A 40×60 barndominium is 2,400 square feet — the size most buyers land on, and the reason is arithmetic. It is large enough for three bedrooms with real closets and an open great room, and small enough that a 40-foot clear span needs no interior load-bearing wall. Below are five 40×60 floor plans with verified dimensions, garage and shop square footage, prices and what each one gives up to get what it gives you.
Is a 40×60 House Plan Right for You?
Who should consider 40 x 60 barndominium floor plans? We recommend a 2,400 square foot barndo in these scenarios:
- Families needing three or four bedrooms: 2,400 square feet comfortably carries three bedrooms with real closets, a utility room and generous living space. Four is the practical ceiling — BCO-40189 below does it with three full baths, and that is about as far as the format stretches before hallways and closets start eating the rooms.
- Multi-generational homes: A 2,400 square foot barndo can also be a good choice for a home that will have multiple generations residing in it at the same time.
- Shop houses: Think about this size home as an option if you want to live in a shop house. This is a type of house that has a large workshop or garage under the same roof, taking up significant square footage.
- Plans for tenants: Homeowners who want to have a room or two available for paying tenants could also consider a 2,400 square foot barndo.
- Large lots: You will need a pretty spacious lot to have room for a 2,400 square foot home. Make sure to think about whether you want an attached or detached garage (or no garage), porches, etc., and whether you want them to be part of the 2,400 square feet, or take up additional square feet. It’s a good idea to think about your landscaping plan at the same time you are choosing your floor plan.
What The 40 Foot Span Actually Buys You
A 40-foot width is the practical limit for a clear span without interior columns, and that single fact shapes every plan on this page. It means the great room, kitchen and dining can be one uninterrupted space with nothing standing in the middle of it, and it means large windows can go anywhere on the long walls because none of them is carrying roof load.
The cost is depth. At 40 feet wide with rooms along both long walls, the center of the building has no exterior wall — which is fine for open living areas and a problem for bedrooms. It is why almost every 40×60 plan puts the bedrooms at the ends and the living space in the middle, and why a room-by-room traditional layout works badly at this width. If you are looking at a plan that puts a bedroom in the interior, check where its window goes.
Our Favorite Featured 40×60 Floor Plans
PL-61313 Pinewood — the 40×60 that is all house
Start here, because Pinewood shows what a 40×60 looks like when the 2,400 square feet is nothing but living space. It is also the 40×60 our readers buy most often. Three bedrooms, two baths, single story, open concept — and the garage and porches sit outside that rectangle rather than eating into it.
That is the distinction worth understanding before you look at anything else on this page. Pinewood is published two ways and both are correct: 40 by 60 feet is the living space — multiply it out and you get exactly 2,400 square feet — and 80 by 56 feet is the whole building, which is the 2,400 heated plus a 1,120 square foot garage and 960 square feet of porch. Those figures close to the square foot. If you plan a site around a 40×60 building you will be 40 feet short, so budget for 80 feet of width before setbacks.
Inside, the layout spends its space on two separate gathering areas rather than one great room — a living room and a family room — plus a dedicated office instead of a third bedroom doing double duty. There is also a mudroom, a utility room and a secure closet. Worth knowing that the secure closet is listed as a closet, not an engineered storm shelter, and the designer publishes no wall specification for it.
- Heated: 2,400 sq ft, all on one floor
- Living space: 40′ × 60′
- Total under roof: 4,480 sq ft
- Full footprint: 80′ W × 56′ D
- Garage: 1,120 sq ft — bay count not published
- Porch: 960 sq ft, front and rear
- Beds / baths: 3 bed, 2 full bath — the designer’s description says 2.1, so confirm the half bath before you buy
- Stories: 1 · 9′ ceilings · ridge 24′-9″ · 6:12 pitch · concrete slab, stick frame
PL-64007 Brooke Barndominium House Plan
The PL-64007 Brooke blueprint features 2,400 square feet of heated space, plus 2,540 square feet of unheated space, including the garage and porch. The house includes 3 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms.
The layout features an open floor plan combining the kitchen and living room as a shared space. The dining area is also part of this open flow of space, but it is set off in its own little nook. Across the foyer from it is a home office. The master bedroom, bathroom and closet are next to the kitchen. The other bedrooms are on the opposite side of the home, adjacent to the living room.
The garage is located on the same side of the house as the master bedroom, and can be reached via the laundry room. It has enough room for two vehicles, plus a mechanical room and a separate safe room.
PL-64015 Sedona — 2,400 sq ft with an office and wraparound porch
Sedona is a textbook 40×60 — a full 2,400 square feet on a 60 by 40 footprint, with nothing carved out and nothing bolted on. What makes it worth a look is how it spends that space: two bedrooms rather than three, which leaves room for a dedicated office and genuinely large living areas instead of a third bedroom that many buyers would use as an office anyway.
The porches are the other story here. Of the 2,160 square feet of unheated area, most is a wraparound porch plus a separate screened porch. That is a lot of covered outdoor space for a 40×60, and it is the kind of thing that is expensive to add later because it ties into the roof structure. A storage loft picks up the attic volume that most single-story barndominiums waste.
Single story, two full baths, overall height 22′-0 3/4″ — the lowest profile of the plans on this page, which helps if you are working under a height restriction.
- Heated: 2,400 sq ft
- Total under roof: 4,560 sq ft
- Footprint: 60′ W × 40′ D
- Beds / baths: 2 bed, 2 bath
- Stories: 1
- Height: 22′-0 3/4″
View PL-64015 Sedona plan details
BCO-40189 — four bedrooms and three baths in a 40×60
This is the densest layout on the page. Four bedrooms and three full baths inside a 60 by 40 footprint is about as far as the 40×60 format stretches, and it is the plan to look at if bedroom count is the constraint that rules everything else out.
What is unusual at this size is that it keeps two separate living areas rather than merging everything into one great room — a living room at 23’10” by 12’9″ and a family room at 17’10” by 12’10”. In a four-bedroom house that second gathering space earns its keep; the alternative is one open room that everybody has to share. Front and rear porches both run the full 60-foot width.
One thing to confirm before you buy: the designer does not publish a heated square footage or a total under-roof figure for this plan, only the footprint and the individual room dimensions. If you need those numbers for a lender, an appraiser or a builder’s bid, ask the designer directly rather than working from the 2,400 square foot footprint — porches and any unheated area are not counted the same way.
- Footprint: 60′ W × 40′ D
- Beds / baths: 4 bed, 3 bath
- Stories: 1
- Porches: full-width front and rear
- Heated sq ft: not published by the designer — confirm before purchase
PL-64007-J Jodi — 1,610 sq ft shop plus full basement
Jodi is the only plan here with a full basement, and that changes the storage math completely. You get a 1,610 square foot shop at grade plus 2,400 square feet of basement underneath the living space — so the shop can stay a working shop instead of silting up with the things that usually end up in one.
Three bedrooms, two full baths plus a powder room, single story over the basement, on a 100 by 65 foot footprint. Worth knowing before you fall for it: a basement is the single most site-dependent element in any of these plans. On rock or a high water table it can add more to the build than the shop does. Confirm with a soils test before this plan drives your land decision.
- Heated: 2,400 sq ft (first floor)
- Shop/garage: 1,610 sq ft
- Basement: 2,400 sq ft unfinished
- Footprint: 100′ W × 65′ D
- Beds / baths: 3 bed, 2 full + 1 powder
- Stories: 1 over basement
View PL-64007-J Jodi plan details
40×60 Barndominium Plans With Shop
This is the most common question on 40×60 plans, and it splits into two very different versions depending on what you mean.
Version one: a 40×60 building with the shop inside it.
A 40×60 gives you 2,400 square feet of footprint in total, and every square foot you give to a shop comes directly out of the living space. Carve out a modest 800 square foot shop — a 20×40 bay, enough for two vehicles and a workbench — and you are left with roughly 1,600 square feet of house. That works comfortably for two bedrooms. Take the shop to 1,000 or 1,200 square feet and living space drops to 1,200–1,400, which gets tight for three bedrooms once you account for hallways, a utility room and real closet space.
There is a second cost that catches people out. Splitting a 40×60 leaves the living space 40 feet wide by roughly 30 to 40 feet deep, and a 40-foot span with rooms along both sides leaves a narrow center. Open-concept layouts handle this well. Traditional room-by-room layouts do not, and you can end up with interior bedrooms that have no exterior wall for a window.
Version two: a full 40×60 house with the shop attached alongside.
This is usually what people actually want, and it is the better build if your lot allows it. You keep the complete 2,400 square foot layout and add the shop as its own wing.
CDD-4101 Haven — 40×60 living space with a 1,200 sq ft shop
Haven is the cleanest example of the second approach. The living space is a full 40 by 60 feet — 2,400 square feet — with a separate 30×40 shop attached, bringing the whole building to 60 by 60. Nothing is subtracted from the house.
The shop carries four overhead doors at 110 by 99 inches each, which lets you pull equipment straight through rather than shuffling it. A breezeway separates the shop from the living space, so dust and noise stay where they belong. Two bedrooms, two full baths, plus a powder room, single-story.
- Heated: 2,400 sq ft (40′ × 60′ living space)
- Shop: 1,200 sq ft (30′ × 40′), 4 overhead doors
- Total under roof: 5,370 sq ft
- Full footprint: 60′-0″ W × 60′-0″ D
- Beds / baths: 2 bed, 2 full + 1 powder
- Stories: 1
View CDD-4101 Haven plan details
The practical thresholds if you are staying inside a single 40×60: a shop under 800 square feet works without compromising the house; 800–1,200 is workable but plan on two bedrooms rather than three; over 1,200 square feet you should go wider or attach the shop as a separate wing. More layouts of both kinds are on our barndominium floor plans with shop page, with shop square footage listed for each.
40×60 Two-Story Barndominium Plans
Going up rather than out is the other way to solve the 2,400 square foot ceiling, and it changes the economics more than people expect. A second story over the same 40×60 footprint gives you roughly 4,800 square feet on one foundation and one roof — the two most expensive components of the shell — which is why a two-story 40×60 costs less per square foot than a single-story building of the same total area.
What it costs you: a stairwell takes 100 to 120 square feet out of each floor, so you do not get the full double. Mechanical runs get longer and a second-floor HVAC zone is close to mandatory. And a two-story barndominium loses the single-level living that draws a lot of buyers to the format in the first place — worth thinking about honestly if you plan to be in the house in thirty years.
Where it makes most sense: a narrow or sloped lot where a wider footprint is not available, or a build that needs five or more bedrooms without going to a 40×80. If a shop is also in the picture, a two-story living block with the shop attached at grade keeps the shop’s ceiling height, which a second floor above it would not.
FH-00102 Ericson — five bedrooms and a loft over the great room
This is the two-story answer to the bedroom ceiling. Five bedrooms and three full baths is more than a single-story 40×60 can carry without the rooms starting to eat each other, and the second floor is what buys it.
The living room is the plan’s centerpiece: a fireplace, soaring ceilings, and a loft on the upper level open to the room below. That gets you a great room that reads two stories tall rather than merely tall, and it connects the two floors visually instead of stacking them. The kitchen and dining sit together as one gathering hub, and a 30 by 8 foot covered front porch runs across the entry.
The open loft is the thing to think hardest about. It is the reason the living space feels the way it does, and it also means both floors share the same air. Heat collects upstairs, sound carries, and zoning the two levels separately is harder than it would be with a closed second story. If you want five bedrooms and a quiet upstairs, a conventional two-story separates them better — this plan trades that for volume.
One thing to confirm before you buy: the designer publishes very little for this plan. There is no heated square footage, no total under roof and no overall dimensions — only the room count and the porch size. If you need a square footage figure for a lender, an appraiser or a builder’s bid, or a footprint for a setback check, ask the designer directly rather than inferring it from the other plans on this page.
- Beds / baths: 5 bed, 3 bath
- Stories: 2, with an open loft over the living room
- Front porch: 30′-0″ × 8′-0″, covered
- Heated sq ft: not published by the designer
- Total under roof: not published
- Footprint: not published — confirm before purchase
View FH-00102 Ericson plan details
Which 40×60 Plan Fits Your Build?
Start with the constraint that will not move.
If bedroom count rules everything, BCO-40189 is the only four-bedroom plan here and it carries three full baths. If you want a real office rather than a converted third bedroom, Sedona spends the space on one and adds a wraparound porch. If storage is the problem, Jodi’s full basement plus a 1,610 square foot shop solves it more completely than anything else on the page — subject to a soils test. If you want the full 2,400 square feet and a shop, Haven attaches a 30×40 shop alongside instead of carving it out. If you want a straightforward, well-balanced three-bedroom, Brooke is the one.
Any of these can be modified, and a custom plan starts from a conversation rather than a catalog if none of the five is close enough.
What Does It Cost To Build A 40×60 Barndominium?
Use a planning range, not a quote. A finished barndominium runs $65 to $160 per square foot depending on where you build, what you finish it in, and how much of the work you do yourself. On 2,400 square feet that puts a 40×60 between roughly $156,000 and $384,000 turnkey.
That range is wide because it has to be. The same 2,400 square foot building finished with laminate counters, vinyl plank and a basic HVAC package lands near the bottom; the same shell with a vaulted great room, a custom kitchen and a finished shop lands near the top. Site prep, foundation type, distance to utilities and local labor move it further. Get three local bids before you commit to a number.
The shell on its own is a different number. A metal building kit for this footprint runs $20 to $35 per square foot for the shell — roughly $48,000 to $84,000 — plus $10 to $15 per square foot to put it up, another $24,000 to $36,000. That is $72,000 to $120,000 for a weathertight shell on a slab, with no interior, no mechanicals and no finishes. It is the number that makes barndominiums look cheap, and it is not a house yet. Note that many of the plans on this page are stick-frame rather than kit shells, in which case this tier does not apply at all.
What Your Budget Actually Buys
Working backward from the same $65 to $160 range:
- $150,000 — somewhere between about 950 and 2,300 finished square feet. A 40×60 is reachable at this budget only at the cheapest end of the range, with owner labor and basic finishes.
- $200,000 — roughly 1,250 to 3,100 square feet. A 40×60 sits comfortably inside this budget at mid-range finishes.
- $300,000 — roughly 1,875 to 4,600 square feet. At this budget a 2,400 square foot 40×60 can carry high-end finishes, or you can add a shop wing and stay inside it.
Those are arithmetic on the range above, not quotes. They are useful for deciding whether a 40×60 is the right size for your budget before you spend anything on plans.
What Moves The Number Most
In rough order of impact: site prep and foundation — a flat, dry lot with utilities at the road is dramatically cheaper than rock, slope or a long service run. Finish level — the single biggest controllable variable, and the one people underestimate. Build method — kit shell versus stick frame versus post frame. Local labor rates — the same plan varies 30% or more between markets. How much you do yourself — owner-builders routinely land at the bottom of the range and pay for it in months.
FAQ
Inside a single 40×60 building, up to about 800 square feet without compromising the house — that is a 20×40 bay, leaving roughly 1,600 square feet of living space. You can push to 1,200 square feet, but living space drops to around 1,200 and you should plan on two bedrooms rather than three. If you want the full 40×60 house and a shop, attach the shop alongside instead: CDD-4101 Haven keeps all 2,400 square feet and adds a 30×40 shop.
Almost always, yes. One foundation, one roof system and one set of exterior walls cost less than a house plus a separate pole barn of the same combined area. The trade-offs are noise and dust transfer through the shared wall, and the fact that you cannot easily expand the shop later without extending the whole building.
Three or four. Three is the common configuration in a ranch design and leaves room for an office, a walk-in pantry or a larger great room; four is the ceiling, and BCO-40189 on this page shows what it costs you — the plan gives up the office and runs its porches for circulation. If you also want a shop inside the same 40×60, plan on two bedrooms rather than three, because every square foot the shop takes comes out of the living space.
It usually takes around 6-12 months on average to build a 40×60 barndo. Depending on your kit and builder, you might get away with as little as 3 months. Some more elaborate barndo homes might take over a year to build.

