Above 1200 Sq/FT Bad a$$ barndomium build- in progress

[Tozlakes]

With retirement coming in a few years we decided the time was now to build our dream
4200 sq ft home/shop. The plan originally was to purchase a piece of property now and build after retirement but got the itch and decided to pull the trigger and build a Barndominium on 8.5 acres we purchased in Paso Robles, California.

Working overseas for the past 20 years on a month on month off schedule makes the choice to be an owner builder an easy one. In addition, help from family and friends will make the project move forward more easily.

I wanted to document the build in some way and when running across some GJ member builds during research on the web, I thought what better of a way than to join and post right here!

We started with the grading a couple months back, installed the septic system, well and fencing at the entry to the property. Started with a few pics up to now with more to be uploaded soon.

Looking forward to uploading pics and videos as often as I can as to interact with other members and reduce the headaches that others have already experienced.

Updated video as of August 16, 2020 below:

 

[J-man67]

Absolutely amazing and absolutely interested in seeing this one through to the end! That property and views are awesome!! Good luck and enjoy the journey.

P. S. Agree with the title... BADASS!

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[4xdog]

Sub'd.

Terrific concept (and location), Tozlakes. This will be fun to follow along.

 

[Tozlakes]

J-man67 n 4xdog. Thx for the feedback. This is going to be an exciting part of our lives so hope everyone enjoys this journey with us!

 

[Craftfab]

Excited to follow this one along.

 

[tarmy]

I love it when there is IRON on site...means something is happening...

Had a similar experience some years ago...my shop/garage/rec room.

 

[dwysywd]

It’s way more relaxing to sit back and enjoy watching someone else stress out (lol) about the build rather than myself. Subscribed. Can’t wait to see this unfold. Keep us updated.



Sent from my iPhone using a facsimile machine.

 

[MacTexas]

This looks like a good one to follow.

 

[LXCam]

That’s going to be very cuul. But I’m floored you could even get that flown thru the building department. Most municipalities in ca can’t think outside the box.

 

[Toolfool]

Beautiful location. Looks like you have lots of fun ahead. I'm subscribed.

 

[ZRX61]

That’s going to be very cuul. But I’m floored you could even get that flown thru the building department. Most municipalities in ca can’t think outside the box.

SLO County & looks to be outside PR city limits. Can even get CCW's there.


The only downside is the stupid new regulation for new construction about "all electric, no NG" (unless you buy a waiver.. which costs the same at converting someone elses property from NG to all electric). But with 8 1/2 acres there's plenty of room for (owned) solar & a *proper* sized gen set for when the State/SCE/PG&E decides to turn the power off.


That's the only other part of Ca I'd consider moving to, all other options are "get the hell out"

 

[Tozlakes]

SLO County & looks to be outside PR city limits. Can even get CCW's there.


The only downside is the stupid new regulation for new construction about "all electric, no NG" (unless you buy a waiver.. which costs the same at converting someone elses property from NG to all electric). But with 8 1/2 acres there's plenty of room for (owned) solar & a *proper* sized gen set for when the State/SCE/PG&E decides to turn the power off.


That's the only other part of Ca I'd consider moving to, all other options are "get the hell out"

ZRX61, Yes the property is located in the county but within 2 miles of downtown. When I started the permit process over a year ago some of the new requirements were not yet implemented such as all electric as I am approved for propane already.
Was also able to go with the old design septic systems as the new requirement to my understanding have the leach field line very close to the surface as to cause evaporation and absorption. Crazy as you would have a muddy mess at all times.
Rain runoff, plant types and solar will all be coming for future builders if I were to guess.

 

[Tozlakes]

Footings dug with a buddies excavated and a ton of rebar that we installed. Never want to see another piece of rebar again but still a long way to go with iron and concrete! 70 yards of concrete in the footing alone. Estimating another 80 yards for the flat work on slab. Don’t want to think about the driveway, walkways and pool decking at this point.
The good news was that I hired out the pumper and finishers for the footings. Will do the same with the flat work as it takes way more effort, time and talent than we could ever have. These guys with a crew of 7 is well worth the money!
Laying 10mm visqueen, 4” of sand and #3 rebar at 16” squares soon. (Then a quick run to Dumont sand dunes by Vegas for Halloween weekend)

 

[Tozlakes]

Slab poured and is massive in comparison to what I thought it would be. Came out incredible in the end. Excited about the next steps of erection.

 

[Boosted1]

Nice location / view and nice plans.
Looking forward to your updates.

 

[MacTexas]

What's the name of the winery across the road from your build?

 

[Motoman1100]

Def signing on for the ride here. Congrats on getting the build going right now. Looks to be a heck of a view to enjoy.

 

[dw1]

Looking great!!

 

[ZRX61]

What's the name of the winery across the road from your build?

My dad always wanted to own one & call it Chateau Collapseau

 

[Bighead38]

is massive in comparison to what I thought it would be. Came out incredible in the end. Excited about the next steps of erection.

****** is a hell of a drug.

Should be a cool build. Love seeing heavy equipment. Tonka toys for grown ups.

 

[Tozlakes]

Sorry, not getting email reminders and such to ensure I get online every time I can as to respond and update as I would like to. Need to figure that out as time at this point with the build, and only a few days to go before heading back to the Middle East, is stressing me out.

MacTexas, the winery across the street is Daou vineyard which is one of the high end high dollar wines in the area. It is where the owner lives but not where his tasting room is.

More pics on there way as we have been progressing each day even with this daylight saving time change throwing a lug wrench into the build.

 

[Tozlakes]

Not sure on pic sizes as some may be over the size limit.
The last pic is the one break we had (outside of football Sundays) when we made a run out to Dumont Sand Dunes toward vegas with the Sandcars for a few days!
Wife is saying Tomorrow will be a short day with everyone coming up to the build to have a cocktail hour at the end of the day. 85 degrees so should be fine for sucking down a few! She also wants to show off her new 5 ton $600 rock she had place in front of the entry to the property.

 

[Bighead38]

This picture deserves to be big.

 

[sean Buick 76]

Super cool project and YES that is an awesome buggy!! I wanna hear it go!!

 

[Tozlakes]

Nothing like a Tatum Black Widow Sandcar with a 700 hp LS3 Stroker Motor running through a Mendeola ******. One of many our big horsepower toys, hence the reason for the Barndominium!
Some killer progress on the build over the past few days with beams, grits and purlins being installed. Half day on Saturday and another half on Monday should get all columns, giirts, purlins set prior to me leaving for 28 days. Lots of work, but we are having a blast doing it! I’ll get a drone video on Monday morning if all goes well and hopefully figure out how to load it so all can see.
By the way, cocktail hour tonight on the hill went well!

 

[Tozlakes]

The beast is coming to life!
A year and a half of design, planning and permitting has not prepared us for the size that this Barndo has already become while stacking beams.
18’ high eaves and a 30’ high peak didn’t seem all that high until we started working from my scissor lift. Even with fall protection I am not quite comfortable just yet working at those heights.
Quickly finding out that this build is so over engineered for rigidity due to California earthquakes I suppose. Massive “boxed” beams erected in each section that support the rest of the building.
Monday is my last day working on it for a month so will try and do a drone video and post a shortcut in the coming week.

 

[dw1]

Ill start at the beginning, fence looks good!!, I contemplated leaving mine natural and staining it, my wife came up with a good point about time and upkeep, I ended up having someone paint it black. I like your fence hardware.
I'm sure the building will look as good.

 

[Bears Fan]

Bad *** view

 

[Tozlakes]

Pics of the living area going up.

 

[Duker]

Bad *** view

I will second that.... a great view and a very nice buggy!


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[Tozlakes]

Some last shots I took before going back to work for a month. A couple of drone shots with the one flying the flag proudly off the 30’ high roof peak!

 

[PhantomEB]

Awesome, ***** my girl has nixed the idea of a house/shop.

As for Black Widow.... I want their neighbor hater mufflers on my weekend truck.

 

[Boosted1]

Nice build.
Any concern with high winds in that location?

 

[Tozlakes]

Boosted, we are actually blocked by the mountain range behind us with the Pacific Ocean on the other side. We get evening breezes but nothing crazy as we see very little crazy weather on the Central Coast in Cali.
During the summer months when temps reach well into the 100’s you are wishing for a breeze but once the sun goes down the deck will be perfect for evening drinks with a view!!!

 

[Tozlakes]

Any opinions on insulation. The plan was to use the banding system in the shop (R13 or higher) and the double layer system in the home (R25 walls n R35 ceiling no banding needed as it will have corrugated ceiling panels).The cost for the kit is not all that bad but the time/cost to install is a bit of a pain.
I did check into close cell spray on insulation and was shocked to find quotes coming in at some +$30k-$40k. I didn’t even request the gold plated diamond filled foam either!

 

[meathooker]

I looked at a lot of options for insulating my metal building and spray foam was the ticket. IMO it’s perfect for metal buildings as it stiffens the structure. The other day I was working inside and it was very windy - there were no creaks, rattles, or perceivable building movement.

I only did 2” in the wall and approx 2.5 on the ceiling as it’s a good sized building but so far I’ve been happy. We just put a 80,000 btu furnace for temp heat so I can report back how that’s working this weekend.

Any opinions on insulation. The plan was to use the banding system in the shop (R13 or higher) and the double layer system in the home (R25 walls n R35 ceiling no banding needed as it will have corrugated ceiling panels).The cost for the kit is not all that bad but the time/cost to install is a bit of a pain.
I did check into close cell spray on insulation and was shocked to find quotes coming in at some +$30k-$40k. I didn’t even request the gold plated diamond filled foam either!

 

[Tozlakes]

Meathooker, I agree 100% that the best method of insulation is spray foam until it comes to the price. For our building the 1350 sq ft house portion roof needs to be R35 (R value of 6.5 per inch closed cell = 5-6” of foam. The 2200 sq ft of walls are going to need R25 (4” of foam) The 4800 sq ft shop ceiling and walls will be R13 (2” of foam).
I see in a search on GJ where $1.08 sq ft per 1” of thickness is what one member in NY paid for closed cell insulation. That would put me at $26,500. I’m in Cali and can guarantee that the price per sq ft will be close to double and come in around $2 sq ft.
Currently waiting for a quote to come back and will post once received.

 

[ZRX61]

Meathooker, I agree 100% that the best method of insulation is spray foam until it comes to the price. For our building the 1350 sq ft house portion roof needs to be R35 (R value of 6.5 per inch closed cell = 5-6” of foam.

Ya planning on heating the place with a candle?

 

[Tozlakes]

ZRX61, all R values are required by the energy portion of the approved permit so no choice on the insulation of the house portion. 5 ton HVAC unit and 2 Big *** brand fans for home. Also a ton of windows that all need to be double pane to keep a decent R value is required.
As for the shop, no requirements on insulation and will have AC unit, barrel stove for heat and 2 more Big *** brand fans.
I hope your suggestion of a candle for heat is correct though!

 

[Tozlakes]

Used my Mavic drone to do a quick video of the build. Hope the shortcut actually works? Bare with me as I am not a professional pilot by any means but it does give a little better idea of the details! Was clear as can be prior to uploading to YouTube but obviously they limit sizing or something that helped it lose its clarity. (or Operator error)