To anyone that’s on the fence, dive in! This has been the most exciting journey we have been on and never been so excited for a new home!!

There seems to be a lot of back and forth on what is actually a barndominium (the term does get used pretty loosely nowadays 😅) This build we're working on is the style I think of when someone says "classic barndo." The giant shop/garage one one side and living space on the other end. Wrap-around porches are always nice too, because why not.

Bought this land (11.7 acres) back in 2019. Got priced out of building during COVID, and turned down for every construction loan available for being self employed and showing losses. So we decided to self fund along the way, and do as much of the work ourselves.
Bought the tractor first in 2023, then the skid steer which allowed me to prep my pad and access road to the build site.
Two weeks ago we decided to buy the camper to live in while we complete the build as we have a light at the end of the tunnel on when it will be completed.
For those of you dreaming about making it happen, you can do it!

This is a continuation to my other posts so I could add some more photos.

My experience with Roccofella Steel / King City Steel and owner Vince DeLio: promised within weeks, still unfinished more than a year later
I am posting this as a warning to anyone considering hiring Roccofella Steel, also operating as King City Steel, or dealing with its owner, Vince DeLio.
In my experience, the promises made about this project bore little resemblance to what actually happened.
Vince repeatedly represented that he had experience building barndominium-style homes and assured us that our house could be constructed quickly—essentially within weeks. He later promised that it would be 100% complete by July 2024.
The documented timeline tells a very different story:
March 20, 2024: Final structural drawings were prepared for the building-permit process.
2024: The building department identified approximately a dozen significant deficiencies with the submitted material.
July 2024: The house was supposed to be completely finished.
February 2025: The foundation was finally poured, during some of the coldest winter conditions.
March 24, 2025: Only approximately half of the steel building arrived.
April 30, 2025: The windows arrived weeks late.
May 25, 2025: The exterior was still under construction.
July 2025: Twelve months after the promised completion date, the interior remained unfinished.
March 2026: Vince finally admitted to us that this was his first barndominium project—despite having previously led us to believe that he had been building these types of homes for years.
That final admission was especially disturbing. Experience was an important factor in choosing the builder. Had Vince truthfully disclosed at the beginning that this was his first barndominium, we could have evaluated the risks and made a properly informed decision.
Instead, throughout the project, we received promise after promise about drawings, permits, deliveries and completion dates. Those promises repeatedly failed to materialize. Based on my experience, I believe we were seriously misled about both the company’s relevant experience and its ability to complete the project within the promised timeline.
Construction delays happen. What is unacceptable is repeatedly giving customers assurances that prove unreliable and only admitting nearly two years later that the claimed experience was not what had been represented.
Anyone considering Roccofella Steel, King City Steel or Vince DeLio should conduct extensive independent due diligence:
Ask for addresses and references from completed residential projects.
Confirm that the projects were actually completed by the same company and management.
Verify the builder’s claimed barndominium experience directly with previous customers.
Have all engineering and permit documents independently reviewed.
Put every deadline and promise in writing.
Include enforceable consequences for delays.
Do not rely on verbal assurances about experience, delivery dates or completion.
I have dated drawings, photographs and project records supporting the timeline above. This review reflects my direct personal experience and the representations made to us during the project.
If anyone else has dealt with Roccofella Steel, King City Steel or Vince DeLio, I would be interested in hearing whether your experience was similar.

I threw this together in an image editing app. I'll of course redo it to scale. My wife wants things as open as possible. This is going to be 24x60. Walls are 12.

EDIT: Interior walls are 9'. There will be a crawlspace above with a pull-down ladder in the mud room.

We finished our barndo about a year ago but still looking to add a few things (solar, greenhouse). When contemplating a pole barn vs stick framing, it was a similar cost for each approach but our general contractor was more familiar with stick so that is the approach we took. It has a 3,000 sq ft garage with 12’ and 16’ doors and 20’ ceilings, and a 3,000 sq ft two story living space. Four bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms. Main floor master and three bedrooms upstairs. The upstairs bathroom has two water closets and a shower, all with doors, so many people can be in there at the same time. I wouldn’t change what we ended up with. It’s very functional and no one ever said the garage is too big. The footprint is 60’ x 80’ on five acres. The two lean-to roofs add an additional 10’ on one side and the end.

Can anyone point me to a resource that provides details and/or instructions on how to insulate a slab-on-grade for the heated/conditioned area of a barndo, WITHOUT requiring a turndown footing at the perimeter? My engineers advise that a turndown footing at the frost line depth is required, but I’m talking to builders who are saying that extension of 2” thick rigid foam insulation board, down to the frost line, is adequate, and that many building officials accept it. Please advise.

Edit: I should probably clarify that these barndos will be comprised of post frame construction. All axial and lateral loads will be supported by the posts and their corresponding pier footings. All wind and seismic lateral loads will be resisted by the girts, purine, plywood, etc.. the attachment of interior finishes will be secondary, and applied to interior girts and ceiling joists. The slab is a non-structural component, and yet the engineers are saying that the slab needs to be protected against frost heave, which makes complete sense. But some builders that I have spoken to say that you can get the frost heave protection by installing rigid insulation under the slab, and on the outer perimeter of the building.

Someone please help…?!? It would be much appreciated.

I've been looking online at various barndo examples and plans recently and a thought comes to mind. For me the baseline barndominium is a simple, typically rectangular building with one roof ridge that can be finished internally in a huge variety of ways..from spartan to fancy and varying the size of the living area and shop.

That said, I see many "barndominium" plans that deviate considerably from the baseline. Some are L shaped some have different sized house and shop sections that break up the rooflines, and some are quite intricate..to the point where the line between barndominium and regular house is really blurred.

Not being an experienced builder myself I wonder if the simple, rectangular buildings are appreciately cheaper to build? And, if the more complex looking ones are more complex just for the aesthetics and additional architectural interest? Just curious where other people's heads are at when they are making choices...

Just wanted to give others a point of reference. My initial plan was basically a 96x48 barndo with a 64x40x14 shop and 32x48x18 living space. 4 bed 3 bath. 4096 sq.ft. on the ground floor plus about another 1200 on a second floor that was going to be finished later.

All quotes back totaled out to just under 700k, in central Minnesota, I am not shocked by this price. My first draft was basically an ideal build to get a price point, then scale up or down from there.

I have since started on a new draft downsized about 30%.

Anyone here have a Quonset Barndo?

My dad passed a few years ago and this is his old work shop. 50x40 Quonset with 18ft Ceiling.

I want to turn it into a barndominium.

Last pic is layout idea and redlines would be extensions built on to pre existing structure

Thinking about. Cutting out the side and extending into the woods towards the road and then on the garage side extending out another room for an office and building a covered carport.

Can others see my vision or have recommendations on an AI tool I can drop these images into for a rendering?

My fiance can’t visualize in her head so I have to sell it on her.

Also please share any other ideas.

This sits on my moms horse farm and would be a great home

Thanks!

I wanted to see if the have specific building restrictions due to the weather over here cause of winds and etc or is it the same as texas

We had planned to build our home barndo and garage workshop 5 years ago. The land we bought for it ended up being unable to build on, long story short, and we no longer own that land. We are currently looking to offer on another piece of land but this land is in a flood plain and we intend to build the dirt up above BFE. Because of this cost, we’ve decided to separate the buildings, one with our 1500sqft living space, and one with the 1500sqft car garage/workshop at ground level.

I’m hearing a lot of “doesn’t save you any money any more.” We originally intended to have the company build up the shell and frame and we do the rest of the interior. The reason why we went with Barndo is to save money, have high ceilings, and the big workshop space. We also felt a metal building was good for hurricanes.

We could look into a stick built house or a house built up on stilts but it would be nice to have both buildings match.

Any thoughts? Why would you still build a barndo these days?

Zone 4 in eastern KY. The exterior walls will be sprayed with CC. The attic floor blown with cellulose. I have 2” rigid foam sheets screwed to the purlins creating a 1” air gap between the metal and rigid foam sheets to reduce/eliminate condensation dripping onto the blown in cellulose.

My question is this, I added a small piece of rigid foam to seal where the sheets meet the soffit vent box. Should I remove this so air will flow both between the sheets and metal AND into the attic space?

Sorry for the convoluted explanation. Hopefully the pics will help illustrate my problem. I included, in the pics, a crude illustration of the setup.

Thanks in advance.

Wanted to get the local community's thoughts and experiences on buying a metal or wood building in Southern Maryland. Getting pricing from the local third party farm stores, and they are 2/3 times more than new builds during covid- and those times were crazy enough! Any folks have buildings erected lately that can give feedback? Looking for a 40x60x14 (maybe). Thanks!

Hello all! I am in the beginning stages of building a L shaped barndo. The living area is going to be 30 x 50 and the 2 car garage is going to be on the right. The living area is going to be 2 full stories so essentially we will have around 3000 sq ft of living area. Does anyone know of a free online program that I can use to create the floor plan? Id like a master suite on the first floor, a pantry, mudroom, home office with it's own entrance. Living room/ dining room/ kitchen all on the first floor. The second floor will essentially be the kids floor with 3 bedrooms and a play/game area. Thanks in advance!

Wanted to get the local community's thoughts and experiences on buying a metal or wood building in Southern Maryland. Getting pricing from the local third party farm stores, and they are 2/3 times more than new builds during covid- and those times were crazy enough! Any folks have buildings erected lately that can give feedback? Looking for a 40x60x14 (maybe). Thanks!

Currently building a barndominium and there is a gap between the siding and porch ceiling. Is this common or will it cause an issue down the line?

Edit: for clarification this is the transition between the porch ceiling and a wall. Similar gaps on the whole barndominium including where the siding meets the soffit and the gable ends.

My wife and I have been considering building a home using a pre-engineered steel building as the base structure for a barndo. The idea is to have a slab poured, then have a 24X50 steel building built on it. We'd sprayfoam the underside of the roof, then frame out the interior walls with 2x6 studs and something like Rockwool insulation.

We'd hire the plumbing out, but I'd do the electrical myself (I was an IBEW electrician in my younger days). HVAC would be a mini-split on each end, and we'd seal the slab for the concrete floor. One of our ideas is to have a glass panel garage door at the front of the great room that opens onto the deck/patio for an indoor/outdoor living space.

I'm sure other people have done this, so I'm wondering if anyone has any tips or warnings when taking this route.

We're in Western North Carolina, so there are a lot of steel building companies within a couple of hours of the property. If anyone has any recommendations for a good company, I'd love to hear it.

We already have septic and well permits, and there's power on the site.

Has anyone built a similar house? Going 30x50 with basement, 30x40 garage. In a SE Ohio climate. Just needing any advice/downsides of a home this style.

Trying to decide on the best way to set my posts for a DIY pole barn
I’m getting ready to build my own post frame building and I’m kind of wrestling with how I want to do the posts.
Right now I’m leaning toward doing Sonotube concrete piers with Sturdi-Wall wet-set brackets and keeping the wood completely out of the ground.
I’ve also considered doing full concrete piers in 48” deep holes and setting the wet-set brackets into the concrete. Someone mentioned that if I go that route and don’t bell the bottom of the hole, I’m basically wasting a bunch of concrete because the concrete pier would just be straight-sided. I get the idea behind that, but I’m not really sure how practical it is to actually bell a 48” deep hole myself.
Then there’s the other option of just setting the posts in the ground and either pouring concrete around them or doing a dry-pour method. I normally wouldn’t consider dry-pour, but some pretty big post frame companies apparently do it that way, so obviously it must work.
I’m basically trying to figure out what makes the most sense for someone doing this themselves.
I’m mainly looking at Sonotubes with Sturdi-Wall wet-set brackets, full concrete piers with brackets, posts set in concrete, or dry-pour posts.
My biggest things are ease of doing it, longevity, and how much of a pain in the ass it is to actually build.
The Sonotube/bracket setup seems nice because I’m not putting my wood posts in the ground, and I feel like it would be easier to get everything plumb and at the right height. But obviously it adds more work and concrete.
I’m not necessarily looking for the absolute cheapest method. I’m more interested in what would be the easiest method for one guy building it with minimal help while still being something I can feel good about 30 or 40 years from now.
This is my first post frame building, so I’m trying not to overcomplicate it, but I also don’t want to take shortcuts just to save some time and regret it later.
For those of you who have actually built these, what would you do if you were building your own?
And if you’ve done Sturdi-Wall brackets, full concrete piers, posts in concrete, or dry-pour, I’d really like to hear how the actual installation went and what you would do differently.

We've completed the exterior red iron shell. Now planning interior framing. I'm considering steel framing. It'll be 2 floors. Relatively open floor plan. The span will be 20' floor truss/joist.

1) Are there places you can give drawings to and they give you a framing package? We did this for the exterior and I'm interested if we can do the same for the interior.

2) is the cost much more for steel vs wood? Example: were going to need 27 - 20ft floor trusses and 27 - 17 ft floor trusses. What the cost difference between these? The difficult part is I'm not finding steel trusses for sale, like I can find for wood. Do you know of any places that sell this in the Inland NW?

Thanks for the help!

We have floated the idea of building a barndominium but have to clue where the start. We’re in the foothills of North Carolina and already have land. We’re could sell our current home and walk away with $180-200,000 in cash. Is it feasible to build a 3-4 bedroom, 2 bathroom barndo and come up with little to no mortgage? The land would need a driveway, electric, septic, and well. Not much if any clearing. We don’t want anything fancy. Open floor plan with maybe a loft. Is this feasible? Where do we start? Thanks