How to Find & Choose a Barn Builder

Who’s Going to Raise the Barn?

Barn Pros makes it easy to bring beautiful barns and barn-inspired homes to life with our pre-engineered kits. Our system provides a platform to empower you with creative opportunity and control over your project without the accompanying high cost of architects and customer builders. Structure designs are created with your intended use in mind, engineered to meet your site-specific requirements, and sourced with the highest-quality materials to create a package that goes together quickly, while minimizing the chance for errors.

We ship throughout the United States and Canada. We entrust the construction of your structure to local builders, while offering build assistance from our engineers and support team throughout the entirety of your project This grants you the opportunity to select a builder in your area who you feel good about working with.

Choosing the right builder is crucial for the success of your project. Partnering with someone who not only has the necessary construction skills but is also someone you feel comfortable working with over the course of your project is key. Over our three decades of helping clients bring dream structures to life, here are some considerations we’ve found to be most helpful when it comes to finding the right builder for your barn project:

• What to look for in a builder and what to ask
• What kind of project details to provide potential builders in the interview process
• Where to look for builders
• What to ask builder references

What to Look for in a Builder

Types of Construction Contractors

If you’re new to the construction trades, you may hear many different terms for contractors that sort of sound like the same things. A “handyman” usually fixes smaller items around the house after it is built. A “house framer” is usually only experienced in putting up the structural parts, or the skeleton, of a building and is not involved with foundations or any interior or exterior work. A “builder” or “general contractor (GC)” manages construction of a building from the ground up, from start to finish. A “builder” is what you want for your Barn Pros project!

When choosing a builder, your goal should be to confirm both their hard skills and soft skills.
Hard Skills:

• Do they have experience building structures like yours?
• Do they have photos of past projects to share?

Soft Skills:

• Do you get along with them?
• Do they communicate well?
• Are they punctual?
• Can they provide references from past clients?

You’ll be spending months working alongside your builder, and they will regularly be on your property for the duration of your build. Clear communication, respect for you and your property, and the necessary experience and knowledge of projects like yours will make for a smooth construction process.

Project Details to Share with Potential Builders

Your goal is to find a builder who has experience building structures like yours, on property like yours. Before you begin contacting and vetting potential builders, gather as much information about your project as possible.

The better picture you can paint for potential builders about the size and scope of your project, the quicker they’ll be able to confirm if they can take your project on or not. Gather and share with them details such as:  

• Example photos of the type of structure you will be building. Feel free to share photos from the Barn Pros website.
• Your intended use for the structure – is it agricultural or storage with a standard barn or shop? Or are you building a barn apartment with residential areas?
• How tall will your building be? One or two stories? Example photos and structure floorplan elevations from our website structure pages are great for displaying this.
• What does your build site look like? Is it flat, or on a hill? Is there a lot of space around the structure to work, or is it in a tight space?

These are all details that represent the complexities of your project. While most builders can build a single-level barn or shop on a flat property, not all have experience building tall multi-level structures on a hillside, or taking on the detail required to successfully build residential spaces.

Where to Look for Builders

• References from your friends and family network
• Social media – Facebook groups and Reddit are great examples.
• Government and Professional services like the Better Business Bureau, Chamber of Commerce and your local building department.
• General online searches like Home Advisor, Porch or Angi (formerly Angie’s List.)

Your network of friends and family is where we recommend starting your search. Has anyone you know hired a contractor in the last year or two? If you’re active on social media, your social network is also a great resource, and folks here are often happy to make recommendations if they have them. There are likely local Facebook groups in your area dedicated to builders and contractors, and sites like Reddit could be a good option as well.

If nobody in your own network has recommendations, government and professional services sites like the Better Business Bureau, your local building department, and your local chamber of commerce can often provide you with a list of builders in your area. Home Builders’ Associations in your area may also be able to provide recommendations and ratings. They typically have directories of contractors who belong to their organizations. And finally, stop by the “contractor desk” at your local building supply stores and ask for suggestions. They often work closely with local builders and may be able to provide recommendations.

Search Online. Online recommendation services are a great tool. These sites list contractors by specialties and allow past clients to rate them and leave comments. This empowers you to easily find a builder that does great work and is endorsed by a larger cross-section of clients and even industry peers. Some of these sites charge small fees for users; some are free to use. Most charge a fee to the contractor. These practices help to ensure that feedback is genuine and everyone is taking the mission of finding good help seriously. Here are a few sites (no affiliation with Barn Pros) that you might want to try: (**Include hyperlinks)

• Home Advisor
• Porch
• Angi
• Houzz
• Contractor Connection
• Chamber of Commerce

By spending some time reading various companies’ web pages and using recommendation services, you can get an idea of what skills and experience each builder possesses and who has a business approach that appeals to you.

What to Ask Potential Builders

As you begin contacting potential builders and sharing your project details and examples, the following are good questions to ask:

• Do they have experience building structures like yours? 
• Do they have photos of previous projects they can share?
• Are the properly licensed and bonded?
• What does their payment schedule look like?
• What is their schedule and availability?
• Do they have past client references that you can speak with?

What to Ask Builder References

When speaking with references, make sure to ask about more than just the finished product. Ask about their experience as a whole:

• Were the project bids accurate? Or did they end up low, or high?
• Were the project timelines accurate? Did they stay on schedule, finish early or run longer than expected?
• Was the builder respectful? 
• Was the builder easy to contact and did they have good communication skills? 
• Was the builder punctual?
• Would they recommend this builder for more projects?

DIY Options

If you already have construction experience, building your own structure can be a great way to save money and add enjoyment and a source of pride to your story.

If you feel comfortable doing parts of the process (maybe you’ve done some remodeling or an addition) but not others, you may still be able to save some money by contracting out key jobs and only performing the ones you feel comfortable with.

If you don’t have any more experience than, say, a volunteer afternoon with Habitat For Humanity, know that construction is a highly regulated business. Adhering to engineering criteria is not only crucial for safety, but also for ensuring the longevity of your structure’s integrity. . So before attempting a learn-as-you-go mission, realize that building a barn is a large project and may not be the best project to start with. There are myriad details, legalities, and project management skills involved besides the actual construction. These all take time, which should also not be underestimated. Getting a structure “under roof” in a timely manner is important, both for the materials and for your satisfaction. Since the quality of your structure is dependent on quality construction techniques, think seriously about the skills and time you bring. If you want to make sure your barn looks great, lasts decades, and is built in a timely manner, hiring a professional builder may be your best option.

Trust and Cooperation

The importance of choosing someone that you trust and will work well with personally cannot be understated. This is where word of mouth shines brightly. Barn Pros build support is available throughout the construction process, but we can’t generate trust between the two of you. We’ve worked with hundreds of builders who appreciate the ease and predictability that Barn Pros brings to the project.

If you have a builder in mind, feel free to have them call us. We would love to chat with them personally. Our experienced staff can make sure that they understand everything, and we will do all we can to make their (and your) lives easier.

Responsibilities

Barn Pros will provide the locally-sourced materials for your pre-engineered structure which will be delivered to your site. We provide architectural blueprints and any other instructions required. This includes foundation requirements and drawings. We will work directly with you and your builder to resolve any questions or issues as they arise throughout the entire process.

Your builder is responsible for laying the foundation and framing the structure. This includes roofs, floors and any additional exterior and interior work. Depending on your arrangement and needs, the builder may arrange for other subcontractors to perform specialized installations, such as plumbing and electrical.

You are responsible for providing an approved piece of land to build upon and choosing a structure that fits your needs. You must maintain regular communication with your builder and Barn Pros during the entire process. And finally, you are responsible for enjoying your new structure for years to come!

We encourage you to keep these considerations in mind as you search for the right builder for your Barn Pros project and ensure a successful construction process.