Understand the benefits and limitations of post-frame construction before committing to your post-frame barndominium.
The Most Important Advantages (Perhaps)
Everyone has different priorities when planning a new home; one person may be insistent that their new home be filled with sunlight, while another may be focused on energy savings. So what are you looking for? This is one of the first conversations you should have with your contractor/builder, and if you are choosing to go DIY, you will still have to think about what you really want before you start building. If you are working with someone who has building design experience, which is generally the best way to go as they will build the engineering into your plans, they will definitely want to know what you are looking for in your new barndo.
The advantages that industry experts deemed the generally most important to prospective clients is a good place to start.
Turnaround Time
The amount of time it takes to go from bare ground to building erection is significantly less with post-frame.
Mark Stover, past president of Perma-Column said, “You can frame post-frame in a week. Metal frame has much more prep work.”
“Building shells are closed in much faster to get finish work out of the weather,” said Carl Althaus, a former Wisconsin Frame Building Board of Directors member. This, of course, helps maintain the integrity of the shell.
“Lead times are less than steel frame because the components required are more readily available,” Randy Chaffee, Source One Marketing said. “With post-frame, you can set the posts the first day, and the difference in completion time from other construction forms is huge.”
A Customized Design
Post-frame construction lends itself easily to customization. If you want two-story ceilings in one area, post-frame will easily accommodate that. You say you don’t like the placement of the bathroom? Move the walls where you want them. There are no load-bearing walls to worry about, so interior walls can be placed anywhere you like — without intrusive poles holding up the roof. A wrap-around porch is easy to add on, also.
Jeff Bonebrake, President of Burrows Complete Post-Frame Solutions, said, “The post-frame industry allows for highly customizable design.”
Cost Savings
Post-frame is generally less costly because it uses less material than other construction methods to create the shell, and it takes less time, which means lower labor costs.
More Advantages
Of course, there are many other advantages to post-frame building, so don’t get discouraged if these few advantages do not get you excited.
Althaus said that what many people are looking for is energy efficient barndominiums, and post-frame shines in that respect. When building post-frame, you will have a thick wall because of the post; it is likely 6” wide, so that created space can be filled with insulation. Today many builders use spray foam to get all the edges and nooks and crannies, commonly called picture framing, and supplement with other forms of insulation. A spray foam combo used with a house wrap barrier can make it easy to change a panel in the future, and this much insulation is hard to beat.
Bonebrake adds that people love how quiet their buildings are due to the thick walls and highly insulated roofs.
The clear spans that are common in post-frame are especially popular nowadays. Paul Zimmerman, General Manager at Hixwood said that people love the wide-open space and the natural light thtat can be achieved in post-frame buildings.
Ease of maintenance is often high on the wish list for new barndo buyers, and since the tradition in post-frame building is steel roofs with steel siding, this wish is easily ticked off the list.
Althaus and Chaffee add that the post-frame builder can achieve just about any aesthetic the buyer desires with the variety of metal styles and colors that are now available. Metal cladding that mimics brick, stone, stone-coated shingles, batten siding, and so many other choices, are available with the low maintenance of metal.
Are There Things You Are Set On?
Tell your contractor up front if there is anything you have to have. They should be able to tell you if it makes sense to build with post-frame construction.
Bonebrake said, “If you are set on a ‘Dallas style’, very steep roof pitch with lots of hips and valleys, maybe post-frame is not for you. Stick built may be better suited to that type of roof.”
Ask About Potential Upgrades to Your Barndominium.
Stover said, “Think about building a traditional post-frame building, and then after it is complete finding out that it could have been built on concrete footings.”
Likewise, some people have settled for the traditional metal siding only to realize they could have incorporated a stone-look wainscot, which they would have liked better. Even more important, ask about the quality of materials you are getting through your contractor.
It’s best to learn a little bit about the advantages of the building type and various component types to ensure that you get the quality and aesthetic you expect –rather than the “standard” item.
