Champion Buildings helps customers plan and build steel-frame barndominiums for residential, rural, agricultural, and mixed-use properties. Whether you want a metal building shell for a future home, a shop with living quarters, a garage-style barndominium, or a large open-span structure, our team can help you plan a building around the way you intend to use it.
Based in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, Champion Buildings serves customers across North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and other areas throughout the eastern United States. If you are searching for barndominium builders near you, we can help you move from an initial idea to a custom pre-engineered metal building quote.
What Champion Buildings Handles
Custom Steel Frame Barndominiums
A barndominium gives you the freedom to plan around the space you need instead of starting with a standard residential layout. Some customers want an open-concept home. Others want to combine living quarters with a garage, workshop, storage area, farm space, office, or hobby area.
A steel frame barndominium can be designed around tall ceilings, open spans, large overhead doors, covered entries, lean-tos, windows, and other features that fit the property and intended use of the building.
Champion Buildings is a good fit for customers who want more support than a basic DIY kit provides. Our team can help with the metal building layout, steel structure, building options, and construction details that affect the shell of the finished project.
| Living Space | Work and Storage | Building Options |
|---|---|---|
| Bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, living rooms, utility areas, and other residential spaces. | Garages, workshops, equipment storage, farm space, offices, and hobby areas. | Tall ceilings, open spans, overhead doors, porches, lean-tos, windows, and custom color selections. |
What Is a Barndominium?
A barndominium, sometimes called a barndo, is a building that combines residential living space with the appearance or function of a barn, garage, workshop, or metal building. Some barndominiums are used entirely as homes. Others include a shop, equipment storage area, horse barn, office, or garage under the same roof.
A steel-frame barndominium uses a pre-engineered metal building as its main structure. The interior can then be finished with bedrooms, bathrooms, a kitchen, living areas, utility rooms, storage, and other features based on the owner’s floor plan.
Why Build a Steel Frame Barndominium?
Many property owners choose steel frame barndominiums because they want more room and flexibility than a standard home may provide. With the right plan, one building can include living space, vehicle storage, work areas, and room for future needs.
- Open floor plans: Steel framing can create wide interior spaces with fewer support columns interrupting the layout.
- Garage and workshop space: Large overhead doors and tall ceilings can accommodate vehicles, equipment, tools, and storage.
- Flexible building sizes: The structure can be planned around the dimensions that fit the property and intended use.
- Metal roofing and siding: Owners can choose from different roof, wall, trim, and color options.
- Residential and mixed-use layouts: A barndominium can include living quarters alongside a shop, garage, office, storage area, or agricultural space.
The finished appearance can be rustic, modern, traditional, or simple. Roof style, colors, doors, windows, porches, and interior selections all affect the final look.
Common Barndominium Uses
Barndominiums are often built on rural land, farmland, hunting property, family land, and larger residential lots. They can work well for people who need living space along with room for vehicles, tools, equipment, animals, or business-related activities.
- Primary residences
- Guest houses
- Farm homes
- Hunting lodges
- Workshop homes
- Garage apartments
- Horse barns with living quarters
- Storage buildings with finished residential space
- Home offices or studios
- Family gathering spaces
If your plans include a large garage, Champion Buildings also builds pre-engineered metal garages. Projects that include farm storage, equipment space, or livestock areas may also share features with our agricultural steel buildings.
Planning Your Barndominium Project
Before requesting a quote, think about how the building will be used each day. You do not need every interior detail finalized, but knowing the basic size and purpose of the structure will help the quoting process.
| Planning Area | What to Consider |
|---|---|
| Building Size | Width, length, height, living space, garage bays, storage areas, and future needs. |
| Doors and Windows | Overhead door sizes, walk doors, window placement, porches, lean-tos, and covered entries. |
| Property and Zoning | Property use, zoning, setbacks, permits, inspections, and any neighborhood restrictions. |
| Foundation | Concrete slab requirements, building dimensions, soil conditions, and structural design. |
| Utilities | Water, sewer, septic, electricity, HVAC, internet, and access for utility installation. |
| Local Codes | Wind loads, snow loads, building codes, and other requirements based on the project location. |
What Affects the Cost of a Steel Frame Barndominium?
- Building width, length, and height
- Local wind-load and snow-load requirements
- Roof style and metal gauge
- Number and size of doors and windows
- Porches, lean-tos, and covered areas
- Concrete slab and foundation requirements
- Site access and soil conditions
- Delivery distance
- Building erection requirements
- Insulation and exterior options
- Amount of living, garage, and workshop space
- Interior plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and finish work
Request a project-specific quote based on your property, building dimensions, and intended use.
Pole Barn vs. Steel Frame Barndominium
People researching barndominiums often compare pole barn houses with steel-frame metal buildings. Both can be used to create barn-style homes, but they use different construction systems.
| Comparison | Pole Barn / Post Frame | Steel Frame Barndominium |
|---|---|---|
| Main Structure | Commonly relies on wood posts and post-frame construction. | Uses a pre-engineered metal framing system. |
| Interior Space | Layout depends on the post spacing and structural system. | Often selected for large open spans and fewer interior columns. |
| Common Uses | Barns, storage buildings, workshops, and barn-style homes. | Homes, garages, workshops, storage, agricultural, and mixed-use buildings. |
Barndominium Builders Serving NC, VA, WV, and More
Champion Buildings works with customers planning barndominiums and other metal buildings across multiple states. Our service areas include:
- North Carolina
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Georgia
- Alabama
- Florida
- Maryland
- Ohio
- Washington, D.C.
If you are comparing barndominium builders in North Carolina, Virginia, or West Virginia, our team can help you plan the steel building portion of your project and identify the information needed for a quote.
Features Available for Champion Metal Buildings
- Commercial-grade steel made in the USA
- Prefabricated steel framing
- High-strength bolted connections
- Optional 24-gauge standing seam roofing
- Clear-span designs available up to 150 feet
- Metal building accessories
- Wall, roof, and trim color selections
Why Choose Champion Buildings for a Steel Barndominium?
- Serving steel-building customers since 1999
- More than 50 years of combined team experience
- Commercial-grade steel made in the United States
- High-strength bolted connections
- Clear-span options up to 150 feet wide
- Concrete and erection services for qualifying projects
Barndominium FAQs
What is a barndominium?
A barndominium is a barn-style or metal building that includes residential living space. Some are used entirely as homes, while others combine living quarters with a garage, workshop, barn, office, or storage area.
What are barndominiums made of?
Barndominiums can be built with wood post-frame construction or steel framing. Champion Buildings focuses on pre-engineered steel and metal building structures that can be planned for residential and mixed-use barndominium projects.
Are barndominiums safe in storms and hurricanes?
A barndominium can be designed around the wind, snow, and weather requirements for its location. The building’s engineering, foundation, roof system, doors, bracing, openings, and local code requirements all affect how it performs during severe weather. No building should be described as storm-proof.
What is the difference between a pole barn and a steel frame barndominium?
A pole barn generally uses wood posts as part of its structural system. A steel frame barndominium uses pre-engineered metal framing. Steel buildings are often selected for open spans, metal construction, tall ceilings, and large garage or workshop areas.
Does Champion Buildings build barndominiums in North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia?
Champion Buildings serves customers in North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and several surrounding states. Project availability and scope may depend on the property location, building use, and construction requirements.
Does Champion Buildings offer turnkey barndominiums?
Champion Buildings can help with the steel building portion of a barndominium project. Available services may include building planning, concrete, delivery, and erection, depending on the location and scope. Interior framing, plumbing, electrical work, HVAC, cabinetry, flooring, and other residential finishes should be discussed before the project begins so you understand what is included.
Ready to Plan Your Steel Frame Barndominium?
Tell us about your property, preferred building size, and how you plan to use the space. Champion Buildings can help you request a quote for a custom metal building shell for your barndominium project.