Building a barn to live in- interesting article

[Patrick Herd]

We live in what the OP might refer to as a bardominium.
Pole structure, metal clad, 3 bays with the two outer bays lined and fitted out.
Warmest most comfortable house I've ever lived in.

As a bonus my CNC milling machine is less than two paces from the door in the kitchen.
Here in NZ it doesn't have any compliance or tax loopholes so it's treated as any other dwelling.

 

[stuckmotor]

We bought one last year
Second home for now

40x60 building.
half barn/half house.
Non conventional mortgage
Homeowners insurance was tricky.
We do love it though!

Does the star near the top signify a military affiliation? For a while, I thought a one star general lived in houses that dispayed them.

 

[Doorman63]

Does the star near the top signify a military affiliation? For a while, I thought a one star general lived in houses that dispayed them.

No it does not. Star was there when we bought the place.
Might be a manufacturers logo?

Our daughter wants to name the place “Wildstar Farms” because of the star.

 

[stuckmotor]

Thanks for your reply. Tractor supply used to sell those stars.

 

[Big Barn]

This is the barn I built in 1994. The plan was live in the suite above while building my house but the building inspector put a nix on that.

The suite was finished a year later when my house was finished and all inspections done.

 

[grsthegreat]

When wife and I moved onto our 20 acres back in 1996, i wanted to build a barn to house horses and have a converted upper area for a house while I built a home. Wife put a kabash on that idea.. she knew that once I got comfortable I would lose incentive to build a home.
we moved into a 36 ft 5th wheel instead. That really forced me to build house fast. I hated that trailer.

also, living above horses would have been fighting smell and flies.

 

[jaxs]

This is the barn I built in 1994. The plan was live in the suite above while building my house but the building inspector put a nix on that.

View attachment 713947


The suite was finished a year later when my house was finished and all inspections done.

Is THAT Big Barns Retirement Farm Shop? That place is beautiful!

 

[Big Barn]

Thanks Jax but no that is my garage. Home gym on ground level and 1200 sq ft suite above.



My zoning did not allow a detached garage when I built my house so the plans were submitted for a "barn" which was permitted on the farm zoning. Go figure.

 

[jaxs]

There's no figuring out bureaucrats and how they think but you did well with what you were allowed. This is the first year my 30x50 shop is on the tax role and it's turned into a fight. I permitted it and it was approved as a pole barn. The tax appraiser classified it as a utility building which is over 4x evaluation per sq ft as pole barn. The tax appraiser can't produce construction industry exceptable discription of utility building and I have all kinds of referances clearly describing pole barn in detail.

 

[oosik]

The homesteader and his wife lived in a single room off their barn here. It was temporary while building their house. Even he complained about these conditions. The main building/barn housed chickens and sheep.

It was the odors and all the critters( mice & chipmunks ) that got into their single room. Both were happy when they could move into the house.

Realize - this was back in 1892 and building coded were pretty slim or non-existent.