Cost Of A Barn

Building a barn is an important investment. The cost of constructing one, however, depends on the type and size you want to build. Barns can be built for horses or other farm animals as well as storage space or even extra living space. There are different ways to construct your barn: You could go with wood framing using traditional methods, or rely heavily on post-and-beam construction – this gives it a timeless look; metal I beams will also do the trick if you’re looking for something more modern but equally durable.

You might also like our articles about the cost of steel buildings, pole barns, and garages.

Metal framed barns and pole barns are both relatively inexpensive, but metal frames have the added bonus of being very easy to assemble. Wood-framed barns are much more expensive than their steel counterparts, but they look fantastic.

Barn Costs

Traditional wood barns

A traditional wood barn can be expensive but it offers the classic look. A typical wooden barn costs $45 to $65 per square foot and that doesn’t include plumbing or electrical work. Every building is unique so there’s no way of telling how much this will cost for you specifically. You should talk with an electrician about what your needs are to figure out the price.

Antique Wood Barns

One of the most popular types of barns is post and beam construction. This type can get rather expensive, as there are very few old-growth timbers still available for purchase. Expect to pay quite a premium for this type of lumber if you find it at all because they’re so rare. The labor costs associated with building one of these beautiful structures will also be higher than other regular residential buildings since each beam has to be carefully placed according to the engineered plan laid out beforehand. This particular barn type can cost $65 or more per square foot.

Metal Barns

Metal barns offer a durable exterior that is also protective for your items. Steel columns, steel studs in between the metal sheets to fasten them together, and steel trusses will provide you with strong walls and roofs that can withstand lots of weather conditions. A concrete slab underneath provides stability as well as protection against flooding or other harsh environmental factors. Metal barn kits are also available if you don’t want to put all the work into assembling these yourself. The cost of this type of barn will be somewhere between $25 and $35 per square foot.

Pole Barns

Pole barns are a type of building with wooden poles as their main structural element. The skin and roof usually consist of sheet metal, which is less labor-intensive to construct than other types of buildings like brick or wood frame structures. Expect to pay anywhere from $20-$30 per square foot depending on the size of the pole barn.

Shopping For Barn Building Services

Building a barn is not as easy as one may think. Depending on the size of the building, it will need patience and an engineer-stamped permit to be approved before construction can begin. The small barn may not need plans, but it’s worth checking before starting the project. Contracting an architect to draw up the plans and having them approved by a licensed engineer can be expensive – so make sure that your project is within budget before putting any money down on these services. You could also buy pre-approved architectural drawings.

A permit from your town or city may be quite expensive as well. All of the above figures do not include pricing for an overhead door, a significant cost that should always be added to the spending plan. Motorized doors usually require a specialty contractor which will also be an addition to the final price.

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Alec Pow

Alec Pow is a thorough and methodical Financial and Business Analyst with over 15 years of experience in financial statement analysis, Foreign exchange derivative hedging instruments analysis, modeling, and risk management, with a long history of writing for big news publications like Forbes, MSN.com, Washington Post, and many more.