Just what I was told.


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## Guardyan

We have a 64 x 42 metal building that we use for agility & obedience. This was a good size for us. We aren't able to squeeze in full AKC courses, but we frequently set up Clean Run "Backyard Dogs" exercises. I actually prefer these to full courses as working on individual components really seems to help with handling skills. 

We have one end of our building sectioned off with ring gates for chairs and equipment. This leaves us with about 42 x 56 which is pretty close to a regulation obedience ring. (Now I have no excuse not to practice Utility go-outs! :crazy We have a small training group that we hosted all winter and were able to manage 7-8 people and their dogs comfortably.

I love our building . . . it definitely beats snowblowing the training field!


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## AgilityForLife

Guardyan: That building of yours is exactly what I have in mind!! 
What wildo suggested 100 by 100 for a building like that, what is your opinion on that? I think that may be the right size for a full agility building to fit in quite nice..Thoughts?


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## Guardyan

I suppose it depends on who will be using the building. If this is for a solitary person, 100 x 100 will give you room to run a full AKC course. If you are planning on hosting trials, you will want to allow additional room for crating and equipment storage.


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## Jax's Mom

What do you people do for a living and are they hiring?


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## Guardyan

We were actually able to absorb a large portion of our building cost by refinancing our home (when the rates were very low).


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## AgilityForLife

Well it would be just for me, and I would let some friends use it..not for hosting anything..but I think I will build a little more for storage to keep extra poles and contact equipment I may have. 
Also does anyone know why the thread flipped? how come the latest response now appears at the top where my original question used to be..I think I may have clicked on something? :l 
From the metal buildings, does anyone know about how much a 100 by 100 would cost..or a good metal builder I can get a quote on? I saw some buildings that were around 85,000 dollars for about this size, is that typical? Or does anyone know any good deals that some builders are offering?


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## Guardyan

Am afraid I can't be much help with pricing . . I think that varies quite a bit depending on location. One of the things we noticed was that the width of the building has quite an impact on price. It's definitely worthwhile to keep an eye on steel prices, as well as to get estimates from several different companies. We were surprised by the wide variation in pricing.

The thread "flipped" because after a certain number of responses, another page will be started.


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## wildo

Is that a user setting? I am still seeing oldest to newest, page 1 to page _n_.


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## Guardyan

That's what I see too . . .


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## wildo

That's the normal view, as far as I know. Not sure what the OP is seeing.


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## AgilityForLife

So I decided to build it 100 by 120 to have some extra space for other equipment like extra poles or whatever I may have. Thank you to everyone for your help! I'm going to start shopping and looking around!!


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## MaggieRoseLee

AgilityForLife said:


> So I decided to build it 100 by 120 to have some extra space for other equipment like extra poles or whatever I may have. Thank you to everyone for your help! I'm going to start shopping and looking around!!


If you can afford that  it would be ideal! LUCKY LUCKY YOU!


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## wildo

MaggieRoseLee said:


> If you can afford that  it would be ideal! LUCKY LUCKY YOU!


No kidding... Please tell all of us that you are going to pour a concrete floor as well- you know- so we can all be _crazy_ jealous. :rofl:


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## AgilityForLife

I would really like matting on it..and i'm debating whether to delay the process of actually building it, as I need more money for that flooring..:l good equipment is also going to cost me too..so everything has to go slow..one step at a time. I would love for everyone of you to be a part of it though, to bring all your GSDs along to play!!! 
Btw, does anyone want to share where to get competition equipment, so far I looked at Affordable Agility and Carlson..anyone else have recommendations?
Thank you all again for all your help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## MaggieRoseLee

AgilityForLife said:


> Btw, does anyone want to share where to get competition equipment, so far I looked at Affordable Agility and Carlson..*anyone else have recommendations?*
> Thank you all again for all your help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


If you go up to the User CP and add your GENERAL location it will show up on all your posts under your avatar and to the left (where my Poconos thing is). 

In my area, Max200 and MAD Agility are good.

Max 200 Online Storefront for Agility, Obedience and Flyball Equipment

M.A.D. Agility Equipment


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## AgilityForLife

Oh I like Max 200 they have some good prices, thank you!! If you shop around at different places, you'll see some vendors have some things cheaper and some things more expensive, I think it may help buying from a few and not just one. Maggieroselee I also saw your youtube channel! Very entertaining! And I must ask, what happened to all the agility dogs in the puppy class? are they still continuing??  Such Sweet little things!


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## MaggieRoseLee

AgilityForLife said:


> ! And I must ask, *what happened to all the agility dogs in the puppy class? are they still continuing*??  Such Sweet little things!


Some of them continued, some didn't. Hard to believe that was 2 years ago!


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