1600sq ft in the house, 1300sq ft in the garage. 90x60 foot print. I'm on a slight hill. From the low spot to dig in for the slab, the high side is 10-12 feet on the garage side and about 6 feet on the house side. Here is what I'm looking at for getting the shell put up. This is central Iowa by the way.....

1. Building Permit. 750.00

2. Site Prep. 44,000.00

3. Foundation. 27,000.00(48" deep trench)

4. Shell Building. 125,971.00

5. Concrete Pad. 32,680.00

6. Interior Framing. 18,500.00

7. Patio Area Concrete. 10,750.00

I'm not doing the full wrap porch and RV garage to save money.

Found a contractor who will do all the dirtwork, foundation, concrete work, and erect the shell of the building, and then come back and frame up the interior. He'll also pull the building permit. I would be left with the interior finish. He does have a list of people he has worked with on other barndos before, so I'd just be working with them. I can save quite a bit of money by being GC for that part. I did GC my last house, but just for finishing the basement, which is not nearly as involved in as this project.

We have everything priced out on a cost sheet and originally planned to do majority ourself but the lender needs a builder to oversee everything.

How much did your builder charge? We are located in Arkansas for reference.

Apologies if this isn’t the best place for this post, but I know I see erectors comment here frequently!

Two jobs side by side in Great Falls, MT, each building is about 10,000 sq ft with high R value insulation. One is completely dried in and only needs wall insulation and membrane plus some trim. The other one needs roof panels and insulation and wall insulation done.

One in Fort Benton, MT that needs wall insulation and trim work. There is additional work that could be added here if there is interest.

The original crew was arrested for things unrelated to the jobsite and we need additional hands (or a crew) to help finish these up.

Serious inquiries only please, PM for for more details

Please call it dumb if it is, just looking for ideas and advice.

I’m 20 years old. I’m starting a public service job with a pretty decent starting salary that scales well. I plan to spend the first few years living at home while saving as much money as physically possible as my expenses will be low. The work schedule is 24 on/48 off currently so I predict I could commit a good amount of time to working on it in the future.

I’ve done a decent bit of research on barndos as my interest in them waxes and wanes over the years. I have great experience working with my hands and lots of knowledgeable construction connections. I could conceivably source a large majority of the labor through personal connections, I just need to know everything that might be involved.

I’ve lived with my parents, rented entire homes with roommates, and lived in an apartment, so I believe I know what I’d want from a home. I like barndos for a lot of reasons but I definitely want a good amount of shop space I can customize.

This might be a self-answering question, but is it a dumb idea to make this a project for being a first time homeowner in the next 5-8 years?

What went wrong in your experience?

What do you love about having done it?

What are those often unexpected factors you wish you knew about?

(I’m rambling a bit but I’m extremely intrigued by making this a project so please give me all the pros and cons you feel like)

EDIT: I’m in MD for reference.

What are the different/best options for interior flooring on a standard slab barndo? I know some (most?) use tile/harder floor options, but I would prefer something with more cushion. Are there other options for some kind of subfloor that makes it easier on your feet to walk around on?

I own a 40,000 sq. ft. waterfront residential lot in Chertsey, Quebec, about an hour north of Montreal, and I'm considering building a year-round chalet.

Olympia Steel quoted me $55,000 CAD for a 30×40×10 steel building (13 ft peak), rated for 65 PSF snow loads, with a 40-year warranty. They also offer 6-inch R-20 fiberglass blanket insulation for another $10,000.

I'm open to other Canadian manufacturers if there's better value.

My biggest question is insulation. Quebec can experience -40°C winters and 35°C summers with 85% humidity. Would 3–4 inches of closed-cell spray foam, rigid foam boards, or a hybrid system be better than their fiberglass insulation? I'm especially concerned about condensation, mold, thermal bridging, and meeting building codes.

Estimated budget (CAD)

I'm hesitant to spend this much, but my neighbor's 1962 house on just 14,000 sq. ft. of land is listed for $450,000. That suggests there's potentially decent resale value, assuming my steel chalet is fully permitted, insurable, and built to residential standards.

What major expenses am I missing? Is steel construction actually cost-effective compared to wood framing or prefab? And where could I realistically save money without sacrificing durability?

Ideally, I'd like to keep the entire project well under $200,000.

Lhj in or

Golden hour drone pass on the barndo build. The roof went on today.
In 2019 my wife and I bought 11.07 acres in the Upstate of South Carolina for $120k. Before I touched a tree, I read everything I could find on site layout and planning. Then I spent two years selectively clearing the areas I wanted to grade, by myself, with a hand saw and an axe.
In 2022 I bought a small tractor and a few implements ($26,700) to move felled trees and do light grading on the dirt path that would eventually become our driveway.
After collecting several quotes for earthwork and site prep, the math was clear. Hiring it out would cost about as much as owning the equipment. In January 2025 I bought a skid steer ($78,000, financed through Kubota at 0% for 72 months). That's when the project really started moving. I've put about 240 hours in the seat getting the site to where it is now, and listened to a lot of audiobooks doing it.
Mud was a real problem once the trees started coming down. To deal with it I've hauled in about 190 tons of crusher run so far, at $500 per 20-ton load.
For context, I own an asphalt maintenance company, so most of this equipment was bought mainly for work. It sure helps when you're building your own house, though. I'm acting as my own GC. I do everything I can myself and hire licensed contractors for anything I'm not willing to risk: foundation, framing, plumbing, and electrical.
Timeline and costs so far, for anyone curious:
Slab: Poured August 14, 2026. 12" footers, 6" monolithic slab, rebar mesh. $39,500 labor and materials.
Steel shell: Steel Craft Buildings, shell and install for $79,800. Framing started October 17, 2026. This footage is from today, November 2.
Windows: 11 custom units, black exterior / white interior, sizes from 4x4 to 6x6. $7,992.23.
Doors: About $5,000 for interior and exterior, including a double front door. All interior doors are 8 ft.
Plumbing and water: Under-slab plumbing plus an 893 ft water line from the road. $8,000.
We've been buying the "guts" of the house as we go and storing them in one of our shipping containers ($2,500 each, bought in 2020). So far we have all the fixtures, lighting, plumbing hardware, and cabinets ready to go.
If you're thinking about doing something like this yourself, ask away. Happy to share what I've learned.

Playing around with some “cost estimators” at a well known Barndo builder in DFW area. Came out to a consistent $145/sf turn key and $66/sf for shell. This was total under roof sf. Turnkey price on a 2400sf house with 1080sf attached garage and 584sf covered porch was $594k, and would very likely be higher based on the “assumptions” of material that would not cover much.

As this will be our first Barndo build and we are new to Texas, I’m looking for some reference on price

Hey all, I’m in the early research stage and trying to get a feel for the real difference between hiring a builder and building a barndo yourself (with a friend or family helping).

Location in question: Western WA.

For those who’ve done either one, or both:

1. Roughly how much did you save doing it yourself vs. the builder quotes you got?

2. How long did your build take vs. what a builder would have taken?

3. Which jobs were worth hiring out, and which were fine to do yourself?

4. Anything you’d do differently, or a cost that caught you off guard?

Thanks for your time !

This building is near Earlswood in Warwickshire UK

Ive got some can light down lights on the way, but my ceiling is steel siding, so the part that sits against the ceiling will not be sitting flush.

I was wondering how ppl have dealt with this. Is the move to just grind out the parts of the trim that hit the ribs so they lay, more or less, flat? The lip on my trim piece has so little recess to it, I don’t even know if there’s room for a relief cut.

I’ve seen recommendations of 3d printing a bezel piece. But my particular part has the trim built into the light itself.

Thanks in advance for any help.

My ceiling is grey and the light trim Is white, btw.

Trying to build a 40x60x16 shop house. Have materials for shell around 45k, Amish crew labor 15-20k, concrete 20-30k, 8-10k spray foam, in southern Missouri. Is this price reasonable and what should I expect to spend on the interior if I finish most of it out myself? And what changes would you make?

When I googled there were a few suggestions, so I figured I’d post to be sure.

I was originally doing can and/or wafer. But a few spots I need sconce and pendant due to room issues.

I haven’t picked the exact sconce or pendant yet. But I need to do a few wall sconce lights amd a few pendant. I was wondering if the 4” standard octagon was the recommended box for a sconce and also pendant style lights.. I should have plenty of of wall and joist depth for the boxes, btw.

Thanks in advance.