Barndominium?

[Cujet]

I am considering the purchase of a very nice Barndominium in TN. It sits atop a 1300 foot high ridge at about 2100 feet elevation, has a spectacular view.

If anyone has experience or thoughts on such a house, feel free to share your thoughts.

The property is 20 useable acres, with trails about and a small spring fed lake. The home is a steel building, finished inside with conventional materials. The layout is unusual but spacious and warm. About 3000 sq ft under the roof and 2700 inside.

 

[RhondaHonda]

Do you have to use stairs to live in it? I like it.

 

[oilboy123]

Wow 20 acres with a lake and mountain view. More pics...... Seems nice..... Probably a reasonable price in TN I assume? I say buy from what I see....... but it is not my money

 

[Elkins45]

I really like the barndominium idea: spend your money on the site and the interior instead of a decorative exterior meant to impress other people. You spend a lot more time experiencing the interior of your home and the land surrounding it than you do admiring its exterior.

 

[ctechbob]

I really like the barndominium idea: spend your money on the site and the interior instead of a decorative exterior meant to impress other people. You spend a lot more time experiencing the interior of your home and the land surrounding it than you do admiring its exterior.

x2

But the wife haaaaaates them.

 

[Gyro Gearloose]

Take me home country roads!

 

[GON]

Thanks for posting this home.

Is it fair to assume your wife will stay in Florida and this will be your man-cave?

@RhondaHonda brings up one of numerous issues. Accessibility for 60+ year old man. Not a friendly home for that. I studied the home, a few things that tell me the home will require significant work for an "easy life". One easy to spot item is the back deck. That should tell you volumes of the money spent (or not spent) on this home.

The back deck should be a key item to be enjoyed drinking coffee, listening to the crickets, etc; in this home the back deck is a patch of fill. You will always have bugs, and be dragging dirt in the house using the back deck. It appears to be a 16 inch minimum drop from the back door to the back outdoor space- WOW. If they couldn't get that right- what else is not right. The railroad ties are not a step in this configuration. They are a slip and fall hazard, that is why I state it truly is a 16" drop (the railroad ties don't fool me).

I love porcelain floors in a warm climate. In a non warm climate- porcelain floors on concrete are not enjoyable, especially as we age- the cold will always be draining you. The ductwork for the fireplace has a bend in it- why? I suspect it works, but I would question why a bend.

No outside lights on the home (less one chandelier at the front entrance). Why not? Super easy to install in a structure of this nature. The heating system is all from above, this can work in Florida, but in the mountains of Tennessee? I suspect the owner of this home is cold most of the time in the home, and has huge heating bills- and I suspect an electric heat pump furnace...... maybe a thousand dollars a month to comfortably heat in the winter.

No attached garage.... I see the outbuildings, but barnominiums should typically have a attached garage. Another significant flag.

Nice home, beautiful lot, but for a 60 year old man with health issues? Give me Jupiter, Florida all day long....

 

[GON]

I am sure you have seen this new construction
home on 31 acres. Not rustic (rustic should be a red flag), not the same lot, but significantly more friendly to a 60+ year old man with health concerns. And if you ever want to sell, I suspect the below home will have a much larger pool of potential buyers.

I have to ask- even with radiant heated concrete floors, unless the home has natural gas, a barndomiuim is going to be very cold on the bones in the winter. No getting around the coldness living directly on a concrete floor does to a body.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3140-Rowland-Mill-Rd-Buena-Vista-TN-38318/2052901645_zpid/

 

[Lubener]

Very, very nice and NO neighbors!

 

[Cujet]

Do you have to use stairs to live in it? I like it.

Nope! It has a 200 sq foot loft shown in the pic. But that’s pretty useless.

 

[skyactiv]

I'd rather have a home and a seperate metal building. I've been in a barndominium once at night . It had poor lighting and had a weird school auditorium echo effect. I highly recommend going to a showing at night before deciding, not one at 2 PM.

 

[wander2039]

Since it's already built it's more of your preference and how well it's built. Everyone was telling us to build one versus a traditional house. Nope! I prefer the look of a traditional house and feel. We're going with a modular when we get there.

 

[IndyIan]

I like the simple design and maintenance of steel, you might hear it a bit, expanding and contracting in the sun, rain falling, but people get used to it.
That is a nice looking spot though! Maybe have look at the side roofs' under the central roof drip edge, as I assume that elevation must get a bit of snow and ice. So there must be a few times where the snow/ie slides off the central roof, perhaps as big ice chunks? Or it could have snow guards to prevent that from happening. Also I suppose the eavestroughs have to be set low so snow sliding off the roof doesn't rip them off.

 

[Cujet]

I'd rather have a home and a seperate metal building. I've been in a barndominium once at night . It had poor lighting and had a weird school auditorium echo effect. I highly recommend going to a showing at night before deciding, not one at 2 PM.

The lighting is absolutely an issue. The place seemed warm and cozy. And I think it has spray foam insulation behind the walls. That may not be a good thing for future maintenance, but I heard no creaks or noise and spent all day there.

There is a problem on the east side (view side) of the building where the siding has buckled a bit. Will have to investigate that flaw.

 

[jetman]

if we ever picked up and moved (NOT!) we would do a barndominium.

 

[Cujet]

Thanks for posting this home.

Is it fair to assume your wife will stay in Florida and this will be your man-cave?

@RhondaHonda brings up one of numerous issues. Accessibility for 60+ year old man. Not a friendly home for that. I studied the home, a few things that tell me the home will require significant work for an "easy life". One easy to spot item is the back deck. That should tell you volumes of the money spent (or not spent) on this home.

The back deck should be a key item to be enjoyed drinking coffee, listening to the crickets, etc; in this home the back deck is a patch of fill. You will always have bugs, and be dragging dirt in the house using the back deck. It appears to be a 16 inch minimum drop from the back door to the back outdoor space- WOW. If they couldn't get that right- what else is not right. The railroad ties are not a step in this configuration. They are a slip and fall hazard, that is why I state it truly is a 16" drop (the railroad ties don't fool me).

I love porcelain floors in a warm climate. In a non warm climate- porcelain floors on concrete are not enjoyable, especially as we age- the cold will always be draining you. The ductwork for the fireplace has a bend in it- why? I suspect it works, but I would question why a bend.

No outside lights on the home (less one chandelier at the front entrance). Why not? Super easy to install in a structure of this nature. The heating system is all from above, this can work in Florida, but in the mountains of Tennessee? I suspect the owner of this home is cold most of the time in the home, and has huge heating bills- and I suspect an electric heat pump furnace...... maybe a thousand dollars a month to comfortably heat in the winter.

No attached garage.... I see the outbuildings, but barnominiums should typically have a attached garage. Another significant flag.

Nice home, beautiful lot, but for a 60 year old man with health issues? Give me Jupiter, Florida all day long....

Thanks for the very well thought out reply. Your thoughts mirror mine. My wife is the one who wants this. I’d prefer FL for the flying, beach and bicycling etc. I do love the area and rural living though.

I did not see any railroad ties. The back deck is (or seems to be) gravel and rock steps. I’ll have to investigate that.

 

[jetman]

@Cujet
When I was single, I lived in my apartment/hanger (barndominium) for 10 yrs, 1995-2005 on a country public use airport = 5C1. No regrets

 

[AZjeff]

My wife is the one who wants this.

Wow, didn't see that coming. You couldn't be looking at anything further from what you own now except maybe a log cabin type house. We could own one but more like what GON posted with 1/2 living space and 1/2 a large garage space. My question would be how far is it to the amenities that you require? Not talking movies and fancy restaraunts, talking a hardware store, groceries, doctors etc. Living out is fun until it's a 20 minute drive to the hardware store or she needs a couple of things to make a meal etc. Are you okay with temps in the 20s in the winter? We lived in the woods on a dirt road outside of town in Pa for a few years and won't be repeating it.

Good luck with your eventual move.

My daughter moved to Gallatin Tn last March from Az and is now finding out what it's like to have gray winter skies for weeks and she doesn't like it. Also severe weather patterns are shifting east and there were many severe weather/tornado watches last summer that she wasn't crazy about.

 

[Gyro Gearloose]

Depending on exactly wherein TN you are looking at, make sure your general health is compatible with the distance to doctors etc. My wife is from a very pretty area around Jamestown, TN, but when my mother in law started having aging problems and broke her shoulder it was almost an hour drive for someone to get her to specialists, physical therapy etc. They don't even have a hospital in town any longer.

 

[JTK]

Beautiful home and property. Sorry if I missed it, but is this not a stick built home, clad in metal? I see wood framing in doorways, etc. Interior painting would be a chore given the wall and ceiling heights. Anything slab built makes repairs or renovations expensive. I assume it's on septic and well water?