Barndominium With a Shop: How Much Space Do You Really Need?

For a lot of Kansas homeowners, the shop isn’t an afterthought—it’s one of the main reasons they’re building a barndominium in the first place.

Maybe you want room to work on cars. Maybe you need somewhere to keep a boat, RV, tractor, or farm equipment. Maybe you’ve always wanted a woodworking shop. Or maybe you just want a garage where you can actually open the truck doors without hitting something.

Whatever your reason, deciding how large to make the shop in your barndominium deserves just as much thought as planning the living area.

At A Better Barn Company, we build custom barndominiums and shop houses throughout Wichita and surrounding Kansas communities. One thing we’ve learned is that the right shop size isn’t determined by a standard floor plan. It’s determined by what you actually plan to do inside it.

Here are some things worth considering before you decide.

Start With What You’re Putting in the Shop

Before thinking about square footage, make a list.

What needs to fit inside your shop?

That might include:

• Cars and trucks
• Tractors
• Lawn equipment
• ATVs and UTVs
• Boats
• RVs and campers
• Trailers
• Toolboxes
• Workbenches
• Welding equipment
• Woodworking tools
• Hunting and fishing gear
• Business equipment

Now think about what you’ll actually be doing around those things.

Parking a truck requires one amount of space. Working around that truck with the doors open, a toolbox nearby, and parts spread across a workbench requires considerably more.

That’s where good shop design starts.

How Big Should a Barndominium Shop Be?

There’s no magic number.

A homeowner who wants a two-car garage and some storage needs something completely different from someone restoring cars or storing farm equipment.

Instead of asking, “What’s a normal shop size?” ask:

“How much room do I need to comfortably do what I want to do?”

Think about three things:

Storage. What needs to live there permanently?

Workspace. How much open room do you need to actually work?

Movement. Can you comfortably get vehicles, equipment, and materials in and out?

A shop that technically fits everything but leaves no room to move probably isn’t going to make you happy.

Don’t Design Around What You Own Today

This is one of the biggest things we encourage homeowners to consider.

Think five or ten years ahead.

Today you may have one truck and a lawn mower. A few years from now, you might own a boat, camper, side-by-side, classic car, or larger tractor.

You may also discover a hobby you didn’t have when you built the house.

Adding a little extra shop space during the original design can be much easier than realizing later that you should have built bigger.

Think About Your Vehicles Before Choosing Garage Doors

Your overhead doors are another important part of the design.

A standard garage door might work perfectly for everyday vehicles, but taller equipment requires something different.

If you plan to store an:

• RV
• Camper
• Tractor
• Boat
• Work truck
• Trailer
• Tall off-road vehicle

…make sure your door height and width are designed around it.

You also need enough room inside the shop to maneuver.

A large door isn’t particularly helpful if the interior layout makes backing a trailer into the building difficult.

Ceiling Height Matters More Than You Think

People often focus on floor space and forget about vertical space.

Higher ceilings can give your shop much more flexibility.

They may allow room for:

• Vehicle lifts
• RVs
• Tall equipment
• Overhead storage
• Large shelving systems
• Specialized workshop equipment

If you’ve always wanted a vehicle lift, for example, that needs to be considered when the building is designed—not after the shop is finished.

Plan Your Workbench Area

A shop isn’t just a garage.

If you plan to work in it, think about where the work actually happens.

You may want dedicated space for:

• Workbenches
• Tool cabinets
• Welding tables
• Woodworking equipment
• Parts storage
• Compressors
• Charging stations

One common mistake is filling every wall with doors and windows and then realizing there’s nowhere convenient to put a workbench.

Planning the shop layout early allows the building itself to work better.

Don’t Forget Electrical Needs

A basic garage and a working shop can have very different electrical requirements.

Think about the equipment you’ll use now and what you might add later.

That could include:

• Welders
• Air compressors
• Vehicle lifts
• Power tools
• Shop lighting
• Refrigerators or freezers
• Battery chargers
• HVAC equipment
• Electric vehicle charging

It’s much easier to plan outlets, circuits, lighting, and electrical capacity before the walls are finished.

Will Your Shop Be Heated and Cooled?

Kansas gives us just about every kind of weather.

A shop can get extremely hot during the summer and pretty uncomfortable during the winter if it isn’t designed appropriately.

If you expect to spend significant time working in the shop, consider insulation and climate control during the design stage.

Even if you don’t plan to heat and cool the entire shop immediately, preparing for future HVAC can give you more options later.

Consider a Bathroom or Utility Area

If you spend a lot of time in the shop, having direct access to a bathroom can be incredibly convenient.

The same goes for a utility sink.

Think about whether you’d benefit from:

• A shop bathroom
• Utility sink
• Mudroom
• Laundry access
• Boot or coat storage

For families living on acreage, these transition areas can also keep dirt, mud, and work clothes out of the main living space.

Separate the Shop From Your Living Space Properly

The convenience of an attached shop is hard to beat. You can walk from your home into your workspace without ever stepping outside.

But you still want the two areas to feel separate.

A thoughtful floor plan can help control:

• Noise
• Dust
• Odors
• Temperature differences
• Everyday shop clutter

A mudroom, utility room, hallway, or other transition area between the home and shop can make a big difference.

What About a Home Business?

For some Kansas homeowners, the shop isn’t just for hobbies—it’s where they make a living.

Post-frame construction can create excellent space for small business operations, depending on local zoning and other requirements.

You might need room for:

• Inventory
• Equipment
• Work vehicles
• Customer projects
• Office space
• Shipping and receiving
• Employee work areas

If your shop will be used commercially, tell your builder early. Your needs may be very different from those of a residential hobby shop.

Should Your Shop Be Bigger Than Your House?

It can be.

That’s one of the great things about building a custom barndominium.

There’s no rule saying your living area has to be the largest part of the building.

If you need 2,000 square feet of living space and 3,000 square feet of shop space, the building can be designed around that priority.

For another homeowner, a 2,500-square-foot home with a smaller attached garage may make more sense.

The right ratio is whatever works for you.

Why Barndominiums Work So Well for Home-and-Shop Designs

One reason barndominiums have become so popular across Kansas is that post-frame construction gives homeowners tremendous design flexibility.

Large open spans make it possible to create spacious shops while keeping the residential portion of the building open and comfortable.

That gives homeowners the ability to combine:

Home + garage + workshop + storage

…without needing several separate buildings scattered across the property.

For rural Kansas living, that’s a combination that’s hard to beat.

Plan the Entire Property, Not Just the Building

Your shop also needs to work with your land.

Consider how vehicles and equipment will approach the building.

Think about:

• Driveway placement
• Trailer turning radius
• Parking
• Delivery access
• Future outbuildings
• Outdoor equipment storage
• Drainage
• Concrete approaches

If you’re backing a 30-foot trailer into your shop, having a beautiful building doesn’t mean much if you don’t have enough room outside to make the turn.

Good planning considers the entire property.

Build the Shop You’ll Still Love 10 Years From Now

When designing a barndominium with a shop in Kansas, don’t just ask what you need today.

Think about where life may take you.

Your hobbies may grow. Your business may expand. You may buy different vehicles. Your family may need more storage.

You don’t necessarily need to build an enormous shop just because you can. But giving yourself enough room and flexibility from the beginning can make your barndominium much more useful for years to come.

Custom Barndominiums and Shop Houses in Kansas

At A Better Barn Company, we don’t believe your home should come from a cookie-cutter floor plan.

We build custom barndominiums, shop houses, pole barns, garages, workshops, and post-frame buildings designed around the people who will actually use them.

With more than 15 years of construction experience and over 6 years in business, we help Kansas property owners create buildings that are practical, durable, and built for the long haul.

We proudly serve Wichita, Andover, Derby, Augusta, El Dorado, Goddard, Maize, Newton, Rose Hill, Douglass, Winfield, Hutchinson, and surrounding Kansas communities.

Ready to Design Your Barndominium With a Shop?

If you’ve been sketching out your dream shop in your head for years, now’s the time to start putting it on paper.

Tell us what you’re parking, what you’re building, what you’re storing, and what you’ve always wanted room to do. We’ll help you start thinking through a custom barndominium that makes sense for your lifestyle and your Kansas property.

Call A Better Barn Company at 580.278.1333 to start planning your custom barndominium or shop house.

Build Better. Build A Better Barn.