I'm pretty sure they did this on "This Old House" a while back. Here's a link to some articles and there should be original episodes somewhere, too :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to barn remodels

It would only need everything from rough plumbing to a foundation, to furring it out for insulation. The Wickwire barn project on TOH would have been cheaper had they competely started over and not tried to save a thing. They realized that about 1/4 of the way through after spending way too much money.

How were the walls built? Was it wired and plumbed? Who would live in it?

Is it on your property without an existing home?

Just curious - it's obviously possible and a fun idea but may not be worth the cost.

To toy around with the layout, I would search for 4 square and simple barn style homes for ideas since the shape would be similar.

Most likely simpler and cheaper to build from scratch. Very time consuming and costly to convert an agricultural building to a habitable one, especially a pole barn which is little more than a shed with a roof covering and some partial walls.

Good luck on your project.

Plenty of people create pole barn dwellings. But, they do it in the correct order to make it a habitable space. Starting with the site plan and foundation work. Trying to retrofit all of that under/onto an existing structure is always more difficult. Difficulty in construction equates to expense. Perhaps you should talk with some local contractors about the difference in cost in a completely new structure and a retrofit one. You may be surprised at the premium associated with this choice.

Thanks for your replies & concerns!!
The retrofit costs are a concern to me as well.
It's a double walled cypress barn with metal roof, electricity, gravel floor, and septic system. I'll have to ask what how much septic it's peeped(??).
It has been used for storage. Has a hay loft upstairs.

We have some other acreage & I have thought about comparing the cost to just start from scratch there.

Goal is to come in at 100,000 & live cheap for a few years.

I don't know where you live or construction costs in your area, but if you are looking at building new or renovating the pole barn for a habitable home, all for $100K, you should really do your due diligence before anything else.

$100K may not go very far towards what you have in mind, IMO, unless you will settle for a 1-room cabin.

Good luck on your project.

its a grand idea. I love old barns.
turning them into living spaces can be done,
but as stated above...at high cost.

what you'd want is a comfortable (rustic) living
space that is affordable to achieve, and to heat/cool.
there in lies the challenge.

seeing the barn...inside & out would give a contractor
& us online folks an idea of how to answer your concerns.

you'd need floors...insulated floors is the end game.
insulated water tight walls & roof...just to start.

I'd think I could do quite a bit with a barn & 100K.
but I diy a LOT.
wouldn't be opening my wallet to anyone to take
my money & not come through to my specs.

your barn may not be realistic for what you
can actually do.

best of luck

Agree'd, If you are a DIYer, I bet you could get most of what you want done for 100k. We are building a 50x32 ft pole barn now, and it will be an insulated shop, but we are DIYers. You could live in it if you wanted, but it won't be a house.

What state/climate are you in? If it's a warmer climate, you could make it a modest little home but also invest in landscaping, outdoor seating, outdoor kitchen, etc. Then live simply in the winter.

But again, not sure it would be worth it in the end.

We live in a pole barn converted into a 1500 sf home. We spent about $100k (plus $30k for a small adjacent guest house) and have lived here about 7 years. If I had it to do over again, I'd build from scratch (and that's what we're going to do next year). Our home is comfortable, energy efficient and even cute on the inside (we have wide plank wood siding on the walls, great windows with lovely views and other things I really like), but on the outside it will always look, well, cheap.

Thank you all for your responses!!
I've been busy getting bids for this crazy idea. We are going to do it!!
It has the major stuff already here, septic, utilities, well for water.
I'm going to try to post a pic??

a href="http://s1375.photobucket.com/user/johnaoutlan/media/imagejpg5_zps82a40e36.jpg.html"; target="_blank">

so...how are we going to insulate the barn?
spray foam would be
the best choice.
start pricing, walls & roofline.

what is the location?

what are the floors like?
how is the roof?
walls are solid?
how you going to heat/cool?

now that you've learned to post pics...
we (I) want more. inside the barn.

just think...you cold use sliding 'barn doors'
that are so popular inside the barn.

and...partition walls that move would be
a great concept...but that's just my pov.

planning how to address entry doors will
be interesting.

great looking barn...this is going to be fun.

best of luck.

What are you going to do when those posts embedded in asphalt rot out? Proper pier and beam construction will have supportive concrete piers under toes posts. How are you gonna do rough plumbing under that? Pipes need to be underground. Conventional slab foundations need insulation under them. How are you going to make that happen? You going to fir out the walks for the insulation? Replace with real windows that are flashed correctly and will keep out the weather while providing some R value? What about mechanical space for duct runs and room for a furnace and water heater? That is all going to be much much more expensive to retrofit than if you built it as a home from the beginning. Do you really think that having an existing structure will make this cheaper? Nope. It makes it harder and more expensive. Be sure you have enough reserve funding to actually see this picturesque conversion through. A 50% contingency fund over the smoke blowing non code compliant contractor's estimate woul be the minimum to shoot for here.

So if you convert the barn to a house, where will you park the tractor?

Lots of experts here have advised against the barn conversion. I'm sure it can be done - but even to my untrained eye I can see that it's not going to be a low-budget job. Since this is unconventional, your bidders will only be guessing at what it takes to do the work - and chances are they will guess low.

I would at least spec out a cute little house to go with the barn. You have enough space to orient it for optimal solar gain and view.

Your barn looks fairly modern.

I think I will be a neat project. Guessing it has a high ceiling height right now so much of the foundation can go up and even if you loose some height there will still be a lot left. My friend replaced rotted posts out of his barn and it was not as bad of a project as some might think.

thing is...you have to support the roof
& building to address the floor issue.

here in the south we don't insulate slabs..
so again...what is your location?

barn is big...how big?
also, as is in place:
how much electrical?
plumbing? any septic system?

location?

Thank you all!!

All of the plumbing would be dug before the foundation goes in. It has 200 amp electrical. Septic system in place -- for 3 bathrooms ( which is what we want.) Well water - with pump already there. It is built with double walled cypress/ metal roof.

We are DIYers. We would do all the trim, painting, insulation, Ikea kitchen cabinets, etc. Through business associations, my DH has building contacts. Window/Door business, concrete, plumbing, framer, flooring, etc. My DH can weld and will make the handrails for the staircase, use redheads to secure the post to the foundation. We have access to western cedar that we would take to the mill.

Barn is 46W x 56. Located in southwest TN. Your right, we do not insulate foundations but may put a layer of foam down first. Base is dry portland & gravel.

Is this the way most people do this? No, but I love the idea of thinking outside of the box!!

**an** existing pole barn!! Grammar correction:)

Septics are based on bedrooms, not bathrooms. Look at your permit to see how many bedrooms are allowed. You cannot put a "foundation" under a pier and beam building without almost completely deconstructing it to place the correct support at the point loads. You would have to sever the posts, crib the building into the air, then pour a proper foundation over properly prepared rough plumbing and insulation. (Yes, energy conscious construction DOES insulate the foundation in the South!) That is a considerable difficulty and expense that you would not have with new construction.

The barn is attractive. And useful as a barn. Gret storage for construction materials! Build a house to go with it.

So the agreed upon opinion here is to have it structurally sound......it would have to be lifted and then a foundation poured?
No other way to work around the structure?

A foundation perimeter footing is basically a ditch excavated below the frost line into undisturbed soil so that it creates immovable structural support for the building's weight. It can be poured as the same time that a slab floor is poured (monolithic) or the interior slab floor can be poured separately. If has to be located beneath the structural walls in a conventionally framed building, and beneath the posts (point loads) in a timber frame building, usually with a sonotube or other cylindrical concrete support being created down to beneath the frost level. That is what creates support for the building, not the slab.

A pole barn is a type of a timber framed building that uses compacted gravel to anchor the weight bearing posts, and provide drainage around them. Assuming the posts are kept dry, it is sufficient for an outbuilding, but generally not for a residence, except in special circumstances that must be followed with only certain materials and methods being approved. You need to talk with your local permitting office about their requirements for a residential foundation, and how far below frost level the support for the home must be excavated to in order to work.

Since the poles for a pole barn are already in the ground, you can see why it would be so difficult to create a different load bearing system to carry the weight of the house. Typically when a pole barn home is constructed as a residence, the excavated holes are filled with concrete and rebar, and the poles are attached above grade, keeping them much more resistant to moisture damage. Then a conventional trus joist I beam crawlspace type of floor support is created that attaches to the beams that attach to the posts.

I also live in Southwest TN and we are thinking of building a pole barn with living quarters. Curious if you completed this project? Thanks Jennifer

I have a very large tin shed/outbuilding/shop what have you. I keep going round and round about what to do with it. Right now it's this windowless brown mass. I kinda hate it and want to tear it down, to be honest. It's waaaaaay bigger than I need for storage. At first I thought I could weather proof it and make it a guest house or hang out space. But the slab it's on is at or even below grade in spots and the metal siding is rusting from touching the dirt. What would you do? It's 24' x 24' and like 24' tall. It's almost the same size as the house we live in and for the most part useless. Dark and scary, rats are starting to hang out in it. Storage is kinda gross, everything gets spiders on it. Oh god it's just so damn gross in there!!!!!

The very first thing I'd do is talk to the building inspector about what would be required in your area. We can help you design it all day, but if the inspector requires different footings or some other structural elements, it might be all for naught. Where I live, a 'standard' pole barn does not meet the structural requirements of a habitable structure; they are for ag storage. You would have had to build it different from scratch to meet code.

Im off work today and perusing GW. Surprised to see this thread resurface!

Turns out the barn was built for a future home by the previous owner with footings for the beams. We are making slow process as it has been alot of DIY. Yes, over budget--no surprise there!! 50% but it's still a lot cheaper than where we live now and it's how we want to live - most importantly.

I'll post some pics to update.......

I've been obsessing over paint samples for the kitchen on the Home Decorating Forum.

More pictures please!! Love it so far!

What have you used on the floor in the picture with the fireplace in it?

Looks good. Your budget still 100k?

Often strange happenings where I live. A hermit family moved into an abandoned self storage facility with like 20 units. Over the years they made it into a home. Its actually looking okay now. I guess nobody ever called the county. So ppl do stuff like this.

Those posts were NOT resting on concrete piers. A foundation inspection would have easily discovered that. Ergo...

Is the project finished yet?! I'd love to see more pictures!

I too have questions!!! Beautifully done. I have friends whose very upgrade home is one of the farm buildings of a very old estate. All the buildings were turned into homes- the main house (obviously already was original house), the turkey barn, the barn, the carriage house (my favorite), the huge summer kitchen..... Was the above asked about floor polished cement or a glossy wood? Hard to tell in pic. Plz post!!!!!

Did you finish the conversion? We are considering attempting to convert a metal pole barn into a living area as well so lots of questions about issues and costs.

My question is: My pole building is already up 15’x40x20 has deck in the front a concrete floor but it is all opened because the motorhome goes underneath It.

I want to convert it to a guess house. How do I start from. Some builders already said it can not be don. I say it can!

The motor home is the guest house. Or spend another 200K converting the shed.

"Some builders already said it can not be don. I say it can!"

Park the motorhome inside...tell guests to sleep in it... Count all the money you save.

----

A typical pole barn has more in common with a privacy fence than it does a house.

Crazy?

Yes.

That looks to be a sizable motor home - you already have shade and rain protection and a gorgeous view - I'd call the guest house done, stock the motor home with lots of little luxuries for your guests and bank the difference.

You have a uninsulated roof. The slab (I assume) slopes and has no plumbing under it so would have to be removed. So the value in the existing structure is very little compared to the cost of a completed guest house. Sure it can be done, but why?

It is a noble cause to repurpose an existing structure and stimulate the local construction industry and to preserve architectural history.

I have plumbing & electricity.

OK, knock it down to 195K instead of 200K.