Design
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Read moreA good barndominium floor plan starts with one decision: how much of the building is shop and how much is home, and where the wall between them goes. Because the steel frame is clear-span, nothing inside has to sit where a post would. That freedom is the whole point of a barndominium, and it’s also why the plan deserves more thought than a standard house.
Start with the split
Decide the shop-to-living ratio before anything else. A plan with a larger shop and a modest living side is usually the most economical, because shop space finishes for far less per square foot than kitchens and bathrooms. A plan with a small shop and a large home is closer to a conventional house in cost. Either works; just decide it first, because it sets the footprint.
Where the wall goes
The dividing wall is the most important line in the plan. Think about:
- Noise and fumes. Put bedrooms on the far side of the house from the shop, and plan ventilation on the shop side.
- Access. A door from the house into the shop is convenient. A mudroom between them keeps the dust where it belongs.
- Height. The shop side often needs taller doors than the living side. Both can get the eave height and openings they need, because the division is set to your plan.
Common layouts
- Side-by-side. Shop on one end, home on the other, one wall between. Simple, economical, and the most common.
- Home over the shop. A loft or second floor for living space, with the shop below. Uses the footprint efficiently, needs taller walls.
- Breezeway. Shop and home as two volumes with a covered space between. Separates noise and dust completely at the cost of a bigger footprint.
Porches, lean-tos, and overhangs
A wraparound porch changes how the building reads from the road and gives you shade on the living side. A lean-to on the shop side covers equipment without enclosing it. Both are easier to plan now than to add later.
Windows and doors
Place windows for the view and the light, and doors for the way you’ll actually come and go. On the shop side, size the overhead doors for the tallest thing that will go through them, and leave room for a future lift if there’s any chance of one. See sizing a shop for a two-post lift.
The things you can’t change later
Footprint, eave height, roof pitch, and the location of overhead doors are built into the steel. Interior walls on the living side can move; the shell can’t. Decide those four with care.
From plan to shell
Metal Dreams builds the barndominium shell: framing, roof, exterior panels, insulation, and openings, with the shop and residence divided to your plan. We’ll show it to you in 3D before anything is ordered. Read what the shell includes, then request a free estimate.
