Barndominiums: The Present & Future of Residential Building Design

Enter the Barndo

Are you a seasoned “barndo” fan? Or perhaps you’re not yet familiar with the term “barndominium.” Either way, barndominium homes continue to trend and are becoming wildly popular across the U.S. The barndominium craze first took off in Texas several years ago, but that momentum has now carried around the Southwest, Midwest, and Southeast, among other areas.

If you’re new to the topic, a barndominium or barndo is essentially just what it sounds like – a cross between a metal barn and a condominium. Most barndos are designed to resemble the look of barn on the outside, while the interior can be finished to suit most any floorplan or residential application you can think of. While many barndominium owners use their metal building home as a primary residence, a barndo also works well as a vacation home, an office building, or as a functional multipurpose facility which includes both residential space and space for farm/work/commercial use. Metal barndominiums include wide-open, clear-span interiors, so there’s really no limit to the number of ways you can divide, finish, and use your custom metal building.

Learn About What Makes Barndominiums Stand Out

There’s a greater concentration of metal barndominiums in the greater Houston, TX area than perhaps anywhere else in the country. Why Houston? Well for one thing, folks in this area have long recognized the sturdiness and reliability of metal barns and steel structures. Hurricanes and other strong storms are a known threat around the Gulf Coast, so local residents really need something that’s built to withstand any severe weather threats. In that regard, metal barndominiums and metal homes stand up to the challenge much better than any stick build. And here’s another plus, too – a barndo can be significantly cheaper to build per square foot, and also requires less maintenance than a comparable wood-framed building.

The Many Benefits of Choosing a Steel Barndominium

If you’ve never given much thought to choosing a steel-framed structure for your residential application, there’s honestly a lot to like about going with a custom barndominium or barndominium kit. Here are just a few features and benefits worth noting:

• Barndominium cost

Since the cost to build is really one of the first things many homebuyers consider, let’s start with price. While material costs have risen for all construction materials – including both wood and metal – the fact remains that’s it’s still less expensive to build with steel. And the larger your barndo design, the more you’ll save per square foot. On average, a steel-framed home is around 30% cheaper to build than a wood-framed home. The numbers don’t lie!

• Flexible design

Are you someone who values spacious interior layouts, with the option to include high ceilings? If so, you’ll love the possibilities that a custom barndominium offers. The steel framing is engineered to support the full weight of the building without any need for interior columns or poles. The result is an open design plan that can truly be customized any way you like!

• Construction is faster & easier

Having a stick build constructed on your property can take many months, or even longer. Barndominium construction, on the other hand, is a much more streamlined process. Since all of the custom steel building components are fabricated, measured, and cut in a dedicated manufacturing facility beforehand, a steel barndominium goes up much faster, with less needed installation labor. In fact, you can even order a DIY custom barndominium kit which you can put up yourself!

• Energy-efficient

You might assume that a wood barndominium would be more energy-efficient, but that’s not necessarily true. A well-insulated metal home can be 40% more energy-efficient than a wood-framed home. How? Steel framing is dense and compact, meaning there’s actually more available space you can fill with insulation. More insulation means less demand on your HVAC system, equating to lower heating & air conditioning costs. More insulation also means less opportunity for external noise pollution to penetrate your living space, too.

• More eco-friendly, too

While trees are a renewable resource, construction-grade lumber isn’t always produced in an environmentally friendly or sustainable manner. On the other hand, the steel used in building construction includes a minimum percentage of recycled content, and is itself 100% recyclable. In addition, using precision-fabricated steel components means that essentially no waste material is produced on the construction site, so almost nothing ends up in a landfill. When you consider all the facts, it’s not a stretch to say that a steel structure is really one of the most eco-friendly building approaches you can take!

• All the strength and resiliency of steel

There are many more specific benefits to enjoy with a metal barndominium, thanks to other unique properties of steel. Galvanized steel is designed to be sturdy and long-lasting. Steel is also more resistant to weather, fire, lightning, earthquake, and pest threats than wood. A steel building is also easier to clean and maintain. Oh, and here’s one more cost benefit that comes with choosing a rugged steel barndominium – it can be cheaper to insure, too.

Popular Size Options for Barndos

With a steel barndo, you can choose essentially any building dimensions you want, depending upon your own personal needs and preferences. Here are a few examples of popular barndo building sizes:

• 30×40 Barndominium

A typical “starter home” in America has between 1100-1200 square feet of finished space. Well, a 30’ x 40’ barndominium offers 1200 square feet of completely usable interior space you can customize any way you choose!

• 40×60 Barndominium

2400 square feet of living space is plenty of room for creating a 3- or 4-bedroom home plan.

• 40×75 Barndominium

You can divide up your interior space any way you like. For example, you could set apart 2000 square feet for living space, and still have enough room to include a 40’ x 25’ garage area!

• 60×60 Barndominium

3600 square feet of customizable space easily allows for a 4- or 5-bedroom floor plan, with plenty of room left over for including common gathering areas.

• 60×70 Barndominium

What can you do with a 60’ x 70’ barndominium? The better question is what can’t you do! You’ll have all the comfortable living space your family needs, and still be able to include an attached 3-car garage. Alternatively, you could choose to include some office space, workspace, overflow storage space, or whatever you need!

Looking for a Perfect Barndominium? Carport Central Has You Covered!

If you’re looking for the right barndominium for sale, then look no farther than Carport Central. We’re known as the premier online provider of custom metal structures in America for a reason! We have the best partnerships with the best metal building manufacturers, and we serve nearly the entire continental United States. Carport Central offers unparalleled building selection in terms of style, size, and ability to customize, and our quality of steel structure engineering is second to none. But beyond all of that, one of the things which truly sets us apart is our trained team of friendly building specialists. We’ll take the time to listen to your needs, goals, and dreams, and we’ll make sure you get your perfect custom barndominium! Give us a call at (980) 321-9898 today, and experience the Carport Central difference!