Barndominium Design in Central Florida
Budget: $750 – $1,500 USD
I need an experienced engineer to design a post-frame pole barn barndominium in North Central Florida. This will be used as living space.
Ideal skills and experience:
- Structural engineering expertise
- Experience with pole barn and barndominium designs
- Knowledge of Florida building codes and regulations
- Strong design skills for functional and aesthetic appeal
Please share relevant experience and any similar projects completed.
We recently purchased 13+ acres in Columbia County, in Fort White just outside of High Springs. The land is cleared, the building site is selected, and we already have the well and septic installed.
We’re trying to build a Barndominium on a tight budget as owner-builders and will be living on the property in our 5th wheel while we construct the house. We’re almost done with our house drawings and are urgently trying to get signed and sealed engineering plans completed, since we need them to pull our permits. Until then, we can’t move onto the property with our camper because Clay Electric won’t connect (temporary) power without a pulled permit.
Our current living situation isn’t sustainable much longer, so we’re really in a rush to get on our land. Could you let me know how much it would cost for you to provide signed and sealed engineering plans? Also, how busy are you right now, and what kind of turnaround time could we expect?
Here’s a link to our most current drawings (along with the original/initial versions):
https://drive.google.com/open?id=16gToN-TKbRrX7d_mcyP-zMwg2KScVmSe&usp=drive_fs
We’ve received several quotes for metal/steel buildings, but they were all far above our budget. At this point, we’re back to considering either a pole barn or a traditional stick build. Based on our research, I’d love to get your thoughts on a few things:
Post-frame design: If we go with a post-frame (pole barn) structure, we don’t want to set the posts directly into the ground. We’d like to use wet-set metal brackets instead. Do you have experience with these? From what I’ve found, they’re engineered to be very strong and help prevent rot since the wood doesn’t contact the soil.
Examples:
https://www.concretepiersystem.com/
https://beefyag.com/collections/post-brackets
https://permacolumn.com/products/perma-column-system.html
Laminated columns: We’re also considering laminated (glued and possibly screwed) columns as a better alternative to solid posts. Are you familiar with these? What thickness would you recommend for our build? I’ve seen 2x6, 3-ply, or 4-ply configurations suggested for walls up to around 16 feet high.
For reference, here’s a YouTube playlist I put together with a few short videos explaining what I’m referring to:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7Mx3tsmet5I4LXBCG-AoRVeoGXa6asHd&si=UBHQFXcZXiy1HuQL
Lastly, I’d really appreciate your perspective on whether going the pole barn route will actually save us money and provide any real benefits over a standard stick build—especially since we’ll be doing this as owner-builders.
Thank you so much for your time. I hope to speak with you soon!
Best regards,
Taddy Schmitt
[Removed by Freelancer.com]
Ideal skills and experience:
- Structural engineering expertise
- Experience with pole barn and barndominium designs
- Knowledge of Florida building codes and regulations
- Strong design skills for functional and aesthetic appeal
Please share relevant experience and any similar projects completed.
We recently purchased 13+ acres in Columbia County, in Fort White just outside of High Springs. The land is cleared, the building site is selected, and we already have the well and septic installed.
We’re trying to build a Barndominium on a tight budget as owner-builders and will be living on the property in our 5th wheel while we construct the house. We’re almost done with our house drawings and are urgently trying to get signed and sealed engineering plans completed, since we need them to pull our permits. Until then, we can’t move onto the property with our camper because Clay Electric won’t connect (temporary) power without a pulled permit.
Our current living situation isn’t sustainable much longer, so we’re really in a rush to get on our land. Could you let me know how much it would cost for you to provide signed and sealed engineering plans? Also, how busy are you right now, and what kind of turnaround time could we expect?
Here’s a link to our most current drawings (along with the original/initial versions):
https://drive.google.com/open?id=16gToN-TKbRrX7d_mcyP-zMwg2KScVmSe&usp=drive_fs
We’ve received several quotes for metal/steel buildings, but they were all far above our budget. At this point, we’re back to considering either a pole barn or a traditional stick build. Based on our research, I’d love to get your thoughts on a few things:
Post-frame design: If we go with a post-frame (pole barn) structure, we don’t want to set the posts directly into the ground. We’d like to use wet-set metal brackets instead. Do you have experience with these? From what I’ve found, they’re engineered to be very strong and help prevent rot since the wood doesn’t contact the soil.
Examples:
https://www.concretepiersystem.com/
https://beefyag.com/collections/post-brackets
https://permacolumn.com/products/perma-column-system.html
Laminated columns: We’re also considering laminated (glued and possibly screwed) columns as a better alternative to solid posts. Are you familiar with these? What thickness would you recommend for our build? I’ve seen 2x6, 3-ply, or 4-ply configurations suggested for walls up to around 16 feet high.
For reference, here’s a YouTube playlist I put together with a few short videos explaining what I’m referring to:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7Mx3tsmet5I4LXBCG-AoRVeoGXa6asHd&si=UBHQFXcZXiy1HuQL
Lastly, I’d really appreciate your perspective on whether going the pole barn route will actually save us money and provide any real benefits over a standard stick build—especially since we’ll be doing this as owner-builders.
Thank you so much for your time. I hope to speak with you soon!
Best regards,
Taddy Schmitt
[Removed by Freelancer.com]