Adams County, Colorado Denver & the Metro

Barndominium Builders in Adams County, Colorado

Adams County runs from the dense suburbs north of Denver all the way out to wheat ground and pasture past Watkins and Strasburg, and the eastern half is where a shop house on real acreage still fits. We design and build barndominiums for owners with land in unincorporated Adams County: post frame homes with a wide equipment bay, steel homes on a bolted frame, and living quarters laid out around how the property is actually worked. For land outside city and town limits, the county's own Community and Economic Development department takes building permit applications through its online E-Permit Center, and county inspectors carry the job through to occupancy. Septic comes from a different office, the Adams County Health Department, and its use permit has to be in hand before the house can be certified for occupancy. If you are comparing barndominium contractors for a Colorado farm or ranch parcel east of the metro, start the survey with the property and we will work out which permits it needs and in what order.

Adams County at a glance

County: Adams County
Building permit: County (unincorporated land)
Local facts on this page: 5, each linked to its source

Tell us about your land

Before you build in Adams County

The local answers that shape a build here, each taken from the office or document that publishes it. Rules change, so we confirm them again against your parcel before drawing.

County-issued permitWho issues the permit

Adams County Community and Economic Development, Permits & Licensing (E-Permit Center)

Unincorporated Adams County issues its own residential building permits, applied for and paid through the county's E-Permit Center, and its Eye on Adams tool tracks permits in unincorporated areas. Brighton, Commerce City, Federal Heights, Northglenn and Thornton, and the Adams County parts of Arvada, Aurora, Bennett, Lochbuie and Westminster, permit through their own city or town.

Source: Building Permit | Adams County, CO (adamscountyco.gov)

Design criteria (county-published): Adams County's 2024 Climatic and Geographic Design Criteria list a ground snow load of 30, a frost line depth of 30 inches, a design wind speed of 115 mph, seismic design category B and severe weathering, calculated at an elevation of 5,220 feet.
Building code in effect: From 1 July 2026 the county's adopted codes are the 2024 International Residential Code and International Building Code, the Colorado Model Low Energy and Carbon Code, the 2023 National Electrical Code and the Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code, replacing the 2018 editions.
Septic (OWTS) permits: The Adams County Health Department permits septic systems. A new system needs a soils report and a design from a designer who has passed the NAWT design course (a Colorado-registered professional engineer may be required in some cases), a county-licensed installer, and a final use permit that Code Compliance requires before occupancy.
Unincorporated communities: The county names Henderson, Strasburg and Watkins as unincorporated communities, while Bennett, Aurora, Arvada, Lochbuie and Westminster are only partly inside Adams County.
Private well water: The Adams County Health Department suggests that homes served by a private well consider testing through a certified water testing laboratory.

Building on land near Adams County

Most buildable acreage near Adams County lies on the eastern plains toward Watkins, Strasburg and Bennett, well away from the suburban grid. That ground suits metal building homes with a big shop door, but open plains mean wind exposure and long runs for power and driveway. Before buying, confirm whether the parcel is unincorporated or inside Bennett, where a septic field can fit, and what well permit the Division of Water Resources will issue for the acreage. Our [site preparation](/services/site-preparation/) crew plans pad, drive and utilities together. If the land is over the county line, see [Weld County](/areas/weld-county-co/) or [Arapahoe County](/areas/arapahoe-county-co/).

Where we build in this part of Colorado

Denver & the Metro

What we build in Adams County

Kits, custom plans and turnkey builds. The parcel decides the budget more than the floor area does, so we price against your land rather than a rate card.

Custom Plans

Custom barndominium plans for Colorado: floor plans drawn around your land, snow load and soils, ready for a licensed engineer's seal where required.

Barndominium Kits

Barndominium kits for Colorado land: steel or pole barn shell packages drawn to the snow load your own county or city sets for your elevation.

Turnkey Builds

Turnkey barndominium builds in Colorado: one team from land and permits through well, septic, shell and finishes to a house you move into.

See every service

Have land in or near Adams County? Tell us about the parcel and what you want to build, and we will check it against the local rules before anything is drawn.

Start your build survey

Building in Adams County: questions

Start the survey

How much does it cost to build a barndominium in Adams County?

It depends heavily on the parcel. East-county land often needs a new well, a septic system designed from a soils report, a long gravel drive and a power extension, and each of those can move the total more than the floor plan does. We price against your land rather than a generic sheet. The barndominium cost guide lays out sourced ranges, and the survey gives us what we need to quote.

Do I need a building permit for a barndominium in Adams County?

Yes. A home with living space is permitted and inspected by Adams County on unincorporated land, applied for through the E-Permit Center, and new work is now reviewed against the 2024 residential code and the county's 30-inch frost line. The Health Department issues the septic permit separately. Inside a city or town, that municipality issues the permit instead. Our permitting service puts the package together.

Can I put barndominium kits on farm ground in Adams County?

Usually, once the package is checked against the county's published snow, wind and frost criteria and passes plan review. Plenty of kit packages are designed for milder sites, so we confirm the numbers first and have a Colorado-licensed engineer stamp the drawings where review calls for it. See our barndominium kits page for how we handle supplied or sourced packages.

What order do permits go in for a new build near Watkins or Strasburg?

Soils testing and the septic design come early, because the Health Department reviews the design before it issues the installation permit and the house layout has to leave room for the field. The building permit runs alongside, and the septic use permit must be issued before the county signs off occupancy. Water rights and the well permit belong in due diligence before you close on the land.

Keep reading

What usually comes next once you know what Adams County allows.

Barndominium Cost Guide

Sourced per-square-foot ranges by tier and size, and what moves the number on your land.

Read it

Is a Barndominium Legal in Colorado?

Zoning, septic and who inspects, before you buy the land.

Read it

How Long Does It Take?

From parcel to move-in, and which steps set the clock.

Read it

Sources for this page

The published pages behind the Adams County facts above. Rules change, so check the current version with the office before you rely on it.

Barndominium builders near Adams County

Nearby places we also build in. Across a city limit or a county line the permit office, zoning and septic rules can change, so each has its own page.

Brighton

Adams County, Colorado

Thornton

Adams County, Colorado

Weld County

Colorado county

Arapahoe County

Colorado county

Building in Adams County?

Start with the survey. Tell us where the land is and what you want on it, and we will come back with which office permits it, what it will allow, and a plan to fit.

Start the survey