Barndominium/Shop or "real" House?

[ETD66SS]

ETD66SS, wondering what the purpose of an 18>25 foot high roof is since most commercial vehicle lifts only require a 12 foot ceiling.​

I work on more than just vehicles:

Plus I want the second story living space. I don't want a larger footprint with the living space on the ground floor.

If I need to build a small "no stairs" retirement home, I have the room for it. And I will design my septic so it can handle the future home. Or just have a separate septic for it. Chances are if I build this Barndo, I'm never building a house...

 

[garc]

Your property is a beautiful private oasis and yet you still have more tasks for all that heavy equipment ?

Maybe subdivide a building lot on your frontage to bring in the extra cash you'd like and still enjoy your privacy from an easement driveway?

BTW, I spent the first half of my life 35 miles across the water from you.

 

[ETD66SS]

Your property is a beautiful private oasis and yet you still have more tasks for all that heavy equipment ?

Maybe subdivide a building lot on your frontage to bring in the extra cash you'd like and still enjoy your privacy from an easement driveway?

BTW, I spent the first half of my life 35 miles across the water from you.

I'd like to dig one more pond. And I am also in the midst of building a solar kiln (Solar Kiln Build). So I'd like to have a wood shop someday as well. Not to mention if I do get around to building a log home/cabin, I will need some equipment.

As a kid my family took trips to Lake Nipissing every summer, so had the make the trek past Toronto etc.

 

[Carl_NH]

The latest edition of the barndominium looks good with the three car underneath. Also looking at the sun/shade angle appears your roof will face south - do you plan to install solar panels on the roof? Depends on how you plan to heat your shop and house?

Not sure of your electric rates - maybe $.20-22/KWH but you have plenty of roof area - and would need a 12KW+- array to supply the majority of your power and its easiest to install on a new build. At .22/KWH our ROI was 9 years, but with last year rate hike to .34 it's a lot less now.

 

[EddieWalker]

I like your layout, except for the balcony idea. I don't think you'll ever use that space once you are living there. I would push out your kitchen to the exterior wall and have a dining table. Same with the garage, move the wall out all the way out to the full width of the building.

I'm currently building an attached 3 car garage to my house that's 42 feet wide and 30 feet deep. My garage doors are 10 feet wide. It's 4 feet of wall, 10 feet for garage door, 2 feet of wall, 10 feet for garage door, 2 feet of wall, 10 feet for garage door, and then 4 feet of wall.

The picture was taken over the summer. I'm working on the metal roofing this weekend. I haven't take a lot of pictures. The entire project was put on hold when my brother got sick in August and passed away in October.

What I'm really loving is how big it is for a garage. I've never had a garage anywhere near this big, and it will be a game changer to be able to park my truck inside every night. Currently, I have to pay attention to the weather when buying materials for a job that I'm doing based on if it's going to rain or not.

 

[ETD66SS]

The latest edition of the barndominium looks good with the three car underneath. Also looking at the sun/shade angle appears your roof will face south - do you plan to install solar panels on the roof? Depends on how you plan to heat your shop and house?

Not sure of your electric rates - maybe $.20-22/KWH but you have plenty of roof area - and would need a 12KW+- array to supply the majority of your power and its easiest to install on a new build. At .22/KWH our ROI was 9 years, but with last year rate hike to .34 it's a lot less now.

I would like to use solar panels someday yes. However there are more & more very restrictive laws being put on the books by the county that makes them less affordable to use.

I like your layout, except for the balcony idea. I don't think you'll ever use that space once you are living there. I would push out your kitchen to the exterior wall and have a dining table. Same with the garage, move the wall out all the way out to the full width of the building.

I'm currently building an attached 3 car garage to my house that's 42 feet wide and 30 feet deep. My garage doors are 10 feet wide. It's 4 feet of wall, 10 feet for garage door, 2 feet of wall, 10 feet for garage door, 2 feet of wall, 10 feet for garage door, and then 4 feet of wall.

The picture was taken over the summer. I'm working on the metal roofing this weekend. I haven't take a lot of pictures. The entire project was put on hold when my brother got sick in August and passed away in October.

What I'm really loving is how big it is for a garage. I've never had a garage anywhere near this big, and it will be a game changer to be able to park my truck inside every night. Currently, I have to pay attention to the weather when buying materials for a job that I'm doing based on if it's going to rain or not.

I want to be able to sit and look at my ponds. I do that now in a lawn chair after a days work at my land. I know the balcony is not efficient but it's a "want". Sorry to hear about your brother. My father worked 100's of hours if not more over the 20+ years with me at my lot until he passed last June.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm a huge fan of sitting on the porch and enjoying the view, or having a fire and enjoying a beer. But most of all, it's where we entertain. We have a big party for our Grandson on the porch every year. When we have friends over, and it's nice out, we are out on the porch.

I started out with a small 9x12 foot porch that I thought was big enough when I built it, but quickly realized that it wasn't. I tore it down, and built a 16x24 foot porch that is a lot better!!!

You could easily move that wall over, have a bigger kitchen area with a table to eat at, and then build a deck off of the building that could easily become your favorite place to relax. In my opinion, 12x12 is fast and easy to build, but borderline too small. 12x24 is a nice sized deck with enough room for a grill, an outdoor table, and a few comfy chairs to relax on.

Sorry to hear of your loss.

 

[LouNY]

I like your layout, except for the balcony idea. I don't think you'll ever use that space once you are living there. I would push out your kitchen to the exterior wall and have a dining table. Same with the garage, move the wall out all the way out to the full width of the building.

I'm currently building an attached 3 car garage to my house that's 42 feet wide and 30 feet deep. My garage doors are 10 feet wide. It's 4 feet of wall, 10 feet for garage door, 2 feet of wall, 10 feet for garage door, 2 feet of wall, 10 feet for garage door, and then 4 feet of wall.

The picture was taken over the summer. I'm working on the metal roofing this weekend. I haven't take a lot of pictures. The entire project was put on hold when my brother got sick in August and passed away in October.

What I'm really loving is how big it is for a garage. I've never had a garage anywhere near this big, and it will be a game changer to be able to park my truck inside every night. Currently, I have to pay attention to the weather when buying materials for a job that I'm doing based on if it's going to rain or not.

Nice, but I'd sure want taller doors.

 

[ETD66SS]

I'm a huge fan of sitting on the porch and enjoying the view, or having a fire and enjoying a beer. But most of all, it's where we entertain. We have a big party for our Grandson on the porch every year. When we have friends over, and it's nice out, we are out on the porch.

I started out with a small 9x12 foot porch that I thought was big enough when I built it, but quickly realized that it wasn't. I tore it down, and built a 16x24 foot porch that is a lot better!!!

You could easily move that wall over, have a bigger kitchen area with a table to eat at, and then build a deck off of the building that could easily become your favorite place to relax. In my opinion, 12x12 is fast and easy to build, but borderline too small. 12x24 is a nice sized deck with enough room for a grill, an outdoor table, and a few comfy chairs to relax on.

Sorry to hear of your loss.

I hear ya. My goal was to keep the living space square footage down for tax purposes, while having a covered porch area utilizing the existing roof trusses. With the balcony I am right around 1232 sq-ft. Already a bit more than I wanted. I was targeting 1000 sq-ft but the now 3 car garage ballooned the living space it a bit.

I just sold a house that I lived in for 13 years, I NEVER used the dining room to eat at the table. I eat in front of my computer screen or the TV. I know, probably not the best habit.

 

[EddieWalker]

Nice, but I'd sure want taller doors.

I debated on that, but since it's just for my wife's mini van and my truck, it was a lot easier to tie 8 foot walls into the house. Eventually, I'm going to build my shop where I can park all my tractors and equipment. Unfortunately, that seems to keep getting put of for higher priority projects.

The only time we eat at the table is when we have friends over, or parties for our grandson. Holidays and things like that. Otherwise, the table is where stuff ends up that should be put away, but rarely happens. Currently, it's covered with plants because my wife is in the Master Gardener program, and we don't have a green house yet. One of my bathrooms is full of plants too!!!!

When thinking resale, a table may help sell faster it faster, instead of people not wanting to live there because there isn't a place for a table. Kind of like the bathtub debate. Most people never use the tub, but they all feel they have to have at least one in their house for resale. Of course, if I was buying, all I would care about is the location, the amount of land, and how big the shop is.