Barndominiums

Barndominiums: one building, two jobs

A barndominium is one post-frame building doing two jobs: part of it finished as a home, the rest left open for work and storage. CDA Structures builds them across Idaho, Washington and Montana: the same shells we raise for shops, with one section built out to live in.

The appeal is that you are buying one structure, one foundation and one roof instead of a house and a separate shop. Clear-span trusses mean the shop end has no posts down the middle, and the living end can be laid out without working around them either.

Deciding the split

The first decision is how much of the building is home and how much is shop, and it drives most of what follows: where the dividing wall lands, which end gets the overhead doors, how the insulation and heating are zoned, and where plumbing has to reach. It is far cheaper to move that line on a drawing than after the posts are set, so it is worth settling early.

Exterior choices are the same ones you would make on a shop: roofing and siding profiles, colors, wainscot, window and door placement. The difference is that the living end usually wants more glass, and often a covered porch or a lean-to along one side.

How far we take it

Where a project stops is up to you. A weathertight shell with the living end framed and roughed in is a common handover point for customers who want to finish the interior themselves or bring in their own trades. Others want the home side completed. Either way, the scope is written down before materials are ordered, so what is and is not included is settled up front.

Because a barndominium is a dwelling, it goes through the same design, engineering and county permitting process as any home in your jurisdiction, and that process is part of the schedule your sales representative walks you through.

Boathouses and other residential structures

The same post-frame construction suits residential structures other than houses and shops. We have built boathouses on the lakes around North Idaho, including the one at Black Lake shown below.

If you have something in mind that does not fit neatly into a category on this site, it is still worth a call. Most of what we build starts as a conversation about an awkward site or an unusual use.

Where we build

Whether you are located in Idaho, Washington or Montana, we can build your ideal structure. CDA Structures is centrally located in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and we serve clients in Hayden, Spokane, Missoula and many more surrounding cities.

The best place to start is a free on-site review with a CDA Structures professional, who can look at your site, your access and your setbacks before you commit to a layout.

Building something else? We also put up steel shops and garages, metal barns and equestrian arenas and commercial steel buildings. Or see every pole building type we build.