Continuing my discussion of Barndominium costs from yesterday’s blog…
For sake of discussion, we will use 2400 sft (40×60) of finished living space (includes any bonus rooms) plus 1600 sft of garage/shop. To have a GC (General Contractor) turn-key this for you expect an average of:
2400 X $165.67 = $397,608
1600 X $83.50 = $133,600
$397,608 + $133,600 = $531,208
This is having your barndominium built (turn key), not for owner-builders.
If your barndominium will be very simple, rectangle, standard sizes, with little to no upgrades on finish materials (counter tops, flooring, cabinets, showers, lighting, trim, etc) then your costs could be less per sft.
On spectrum’s other end would be for very intricate, high end, everything upgraded barndominiums. Including things like custom cabinets, real hardwood flooring, high end appliances, custom fireplace, built in entertainment options, oversized windows and doors, vaulted ceilings throughout, steep roof, extra bathrooms/kitchens, etc.
But what you really want to know is what it will cost for you to build it, right?
We will assume you are willing to do some legwork, so if you don’t do any physical work yourself and just act as general contractor (making phone calls, hiring people, ordering materials, dealing with problems, etc) you can build this average barndominium for roughly $186,000 less than it would cost to hire a general contractor.
I can make a LOT of phone calls for this. In fact, I could easily take well over a year off work and still come out ahead!
Beyond making phone calls, hiring people, ordering materials, and dealing with problems, you can lower your price by doing some work yourself.
It’s all about what YOU are willing to do as an owner-builder.
Our prices above are for “stick frame” construction. By using post frame construction with embedded columns, rather than pouring a footing and foundation, a savings of $11,400 (2011 numbers) can be found: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2011/10/buildings-why-not-stick-frame-construction/.
This reduces your $531,208 investment by about 3% to $515,271
NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) allocated percentages in their Construction Cost Breakdown. These included:
Site work 7.4% (of this 1.2% was for architecture and engineering)
Foundations 11% (this includes excavation and backfill)
Framing 20.5%
Exterior Finishes 11.8% (siding, roofing, windows, doors)
Plumbing, Electrical, HVAC rough ins 17.9%
Interior Finishes 24% (insulation, drywall, interior trims and doors, painting, lighting, cabinets, counter tops, appliances, flooring, plumbing fixtures, fireplaces)
Final Steps 5.9% (Landscaping, decks, driveways, clean up)
Of framing and exterior finishes (roughly 1/3rd of costs), if you invest in an engineered post frame building kit package and do your own labor (labor being roughly 1/2 of this portion), save around $83,000 from what you would pay a General Contractor (I can take a lot of time off work for this).
And my engineered post frame building kit package includes engineering, saving $6,400.
Obviously even more savings can be achieved for those capable of doing electrical and plumbing, however assuming nothing other than what has been listed, your $531,208 barndominium has been built and is ready to move in for roughly $256,000!! This resulted in over a 51% savings and kept over $275,000 in YOUR pocket!!
Of course your investment and savings could be more or less depending upon your tastes and location, however this should give you a feel for where you will be headed. It would be prudent to budget another 1% for every month you delay your start, as well.
