Is A Barndominium A Site Built Home?

Barndominiums have exploded in popularity in recent years, and it’s no wonder why! These homes are relatively cheap to construct and allow budding designers to finally have the home of their dreams!

But we can find ourselves wondering, what is a Barndominium, and is a barndominium a site built homes? It can be easy to get lost in the realm of endless Barndominium questions and scrolling until your fingers hurt, desperate for answers. 

But it doesn’t need to be that way! We are here to save the day (and the blisters on your fingers!) and answer your Barndominium questions. Just keep reading to find out whether a Barndominium is considered a site-built home or not. 

What is a site-built home?

Before we get into Barndominiums, let’s have a little refresh about suit build homes. Site build or site built homes are houses that are built, you guessed it, on-site. Each component, including the lumber and fasteners, is brought to the home’s location and assembled there. 

At this time, the house parts are exposed to the weather, often delaying the build time. Think of the houses with half-built roofs or empty doorways you have driven past in snow and torrential rain; these are site-build homes. 

The parts are all shipped to the house or the site of the house for assembly. These houses can take several months to build, where you or the contractor transport or buys the exact measurements of the materials to the house site. 

Site-built homes remain one of the most common construction methods and are considered traditional building homes. You can expect the process to take anywhere from three months to one year, with the cost varying depending on the size of the home, the time taken, and the materials used.

What is a Barndominium?

For those in the room unsure or need a recap, let’s first establish exactly what we are talking about today. A Barndominium is a barn that has been converted into a living space or home. These conversions are often done from barns or other agricultural structures that you would find on farms but are not always the case.

They have become so popular that people build homes in this style, using steel or other materials for that converted barn style. And can you blame them? They are stunning structures! You can even get prefabricated barndominium kits that are partly manufactured in a factory, which saves time and money when it comes to building your Barndominium!

Barndominiums are generally cheaper to build than traditional homes, especially if you already have the barn structure. Materials tend to be affordable, and for those carrying out the construction themselves, labor is cheap too! 

Using a barndominium kit under 50k or a barndominium kit under 100k can help you finish your project quicker and cheaper.

Is a Barndominium considered a site-built home?

The short answer is, it depends! We know it’s hardly the answer you wanted to hear, but unfortunately, as with so many things in life, there is no definite, one answer fits all!

Whether a Barndominium is considered a site-built home or not depends on how the Barndominium is created. If you are converting an existing barn into a Barndominium and are carrying out the assembly of parts on-site, then yes, your  Barndominium is a site-built home. The work will be carried out on-site, with materials being shipped there and assembled, weather providing!

Typically, this is how Barndominiums are built. Most owners will already have the structure in place and undertake modifications and the assembly of internal and external frames on site. It’s often the easiest way to carry out a conversion, as it saves you traveling across states or the country with assembled door frames or beams! 

However, it is not the only way to create a Barndominium. As mentioned earlier, not everyone has a barn or steel structure to convert into their dream home. You can build your own frame (again, this would be a site-built home) or opt to purchase a kit. 

These kits will either come like a manufactured home built entirely in factories and essentially plopped down on your plot (there is much more that goes into it than that). You can purchase Barndominiums like this, which would not be considered site-built homes. 

If you were to purchase a Barndominium kit that is partially prefabricated, then it will still require some assembly when it arrives. The factory-made kit would arrive partially complete, with assembly required, such as securing walls into place or foundations, for example.

This assembling is done on-site, turning your factory-made Barndominium into a site-built home! It can get a tad confusing at times, can’t it? The amount of assembly required will vary from kit to kit, and it’s always worth checking this and the customizable options before making your purchase so that you know exactly what you are buying. 

While there are a few different ways you can purchase and build a Barndominium, the chances are you will need to carry out some assembly on site yourself. Yes, you might have had part of it assembled in a factory or warehouse, but the result will still be a site-built home unless it arrives fully assembled. 

Final Thoughts 

Barndominiums are beautiful homes that can be easily tailored to your style and needs. While most are assembled on-site, the option to have a fully assembled Barndominium is possible! It’s worth conducting research beforehand to ensure that it suits your needs and budget before taking the plunge and making your purchase! Whichever you opt for, we are sure you will have the Barndominium of your dreams and a home to be proud of!

If you are ready to start building the barndo of your dreams, check out our barndominium floor plans to help you create the barndominium of your dreams or use a barndominium design software program to help you plan out your space for your new home. When in the planning stages, be sure you also check out the barndominium financing and insurance options that are available. For more helpful tips, visit our FAQ barndominium section to get answers to all your barndo questions.