Barndominium Builders in Nacogdoches, TX

Barndominium builders around Nacogdoches are building on ground famous enough to carry the town's name. Nacogdoches is the county seat of Nacogdoches County and calls itself the Oldest Town in Texas; Spain founded a mission here in 1716 and named it a pueblo in 1779. The town sits just north of the fork of LaNana and Banita creeks, at about 331 feet, roughly 140 miles north-northeast of Houston and 90 miles southwest of Shreveport. Around it is rolling country of pasture, pine and hardwood, and small farms.

A soil series with the town's name

The USDA's Nacogdoches series has its type location in Nacogdoches County. It is a deep, well-drained soil with a dark reddish brown surface and a dark red clay subsoil, formed from thick old marine sediments rich in glauconite. Ironstone fragments run through the subsoil, and the series sits on gently sloping to moderately steep uplands, mostly under 8 percent slope and up to 15. Permeability is moderately slow.

That combination tells us several things about a barndo site: the ground drains off the surface well, but water moves slowly once it soaks in; ironstone can show up when trenching for footings, plumbing and the septic system; and on steeper slopes the pad needs real cut-and-fill work and erosion control until grass takes hold.

Slopes and how we place a long building

A barndominium is often longer than a typical house, especially with a shop on one end. On a hilly Nacogdoches County tract, running that long side along the contour keeps the cut shallow and the fill manageable. Where the slope is unavoidable, the shop end can sometimes sit lower, with a step or ramp into the living space. We look at the lot before choosing a footprint for exactly this reason.

Tornado history

Nacogdoches is not a tornado-free town. A violent tornado on January 4, 1946, killed ten people and injured about 200, and was estimated at F4 intensity. That storm came in midwinter, a reminder that severe weather here is not limited to spring. For a metal home that means:

• Anchor bolts and frame connections designed for uplift
• Rated overhead doors, since large shop doors are a common weak point in high wind
• A safe room or storm shelter, which many owners choose to build into the plan

Rain and temperature

Nacogdoches averages about 49.94 inches of precipitation a year, with May usually the wettest month, and almost no snow. Records run from 112 degrees F in 2000 down to minus 3 in 2021. A barndo here needs good gutters, a raised pad, closed-cell insulation against condensation and an HVAC system sized for long, humid summers and the occasional deep freeze.

Farms, blueberries and forest

Nacogdoches County is the top blueberry-producing county in Texas, and the county has described itself as the Capital of the Texas Forest Country. Stephen F. Austin State University, which specializes in forestry and agriculture, has about 13,000 students in town. On a small farm, a barndominium can put equipment storage, a packing or work area and the house under one long roof.

Rules for rural lots

Inside Nacogdoches or another city, the city's permits apply, and a city building code also governs its extraterritorial jurisdiction. Out in the county, Texas Local Government Code Section 233.153 points new single-family homes in covered counties to a version of the International Residential Code, without requiring county approval up front or giving the county zoning power. Septic is a separate step: TCEQ's OSSF program names the authorized agent for each county, and that office permits the on-site system after a site evaluation. On slowly permeable red clay, the evaluation may steer you to a larger field or a different system type.

A stable county

Nacogdoches County had 64,524 people in 2010 and 64,653 in 2020. It covers 981 square miles. Communities like Appleby, Chireno, Cushing and Garrison surround the county seat, and rural land is plentiful.

Have a farm or wooded tract in Nacogdoches County? Call (254) 401-5175 or

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