Barndominiums are all the rage in the real estate market these days. It’s a miracle to think that the term itself was coined in 1989. Ever since then, this type of residential home has only seen a rise among home buyers for its affordability, durability, and versatility. 

However, the term hasn’t moved away from its roots and evolved to describe a home that combines the rustic charm of rural life with the modern aesthetics of urban life. This is one of the reasons why it is so popular today. But no other state is as obsessed with barndominiums as Colorado is. In this article, we shall discuss the best barndominium Colorado offers, from its construction to the factors affecting it. Let’s explore 

What Is a Barndominium; What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages?

Before we learn of the barndominium Colorado has to offer, we must fully understand what barndominiums are. 

A barndominium is a barn converted into a residential home that combines a farmhouse’s rustic architecture and the modern facilities of an urban life. Barndos happened to be created for the purpose of agricultural and industrial storage houses. But, as the new century rolled in, it began to be used for residential homes with space large enough to have a workspace.

Some of the advantages of a barndominium are:

• They are cheaper to build rather than traditional homes.
• They are bigger in space which increases living space.
• Because of their space, they can be versatile and used for multiple purposes.
• Barndos are easier to maintain.
• They are durable and can withstand extreme weather conditions. 
• It costs lower insurance premiums.
  

Some of the Disadvantages are:

• No matter how much barndos are becoming mainstream, financing is still hard to get for most of them.
• Reselling value of barndominiums is low because they are not many buyers. 

Cost of Building a Barndominium Colorado

Regarding the cost of its building,  a barndominium can vary from one state to another depending upon the size, scale, and level of customizations of your house. The quality of material also matters in this regard as high-quality construction materials are costlier than others. According to many multiple experts, the average price for a barndominium can be summarized down to twenty-five dollars to forty dollars per square foot. Here are some of the factors influencing barndominium for sale Colorado can get you:

1. Building Size

For a Colorado barndominium, the size of the building is the primary factor influencing your barndo’s cost. The size means the land or surface area on which it stands and the number of floors you build. Going above a certain limit of size can also involve heavy charges of bureaucracy, which add to the cost. 

2. Construction Material

If you were looking for a barndominium Colorado for sale, you must know that over forty percent of your barndominium’s cost goes towards the construction material. The construction materials include framing kits, roofing, doors, sidings, plumbing, drywall, wiring, etc. On average, the building material itself can cost anywhere from five thousand dollars to three hundred thousand dollars. 

3. Accessibility

When it comes to accessibility,  the correct type of land is essential for a Colorado barndominium. Barndos, by nature, need a considerable amount of land to construct, which can be challenging to find in an urban setting. So people must look at the city’s outskirts for land, particularly in the suburbs. We are also looking at the type of land one has access to. If it is a rugged terrain and not plain land, it can cost more to level the building foundation, which can add to the cost. 

4. Labor

Nearly one in three dollars go to the cost of labor to build a barndominium. The cost of labor also has its nuances. It differs from state to state how the labor will cost. The architect will cost you the most as they are who will design the house, followed by the interior decorator, general contractor, and flooring professionals. The electricians and plumber will cost you less. 

5. Permits

In point of fact, red tape is one of the crucial factors even for a small barndominium. Not all states are welcoming to barndominiums and few others have strict restrictions. This heightened bureaucracy adds to the cost of building a barndo. You also might have to ask for permits at different stages of the construction. 

6. Finishing Materials

Furthermore, finishing materials are the materials used to add finishing touches to barndominiums which then influence the cost of the building.  Most importantly, your finishing touch costs will depend on the material upon which the material. A granite stone finish will make your budget soar. That cost excludes the kitchen appliances, outdoor lighting, painting, shelving, etc. 

Additional Costs and Considerations for Barndominium Colorado

If the above costs were not enough, there are additional costs that you need to worry about while building a barndo even if it is a 2 story barndominium. That can include floor panning to the installation of accessories. Here are some of the additional costs:

1. Floor Plans

Floor plans of a barndominium include walls, windows, arrangement of rooms, stairs, and other structural fixtures. These plans are the methods by which you have a clear vision of how each floor will look like. 

2. Land Purchasing

The land cost will depend on numerous factors. These include permits, laws, and regulations, soil quality, and market demand of that area. Land purchasing or land accessibility can be the most difficult and the most contributing factor to building a barndominium. 

3. Foundation Installation

Foundation Installation can vary according to the material you use like cement, concrete, or concrete and masonry. The foundation determines what certain amount of time take for building barndominium. It keeps the structure stable, prevents it from collapsing, and prevents moisturization that can damage the structure. This contributed to the cost as it can depend on soil quality, which can increase the overall cost as well as excavation requirement. 

4. Septic Tank Installation

A septic tank is a storage tank that is used for collecting sewage. Most barndominium kits Colorado are situated in rural areas where there is a high chance that your barndominiums are not connected to a municipal sewage system. This is why you may need to install a septic tank. This will increase your overall cost to build a barndominium. 

5. Utility Installation

Some real estate developers do not have the utility installed as part of their process. You might have to pay extra for connecting to any electrical grid and gas pipeline grid. Also, some zoning laws might be responsible for that where the house might not be located near any local power grid. 

6. Customization

A Colorado barndominium needs heavy customization as a barn is not equipped for living and must be made into residential quarters. You need to add furniture, decorate the floor, and walls, add cabinets to your kitchen, and various other paraphernalia to make it feel like home. Generally speaking, the more you customize, the higher it will cost. 

Designing a Barndominium Colorado

As barnodminiums are flexible and versatile living spaces ever devised, they are easily molded into whatever vision you have for your home sweet home. There are different ways to design a barndominium Colorado has to offer. Here are some of them:

1. Custom-Built

There are provisions for building a barndo from complete scratch with customization that is under your control. Without the limitations of barndominium kits Colorado has to offer, you can design your home the way you want to. Different levels of customization will require different levels of cost management and budgetary adjustments. Different addition of utilities will cost differently in different environments. 

2. DIY Barndominium Kit

DIY barndominium kits Colorado includes everything under the sun a person requires to build a barndominium. This is sometimes called a shell kit and includes the basic material needed to create the framework of a barndominium, such as roof trusses, trim, metal sliding doors, roofing, and exterior walls. The more advanced package is called the dry-in package, where they also send the doors and windows for your home. 

DIY Barndominium Kits are very expensive, costing anywhere from over twenty thousand dollars to over ninety thousand dollars. 

3. Barndominium Kit with Professional Installation

Having a Barndominium Kit is just one part of the resolved issue. You still need an expert and professional team of people builders, designers, and architects who can install, arrange, and construct the structure and bring it all together. Professional installations can also save you time by outsourcing the work to a group of experts in this field who do the job better than you. But it can cost an extra twenty-five thousand dollars to hire them. 

Building Process of a Barndominium in Colorado

Despite its many hassles, building a barndominium is pretty straightforward. Barndo’s have a very flexible structure because of which they are built quickly. In this section, we discuss this. Here are the procedures:

1. Choose a location 

The first step is finding a suitable locale and land for your barndo. For that, you need a open, flat space with necessary utility facilities nearby. 

2. Choose a design

The next step is to decide upon a design for your barndominium. There are multiple designs you can choose from such as traditional, modern, or a bit of both. 

3. Prepare the foundation 

Preparing the foundation is one of the most crucial steps. A foundation gives stability to your structure for which you need to hire a builder or contractor. 

4. Construct the frame

With the foundation of your home complete, you need to build the skeletal structure of your house and give your barndominium a shape and form. 

5. Install the Exteriors and Interior Finishes

After the foundation and frame of your building are complete, you can start installing the walls, the roofs, the windows, and the doors. Additionally, you need to get electricity connections, water connections, gas lines, interior plumbing, cabinets, etc. 

After all these steps are complete, your barndominium for sale Colorado has to offer is ready for your stay. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

Q1. Do you save money building a barndominium?

Barndominiums are cheaper to build than other traditional home and office spaces. It cost about 30 dollars to 45 dollars per square foot to build a barndominium rather than a hundred dollars to build a traditional home. 

Q2. How much would it cost to build a barndominium in Colorado?

Barndominium Colorado has fair and standard charges that are there all over the United States of America. Barndominiums’ costs are also influenced by labor costs, building materials, customizations, and other decorations that need to do for your barndominium.

Q3. Are barndominiums worth it?

Barndominiums are easy to build and more affordable than other forms of real estate in the urban market. It is also durable and requires minimum maintenance. It also saves you from high energy bills because it insulates you from the outside temperature. 

Conclusion 

So, barndominiums can be extremely beneficial if you manage to buy and build one. It has massive durability and flexibility to be customizable and designed the way you want it to. For a family that is growing, it can be beneficial to have a barndo where the different sections of the house can be added to fit the needs of the little ones. 

However, it can be very difficult to get financing for a barndominium. If you need a loan, you might have to go beyond the measures of traditional banking. However, if you can get over these minor issues, it can be an asset.