Anyone live in a barn home?

[TheArdentOutdoorsman]

I am looking at buying property, using a construction loan and building a simply designed, budget friendly home. The barn homes/post frame/garage home style seems to be the direction I'm leaning. The steel homes and kit homes are interesting as well. Anyone built or live in one of these? Pros/cons/tips/reccomendations? I'm a construction project manager so it's in my scope of knowledge however those type of homes are very rare in my area compared to what I've seen in other parts of the country.

 

[def90]

Well, you're in construction so you should know to look in to local codes and zoning to see what they expect for something that will be used as a residence. A lot of people try to use the "barndominium" to skirt local zoning and tax laws by building a pole barn "garage" and then after it's finished frame in rooms and additional plumbing and use it as a residence.

 

[StorMay05]

I’m getting ready to build a house soon myself and I’ve looked into them as well. My family has always been involved with home building so do have some knowledge on that front. From what I’ve seen they don’t seem all they are cracked up to be. Lower/harder resell, may not be permitted in some areas, may require engineered plans, etc. It looks like some places are becoming more friendly to them but require traditional framing on the exterior walls between post which will probably eat up any savings.
The more I looked at barndominiums it became really apparent where the cost savings came in, your building a cheaper, less quality building overall. If you finish one like a normal house I doubt the finished sq/ft price will change much. I agree with Def90 they seem to have popped up as a way to skirt regs/taxes.
The only advantage I really see to post-frame builds is if you are building it yourself you can spread out your time frame for getting stuff done. The roof goes up fast and everything can be built under and around it later.

 

[TSAMP]

There is a thread discussing heating that dives into shouse/barndos. Built one on my families farm last year for a place to stay while I hunt and a buddy built one for his full time residence.

Another buddy owns a construction company and he didn't want either job and Says it's not the way to go if it's a full-time home. It's just not as stable as a traditional house. Think less framework and a bigger surface area for wind. That being said I like it for what it is. Pm me and I will discuss further.

 

[Rick653]

I lived in a smaller finished barn for a few years. It was a studio setup with a loft over the front half. I recommend putting a sky light in, because it fills the house with so much light. Not good for night shift life tho

 

[Eagle]

In addition to the other suggestions on things to check on, check on home insurance coverage as well, I've heard that it can be difficult to get coverage for all perils on these types of builds/homes.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

I put up a metal frame building, the first and only. I grew up in the construction industry so I have that back ground. It is a 40'x40. Everything went along great. Only problem we had was the corner caps didn't go on as advertise But that was pretty minor. One needs to be very careful when putting down the roof, panels are easily dented if slightly stepped on. If you are real concerned with looks, you'll want to take extra care. The other thing is if, you will be living in it, there is the noise factor. Heavy downpours can be noisy. Other than those minor issues they go up real easy.

 

[TheArdentOutdoorsman]

Great stuff guys. My family travels alot and we spend the majority of our time outside the house so we want a basic home, no need for bells and whistles. The barndos seem to get some attention on the price and ease of construction fronts so they caught my eye off the bat. Our main focus is acreage so we are trying to find the best housing option from a value standpoint to allow us to own more land.