Barndominium Builders in San Angelo, TX

Barndominium builders working in San Angelo build where the North and South Concho Rivers meet. San Angelo is the county seat of Tom Green County, at about 1,844 feet, on the northwestern edge of the Edwards Plateau and the northeastern edge of the Chihuahuan Desert. It is about 225 miles west of Austin. The city had 99,893 people in 2020, up from 93,200 in 2010, and the county reached 120,003. Tom Green County covers about 1,541 square miles, so there is plenty of ranch and farm land within reach of town.

A county seat that moved because of a flood

Tom Green County's first seat was Ben Ficklin. A Concho River flood destroyed it in 1882 and killed 65 people, and the seat moved to Santa Angela, renamed San Angelo in 1883. That history is a useful reminder: in a dry climate, the rivers and draws still flood. Twin Buttes Reservoir, O.C. Fisher Reservoir and Lake Nasworthy now sit around the city, and the county's main waterways are the Concho, its North and South branches, and Kickapoo Creek. Before you buy a riverside or creek-bottom tract, we check the flood maps and look at the lay of the land so the house, the shop and the septic field sit on high ground.

Angelo clay: the soil named for the town

The Angelo soil series has its type location in Tom Green County. The USDA describes it as a well-drained clay loam over clay on terrace treads of a dissected plateau, formed in limestone-derived alluvium, with slopes mostly under 1 percent. The important part for a builder: it has high shrink-swell above the calcic horizon because of smectitic clay, with a calcic layer typically 24 to 40 inches down. Permeability is moderately slow.

For a barndominium, that adds up to three design choices:

• A slab and beam layout designed for expansive clay, based on a soil report from your lot
• Grading and gutters that keep water from pooling against the foundation, so the clay stays at a steady moisture level
• A septic design matched to slow-draining clay, which can mean a system other than a basic drain field

Heat is the bigger load

San Angelo averages about 30.1 days a year at or above 100 degrees, and in 2011 the city recorded 100 of them. The record high is 114 degrees F. A metal building that sits in that sun all afternoon needs:

• A light-colored roof and wall panels to reflect heat
• Closed-cell spray foam or another continuous insulation layer that stops heat at the steel
• Deep porches on the west and south sides
• An HVAC system sized by load calculation, not by square footage alone

But it does freeze

It is not all heat. A typical year brings about 60 nights below freezing, and the record low is minus 4 F. During Winter Storm Uri in 2021, San Angelo spent 152 hours at or below freezing. Water lines, the well pressure tank and any shop plumbing should be protected from a long hard freeze, not just a single cold night.

Rain comes in bursts

Average precipitation is about 20.94 inches a year, but the range is wide: 7.41 inches in 1956 and 35.72 inches in 2016. Plan drainage for the wet years and water storage for the dry ones. Snow is light, about 1.3 inches a year.

Who you deal with

Inside San Angelo, the city's permit process applies, and a city's adopted code extends into its extraterritorial jurisdiction. In unincorporated Tom Green County, state law (Local Government Code Section 233.153) sets the International Residential Code as the standard for new homes but does not require county pre-approval or allow county zoning. Septic permits come through the authorized agent listed in TCEQ's OSSF program. Check deed restrictions too; many ranchette subdivisions have their own rules on building materials and size.

Ranch roots

San Angelo is home to Producer's Livestock Auction, described as the nation's largest sheep and lamb auction. If you need room for animals, feed and trailers, a barndo with a shop or barn side handles that well. Call (254) 401-5175 or

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