Barndominium Builders Servicing an Hour and a Half From Lancaster, PA

What Is a Barndominium

A barndominium is a home built using the same post frame or steel frame method as a barn, then finished out inside with everything a regular house has, kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, living space. The name comes from combining barn and condominium, though most people just call it a barndo. What makes it different from a traditional stick built house is the structure underneath. Heavy posts and trusses carry the roof load, so the interior can stay wide open with fewer load bearing walls, which is part of why floor plans tend to feel more flexible than a conventional home. 

When properly engineered and constructed, barndominiums are designed to perform well under Pennsylvania's seasonal weather conditions, including snow, wind, and heavy rain. Some owners use the extra space for a workshop, an office, or a garage bay attached to the living area, which is one of the more common reasons people choose this style over a standard home in the first place. That same post frame structural approach is what our team relies on as custom pole barn builders, bringing the same durability and open floor space benefits of a traditional pole building into every barndominium we construct.

Barndominiums exist because of post-frame construction, the same building method long used for pole barns, horse barns, and agricultural buildings across Pennsylvania. Instead of a poured foundation and stick-framed walls, the structure relies on engineered posts and trusses, which is exactly what allows for the wide-open floor plans barndominiums are known for. That shared foundation between residential and agricultural building methods is part of why post-frame construction has become such a popular starting point for custom homes across Lancaster County.

Do Barndominiums Hold Their Value?

This is usually the first question people ask once they get past the design and cost side of things, and it's a fair one given how much of a barndominium's final price sits in finishes and land. Generally, yes, barndominiums do hold their value and most appreciate over time, though usually at a slightly slower pace than a traditional home, somewhere in the range of two to five percent a year depending on the market. 

They're not the right fit if you're trying to flip a house fast for a quick profit. But if you're planning to live in it or rent it out, well-built barndominiums have become increasingly accepted by buyers and appraisers as more comparable sales become available. The two things that move the needle most on that value are how the building was actually constructed and where it sits, which is worth walking through separately.