I began my first construction project on our property by building a 30x40 pole barn. After seeing the project under roof for the first time my wife asked me why this couldn't become our home. So it begins. What should be my primary concerns related to this conversion?

Lets see, something other than you have no floor, no insulation, no heat, no plumbing, superficial electric. Do you get inspected by a local or county building inspector?

Of course I will have to get a permit related to septic system before plumbing and electric can be pursued. I saw a previous conversation related to concrete floor and footer. I assume a floating floor is probably not the best case scenario for a home with interior walls and doors. Are there options other than trenching between posts for the footer?

Before your wife takes you further down this raod I'd have a cup of coffee with the county building inspector. Show him your pole barn plans and ask him what he would approve in you trying to reach you goal.

I think where Bob is heading is that you can do it, but it'll be expensive. I would guess it'll be more expensive than building new next door. So how about building a house in matching style nearby? Your wife gets the house she wants, and you still get a barn to fill up with toys. :-)

Rtw hit it on the head. 1. you needed/wanted a barn and conversion takes it away. 2. retro fitting a barn to a home is very costly compared to building from scratch.

I actually built a pole barn style house using a Cleary Free-span structure. The thing is, I was able to plan that way from the get-go. I'm in Wisconsin. It was no issue to get permits, but you really need a 4' frost wall, you don't want a floating floor, and might not get that past an inspector anyway. Converting would probably add significantly to the cost. If your wife likes the style, check out Cleary Buildings website. The house turned out great. We went with Hydronic Heat, and were able to lay out the rooms how ever we wanted.

Lownot, if you get a chance with pics we'd be interested.

Will do, but my pics are too large, so I have to do some conversion. Back in a minute...

Here are some pics from right when we were finishing up and moving in, so sorry about the mess! I'll post more in a minute...

Some more...

So- We went with pole construction on a 4' frost wall. We went with a concrete slab with hydronic heat throughout, including the garage. In the living area we polished, etched, and stained the concrete. We love the way it looks, and it's always warm. All of the doors are 8' tall, with the frosted glass lites. Master bath is a custom concrete shower pan with 12" X 24" tile surround and a pebble floor. 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, a great room, laundry room, mechanical room, 8 X 8' kitchen pantry, 9 X 12' Master Closet, and other closets throughout. 9' ceilings, central air, on-demand hot water, air make-up system with whole house air filtration.

Here's the thing- 2308 square feet of living space, 1200 square foot attached garage, 10' X 64' patio covered by a full length and depth eave. Built for $212,000.

Cheap way to build a unique and strong house.

I have garage envy. That is one heck of a fantastic pole barn.

Thanks! We love living there, absolutely a dream...

Have you taken a look at the Modern Pole Barn House at Home (http://www.lilhouseguru.com) There is a study pole barn house plan available as well! Good luck!