Sep 28

Barndomiums

The barn topic I created a few days ago strayed off in to metal buildings and post and beam barns. A few years ago when was trolling Florida real estate I was not gonna buy I stumbled on to the coolest barndomimium. I sort of knew what one of those was but this really hit home for me. It sat on about 10 acres and was basically a 40 x 100 foot metal building with 14 foot side walls. The living area was two stories in the front and took up about 30 feet of depth. Total living area was around 2400 square feet. The garage was awesome. That was 70x40 with 4 huge garage doors on both sides so you could drive through.

This place was brand new and the ask was around 800k. That got me paying attention to barndomiums. Are they something you would ever consider?

Sep 28, 2026

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Replies (45)

· Sep 28

This one looks like a house with a huge attached garage. 2400 sq feet of living. The call the garage area only 4 car, but it looks a lot closer to 6 with plenty of room.

https://www.barndominiumlife.com/barndominium-plans/pl-61303/

· Sep 28

Same basic size as the first one but with a separate garage. Again, they call it a 4 car garage, I say more like 6.

https://www.barndominiumlife.com/barndominium-plans/cdd-4101/

· Sep 28

For me, this is the one because of the separation from the living area. Less likely to get yelled at when using my air chisel.

· Sep 28

This one looks like a huge ranch. Important if your wife doesn't want to live in a metal building. Also about 2400 square feet.

· Sep 28

These plans are all about the same living area but have a different garage configuration. This one is deep. Living area is 2400.

https://www.barndominiumlife.com/barndominium-plans/pl-61313/

· Sep 28

This one points the garage doors off the side.

https://www.barndominiumlife.com/barndominium-plans/pl-61313-f/

· Sep 28

My wife and I were evaluating a move south. Maybe not all the way to Florida but somewhere in that direction. Personally, I love the concept of the barndomnium because per square foot you are efficiently solving two problems. The issue would be my wife.

· Sep 28

There are some that look like big houses. With metal you need the right windows and trim to make it work. But a big 100x40 foot rectangle is hard to dress up.

· Sep 28

If I were single, I would buy a multi-bay commercial unit and stuff a nice RV in the back corner for living quarters.
I'm not single so the garage needs to be separated from the house so that my house doesn't smell like gear oil and machinery lube.

· Sep 28

The separated one with the breezeway is a nice solution. You can get back and forth without getting wet but you have separation for smells and noise.

· Sep 28

@ShawnG That is a great idea. But where do I put the wife?

· Sep 29

@Ralph71 Have you considered a separate house? 😀

· Sep 29

😂

· Sep 28

I guess I don’t really get it. The floor plans are all that of a large ranch house, which obviously makes sense for anyone older to keep everything on the ground level but adding a huge garage to it just makes an absurd footprint. So I guess my question is, why not just buy a single level house and build a barn in close proximity to it?

· Sep 28

Travis, I think it has to do with the price per square foot for a metal building sitting on a slab with finished space. I'll find some ones that have bigger shop areas than living areas.

· Sep 29

This is 600k in Florida.

“Looking for space, style, and a little bit of country freedom? This 80x36 Barndominium is a must see.” Welcome to this stunning "Barndo" sitting on 5 beautiful acres, where modern living meets wide-open space. From the moment you pull in, you'll notice the privacy, the room to roam, and the endless possibilities this property offers. Whether you're dreaming of a mini farm, a workshop, or just peace and quiet—this is your place. Step inside and you're greeted with that signature barndominium charm—open-concept living, soaring ceilings, and a layout designed for both comfort and functionality. The spacious living area flows seamlessly into the kitchen, making it perfect for entertaining or just enjoying everyday life.The home features generously sized bedrooms and well-appointed bathrooms, giving everyone their own space to relax and unwind. But what really sets this property apart is what's outside—5 acres of usable land ready for whatever vision you have. Bring your animals, your toys, your RV, or build out your dream setup. There's plenty of room for a shop, pool, or additional structures. Whether you're looking for a full-time residence, a weekend retreat, or an investment opportunity, this barndominium delivers flexibility, freedom, and that hard-to-find country lifestyle

https://www.homes.com/property/7255-sw-co-road-344-bell-fl/l93mvl3g4x5ct/

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· Sep 29

That is more like what you usually see for sale. The one I saw was bigger with doors along both the longs sides. I showed it to my wife and that was the end of that idea.

· Sep 29

Surely you weren't surprised AJ?

One of the best real world setups I have seen locally was an oversized ranch with a garage underneath and a set of two interior doors leading to a very large basement. Ideal for someone who is keeping cars but not doing major work at home. He only had a couple As in the space but it easily could have taken 6 cars. Oh, and a pizza oven. Can you say club meeting space?

· Sep 29

A man has to have his dreams Steve.

· Sep 29

This is a great topic and it’s rare that I don’t think about this issue a little bit every day. Here’s the garage of our home that we just sold about six weeks ago. All the signage and gas pumps and display cases/ memorabilia are gone so we could put a fresh coat of white paint on the walls. I’m looking for something down in Indiana near our home. I feel the pull in both directions, something old and vintage that’s cool vice something new and less maintenance in a metal building.

I’ve had discussions with a widow who’s selling an older brick warehouse that could be very cool. She hasn’t given me a number of what she wants for it yet. As cool as it would be, I think I’m leaning towards a newer metal building. Something tells me it might provide similar square footage for half the price. Every dollar saved can go into the cars or the purchase of another one. I love seeing what people have done with this dilemma, the postings on this thread alone provoke a lot of thought in me.

YouTube ↗

· Sep 29

That is a great garage for a suburban home.

· Sep 29

But where is your wife's car?

· Sep 29

Aha!! here in lies the leverage. You show your wife the uninteresting metal building you want to build and she frowns and furrows her brow. Then you tell her if you can build it, all your cars and associated hobby junk will leave the garage and she can have her car inside.

I’m recently retired and I’m available for marital counseling.

· Sep 29

My parents had a 4 car garage growing up 2x2 back to back. Not overly big, my dad put his project in back and 2 cars up front. My mom's car never made it out of the snow although she never had to shovel it out.

My dad built a 40x36 garage with the promise my mom would get a spot and nope. Not the first 20 years at least. Finally about 7 years ago she got a spot.

I was till shoveling cars clear well in to my 50s at their house.

· Sep 29

On the subject of metal buildings, about the only advice I can give is go with the steepest roof pitch you can get. My 50x60 building has very little pitch and I was just up there again today trying to find the source of yet another leak where the spray booth stacks go through. More pitch would stop the water from pooling up as bad and causing as many issues. Then there’s the snow load. There have been a couple winters where we’ve had a 2’+ snowpack up there that had to be shoveled off. You can see where the roof panels have bowed a bit from the weight over the years.

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· Sep 29

Travis, where are you?

· Sep 30

He's in Conn, and I agree. I also don't like the look of the lower pitches. They have an industrial look to them.

· Sep 30

Connecticut

· Sep 30

Yeah, it’s not a very attractive look. It also limits your options for adding a second floor unless you go really tall with the side walls. This building has 12’ walls and only gets to maybe 14’ at the peak.

· Sep 29

One perspective is that a smaller garage acts as a governor………. And 99% of us probably benefit from that.

· Sep 30

This.

· Sep 30

Best benefit of all of them.

· Sep 30

Early morning first cup of coffee fantasy…. Way beyond my budget and what I would need, but fun to think about. It isn’t configured with large doors at both ends which is a priority so you could pull inside with truck/trailer and unload, but lots to love with this project someone built.

https://www.worldwidesteelbuildings.com/projects/lakeview-workshop-retreat/

· Sep 30

That’s a good one. It gives you an idea of the huge scale of the shop area when just the mezzanine is 1400 sq feet. Also, if that building is 80 feet long, that house that it’s next to is immense.

· Sep 30

The 50x80 is a really nice foot print and I like the mezzanine. But I do not like the mismatched door sizes. Would rather a single oversized door in front that works aesthetically and then access from the sides out of view.

· Sep 30

If your wife won't sign up for the barndominium check this out:

https://www.garagedeluxe.com/

· Sep 30

Those are going up in significant numbers in the metro Chicagoland. There is a large complex in Mundelein that was just 5 miles from the home we used to own there. Clearly there is demand.

· Oct 1

Not a barndominium but a barn. These guys keep ending up in my facebook feed.

https://vermontframes.com/finished-project/barn-east-montpelier-vt-11754/

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· Oct 1

Kind a like this barn. Looks like 30x40?

· Oct 1

I’m sure it isn’t cheap but that is beautiful. There’s actually a prefab barn going up in my neighborhood this week. They had four walls and trusses set with a crane on Monday. Yesterday the did all the sheathing and closed it in. Today they have shingles and a cupola on it. These guys work fast.

· Oct 3

Agreed. Beautiful. Probably not the most functional or efficient or inexpensive. If you are in a residential area something like this that might only hold 3 or 4 cars is not a bad idea. And as I believe @JohnBloom remarked it puts a cap on the stupidity.

· Oct 2

I love post and beam, but I fear the delta between it and an attractive metal building would be an amount that would buy a special car.

· Oct 3

Snapped a shot of my local “barnography” today. Not a great photo but the best I could do without stopping and looking like a real creepy weirdo, taking a picture of someone’s barn. Don’t want them to think I’m a “ barn perv”.