💰 How much would I save building a barndominium over a stick built home?

Building cheap is not the goal; building smart is. This calculator helps you compare the cost of a highly intentional, rectangular barndominium against a traditional stick-built home. By embracing a simple floor plan and minimizing complicated roof lines, you can realize massive savings.

As Barndominium BluePrint puts it, for context, a comparable stick built home in the same market, same square footage, same finish level, runs $240,000 to $280,000. That is over $100,000 cheaper.

The base $90/sq ft build estimate assumes you already own a flat, cleared lot with power at the road. If you need to buy land or install utilities, those costs must be added to your baseline.

As Barndominium BluePrint notes, if you are drilling a well or running a new septic system, add $10,000 to $20,000 on top of this. Adjust the site prep costs below to match your specific land situation.

The baseline budget uses builder-grade finishes like LVP flooring, stock cabinets, and prefab showers. As Barndominium BluePrint points out, if you want quartz countertops and tile showers, the bathroom and kitchen line goes up by $10,000 to $20,000.

Always include a 10% contingency on your build costs. As Barndominium BluePrint puts it, a 10% contingency isn't pessimism, it's planning. Builds that skip this fund are the ones that stall out when unexpected surprises arise.