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Does anyone have experience with building a pole barn, or steel building and converting it to residential living space? We are thinking of it as a temporary building, which could be converted into a shop, and then eventually building a separate house.
I have spoken with some sales people for steel buildings, and they say an insulated shell of a steel building (not including assembly on site) would run about $20 s.f., with open span, no interior walls, no ground leveling, etc. We would also need to bring electric, well and septic to the site.
Has anyone ever done this? I would love to hear from your experiences, or if you know of anyone who has built a pole barn house.
Friends of mine purchased an 8 stall, pre-fab type, horse barn (insulated steel pannels and pinewood floored hay loft). The stalls are each 12x12 or 14x14 and the central aisle is about 12 ft wide. They placed it on a concrete foundation and have been living in it for the last 8 years. On one side of the aisle they turned one stall into a kitchen with IKEA cabinetry and corian countertops. The adjacent stall is a nice, full bath. The next stall is the laundry room and has a back door cut in. The next stall is storage. On the other side of the aisle, they combined two stalls to make a fairly large family room. The other two stalls on that side are bedrooms (suppose you could combine for a larger bedroom). The hay loft has windows at either end and running along the eaves down both sides. There is storage in the area below the windows on either side. They use the room as a studio/office/relaxation area. The aisle downstairs is roomy and is where they put their dining table and stairs to the loft. Each stall has a window and their are doors at either end of the aisle. They built a screen porch off the back for their hot tub.
The place is really cute (window boxes with yellow flowers against a red exterior) and made me think real hard about doing the same thing. The only draw back that they mentioned is the difficulty in hanging things on the wall and painting, all of which they appeared to have overcome. They fortunately have city water and sewer available to them. Apparently you can get these horse barns smaller than eight stall and larger as well.
Does anyone have experience with building a pole barn, or steel building and converting it to residential living space? We are thinking of it as a temporary building, which could be converted into a shop, and then eventually building a separate house.
I have spoken with some sales people for steel buildings, and they say an insulated shell of a steel building (not including assembly on site) would run about $20 s.f., with open span, no interior walls, no ground leveling, etc. We would also need to bring electric, well and septic to the site.
Has anyone ever done this? I would love to hear from your experiences, or if you know of anyone who has built a pole barn house.
Thanks. Tambre
Member forest beekeeper who usually just posts on the Maine forum has converted an open span steel building into a very habitable permenent dwelling. He has posted pictures in the past, and is quite proud of his creation.
Try contacting him through the Direct Message system
My parents built their home out of a steel building. When they built, they talked with the manufacturer and they actually helped them with the design. They wanted metal and red iron because the old farm house had burned and my mother wanted something that could not burn to the ground, lol. The home is beautiful and you can't even tell (on the inside) that it is a metal building. On the inside, the have drywall and wood studs, so you don't have the issue of not being able to hang items. I know that my husband and I will do the same thing you are talking about when we decide to sell our place and build our home. We will start with a "shed" that includes and efficiency apartment. I think more and more are doing this and it shouldn't be hard to find someone knowledgeable. Good Luck.
Thank you so much for your answers. It is nice to know that it can be done! I admire the creativity of using the barn stalls as rooms. Also, using the drywall and studs so things can hang, is a great tip. One thing that I was concerned about was how to insulate and ventilate the roof/ceiling. In a pole barn, there are trusses, so it would be like framing a ceiling in a house, but in a steel building, there are purlings, which are clear span in the shared ceiling/roof. Also, what kind of foundation did your friends use? It would also be nice to have a wood stove as a supplemental heat source. Can a chimney or stove pipe be attached to a metal building? Thanks again.
We tarted with the idea of a pole barn with upstairs apartment but in the end have a regular framed barn...with a soon to be upstairs apartment.
It is built of locally grown wood with lap siding and metal roof,30'x36' with two big sheds off each side.It is on a concrete foundation and has the plumbing roughed in for a full bathroom(10'x12') downstairs,a 10'x12' 'mudroom' where the side door is and then another room down and an open span room upstairs.
We planned to divide the upstairs into a small bedroom,a half bath and then the rest one open space.
I think there was an episode of "This Old House" that examined a barn turned into an upscale home, and I remember a few places like that in Vermont. IIRC, there is even a motel in Stowe that was made within a historic barn. The idea is pretty common.
We were considering a metal building for a storage/workshop and have delayed a decision, partly because of the issue with water condensing on the uninsulated walls. If using one of these structures for a home, I can imagine that without adequate insulation they would be a bear to heat and cool, and possibly drafty as well. I'm sure it can be done, but there is a reason for the lower up-front cost.
We went with a manufactured home at about $50/sf and have been amazed at how comfortable it is and inexpensive to heat. Both it and a neighbor's house use heat pumps, and even though our home is larger, their electric bill is consistently 1/3 more than ours. With R-38 ceiling, R-19 walls, R-11 floor, and double pane windows all around, I'm not too surprised.
We tarted with the idea of a pole barn with upstairs apartment but in the end have a regular framed barn...with a soon to be upstairs apartment.
It is built of locally grown wood with lap siding and metal roof,30'x36' with two big sheds off each side.It is on a concrete foundation and has the plumbing roughed in for a full bathroom(10'x12') downstairs,a 10'x12' 'mudroom' where the side door is and then another room down and an open span room upstairs.
We planned to divide the upstairs into a small bedroom,a half bath and then the rest one open space.
I think there was an episode of "This Old House" that examined a barn turned into an upscale home, and I remember a few places like that in Vermont. IIRC, there is even a motel in Stowe that was made within a historic barn. The idea is pretty common.
We were considering a metal building for a storage/workshop and have delayed a decision, partly because of the issue with water condensing on the uninsulated walls. If using one of these structures for a home, I can imagine that without adequate insulation they would be a bear to heat and cool, and possibly drafty as well. I'm sure it can be done, but there is a reason for the lower up-front cost.
We went with a manufactured home at about $50/sf and have been amazed at how comfortable it is and inexpensive to heat. Both it and a neighbor's house use heat pumps, and even though our home is larger, their electric bill is consistently 1/3 more than ours. With R-38 ceiling, R-19 walls, R-11 floor, and double pane windows all around, I'm not too surprised.
Hi H.C.,
I've heard great things about manufactured homes. Glad to hear what the sf price is...something to consider. Tambre
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Tambre
