Barn Living

[dw1]

Just curious, how many people on here have lived in their barn any time??
We are going to build a house where our barn is, we were going to put our house up for sale at the first of the year or even in the spring, word of mouth that we were going to sell and a young couple called to see the house, anyway... it sold before it was even for sale, so, we are headed to the barn. Just finished the mini split installation, I have a full bath room w/ shower in there, cable/internet. It is just me, my wife and our 4 legged beast, kids have all moved on up and out!!

Just curious?

 

[48RON54]

Not I. But I would surely love to see pictures of this barn.

 

[tvtaurus]

Haven't done that, but I have considered it. The question lies in at what point is it no longer a barn. Once you have all of the amenities that a house has (such as cable, internet, and indoor plumbing, and a cooking space with beer fridge) when is a barn no longer a barn? You can certainly cut the cost of construction building your home like a barn rather than typical stick frame construction.

 

[dw1]

Not I. But I would surely love to see pictures of this barn.

I have put a wall up and have about 16x30x12 "Living Area" with a mini split.
This is nothing fancy, but I want to be on site when we start building this house, actually my wife agrees!! Bathroom with my $70 scratch and dent shower stall. We wont be making the move until October.

 

[dw1]

a few more

 

[BuffettFan]

Didn't actually live in a barn, but used to hunt a buddy's property in S. Dakota where we'd stay in the barn for up to a week at a time.
Had a living/bunk area and an enclosed full bath.
I could have lived in it, but being in the middle of 550 acres of pheasants is my idea of Heaven!
Being in Kentucky, hopefully you'll have a mild winter. Sounds like an adventure you'll remember the rest of your lives.

I was in High School when my folks built their house. We lived in a camper for several months. We would have much rather been in a barn!

 

[48RON54]

If you could stop posting pictures of your barn that is nicer than my house that would be great..........LOL just kidding around

When you said barn the only image I had to go off of was the old red and white wooden one my grandfather had in Wisconsin....All I could think of was how many rats and mice would be in there lol...........

I really love the look of the wood & corrugated steel? I think you call it.........man that looks great!

 

[dw1]

We built the house we are in 24 years ago, kids have all bought houses and moved on up. We just don't need this big of a house with me, her and the 4 legged beast. I bought the barn property 3 years ago, a jungle foreclosure but rea$onably priced. I had to clear the 2 acres, tear down an old horse barn, build a new barn and finally tear down the 117 Y.O farm house that was falling down in places. I had been talking the last 2 years about building a smaller/ranch/craftsman style house over there, I have finally have the boss on board and been trying to get her to slow down. We were not planning on selling our house just yet or this quick, oh well, wont have a house payment

 

[48RON54]

No house payment? That's great man! Oh man I could live like A KING if I didn't have a mortgage lol. Been debating the whole downsizing thing myself. Its just me.... I kinda need the tax write off the house provides but the utility payments are really high which makes little sense if I'm usually the only person there.

Anyway, off to google some corrugated steel and wood decorating ideas for the house to liven it up some. Thanks for sharing the pics!

 

[FTWingRiders]

That awesome!

God Forbid if I was ever single again, I've already decided I'm headed out as far back country I can and build a small simple living space inside a big barn.. it is all I need and want..

 

[rzims]

I haven't ever done it, but we're looking at the idea now....
We're looking at purchasing a piece of land and having a barn/apt built on it.
A weekend getaway for now and possibly a retirement home for later...

 

[tdcisco1]

Sweet setup you have there, years ago I spent a few months barn camping in between house transactions. Nothing as nice as yours though !!!

 

[6768rogues]

I have a farm an hour from home and on the land is a 15 year old 40 by 60 building, about 400 feet from the road. I built a 12x20 studio apartment in it with a 10x10 full bath and shower. I dug a well and put in a home made septic system. We go there on weekends and it is great. I don't have a fire resistive wall between the storage space and my room, so it is not technically legal. If anyone ever wants to check it for legality, I can remove the bed. As long as it is not a sleeping room, it is legal except my drainage system, but that is buried.

 

[TractorJeff]

I had an uncle who owned a farm that had three real tight planked wall rooms that as kids we "bunked" in for summers as it was cooler than the in-insulated upstairs of his house. We never had rodent problems, probably because it was summer time.
That said, we live in a barn converted into a house back in the mid-70's. Lots of things would have been different as far as air infiltration and integrity if it was built now verses then. We have been here for 20 years and I am constantly undoing their mistakes.

 

[rburke65]

Yes I was thinking a 125 year old barn that moused 47 head of "milkers" !

 

[$Jay]

Its been done. Patrick Swazye lived in one in "Road House"

 

[dw1]

No house payment? That's great man! Oh man I could live like A KING if I didn't have a mortgage lol. Been debating the whole downsizing thing myself. Its just me.... I kinda need the tax write off the house provides but the utility payments are really high which makes little sense if I'm usually the only person there.

Anyway, off to google some corrugated steel and wood decorating ideas for the house to liven it up some. Thanks for sharing the pics!

At least til the new house is done. The bride is looking to "Semi" Retire, I hope we keep the costs of the new house under control

 

[MushCreek]

When developing our place, I built the 28X48 barn first. I lived in it for about 2 years while I built the house. It's a real barn- no insulation, no HVAC, basic bathroom, and only one 20A circuit. The first winter I went back to FL and worked for 4 months, the second, I stayed in a friend's cabin during the coldest months. Now the house is done, and I'm slowly turning the barn into a proper work shop.

 

[Brunow]

During the renovation of our house we lived in the garage for a half year.
I would not do that again. And it's far from ideal with a child.

If you don't seperate it from your working space you end up with a mess.
Due the imperfections of the garage you have moisture, wind, spiders, dust, impracticality, ...

It's better to place a camper trailer in or next to the garage so you can keep that clean and still properly use the garage to work in it!

Still it was cheaper than renting a house for a half a year...

 

[flat tire]

our neighbors turned the big ol barn into their home. I must say it looks very nice from the outside

 

[Justind97]

That's a pretty sweet temporary setup! I must admit I was not expecting what I saw in the pictures and am thoroughly impressed.

Hats off to the boss for agreeing to it! I can't get my wife to go camping... Her idea of camping is the Hilton

 

[carterbeauford]

I lived in a modern barn converted to an apartment for 14 years. It was stick framed, built in 1982, 2x8 walls on the first floor on a block footer and slab, 2x6 on the second floor.

The architecture of the barn precluded it from being a livable home. It was designed to store hay and house a horse and worked great for that purpose. The second floor had a 5FT half wall supporting the rafters so there was no way to add dormers. The floorplan was not functional and the conversion poorly executed. The slab had no vapor barrier, there were no drains around the foundation, we heated with baseboards and cooled with ductless, which turned into a mildew disaster and forced me to move out.

I loved the idea of a converted barn for a long time and have seen some really nice ones done. It can get expensive real quick. If you have an unlimited budget and a nice timber frame barn worth saving then it can be an amazing transformation. It was such a bad experience for me I'll stick to living in homes designed to be homes.

 

[kelpaso1]

You're gonna hate that minisplit compressor mounted to the wall with those wall brackets. It will vibrate the whole wall. I did that last year and hated it. This summer I made a stand and sat it on a concrete patio stone on the ground. Much quieter!

 

[Fueler]

You're gonna hate that minisplit compressor mounted to the wall with those wall brackets. It will vibrate the whole wall. I did that last year and hated it. This summer I made a stand and sat it on a concrete patio stone on the ground. Much quieter!

Sounds like you mounted it directly to the sheet metal and not a stud or purlin behind the sheet
metal. Yup, that would shake.

 

[yeldogt]

I have lived in two -- first one I bought converted (german bank barn). The previous owner had subdivided an old farm farm. The other was a barn from Allentown PA. Had it dismantled and rebuilt ...

Pole barn is a different .. I did a city loft ... make it that kind of ascetic.

 

[kelpaso1]

Sounds like you mounted it directly to the sheet metal and not a stud or purlin behind the sheet
metal. Yup, that would shake.

No my garage is stick built and brackets lagged to the studs. Vibrated the whole wall. Was very annoying. This is much better.

 

[dw1]

You're gonna hate that minisplit compressor mounted to the wall with those wall brackets. It will vibrate the whole wall. I did that last year and hated it. This summer I made a stand and sat it on a concrete patio stone on the ground. Much quieter!

I have only had time to try it out for about 40 minutes or so the other day, actually it was so quiet (and my hearing is not really that good!!) I had to walk outside to see if it was running. I will let the boss check it out, she will be with me over there later today. I have 2 - 3/8" bolts, washers and nuts and a 3/8" lag bolt on each vertical piece.

 

[kj_mustang]

I lived in mine for a year and a half while we worked through building the house.

 

[Pathfinders]

A neighbor of mine framed a whole house inside of his barn. 2 levels, full kitchen and 2 baths. From the front it looked like a old barn. The barn doors led to his garage, had windows and a man door on the sides. The rear had French doors, windows, and a deck. It was a great space.

 

[dw1]

You're gonna hate that minisplit compressor mounted to the wall with those wall brackets. It will vibrate the whole wall. I did that last year and hated it. This summer I made a stand and sat it on a concrete patio stone on the ground. Much quieter!

I turned it on today and let it run for quite a while, just putting my hand on the outside unit itself, I can barely feel it run? I definitely cant hear anything inside??
One more piece of metal to go.
I will say, so far this mini split runs great. My first mini split anything.
P.S. I think the boss will do fine in the barn.... at least for a few months or so??
Maybe we will start on a house in 20??

 

[Pluribus]

If you can seal it from rodents, bugs, etc, and keep it climate controlled without spending a fortune, why not? Shoot, with just those conditions, it might be better than the cabin that I live in! Living there sounds very economical, and it will be nice to have the extra funds while building the main house. I'd do it, and my GF would be willing as well.

 

[kelpaso1]

Are you going to use it for heat in the winter? With mine in the summer on ac I could hardly tell it was running. In winter on heat, totally different story. Compressor working in reverse and way harder causing alot of vibration.

 

[kelpaso1]

Also for your information, a minisplit is very economical for heating down to a certain temp. Below -15C they don't put out much heat. But above that they are great. It cost me less than 30 dollars a month to heat my 24x24 garage last winter. Alot less than that wood stove you have in there. But....can't beat the warmth and comfort of wood heat.

 

[ScottsGT]

Now that's a different approach. Most would just pull in an RV or mobile home for temporary quarters. But I read the title and my mind went straight to the TV show Barnwood Builders where they buy old barns from the 1800's, disassemble them, clean and restore the wood and then sell them to home builders as the main structure.
I'd do this in a heart beat.

 

[the intimidator]

I know a few people who have converted into legitimate homes also a few who put up walls and the basics it seems to work for a while but they cut corners wherever they could and its not my idea of a good house situation but works for them.

My buddy just turned a hay mow into a guest house looks great no barn smell thats not already outside and comfortable to be in its mainly used as a man cave but could be livable of need be

Way to think out of the box from what I see everything looks good good luck on the new build

 

[ard]

Similar situation when we were building the house. Old place sold super quick.

Moved into a 600 sqft mobile home, me & wife, two kids, two cats and a dog. 7 months of bliss.

 

[R68GTO]

I never lived in a barn but built and lived in my 36 x 42 detached garage while we were building my house. I knew I wanted to end up with a heated / ac detached with a bathroom, so we just built that first and moved in for 9 months. It was a PITA by the end because we essentially lived in one bay walled off - about 350 sq ft. but it was cheaper than rent.

 

[bcoke]

dw1...been there done that! built a grambrel roofed "barn/workshop" on my 55 acres , the bottom floor was a wood shop 1/2 bath up stairs I made a 2 bedroom full bath large room [dining ,living, wood stove,galley kitchen on one wall] of course taxes went up as it was considered by the town a dwelling ,ok fair enough........fast foward 12 years both of us retired built her her "real" home now I did go over board on the real home.......Taxes skyrocketed when I appealed they stated it is two houses..........I explained that that was temporary while we built now it is a woodshop......upstairs a carving studio and sewing craft studio for my wife........they laughed "it is a house ,heat, kitchen,bath ,bedrooms" I said we do not use it as such I will pull out the kitchen [just a refrigerator,stove and sink on a wall some open shelves on the wall for can goods etc] they said no it was a dwelling and could be again so full taxes as a house so beware of how you live in the barn ........taxes went from 6k to over 15k.......ouch! bobbycoke

 

[dw1]

dw1...been there done that! built a grambrel roofed "barn/workshop" on my 55 acres , the bottom floor was a wood shop 1/2 bath up stairs I made a 2 bedroom full bath large room [dining ,living, wood stove,galley kitchen on one wall] of course taxes went up as it was considered by the town a dwelling ,ok fair enough........fast foward 12 years both of us retired built her her "real" home now I did go over board on the real home.......Taxes skyrocketed when I appealed they stated it is two houses..........I explained that that was temporary while we built now it is a woodshop......upstairs a carving studio and sewing craft studio for my wife........they laughed "it is a house ,heat, kitchen,bath ,bedrooms" I said we do not use it as such I will pull out the kitchen [just a refrigerator,stove and sink on a wall some open shelves on the wall for can goods etc] they said no it was a dwelling and could be again so full taxes as a house so beware of how you live in the barn ........taxes went from 6k to over 15k.......ouch! bobbycoke

Yeah, I am with you on that, I have not figured it out either. I buy the foreclosed property, taxes change to what I paid for it, next year its reassessed, as I have stated on here before, it was a 2 acre jungle, tore down an old horse barn, pretty much cleared the 2 acres and then built my new barn, re assessed again, taxes shoot up, not because I built a barn, but because of the 117 Y.O farm house that was also falling down, I appeal and lose, the next fall I tear old farm house down (had to have house in place to build my new barn) reassessed again and because I tore the old house down, now its back to right at what I paid for the property?? and I have built the new barn that they think I have $4K in?? cant wait to get the new house finished!!
2 story, frame, 117 year old, half gutted farm house, they thought was worth over $80K

 

[ScottsGT]

........taxes went from 6k to over 15k.......ouch! bobbycoke

Another great reason to just pull up an RV or temporary mobile home. Wow!

No wonder so many people move south. My 3000 sq ft home in a country club neighborhood with one of the best school systems in the area is $1800 a year. And the majority of that goes to the school system.