Barndominium Cost Per Square Foot: A Complete Guide

Ready to get started building a barndominium?

Barndominiums have officially arrived. These unique structures were once thought of as just a way to be near your livestock in the winter.

My, how times have changed. Barndos are a hot housing option now. Particularly in Texas and the states surrounding and adjacent to it.

In fact, the term barndominium now has its own Wikipedia page.A sure sign of social acceptance.

The popularity of Barndominiums has also brought options

In the very recent past, you were limited on finding barndominium plans and prices. In fact, they were once considered to be merely pole barns with apartments.

But today you have hundreds of designs to choose from — from the smallest one bedroom at 700 square feet. To the largest we’ve found — a five bedroom creation with full shop and indoor riding arena.

As you can imagine, the pricing on such a wide array of options can be elusive. “It depends,” is the answer you’ll hear most often when asking how much a particular barndo design will be.

And in truth, you can’t really blame the builders. Even when you buy a kit, delivered straight to your property, the final price per square foot will depend on a host of options that can only be determined by you as the ultimate owner AFTER you decide on things like granite countertops vs laminate and stained concrete vs carpet, etc.

That’s what ultimately drives up barndominium prices.

How Much Does a Barndominium Cost Per Square Foot?

Exterior Costs 

The exterior of your barndominium is where most of the money for initial construction will go. Because of the unique design of these homes, you should spare no expense on the exterior. This way, you can be sure that your home will be solid and structurally sound. 

Exterior costs to consider include: 

• Slab 
• Pole barn shell 
• Roof 
• Land clearing 
• Plumbing

How Much Does a Concrete Slab Cost?

You may be looking for the cheapest way to build a concrete slab for your barndominium. These concrete slab articles can help you determine the cost of your slab.

• Cost of a 20×20 Concrete Slab
• Cost of a 20×40 Concrete Slab
• Cost of a 30X30 Concrete Slab
• Cost of a 30×40 Concrete Slab
• Cost of a 40×40 Concrete Slab
• Cost of a 40×60 concrete slab

Interior Costs 

Once your barndominium structure has been built, you will need to frame up the interior. This is where you will create the rooms and hallways that make up the layout of the home. The cost of doing this work will depend on how big the home is going to be and how many rooms there are. 

Interior costs include: 

• Framing 
• Electrical 
• Insulation 
• Furnishing 

Land Costs to Build a Barndominium 

One of the most important decisions you will make when building a barndominium is the land. The piece of land you choose will determine the cost of the rest of the construction. Things like utilities and the cost of clearing the land will add to the total cost of your barndominium. The more rural the land is, the more likely it will be to be affordable. Finding a solid piece of land will set the tone for the rest of your construction project. 

Barndominium Floor Plans 

The floor plan is one of the most important steps when building your barndominium. You will need to hire a professional draftsman to get your floor plan finished. Depending on where you live, a draftsman may be more or less expensive to hire. However, the most important thing is to make sure they have experience with home floor plans. 

Here are some popular floor plan options you may want to consider.

• Top 20 Barndominium Floor Plans
• Open Concept Barndominium Floor Plans
• Barndominium Floor Plans with Garage
• Barndominium Floor Plans with Shop
• Barndominium Floor Plans with Loft
• Barndominium Floor Plans with Wraparound Porch
• Barndominium Floor Plans with Breezeway
• Texas Barndominium Floor Plans
• Single Story Barndominium Floor Plans
• 2 Story Barndominium Floor Plans
• Barndominium Floor Plans with 2 Master Suites
• 30×40 Barndominium Floor Plans
• 30X60 Barndominium Floor Plans with Shop
• 40×50 Barndominium Floor Plans
• 40×80 Barndominium Floor Plans with Shop
• 60×60 Barndominium Floor Plans
• 3 Bedroom Barnominium Floor Plans
• 4 Bedroom Barndominium Floor Plans
• 5 Bedroom Barndominium Floor Plans
• 6 Bedroom Barndominium Floor Plans

Barndominium Kits 

A barndominium kit is a great way to get your home built without having to source materials. Barndominium kits generally cost between $20,000 and $90,000 and come in all kinds of styles. Depending on the size and style of the kit, you may pay above or under this average. The more bedrooms and bathrooms you want to add, the more the kit will cost. 

Labor

Labor is another big part of the total cost of building your barndominium. Fortunately, barndominiums take about half the time to build compared to traditional homes. This means that the labor cost for a barndominium is much less than it usually would be. This makes a barndominium build much more accessible to all kinds of people. 

Other Costs

• Permits
• Foundation
• Material
• Septic
• Siding
• Labor

All right, here are the ranges and options we’ve discovered. (We’re excluding costs you’ve probably already taken care of, such as your lot or acreage, well, and septic (if needed).

The lowest cost we’ve found in researching the subject is $20 per square foot for a barndo kit that’s dropped off on your property and left for you to finish out, by yourself. That would be for a tiny barndo with walls, a roof, and not much else.

Don’t get us wrong. That’s wonderfully low, but it counts on you doing everything from hanging drywall to plumbing the place by yourself. Can you also hang windows and doors? If so, you’re going to save a lot of money no matter what barndo DIY kit you choose, from whatever vendor.

So, what is a more realistic barndominium cost?

For the rest of us who must rely on skilled, often expensive subcontractors to do this sort of thing, the cost to move into that same small barndo is probably going to double — to more like $40 per square foot — or more.

In fact, that’s just what Absolute Steel Texas (located in Terrell, Texas), says is their bottom-line move-in price for each of the four small DIY barndo kits they manufacture.

Let’s take a closer look at one of those styles. It will be instructive since this company is very transparent on its pricing, allowing us to see more or less how we can total up hard costs ourselves almost to the penny well before move-in.

We will then be able to compute with some accuracy the barndominium price per square foot on any kit — no matter who the manufacturer is or how big the kit is — DIY (kit and materials costs only) or turnkey (labor and materials supplied by builder along with the kit).

Barndominium Kit Cost Formula

The barndo kit, delivered to our property will be “X” dollars. And ancillary costs to buy finish-out materials locally — drywall, cabinets, paint, etc, — will be “Y” dollars. Labor will finish the formula, represented by ”Z”. And the three numbers added together will represent the total costs right up to move-in.

Here’s a DIY example: Kit cost (X) $10,000 + Materials cost (Y) $10,000 + Labor cost (Z) $0 = $20,000. Cost per square foot (1000 sq ft barndo) is $20,000 divided by 1,000 = $20 a square foot.

If we aren’t all that handy, though, and aren’t blessed with friends skilled in the construction trades, who will work for the price of a case of beer, we can safely add another $20,000 to arrive at a minimum builder turnkey finished cost of $40,000, or $40 a square foot on that particular example. Actually, that’s probably low if you involve a local contractor and his experienced crew. Better make that at least $50,000, which is still relatively low compared to other new construction options.

By the way. Need a good contractor to do the job for you if you aren’t very handy or just aren’t up to DIY? Check out this articlewith a checklist and questions you can ask to narrow the odds of getting a good one.

As we said, Absolute Steel sells a kit that really is just a cottage, called the Teton. (They also have three other cottage/cabin barndominium kits — but we’ll just analyze the Teton for now).

(Bear with us if you have no intention of buying something this small. We’ll get to a much larger example in a moment).

And now, the Barndominium Floor Plans with Cost

One of the best ways to figure out the cost of your barndominium is to put together a floor plan and use our barndominium cost calculator to get a rough estimate of what it is going to cost you. There’s more on our cost calculator below, but for now let’s take a look at this floor plan to give you an idea of what this kind of barndo might cost you.

Here is our floor plan for a 40×40 barndominium with a 10×20 porch, two bedrooms, and two bathrooms:

According to our cost calculator, this floor plan will cost $176,800 if you do all the work yourself and $203,319.99 if you hire a professional to do the construction. This is based on a rough 15% estimate of what it costs to hire a contractor and also takes other factors into consideration.

This particular cost includes “Grade 1” cabinetry and “Grade 1” countertops. If you want more premium furnishings, you will need to add more to your overall budget.

What’s the grand total?

Here at Barndominium Life, we have put together a barndominium cost calculator so you can get an idea of what your particular barndominum will cost. This tool is designed to help you figure out what kind of barndominium you can afford and what kind of additions you can make.

The calculator starts at a base cost of $120 per square foot and allows you to move sliders around so you can decide how much space you need and what you want to add on. For example, it allows you to add on a shop and figure out how much shop space you can have in your barndominium as well as how big of a porch you can add on top your barndo.

The calculator also allows you to choose different furnishings and additions like cabinetry and countertops. There are several different levels of quality you can choose from so you can decide what kind of materials you can afford to include.

A final note on this section

You can see how this tool might help to estimate costs on kits where you do the labor. And, it can help you understand and possibly work with the builder to save yourself time, work and money on a project in which they do everything, turnkey.

So, look for kits with a relatively low price tag, and then run estimates on what the final sq ft cost might be both DIY and turnkey. The answers might surprise you.

Before closing, take a look at these small bardominium/cabins from a very cool custom wooden kit builder through giant online retailer Amazon . Though many are too small to be permanent dwellings, check the 700 to 1200 sq ft cabins near the bottom of the post to see what they offer on mid-size cabins. Amazon even offers level pay financing on many of these cabins.

Barndominium Floor Plan Options

Here are some great barndominium floor plans to consider:

• Best Barndominium Floor Plans
• Barndominium floor plans with loft
• One Story Barndominium Floor Plan Ideas
• 2 story barndominium floor plans with shop

Here’s a short video on framing the Teton and other buildings by Absolute Steel.

 

Now for a mid-range to luxury barndo example

Here’s a barndo builder that now makes kits as well as providing turnkey services. For right now, though, let’s just examine their turnkey services.

A few facts on their new line of kits can be found at the end of this section.

Texas Barndominiums, is one of the leading turnkey builders of custom barndominiums in the state. They operate in dozens of counties across Texas.

When you visit the Texas Barndominiums home page, you’re immediately drawn to their Instant Pricing tab. There you’ll find a way to easily obtain your own “ballpark” pricing information.

They offer you many turnkey barndominium options, including a 30 foot by 40 foot, two-bedroom, one-bath floor plan with a 3:12 pitched roof and a base price of $155,000.

Let’s explore that offering a bit further.

The power of partnership

Since Texas Barndominiums is primarily a full service provider, you are paying for their considerable experience and skills to make sure your new barndo is all that it can be.

Here’s what they say on their website is included in that $155,000 price:

• Engineered concrete slab
• Stained floors
• Spray foam insulation
• PEX plumbing
• Laminate counter tops
• Pre-manufactured cabinets, and
• 9 ft ceilings

However, that doesn’t mean you will be expected to pay the remaining materials costs necessary to finish the barndominium out. You won’t.

They also do everything on our larger DIY list, providing all materials, labor and project management, for the stated price on each barndo option — in this case, $155,000 base cost.

That’s pretty much everything needed for final move-in.

Here’s a snapshot of their final online worksheet. You’ll see that on this matrix, we made some upgrades that immediately ramped up the price. We added an engineered wood floor and a wraparound porch on two sides, which is not shown on the floor plan above. Please use your imagination.

Preliminary tab on this floor plan after these upgrades — $168,000.

And we had intended to return to our DIY online worksheet again to get a feel for what actual move-in costs might be, but apparently that’s unnecessary.

Texas Barndominiums General Manager/Owner Erik Cortina says that, if no other upgrades or changes were made to our chosen example, that $168,000 would be the full move-in price.

“Because our Barndos are custom, we build to suit our customers’ needs,” he says. “The prices on our website are an approximation for that purpose, but it is a move-in price except for appliances, well, and septic. We build from start to finish.  So customers do not need to pay for additional materials.” Or labor, we might add.

In that case, all we need to do to get fairly close to an accurate square foot number is simply divide $168,000 by 1400 sq ft (we added 2 wraparound porches for an extra 200 sq ft, remember?) and we get a very favorable $120 per square foot cost. Again, that’s assuming we don’t add upgrades like granite countertops.

If we did, Erik and his team would rework the estimate to reflect the changes and quote a new move-in total.

Final notes on this example

To find out the true cost (not cost per square foot, but total cost) of your new barndominium home, you would need to add back in the cost of the land, well, septic and probably an access road to get across your property to your house. Plus, whatever other costs we haven’t thought of yet.

That, after all, is why you pay a professional builder like Texas Barndominiums to construct your dream barndo. They will leverage their many hours of previous experience to foresee and forestall possible problems with yours.

One last note: Owner/General Manager Erik Cortina says, “As for the DIY crowd, we have started offering barndo shells for those customers that want us to do the foundation and metal building but want to finish the building out themselves.

“For barndo shells, we typically charge $38 sq. ft. and up for living quarters with continuous roof.  Since our barndo shells are custom, our customers have the option to add almost as many windows and doors as they want.

“Also, they get to select the type of windows and doors, and that can have a large influence in cost.

“Our Barndo shells include engineered foundation, metal building, windows, and exterior doors.  Metal soffits are optional and need to be done later in the build, so they are not part of the barndo shell.”

To learn more about this unique service, call them at 866.812.2226.

Now for a true luxury barndominium example

Next, we pay a visit to DC Structures in Damascus, Oregon to check out their seemingly transparent style of letting the buyer know what the cost of their kits are right up front — although you’ll find that in actuality the “kit” price has very little resemblance to the finished price. We’ll try to explain.

First of all, the prospective owner can find the stated price easily enough. It’s clearly visible on each page of their catalogue.

But unlike other builders, you cannot extrapolate that number into anything approaching an accurate final cost. To get that you’ll need to contact someone on their sales team.

After a short interview about the kit in which you’re interested and a discussion of your needs, you’ll receive a square foot cost that may seem startling, until you realize the time and craftsmanship that goes into these premium structures — created from select grade heavy Northwest timbers.

These “kits” are not the kind of DIY project we discussed earlier, and your chances of lowering the per sq ft figure that the company quotes are slim. In fact, that figure will likely go still higher depending on your state of residence and the available kit upgrades you pick out. The type and grade of upscale fixtures this finely crafted dwelling would require will also have an impact.

We’ll take a closer look at just what you can expect from a partnership with DC Structures to build your very own “barn with living quarters,” as they call their kits.

But first, here’s a video on the company, showcasing their craftsmanship and their devotion to detail:

Examining “The Oakridge” Barn With Living Quarters

We’re going to look at what they say is their most popular kit — “The Oakridge,” which, again, they characterize as “closer to a timber frame home designed in a classic barn style” than a  modern, low-cost barn frame with a residence built into it — which is what most folks expect from a barndominium. Indeed, these structures are difficult to compare with metal warehouse-style barndos.

These dwellings are truly crafted to last, using beautifully aged hardwood posts and beams to carry out tastefully executed architectural designs.

The Oakridge is the smallest of the barn-with-apartment kits they put together and ship all over the United States. Here’s how they describe it:

“With ample space and storage, the Oakridge comes in first place for being our most popular barn with living quarters. The bottom floor can be adapted to suit your individual needs—be it stalls to keep your horses, a garage to store your outdoor toys or a workshop for your craft.”

In addition, the Oakridge is expandable into four larger sizes, going all the way up to 5,184 square feet.

Breaking down the numbers

The Oakridge breaks down as follows:

• 36′ x 36′
• 2,592 Sq. Ft.
• 2+ Bedrooms
• Up to 5  Horse Stalls
• Or, configure the downstairs space however you choose

And now a few details and the numbers

When this package is delivered to your homesite, it will need assembling as well — but not by a couple of your buddies from college and a keg of beer.

This will require the involvement of a professional crew of workmen who know how to assemble this kind of dwelling, given as it is to super high vaulted ceilings and other intricacies of post and beam construction.

Okay. So, what are we up to on costs?

Well, the base price of this “kit” theoretically is $118,300, which, if we were comparing apples to apples, would make it a little over $45 a square foot right off the semi your package of timbers arrives on.

However, a spokesman for DC Structures says “the lowest estimate we would give for an all-in cost per square foot to order and build the Oakridge 36′ is about $127 a square foot.” That includes a concrete pad, interior framing, a full complement of high quality Andersen windows, this list of deliverables and the hiring of a general contractor with whom they interface for the time it takes to build your “barn with apartment.”

And that $127 sq ft figure, he adds, is “significantly more” in states like California.

Here’s the bottom line

In actual fact, then, there really is very little point, once again, in going through the online shopping list drill we are proposing you use with DIY barndominiums, because you’re locked into that $127 a square foot minimum no matter what. And $127 times 2,590 square feet means you’re going to be spending a minimum of $328,930 by the time your barn with living quarters is done.

This kit falls therefore — as it should — into a luxury structure category that is for those with the financial means to have the very best of everything.

If this includes you, we’re glad we could bring these fine craftsmen to your attention.

Anyway, back to the main debate.

We’ve talked today about barndominiums that are low priced, medium priced, and the relatively high priced. We’ve discussed the things you need to know in order to make intelligent buying decisions as you step through the building process.

And we hope we’ve demystified for you exactly what goes into the formulation of the industrywide practice of pricing barndos by the square foot. In most cases, if you find a kit builder who will let you buy just a shell at a low cost, it bears checking out our formula of “X” (the basic kit) + “Y”  (materials) + “Z” (estimated labor — in the DIY scenario that’s zero because you’re doing it all — except slab, electrical and probably plumbing) divided by the total number of square feet.

In some cases, where you aren’t doing the labor yourself, the builders’ square foot cost for a turnkey project might be more favorable than if you tried to manage the project yourself. Run the numbers and see. You might be favorably surprised.

Did you give up your chance to make your barndominium exactly the way you want by choosing a kit?

Not at all. Many kit builders will work with you to customize your barndo either before delivery or onsite. For an increase in price. But if you choose your options carefully, you’ll get exactly what you want within the budget that you set at the beginning.

By going the kit route rather than hiring an architect for plans, and a general contractor to create and execute your custom barndomium, you’ll generally save money, and be able to quickly answer the question, “How much does a barndominium cost per square foot?”

Cost of Building a Barndominium in Each State

Every state has their own cost for building a home and knowing which states are the most and least expensive can help you decide where you want to build and where would be best for your particular budget. The costs for each state in the U.S. are:

• Alabama – $86 per square foot 
• Alaska – $129 per square foot 
• Arizona – $114 per square foot 
• Arkansas – $102 per square foot 
• California – $138 per square foot 
• Colorado – $108 per square foot 
• Delaware – $129 per square foot 
• Florida – $112 per square foot 
• Georgia – $102 per square foot 
• Idaho – $99 per square foot 
• Illinois – $111 per square foot 
• Indiana – $100 per square foot 
• Iowa – $96 per square foot 
• Kansas – $105 per square foot 
• Kentucky – $99  per square foot 
• Louisiana – $97 per square foot 
• Maine – $109 per square foot 
• Maryland – $132 per square foot 
• Massachusetts – $144 per square foot 
• Michigan – $97 per square foot 
• Minnesota – $114 per square foot 
• Mississippi – $89 per square foot 
• Missouri – $108 per square foot 
• Montana – $102 per square foot 
• Nebraska – $96 per square foot 
• Nevada – $123 per square foot 
• New Hampshire – $104 per square foot 
• New Mexico – $104 per square foot 
• New York – $130 per square foot 
• North Carolina – $122 per square foot 
• Ohio – $93 per square foot 
• Oklahoma – $103 per square foot 
• Oregon – $118 per square foot 
• Pennsylvania – $101 per square foot 
• South Carolina – $111 per square foot 
• South Dakota – $104 per square foot 
• Tennessee – $102 per square foot 
• Texas – $120 per square foot
• Utah – $120 per square foot 
• Vermont – $123 per square foot 
• Virginia – $110 per square foot 
• Washington – $121 per square foot 
• West Virginia – $81 per square foot 
• Wisconsin – $108 per square foot 
• Wyoming – $133 per square foot 

Barndominium FAQs

What barndominium can I get for my budget?

The size of the barndominium you want to build will depend on several different factors. One of the best ways to find out what you can afford is with our Bid and Budget Tracker. With this tool, you can get the help you need to narrow down costs.

Is it cheaper to build a house or a barndominium? 

Building a barndominium will almost always be cheaper than building a traditional home. Because of the shorter construction time and the simpler design, you can save a lot of money. If you have been turned off the idea of building a home due to the cost, a barndominium could be a great option. 

How much is a barndominium shell? 

The actual shell of a barndominium pole barn will cost between $1,000 and $50,000. It is important to remember that this is just the cost for the shell. You will need to do a lot of work to get it up in the air and turn it into a home. 

Final words

These are just our opinions. Feel free to enter your thoughts and experiences in the Comments section below. If you’re politely disagreeing, we’ll probably post it. We certainly don’t have ALL the answers. And, if you have found any of the above to be useful, please give us that feedback as well.

So long, and may you build the barndominium of your dreams. Please be sure to get the Barndominium Life Program!

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