Converting a Pole Barn into a Home
Renovating a Pole Barn into a Home
Pole barns serve multiple purposes. In addition to using them as barns, you can also use them for garages, workshops, study areas, and anything else you can imagine. In fact, you can even use your pole barn as a primary or secondary home if you want. The possibilities are endless.
Does the idea of living in a pole barn sound exciting? If so, you aren’t the only one with this feeling because many other people live in pole barns too. Pole barn living is a traditional concept because it consists of the same post-frame construction used to build homes for centuries.
The pole barn design offers an excellent shelter option for people, animals, equipment, machines, and anything else you want to secure and protect. And since the pole barn frame is scalable, you can create a custom size home to satisfy your space requirements.
Your new pole barn home can have open floor plans, walls, roofs, space, organization, insulation, and everything you would expect from a traditional house. It is even easy to stay warm in the pole barn home if you install the insulation correctly.
Pay Attention to Your Local Building Codes
A pole barn home is not a temporary structure because you are constructing it to be a house. As a result, it will be treated as a permanent structure under your local building codes and zoning laws.
Research your local building codes and requirements to avoid any barriers or penalties down the road. For example, it is common for a county to allow one pole barn home to be built as a primary home. But if you end up constructing a secondary pole barn home on your land, you could face legal problems because most counties do not allow two residential pole barn structures on one piece of land.
Of course, you could probably get away with building one residential pole barn home and a pole barn garage on the same property. Regardless, it would be wise to consult with an attorney or county office regarding the local codes of pole barn construction. Then you can prevent yourself from getting penalized with hefty fines for non-compliance.
In addition, pay attention to the local codes regarding utilities for pole barn homes. For instance, if you plan to install plumbing and electricity, they must satisfy all the local plumbing and electrical codes set for traditional utility installations of standard houses. Remember that installing water pipes, electrical lines, and appliances in a pole barn is a different process and requires licensed professionals to perform the job.
The best thing to do is plan out all of these tasks before constructing your pole barn home. That way, you don’t waste time and money constructing a building that doesn’t satisfy local building codes. It is better to ensure you satisfy these codes from the very beginning to the end of the project.
The Benefits of Living in a Pole Barn Home
Living in a pole barn home may seem unusual to some people, but doing so has many benefits. Those benefits include:
- Fast Construction – It won’t take long to build your pole barn home because the design of the post-frame structure allows for quick and easy building. So rather than spending months constructing your home, you could build your pole barn home in under a month.
- Affordable – It is much cheaper to construct a pole barn structure than a traditional home with a stick or metal-frame design. Everything from the foundation to the construction materials will cost a fraction of what it would cost to build a modern home.
- Open Floor Plans – Are you someone who likes a lot of space in their home? Incorporating an open floor plan into a pole barn home is easy because the interiors offer wider open spaces with fewer walls or segmentation. Of course, you can still build walls for bedrooms and bathrooms to create some privacy inside. But, for the rest of the home, you can leave it wide open to create a more spacious environment.
- Durable – Contrary to popular belief, pole barn structures are durable and can withstand tough weather conditions, such as strong winds, heavy rain, and snow. A pole barn is a deep-set structure offering extra security and protection against weather impact. That way, you can feel safe on your property all year round.
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Would you like to learn more about the benefits and process of constructing a pole barn home? Contact us for more information and a free price estimate today!
