A barndominium at dusk with warm light in every window and lighting along the porch and roofline, tall pines and birches behind and a lake glinting through the trees.

Barndominium Builders in Minnesota

We are Minnesota barndominium builders for barndominium kits, custom floor plans and turnkey builds on private land across Minnesota, from pole barn homes to steel and metal building homes with the shop and the house under one roof. Buy the kit, buy the shell, or hand us the whole project from bare land to keys, with one point of contact from the first drawing to the final walkthrough.

Start the survey What it costs to build in Minnesota
Building on private land across Minnesota
Planned for Minnesota winters
Kits, shells and turnkey builds
A written quote before anything is ordered

Barndominium kits in Minnesota, or a finished build

Three ways to buy, and most people know which fits once they have looked honestly at their time, their budget and who they have available to build.

Barndominium kits for sale

The frame, roof and wall package delivered to your land, for you or your own crew to put up. Plans are drawn to your parcel before anything is ordered.

Barndominium kits in Minnesota

A dried-in shell

We put up the frame and close the building in on your slab, then you finish the interior at your own pace with your own trades.

Shell kits and what they include

Turnkey, land to keys

One point of contact for the plans, the permits, the site work, the build and the finish, through to the final inspection and your keys.

Turnkey barndominium builds

Pole barn homes, steel barndominiums and turnkey builds

Nine ways to get a barndominium out of your head and onto your land, from a kit you put up yourself to a finished pole barn or steel home we hand you the keys to, anywhere in Minnesota.

Barndominium Kits

Barndominium kits and shell kits for Minnesota land, sized to your county's state-set snow load and frost depth, with the drawings your permit needs.

Custom Plans

Custom barndominium plans drawn for Minnesota: your layout and shop, your county's snow load and frost depth, and a set ready for plan review.

Shouses

Shouses in Minnesota: a heated shop and a home under one roof, laid out for big doors, winter work and the separation a house needs from its shop.

Pole Barn Homes

Pole barn homes in Minnesota: pole barn house kits and plans sized to your county's snow load, with posts and footings set below the state frost depth.

Metal Building Homes

Metal building homes in Minnesota, insulated and air-sealed for a long winter, with condensation and radon handled before the walls close in.

Steel & Metal Building Construction

Red-iron steel frames for Minnesota barndominiums and shops: wide clear spans, roofs sized to your county's snow load, columns on frost-depth footings.

Turnkey Builds

Turnkey barndominium builds in Minnesota: land check, plans, permits, foundation, frame and finish under one agreement, from raw land to move-in.

Permits & Approvals

Barndominium permits in Minnesota: who enforces the building code on your parcel, and the zoning, septic and well approvals that apply everywhere.

Site Preparation

Barndominium site preparation in Minnesota: shoreland and septic checks first, then clearing, grading, the driveway and a pad for frost-depth footings.

Barndominium floor plans

Start from one of our barndominium floor plans and change it, or have a plan drawn from scratch around your land, your shop and the way you live. Small barndominium homes are some of the most requested: a compact footprint heats for less through a Minnesota winter and leaves more of the budget for the land work. Whatever the size, the plan is fitted to the parcel: where the septic and well can go, which way the lot drains, and what the local setbacks allow.

Browse floor plans Small barndominium floor plans What size fits your budget Custom barndominium plans
Cost guide

How much does it cost to build a barndominium in Minnesota?

We do not publish a price list, because on a Minnesota barndominium the land and the climate move the number more than the floor plan does: the driveway, the pad and a foundation below the frost line, how far power has to run, a well and a septic system, the insulation a steel or pole barn shell needs for the winter, and what the local permit office asks for. The cost guide sets out published third-party cost data, every figure with its source, and includes a calculator that works only from those cited ranges.

Read the Minnesota cost guide Barndominium vs. house cost Financing a barndominium Are barndominiums legal in Minnesota?
All guides Gallery

Know which of these you want? A plan drawn for your land is where it starts.

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How a build runs

Land to keys, in four stages

In Minnesota, barndominium projects go wrong early, at zoning, shoreland, septic and site checks, long before anyone pours concrete. Here is the order we work in and why.

Overhead view of architectural floor plan and structural elevation drawings spread on a workbench with a scale ruler and pencil.
1

Start your plans

Start the survey. We take your program, the rooms, the shop bay, the garage doors, how you actually want to live in it, and start a floor plan drawn for your land rather than pulled off a shelf, whether you bring a sketch, a saved layout or a blank sheet. This is where most of the useful decisions get made.

That is how a build runs. Step one is a plan drawn for your land, and that starts with the survey.

Start the survey

Building a barndominium in Minnesota

Four things shape a Minnesota build before anyone pours concrete: the winter, the water, which office (if any) inspects the build, and where in the state the land is.

Built for the winter

Minnesota sets two key numbers by county. Unless a soils engineer determines otherwise, footings go at least five feet deep in Zone I counties and three and a half feet in Zone II (Minn. R. 1303.1600), and the ground snow load is 60 pounds per square foot in the counties the rule lists and 50 everywhere else (Minn. R. 1303.1700). Steel conducts heat, so a metal or post-frame shell also needs continuous insulation and a vapor strategy that keeps condensation off the frame.

Pole barn homes

Lakes and rivers

Lake and river lots are some of the most wanted land in Minnesota, and the most regulated. Land within 1,000 feet of a lake or 300 feet of a river is shoreland (Minn. R. 6120.2500), and the county or city shoreland ordinance sets how far back the house must sit, according to the class the DNR gives the lake. We find out before anything is drawn.

Site preparation

Who inspects the build

The Minnesota State Building Code applies statewide, but a city, township or county enforces it only where it has adopted the code (Minn. Stat. 326B.121). In parts of rural Minnesota no local office enforces it, and the code still applies there. We check your parcel in the Department of Labor and Industry jurisdiction directory, and build to the code either way.

How we handle permitting

Metro lot or rural acreage

Minneapolis, St. Paul and the inner suburbs are mostly built out, and city lots rarely have room for a shop bay. The acreage is in the outer parts of the metro counties, in Wright, Sherburne, Isanti and Chisago counties, and across farm and lake country further out, where a barndominium with a shop makes the most sense.

Areas we serve

Barndominium builders across Minnesota

Looking for barndominium builders near you? We build in seven regions of Minnesota, from the Twin Cities metro and the outer-metro counties to Rochester, Mankato, St. Cloud, Duluth and the Red River valley. Minneapolis, St. Paul and the inner suburbs are mostly built out, so most of our metro-area work is on acreage in the outer parts of the metro counties and in Wright, Sherburne, Isanti and Chisago counties. Zoning, building permits and septic approvals sit with different offices from one township, city or county to the next, so every project starts with the parcel.

Duluth Rochester St. Cloud Lakeville Mankato Brooklyn Park Coon Rapids Woodbury Eagan St. Paul Minneapolis Elk River Cambridge Brainerd Moorhead Bemidji Alexandria Willmar Owatonna

Mankato & Southern Minnesota

Open prairie farmland along the Minnesota River valley and the southern border.

See every area we serve

Building in Minnesota: common questions

17 questions we get asked most often about building in Minnesota. If yours is not on the list, ask it directly.

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Do you build barndominiums across Minnesota?
Yes. Minnesota Barndominium Builders builds barndominiums, pole barn homes and steel-frame homes on private land across Minnesota: the Twin Cities metro counties (Hennepin, Dakota, Anoka, Scott and Carver counties, plus Washington County) and the outer metro (Elk River, Cambridge, and Wright, Sherburne, Isanti and Chisago counties); St. Cloud, Brainerd and Alexandria in central Minnesota; Rochester, Winona, Owatonna and Faribault in the southeast; Mankato, New Ulm and Albert Lea in the south, with Lyon County in the southwest; Duluth, Hibbing and Grand Rapids in the Arrowhead; and Moorhead, Bemidji, Fergus Falls and Willmar in the west and north. See the areas we serve, or start the survey with your parcel.
Do you build on land I already own?
Yes, and that is most of the work: rural acreage, family land, lake lots and edge-of-town parcels. We check what the zoning allows, walk the property with you, check access for concrete trucks and delivery equipment, and work out where power, water and a septic system can go. If you have not bought land yet, look at it with us before you close: whether a parcel suits a barndominium with a shop is a question to answer before the purchase, not after. Inside Minneapolis, St. Paul and the inner suburbs few lots have the room, so most metro buyers look at the outer parts of the metro counties or the outer-metro counties. If farmland is enrolled in Green Acres, ask the county assessor before you build: land that leaves the program owes up to three years of deferred tax. Tell us where the land is in the survey.
Do you sell barndominium kits in Minnesota, or only full builds?
Both. You can buy a barndominium kit and put it up yourself or with your own crew, buy a dried-in shell and finish the inside yourself, or hand us the whole project from bare land to keys as a turnkey build. Minnesota exempts owners who build a home they will live in from the residential building contractor licence (Minn. Stat. 326B.805), which is what makes a kit a real option; plumbing, electrical and HVAC still go to licensed trade contractors. Most people know which fits once they have looked honestly at their time, their budget and who they have available to build. Tell us which way you are leaning in the survey.
What is included in a barndominium kit, and what does it leave out?
A kit is typically the structural shell: the frame, roof and wall panels, trim and fasteners, and the doors the package names. The foundation, site work, delivery and erection, insulation, and the whole interior finish usually sit outside it, so the kit price is only part of what the finished home costs. In Minnesota the insulation package matters more than usual, so ask exactly what a kit quote covers before comparing two. Our barndominium kits page and the cost guide walk through the line items.
What is the difference between a barndominium, a pole barn home and a metal building home?
Barndominium describes what the building is: a home, usually open-plan and often with a shop or garage bay under the same roof. A pole barn home (post-frame, in engineering terms) is built on a wood frame of large posts, spaced wide apart, that carry the roof and wall loads, with girts and purlins running between them. A metal building home is framed in steel instead. Inside, any of them is finished like a conventional house. We build both pole barn and steel-frame barndominiums.
How much does it cost to build a barndominium in Minnesota?
We do not publish a price list, because on a Minnesota barndominium the land and the climate move the number more than the floor plan does: the driveway, the pad and the foundation, how far power has to run, whether the parcel needs a well and a septic system, the insulation the shell needs for the winter, and what the local permit office asks for. Minnesota sales tax applies to building materials and kits, whoever buys them (Minn. Stat. 297A.61), so it is part of the materials cost. Our barndominium cost guide sets out published third-party cost data with its sources, including sized examples. For a number against your own parcel, start the survey and we will put a written quote in front of you before anything is ordered.
Is a barndominium cheaper to build than a traditional house?
Sometimes, but not automatically. A pole barn or metal building shell spans wide without interior load-bearing walls, but a barndominium is finished inside like any house, and insulation, drywall, cabinets, flooring, plumbing, electrical and HVAC cost much the same whatever frame they sit in. The land work (driveway, pad, power, well and septic) often decides the comparison. Our barndominium vs. house cost guide sets the two side by side with cited data.
Do I need a building permit for a barndominium in Minnesota?
It depends on where the land is, but the rules apply either way. Minnesota's State Building Code is the construction standard everywhere in the state, but it is enforced, with permits and inspections, only where a city, township or county has adopted it (Minn. Stat. 326B.121). The Department of Labor and Industry's State Building Code Jurisdiction Directory shows whether yours has. Where it has not, the code still applies, state electrical and plumbing rules are still enforced by the state, and zoning, shoreland, septic and well rules still apply. Homes are built to the Minnesota Residential Code, currently the 2020 edition, based on the 2018 International Residential Code (Minn. R. 1309.0010), and every new home needs a passive radon control system (Minn. R. 1303.2400). A barndominium is a home, so the code's agricultural-building exemption does not cover it. We work out which offices approve your build as part of permitting.
Can I build a barndominium on a lake lot in Minnesota?
Often, but the lake decides where it goes. Land within 1,000 feet of a lake or 300 feet of a river is shoreland (Minn. R. 6120.2500), and the county or city shoreland ordinance, which may be stricter than the state standards, sets the setbacks by the class the DNR gives the lake. The state's minimum setback for an unsewered lot on a natural environment lake, for example, is 150 feet from the ordinary high water level (Minn. R. 6120.3300); your county's ordinance sets the actual figure for your lake. In a mapped floodplain, the local floodplain ordinance applies, with flood protection at least one foot above the regional flood as the state minimum (Minn. R. 6120.5700). We check both before the plan is drawn.
Who approves the septic system and the well?
Septic systems are permitted and inspected under your county's septic (SSTS) ordinance, or your city's or township's where it has its own, to Minnesota Pollution Control Agency rules, and they are designed and installed by MPCA-licensed professionals (Minn. Stat. 115.55, 115.56). A new well is filed with the Minnesota Department of Health by a licensed well contractor (Minn. Stat. 103I.205). We do not design or install septic systems or drill wells, but we check both early, because where the septic system can go often decides where the house goes. See site preparation.
Do you build small barndominiums?
Yes. A small barndominium is often the smartest build in Minnesota: a compact footprint costs less to heat through the winter and leaves more of the budget for the land work that every rural parcel needs. Our small barndominium floor plan is a good place to start, and the guide to what size barndominium fits your budget works through the trade-offs between size, finish and the land work.
Can you build a shop house, with living space and a shop under one roof?
Yes. A shop house, or shouse, puts a working shop or equipment bay and the living space under one roof, and it is one of the most common reasons people choose a barndominium. The shop door size, the ceiling height in the bay, whether the shop is heated, and how the living space is separated from it are the decisions that shape the plan. If you might add a bay or a wing later, say so at the start: sizing the foundation, leaving a gable end clear and running enough electrical capacity now makes that far simpler.
Can a barndominium be built through a Minnesota winter?
Parts of it. Frozen ground and cold concrete are the constraints: excavation and foundation work are easiest before the ground freezes, and concrete placed in cold weather has to be protected while it cures. Once the building is dried in, interior work carries on through the winter. We plan the schedule around that, and the build timeline guide sets out how the stages fit together.
Can I finance a barndominium like a normal house?
Often, but not with every lender. Some treat a barndominium as ordinary residential construction; others are less familiar with it, and the appraisal is where that tends to show. We can provide the plans, specifications and cost breakdown a lender asks for during approval and the construction draw process. Our barndominium financing guide walks through the options.
Do I need an architect to draw barndominium plans in Minnesota?
Not for a single-family home. Minnesota law lets people who are not architects prepare plans for single-family homes and farm buildings (Minn. Stat. 326.03), so the plan set for your custom plans is drawn by our design team. The structural design of a steel or pole barn frame comes from the frame manufacturer, sized to the frost depth and snow load the state sets for your county.
Who handles plumbing, electrical and HVAC?
Licensed trade contractors handle plumbing, electrical and HVAC. On a turnkey build we schedule that work as part of the project, so you deal with one point of contact from the first drawing to the final walkthrough rather than a chain of separate contractors.
How do I get started?
Start the survey. It asks where the land is, what you want to build, roughly how big, how you want to buy it (kit, shell or turnkey) and when. That is enough for us to come back with the questions that matter for your parcel, starting with what its zoning allows. There is no charge for that conversation.

Got land in Minnesota? Tell us about it.

Start the survey with your parcel and we will come back with what the zoning allows on it, which offices have to approve the build, and what drives the cost, then a written quote before anything is ordered. No charge for that conversation.

Start the survey