We are accustomed to seeing large industrial and garage-style buildings, such as Prefabricated Metal Buildings, constructed with prefabricated steel components, but using such buildings for residential dwellings is not as common. However, it is becoming a new trend in construction. This new trend is not really new. In the 1980s, there was a real estate developer, Karl Nilsen, who had an idea for developing a tract of land in Connecticut for an equine community for horse lovers. His vision was for a green space for grazing and exercising horses and building pole barns to house horses and for residential living space. He coined the name “barndominium” for such dwellings.
This idea has taken on an assortment of special interest communities. We have seen such communities for small aircraft enthusiasts, where hangar and residential buildings are built around an airstrip. I have seen communities where such combination dwellings are for art guilds, where artisans of various crafts have their studios in the same place where they live. This is also the same place where they sell their masterpieces.
The Coronavirus pandemic changed our ways of living. Many people who were able to keep their jobs did so by working remotely from home, and those who found themselves without a job became resourceful by creating a job for themselves selling a product or service they could do from their home. Many decided to build upon an existing side hustle as their full-time job.
Others decided to pursue a passion they always wanted to do but were too busy working for someone else to have time to pursue their passion. Prefabricated Metal Buildings became a popular choice for those seeking to establish their home-based businesses, offering durability and efficiency in construction.
Entrepreneurs of new start-up businesses are always cognizant of the fundamental of keeping overhead costs to a minimum to have a chance of realizing a profit in the first year or two. The ideal situation is to be able to live and work under the same roof.
During the pandemic, a growing number of people moved from big cities to rural areas and small towns. The largest sector of this group to make this transition were young adults aged 25-35 years old. Some moved because they felt it would be safer than living in big cities, and others moved to places where they could enjoy nature and hike, climb, bike, or kayak in the same place where they live and work.
Another major factor is that real estate is less expensive in rural areas compared to living closer to a big city. Usually, property taxes are also less expensive. Furthermore, you can attain larger land lots and have the opportunity to live off the produce you grow or graze.
With this exodus from the city to the country, there has been a growing interest in barndominiums. This construction trend has taken the form of prefabricated steel buildings more so than wood pole barns.
So, why are prefabricated metal buildings ideal for multi-function structures, particularly for workshop and home under one roof?
- Prefabricated steel buildings have the capacity for enormous wide-open clear spans that cannot be attained by wood or light gauge steel onsite framing. This makes them extremely space efficient and able to maximize open-style floor plans with vaulted ceilings. Furthermore, depending upon the manufacturer, the side walls can be between 20-24’ high, which gives you the option for a second story or loft space for storage. Some of the metal building systems have the option of expanding the open space clear to the bottom of the ridge beam, which gives you open vaulted ceilings and even more headroom for greater storage or living space.
- Prefabricated steel buildings are carefully engineered to exacting requirements and made in a controlled manufacturing environment, and most come with certified engineering letters which most municipalities will acknowledge. This makes the system superior to any onsite stick framing. Prefab steel building manufacturers make all the parts in their plant and are ready to quickly assemble on your building site.
This means that after your monolithic slab foundation is poured and cured (cure time should be at least 14 days before adding structure loads to it), the assembly time is 2 days to 2 weeks. This includes not only the exterior structure components but also roof and wall panels. The average time for onsite framed houses to be completely closed in is 4-6 months.
This is a very significant difference, saving you a great deal in labor costs and interest on your construction loan. This also means that once it is under roof, you could live there while the inside work is being done. This might not be acceptable to some, but it saves you from paying rent or mortgage payments on two places while you are waiting for your house to be completed.
The average time frame for building a stick-framed house on your site is 9-16 months, whereas the average time for completing a prefabbed steel building is 4-6 months. This would save you greatly in labor and interest payments.
It is worth noting that the average cost for assembling your steel frame building on your slab with the plumbing and electrical roughed in under your slab and the system being completely enclosed averages $30-$40 per square foot, whereas the average cost of being at the same stage in construction for stick-framed houses is $85-$100 per square foot. The relevance of this fact is that on your construction loan, you are paying interest on the amount that has been drawn to date.
The greater the draw and the time frame in which you are paying interest on these accumulated draws is highly significant. The average cost of building a prefabricated steel building, not including the cost of the lot, is $125-$160 per square foot, whereas standard stick construction, not including your lot, is $150-$220 per square foot. Finally, the fact that these kits are squares or rectangles with relatively tall side walls to get multiple stories under one roof means more compact footprints and lower roof surface saves on foundation and roof costs, which means more usable space for the money.
- Many are put off by the idea of living in a home that looks like an industrial building. Rest assured that when we work with you on a floor plan for your barndominiums, there are many options both inside and outside to make your multi-functional structure unique with your custom ideas.
Also, consider that the funds you save in going this route opens for you design possibilities you might not consider in conventional house construction. Some of these ideas for consideration are covered porches and patios for more outdoor living space. You have choices in the way of outside wall finishes such as stack stone or brick veneers. You have nearly countless options for interior designs to fit a variety of tastes.
Read Also:-Best Eco Sustainable Home Designs Trending in 2024
So what kind of Prefabricated Metal Building options are available?
There are 3 basic types of metal building kits available.
The first type of metal buildings is arch type buildings. These are designed based on the ancient strength principle of arches which can be found in buildings going back 1000 years or more. These are in the Quonset Hut style which have been widely used throughout the world for many years for many functions. It has been popular because it can be erected very quickly with just a minimum of workers.
After being erected, Prefabricated Metal Buildings are very strong, durable, and reliable to withstand high winds, floods, fire, and earthquakes. Furthermore, they are made from cold formed light gauge recycled steel requiring much less steel than other metal building kits. This also makes the individual panels lighter weight and thus easier to handle with little or no heavy equipment, and 2-4 unskilled laborers can assemble them in a short amount of time.
There are generally 3 different types given different names depending on the manufacturer.
The first is an “A” frame form which has straight side walls with an “A” like arch roof. These have a 30’ wide limitation and a maximum height at the apex of the arch of 16’ they can be any length. These are most desirable for those who need a straight wall of 8-10 feet.
The 2nd form is a true round Arch. This style has great space efficiency with a maximum width of 60’ and in any length you desire. These can be up to 24’ in height at the apex. This model has a straight side wall of 6-8’ depending upon the width and height of the specific model.
The third form is a true Quonset Hut form which is a half-circle. This form has a width limitation of 100’ and unlimited length and an apex height of 30’. This is ideal for those who want lots of space under cover for equipment storage at a low cost per square foot.
The arch style prefab steel building kits are especially ideal for the Do It Yourselfers.
They are ideal for assembling workshops, garages, and storage space in a short time. Designing and utilizing them for living space is a bit challenging but can be done especially if you order them with open ends so that you can frame them with windows and doors to open the space to natural light and for maximum egress.
These buildings finished with minimal plumbing and electrical rough in average $24-$35 per square foot which is a great deal given that a traditional garage will cost you $35-50 per square foot and will take at least twice the time to erect than one of these arch building kits.
The next style of Prefabricated Steel Structures is engineered using cold formed light gauge steel.
This is very cost and material use efficient. These cold formed light gauge steel structures can be as wide as 60’ and as long as you need. They can have straight vertical side walls up to 20’. These structures are ideal for customizing for 2 story living and storage space and bonus space for your workshop, garage or to shelter your horses.
These buildings are very economical, providing you the opportunity for almost infinite custom design space for work and living. The manufacturers of these Prefabricated Metal Buildings steel structures usually include in their quote the installation of this building system on your foundation. These buildings are ideal for your custom design ideas at a cost-friendly price. We recommend ordering these buildings with open ends to frame them out for parapet walls with windows and doors that look like a traditional house. On the side walls windows and doors can be placed to fit your custom design.
You have the option to have their windows and doors installed, which are limited to a couple of sizes or they can frame out the openings to fit your choice of windows and doors that match your end wall windows and doors.
The limit on these buildings is that the gable roof for wide spans uses cold formed light gauge steel trusses to support the roof, which limits having clear span vaulted ceilings that are open to the bottom of the ridge beam.
These structures still provide the great open spans but have a flat ceiling. These closed in on your slab with your plumbing and electrical rough in under the slab average cost is $30-$45 per square foot.
The third type of Prefabricated Steel Structures use hot formed heavy red steel for the super structure.
These have a clear span width capacity of 100’ with straight walls up to 24 feet and an unlimited length. Prefabricated Metal Buildings have these clear spans open all the way up to the bottom of the red steel girders. This gives you more head space for living and storage with open vaulted ceilings. These are highly customizable in the factory as well as on the site. These systems need to be installed on your slab by specialized crews and heavy equipment. These cost on your slab with roughed in plumbing and electrical at an average of $40-$55 per square foot.
When these steel buildings are installed and closed in you are at least ½ way finished with completing your home and shop and now work on the interior can proceed smoothly without losing time to increment weather. A builder cannot put a price tag on this bonus of no delays and lower interest accrued on your construction loans. For those of you who wish to save money by doing the work of framing and finishing the interior on your own can sigh a breath of relief and launch in on the finishing work as your time and pocketbook allow.
How does this form of construction using prefabricated steel structures fit into our principles and criteria of designing and building eco-sustainable home designs?
- Most of the steel used to build these buildings is from recycled steel, especially those that use cold formed light gauge steel. All steel is recyclable so there is no waste by-product. The energy expended to manufacture and deliver these kits is less than 40% of wood framing materials. These buildings are fabricated in an ideal environment aimed at minimizing energy consumption and meeting their strict engineering standards.
- Steel buildings are very durable and reliable and low maintenance, and not subject to rot, insect infestation or growth of harmful organisms such as black mold. Many of the manufacturers offer a 50-year warranty on their steel frames, roof and wall paneling. With a little maintenance like cleaning the gutters and downspouts and pressure washing once a year these structures can easily last over 100 years.
- We recommend that all the interior partition walls be made with light gauge studs and since none of the interior walls except those for the second story are load bearing. Many generations will occupy this space and as needs, and style choices change so will the ease of taking out walls and reconfiguring spaces. Since all the interior framing is metal much can be salvaged in remodeling and all steel waste can be recycled.
- These structures are designed to withstand winds of over 175 miles per hour. They are highly fire resistant, and the structures can hold up to fire of 1500 degrees (F) for 2 hours. These structures bear up against floods. Even when flood waters sit in the structure for days the structure does not have to be torn out like conventional wood framed construction. Steel buildings bear up much better than wood in seismic events. This is because steel is very ductile, meaning it can give a bit without the building structure collapsing whereas stick framed houses pull apart in an earthquake.
- These buildings can achieve much higher thermal mass than stick framed structures. This is because of their suitability to being insulated with much higher solid foam insulation which is for 2 lb. density foam R-6 per inch as compared to standard fiberglass insulation at R-3.25 per inch. This means that the extra costs of installing renewable, sustainable energy heating and cooling systems such as Evacuated Tube Solar Thermal Collectors for heating and cooling are well worth the extra price of the initial installation for the enormous savings in lifetime cost of energy it will provide you.
These steel framed building kits are very versatile and can easily be customized to meet your needs, however these barndominiums are not for everybody since they cannot be built just anywhere and especially not in a conventional subdivision where they are not likely to be accepted and will be appraised the same way standard construction is appraised.
You will likely need to find a larger lot on land that has few restrictions. All this boils down to is it will be a little more challenging to get conventional construction to mortgage loans, especially for Prefabricated Metal Buildings. When you decide to sell, there is a smaller pool of buyers who would want to purchase your customized home over standard constructed houses.
I am probably preaching to the choir, since you are likely to have considered these eventualities and not be discouraged since you are not one that runs with the herd and know what kind of unique lifestyle you would like to achieve by moving out to the country and working and living under the same roof.
As this barndominiums trend grows and takes hold, these challenges will also diminish. However, we recommend that you do some soul searching to really understand what you want with this new home and lifestyle, especially considering options like Prefabricated Metal Buildings, and not pursue this choice if you only plan on living there for less than 7 years.
This is a lifestyle change and requires a single-minded commitment. You are not looking at just short-term goals but must be asking to understand what you are really going to need today, tomorrow, and 10-20 years down the road.
This means you need a specialist who is accustomed to looking at the big picture in designing houses for responsible eco-sustainable homes to serve the needs of many generations. This is what I have been doing for 35+ years.
You will need to find the location where you would like to live the rest of your life. We can work with you in determining what is the adequate space to meet your working and living space, including considerations for Prefabricated Metal Buildings. Then the next step is finding the right lot that will fit your building footprint and can be graded to be installed on a monolithic slab. Considering the right topography to minimize grading and excavating is a critical expense in determining your total budget.
We will happily work with you through the process of deciding which style of steel building kit will work best for you and carefully consider how to divide the space inside for your lifestyle goals. We can also work with the manufacturers to compare cost differences and get the best price for your project.
This usually takes a bit of time and modifications as you develop your plan. This should not be done hastily. Then we need to break down the cost for as concise an estimate as possible before starting any construction.