We build the part of a barndominium that holds the rest up: the site, the pad, the slab, and the steel shell. Interiors, electrical, and plumbing are not part of our scope. Your own finish contractors take it from a dried-in shell. That keeps our part honest and leaves you free to pick who finishes the house.
What we build, and what we don't
A barndominium is a steel building with a home inside, often with a shop or garage under the same roof. The building side looks a lot like a big shop. The house side is a house, and it gets treated like one.
Our scope is the shell, slab, and site. We lay the building out on your ground, do the dirt work, build the pad, get the slab formed and poured to the foundation design, and stand the steel frame, roof, and walls. We can run the drive and the site work around it too.
Interiors, electrical, and plumbing are not part of our scope. Room framing, wiring, plumbing, HVAC, insulation inside the walls, drywall, cabinets, and finishes belong to your own finish contractors. Plumbing under the slab has to be set before the pour, so your plumber and our crew coordinate that day.
- We do: layout, site clearing, the building pad, the slab, the steel shell, doors and openings framed per the drawings, the drive, and drainage around the building.
- Not our scope: interior framing, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, insulation inside the walls, and finish-out.
Where a barndominium fits
Barndominiums usually go on acreage: a home with a shop on one end, or a house now with room for a shop later. They suit an owner who wants one building doing two jobs, on land that needs work around it too.
That land work tends to be a bigger share of the job than people expect. A house site needs a pad that drains, a drive that holds up in the wet, room for a septic system, and often a cleared lot. Some owners add a pond or stock tank while the equipment is already on the place.
Permits and septic
Inside a city, the city sets the rules for a new home. Unincorporated Parker County doesn't issue building permits, but it does permit septic systems and regulates development in mapped floodplains. Plan the septic system and its field before the house pad gets set, so the pad, the drive, and the field aren't fighting over the same ground.
Choices that affect the shell
Your floor plan drives the shell: where doors and windows go, where the shop wall sits, and how tall the walls run. Openings get framed in the steel, so settle the plan with whoever is designing the house before the building is ordered.
On our side, the big calls are the footprint, the eave height, where porches and lean-tos go, and how the shop end meets the house end. Longer spans call for manufacturer-designed roof framing, and your building supplier provides the drawings. Ask your supplier for the manufacturer's stamped drawings for the building you order.
- Footprint and eave height. Set by the floor plan and any loft or second floor.
- Porches and lean-tos. A wrap porch or side lean-to changes both the frame and the slab.
- Shop end. Roll-up doors and a thicker slab where equipment sits.
- Where it sits. High enough to drain, with room for septic, the drive, and any future shop.
Slab and shell materials
A home slab isn't a shop slab. Parts of the county have clay subsoils, and clay moves with water. The house slab needs a foundation design from a design professional. We build the pad and slab to that design. We don't design it. A soils report for the site tells everyone what's under the house before the concrete goes in.
The shell is a steel frame with steel roof and wall panels, trim, and doors from a building supplier. The house design sets the openings and the insulation plan. The building drawings set the frame and the anchor bolts, and we place the bolts to match.
For the shop end, vendor guidance from AA Metal Buildings calls for 5 to 6 inches of concrete where tractors, lifts, or equipment sit. The foundation design for the house side sets its own numbers.
How the shell, slab, and site go together
Order matters more here than on a shop, because more trades touch the job.
- Walk and layout. We walk the site with you, check drainage and access, and set corners where the house, drive, and septic all fit.
- Site and pad. Clear what needs clearing, strip topsoil, and build the pad in layers to drain. See dirt work and building pads and site prep before a shop slab.
- Under-slab work. Your plumber sets the under-slab lines before the pour. We work around that schedule.
- Slab. Forms, reinforcement, and anchor bolts per the foundation design and building drawings, then the pour and cure.
- Shell. Stand the frame, then roof and wall panels, trim, and doors to the drawings.
- Handoff. We walk the shell with you and your finish contractors so they know exactly what they're starting from.
Tie-ins: drive, fence, gates, and the rest of the place
A house on acreage needs a drive that holds up in a wet spring, room to turn a trailer around, and usually an entry gate. We build the drive, shape the ground so water goes around the house instead of toward it, and talk through a culvert where the drive crosses the ditch.
We build fence too, so the entry, the house yard fence, and the pasture fence can be laid out with the house, not after it. A ranch entry gate and pipe fence along the road make a good start.
Building a separate shop next to the house? See metal buildings. Same crew, same pad work, done in whatever order fits your schedule.
Adding on, repairs, and changes
Barndominiums tend to grow by adding covered space: a porch, a carport lean-to, or a shop off one end. Each one ties into the existing frame and slab. Tell us what you need, and after a look at the building and its drawings, we'll say whether it fits.
If something moved, like a cracked slab or a door that won't close, the cause is usually water or the ground underneath. We can look at the drainage and the pad around the building. Structural questions about the house itself go to a professional.
Questions about barndominium shells
Do you build the whole barndominium?
No. Our scope is the shell, the slab, and the site: layout, dirt work, the pad, the slab formed and poured to the design, and the steel shell. Interiors, electrical, and plumbing are not part of our scope. Your own finish contractors handle those.
What does a barndominium shell cost per square foot?
Priced on site. The site work and the slab can swing the total as much as the building does. We'd rather give you a number for your ground than quote a range that doesn't fit it. Send the plan and a few site photos through the quote form.
Who designs the foundation?
A design professional. The house slab needs a foundation design, and we build the pad and slab to it. We don't design it. Parts of the county have clay subsoils, and a house slab has to handle that.
Can my plumber and electrician work with you?
Yes. Your plumber sets under-slab lines before the pour, and we hand a dried-in shell to your finish contractors. We walk it with them at the handoff.
Do I need a permit in Parker County?
Unincorporated Parker County doesn't issue building permits, but it permits septic systems and regulates development in mapped floodplains. Inside a city, the city sets the rules. Check before you start.
Can you do the drive, fence, and pond too?
Yes. That's the point of one crew. See dirt work for the drive and pad, and ponds and stock tanks if you want water on the place.
How long does the shell take?
That depends on the size, the site, the weather, and when the building package shows up. The slab also needs time to cure before the frame goes up. We'll give you a schedule for your job when we price it.
Where we build it
Barndominium shells is on the list for these towns. Not on the list? Ask us.
Guides
Sources
- Texas Occupations Code §1001.056 (exempt buildings; roof members on spans over 24 ft)
- Parker County permitting (no building permits; septic and floodplain regulated)
- USDA Official Soil Series Description, Windthorst series (Parker County type location)
- AA Metal Buildings, concrete slab practice for metal buildings (vendor guidance)
