Want to build a Barndominium

[Dsteim]

Hey y'all I'm thinking about moving out to my place in Coupland and I was wondering if anyone has any experience with Barndominiums? If anyone has pictures to share for ideas I would like to look at y'alls setup. I'm out in Central Texas and anyone has recommended builders to contact I would appreciate that as well. Also lastly if there was anything you would change about your Barndominium?

 

[Bigfoot]

May be regional differences in the meaning. Here your talking a living quarters in a horse barn. Is that what you are talking about?

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

That would be my interpretation BF.

 

[Kingfisher]

No he's talking about a new /old fad around here that is ramping up the past month or so. A barn like structure w upstairs living quarters. For Op I saw a real nice setup near Elgin I think last month that was a single story w the leading edge ( the part facing the road) rocked. It looked pretty sweet and you could easily convert it to a business store/shop when your family is ready to move back to town!

 

[SJB]

Around here they are generally referred to as "the double wide out beside the barn"!

 

[Dsteim]

Yeah it's basically a metal building that's partially finished inside for living quarters, it seems like if you do it right it can be a lot more cost efficient.

 

[Bigfoot]

Still lost. Sorry. A pole barn turned in to a house? No horse stalls, no shop are?

 

[fenceman]

Check your box

 

[Kingfisher]

Check your box

Which one? Come on you can tell us all !

 

[Rafter S]

May be regional differences in the meaning. Here your talking a living quarters in a horse barn. Is that what you are talking about?

Not necessarily horses (as someone else said, it's probably regional). I know a guy who built a metal building that's about 1/2 shop, and the other 1/2 is living quarters, with the living room, kitchen, etc. downstairs and the bedroom upstairs.

 

[Dsteim]

Fisher are you talking about the place on 973? I drive by that barndo every time I go out to my place if I don't stop at the Elgin general store for minerals or accuration tubs. I guess there are a lot of names for what I'm wanting to do, but basically what I'm wanting to build is a metal building with a finished out living area with a couple of bedrooms a shop area and an outside overhang area.

 

[tater74]

I'm living in one. What do you want to know?

 

[Drzr]

http://www.wdmb.com
I have no affiliation or knowledge of or with this company .....posted only for a reference.

 

[dcarp]

We're almost finished with one now. 40x60 with 20x40 shop in the back. Need to finish the trim, the floors and paint. It's a little cheaper than a conventional home plus we could write off the 20x40 part. :tiphat:

 

[Dsteim]

Tater I was wondering what you spent cost wise per sq ft, finished and unfinished, if you had it to do over is there anything you would change? Drzr I appreciate the link I was looking at that website earlier they seem a little high on the price though. Dcarp did you get it built or did you do some of the work yourself?

 

[Kingfisher]

We're almost finished with one now. 40x60 with 20x40 shop in the back. Need to finish the trim, the floors and paint. It's a little cheaper than a conventional home plus we could write off the 20x40 part. :tiphat:

What do you mean by " write off" the 800 sq ft?

 

[Bigfoot]

Anyone wanting to build a pole barn house, should do a little research. I have built a few custom homes, with myself as the general contractor. If you put the actual bill of materials on a spread sheet for both a conventional home, and a barn home, there is very little difference in the two. When you compare labor, there is not as much difference as you would like to see. I would remind you though. The electrician charges by the square foot, the plumber by the hole, the painter by the square foot.Sheet rock same story. When people tell you how much they saved with a barn home, go look at their cabinets, appliances, bathroom, and vanities. The actual savings they experienced over a conventional home are probably in those places. I wouldn't turn around twice for the savings on construction. You could build a framed house, with cheap cabinets and vanities, and accomplish the same thing. Just my two cents. If you want one go for it. Everybody likes something different. I don't dislike them, the savings is just not there. Compare a square of number one painted metal to a square of vinyl, if you don't see my point. Compare the price of 2 6' x 6" post, and 4 2' x 6' stringers to 10 wall studs, and 3 plates. The savings on construction is just not there.

 

[Bigfoot]

I could go for days about construction. I don't know why it's such an intrest to me. I have built a few speck houses. Flipped a few houses, and built two for myself to live in. Used to see a lot of guys with the same plan. Sell somebody on a square foot price to do a job. Make the price per square foot seem so appealing that people just couldn't say no. It's actually impossible to talk about a square foot price in this day and age. There's just to many choices of the same product out there. You can get a Home Depot tub for $89, or you can get a garden tub with jets. You can put down 3,4,5 walnut floors, or you get the special at the carpet barn. Each product does the same thing. Do you want tray ceilings, or do you want popcorn blown on sheet rock. Before you save on construction of the shell, see if you can save on the luxuries. I like luxuries in my home. Not sure why, I just do. I build a spec house for a quick sale. The "construction " is the same for both. I've seen pretty impressive fixtures in a bathroom. You also had to drop your pants in the hall, and back in to take a dump. Because there wasn't any room in it. The idiot that built the house, didn't realize he could make the whole house bigger, and thus spread the cost of high end bathroom fixtures ove more square feet. The walls, floors, and ceilings are cheap. It's the stuff you put in it that cost.

 

[tater74]

Tater I was wondering what you spent cost wise per sq ft, finished and unfinished, if you had it to do over is there anything you would change?

We have a 40X80 building with 14 foot walls. Fiberglass insulated. I had the builder put 2 windows and 2 doors plus a 14 foot rollup in the shop.

This was supposed to be a "casita" that we lived in while we were building our house, but we decided to enlarge the living area and forget the house. We have 1400 feet on the main floor and 700 upstairs.

I contracted the in ground plumbing pipes. I have done the rest by myself. Framing, plumbing, sheetrock, electrical, tile, painting, extra insulation, the kitchen cabinets, (from trees on our property). I also drew up the plans.

We have less than $18/ft in the building (6 inch slab) and we will have it finished for less than $50K.

We will have a 2100 ft home with an 1800 ft shop for well under $125K.

If I had to do something different, I would have had a draftsman check my plans and hired a crew to build it.

We used a guy out of Lorena.

 

[J&D Cattle]

Shop + house = Shouse around here. Buddy lives in one and we lived in a small one of a friend's when we built our house. I do think for the most part that Bigfoot is right though about the savings. After building a home it's all in the finishings and the layout. A box is always cheaper than something with extra corners.