Barndo, Shome, Pole Barn Home, Post Frame Home, whatever you call it, they are popular right now more than ever! Why? Because they can be easier to layout, quicker to build, easier to maintain and more economical if the right building options are chosen.
There are many people that want a forever home in the country that is extravagant, with huge square footage, great room living area, open concept kitchens with massive islands and 4-5 bedrooms with an oversized combo shop/man cave/party barn. Post frame is great for that!
The Willowhaven Milmar Home Plan
While that would be awesome for everyone who wants to build, with the cost of new construction, land, septic, driveway, etc, it can get out of hand (and budget) quite quickly.
If you ask people online what you can expect to get on a tighter budget, unfortunately most of the responses will be jokes about buying a yard shed or complaints about how much it costs to build and how you just can’t make it work.
So does that mean you have to give up on your dream of living in the country with a low maintenance post frame home? Absolutely not!
While it is hard to build a mansion on a tight budget, there is no reason you can’t build an economical new home with key features to make your dream a reality.
If you design it well, you can even add on to it in the future, as the budget allows, for expansion to that massive barndo or shop space that you dream about.
Check out these three simple options that, as of today, Milmar can offer in our building region to be built with full exterior dried-in shell and concrete floor for less than $100,000.
House 1 – $74,855 – 30′ x 40′ x 10′ – 1,200 square feet
(a simplified version of our Milmar Weekender home plan)
House 2 – $84,125 – 30′ x 50′ x 10′ – 1,500 square feet
House 3 – $94,049 – 40′ x 48′ x 10′ – 1,920 square feet
The prices above would include:
- Materials and labor to complete exterior dried-in shell
- 8’ x 10’ porch
- 4” fiber mesh concrete floor for the house and porch
- Drip-Stop condensation control on roof
- House wrap under all wall steel
- Post Protector sleeves and grade guards on full foundation
- $10,000 window/entry door budget, which could be trimmed back if needed
The sky’s the limit when it comes to customizing your budget friendly post frame home. Just remember, some things that tend to drive prices up quickly are the following:
- 2nd story/joists and floor systems
- Specialty doors and windows
- High end exterior finishes such as Hardi-Board, cedar or stonework
- Timber framed porches
- Dormers or complicated roof structures
- Huge square footage
- Basements (Yes, these are possible with post frame, but it can add a lot of cost)
- Decks/2nd story decks
- High pitched roofs or attic trusses
- Standing seam roof (Great product, but adds to the cost)
- High cost septic system if your property is not suited for a traditional field
- Hard to build lot/ steep hill/drop off
- Window wall with tons of windows floor to ceiling
- Large, elaborate porches
- Great room and vaulted ceilings
All this to say, the best ways to keep your cost down on a new post frame home is:
- Keeping the overall design simple
- Self finishing/directing your interior build-out and finishes if you have the skill level to manage it or do some of the work yourself
We understand that interest rates are up, labor costs have risen and money can be tight, however, that doesn’t mean you can’t plan out a house that is both functional and cost effective.
We are here to help you succeed in your post frame home venture and will be focusing over the next 12 months on putting out a lot of information here on our web page about how you can both self direct your project, and know that you are asking the right questions as you plan out your home or shop.
If you have any questions you would like to see addressed in upcoming blogs, shoot me an email at jack@milmarpolebuildings.com and I will add it to the list!