Barndominium Builders in Newberry, SC

Barndominium builders who drive the roads around Newberry see why people buy land here. Newberry County is two-thirds rural: in 2020, 67.3 percent of residents lived in rural areas. The county seat, Newberry, is a city of 10,691 (2020) about 43 miles northwest of Columbia in the Piedmont. It is home to Newberry College and the Newberry Opera House, and it has been the county seat since 1789.

The county sits between two big reservoirs. Lake Murray, on the Saluda River, touches Lexington, Richland, Newberry and Saluda counties. Lake Greenwood, also on the Saluda, reaches into Greenwood, Laurens and Newberry counties. Between and around them is farm and forest land, part of the Sumter National Forest and part of the Belfast Wildlife Management Area.

Historic Districts in Town

The city of Newberry sits at about 541 feet and has several National Register historic districts, including the Main Street, Newberry Historic, College Street, Caldwell Street and Harrington Street districts. Newberry College, a Lutheran-affiliated liberal arts school, served as a hospital during the Civil War. Lots in or near those districts can face design review that a rural tract does not, so a barndo with a big shop usually fits best on county land outside them.

The Paperwork Order in Newberry County

Newberry County's building office spells out what it needs to permit a new house, and the list starts with zoning. To get a building permit you need:

• An approved zoning permit
• Two sets of construction plans
• Contractor contact information
• A signed contract and the project cost

So zoning comes before building. For a barndominium, we take the site plan to Planning and Zoning first, confirm the district allows a home with a large shop, and get the zoning permit. Then the construction plans go to Building Inspection. If the land is on septic, the state permit has to be in hand too; SCDES says that without it, the county cannot issue a building permit.

Building your own home

The county also notes that a homeowner can pull a permit to build their own residence, but the home then cannot be offered for sale or rent for two years. If you are weighing that route, keep the two-year rule in mind. The county also notes that when the homeowner pulls the permit, the homeowner, not a contractor, is responsible for any deficient work.

Lake-Edge Lots

Shoreline property on either lake comes with more questions than an inland tract: the flood map, slope down to the water, where a septic field can go on a narrow lot, and whatever rules the lake's owner applies to docks and shoreline work. Lake Murray alone has about 650 miles of shoreline and Lake Greenwood about 212, so lake-edge land is common here. We look at the slope and the drainage first, because a big level barndo pad on a slope toward the water changes how runoff moves.

Ground and Grading

Newberry is in the Piedmont, and upland soils across the region are often like the USDA Cecil series: very deep, well drained, sandy loam on the surface and red clay below, on slopes up to 25 percent, and mostly used for cropland, pasture and woodland. Pasture and old cropland make good barndo sites. We strip the topsoil, compact a pad on the clay and keep the slab above the surrounding grade so water moves away from the doors.

Code and Energy Rules

Every county and city in South Carolina must enforce the 2021 South Carolina Residential Code (the 2021 IRC with state modifications), mandatory since January 1, 2023. The energy code is the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code, set by state statute. For a metal-frame barndo that means insulation and air sealing get checked like any other house, and we design them to control condensation as well as meet the code.

A Newberry project usually goes

• Site visit and parcel check (zoning district, lake or forest boundaries)
• SCDES septic evaluation
• Zoning permit
• Construction plans and building permit
• Site work, slab, shell, dry-in and finish-out

Call (803) 784-7083 or

Get a Free Estimate

to talk about a barndominium on Newberry County land.