A red oxide primed structural steel frame partly erected on a concrete slab, showing bolted knee joints and anchor bolts.

Steel Frame Barndominiums in Colorado

Our steel construction is the red iron frame: rigid frames of welded steel columns and rafters, with purlins and girts between them, carrying a metal or conventional skin. Steel is what you choose for a wide, column-free span — a big shop, an open great room, a hangar-style door. In Colorado the frame has to be sized for two local numbers that range widely from site to site: the ground snow load, which in the mountain counties climbs with elevation, and the wind speed, which Larimer County alone sets anywhere from 115 to 225 mph.

Stamped drawings where your jurisdiction requires them
Drawn to your jurisdiction's snow, wind and frost values
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Steel Construction: how the work runs

Four stages, in this order. The sequence matters more than it looks: getting the design values, the water and septic answers and any permits settled before anything is fabricated is what keeps a Colorado build from stalling.

1

Span, eave height and openings

We start with the clear span you want, the eave height and every large opening, because those set the size of every frame. A 60-foot clear span with a 16-foot door is a different frame from a 40-foot span with residential windows. Living space and shop are planned together so the frame lines suit both.

2

Design loads from your jurisdiction

The frame is designed to the snow load, wind speed and seismic figures your county or city publishes. Jefferson County keys ground snow to elevation and requires design by a registered design professional above 70 psf; Mesa County prints 30 lb around Grand Junction and 100 lb at Mesa Lakes. A Colorado-licensed professional engineer designs and seals the frame and its foundation reactions.

3

Foundation for steel column loads

A steel frame puts large concentrated loads and uplift forces on a small number of column bases, so the foundation is designed around them: piers, grade beams or a thickened slab edge, with anchor bolts set to a template. On Front Range clay the soils report may call for drilled piers with a void under the grade beams, a detail the Colorado Geological Survey describes for swelling soils.

4

Erection and close-in

The frame is stood with a crane, plumbed and bolted, then purlins, girts, bracing and the roof and wall skin follow. Once the building is dried in, the interior is framed and finished like any house, with electrical, plumbing and mechanical work by licensed trades under their own permits.

Exterior detail of a metal-clad home in winter, with snow on its standing seam roof, snow guards above the entry and vertical wall panels.
Why steel, and where

Steel earns its price on the wide span and the heavy roof

A steel rigid frame carries a heavy snow load across a wide open floor without interior columns, which is exactly what a big shop at elevation needs. That strength is designed, not assumed: the frame is sized to the snow load and wind speed your jurisdiction sets, and above the prescriptive limits — Larimer County draws the line at 70 psf of ground snow and 140 mph of wind — a Colorado-licensed professional engineer designs it. On the plains with modest spans, post-frame is often the cheaper answer; in the high country with wide spans, steel often is.

Where we deliver steel construction

In Colorado the lines that matter are city limits, county lines and contour lines. Inside a city or town you have its zoning and its building department; out in the county, some counties enforce a building code and some rural ones do not; and in the mountain counties the snow load climbs with elevation, so two parcels in the same county can be drawn to very different roofs. Cross one of those lines and what changes is whether the build is inspected, who reviews the drawings and whose snow, wind and frost values they answer to. The septic permit from the local public health agency and the well permit from the Division of Water Resources go with you almost everywhere.

Barndominium builders across Colorado.

Every city and county we build in has its own answer on permits, septic, water and design values. The service area pages set out what each one publishes.

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Before you commit

What actually decides the price

Square footage is the number everyone leads with, and it is rarely the one that moves a barndominium budget. These four do.

  • Clear span and frame spacing

    The weight of steel in a frame rises quickly with span. Frames are typically spaced 20 to 25 feet apart; closer spacing lightens each frame but adds frames and foundation piers. The design balances the two for your snow load, and the answer is different at 30 psf than at 100.

  • Snow load at your elevation

    Snow is the biggest Colorado variable on a steel frame. Mesa County prints ground snow loads from 30 lb up to 100 lb by area and elevation; Jefferson County's table runs to 143 psf at 10,000 feet. Drifts against a tall wall or onto a lower roof add load on part of the frame, and that is often what sizes the rafters.

  • Wind, uplift and bracing

    Wind pulls up on a roof and pushes on a tall wall. Jefferson County publishes 129 mph, Elbert County 115 mph, Mesa County 104 mph for residential work, and Larimer County between 115 and 225 mph depending on the site. Higher wind means heavier bracing, more anchor bolts and bigger foundations to hold the building down.

  • Foundation and soils

    A steel frame needs a foundation designed for its column loads and uplift, and on expansive clay that may mean drilled piers and grade beams rather than simple spread footings. The Colorado Geological Survey says the primary design test for expansive soils under buildings is the consolidation swell test; its result feeds straight into the foundation price.

A red oxide primed structural steel frame partly erected on a concrete slab, showing bolted knee joints and anchor bolts.

Steel Construction in Colorado: common questions

8 questions we get asked most often about building in Colorado. If yours is not on the list, ask it directly.

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What is a red iron barndominium?
A barndominium on a structural steel frame — "red iron" after the red oxide primer the frames often carry. The frame is a series of welded rigid frames with purlins and girts, covered in metal panels or another finish. It is the frame most metal-building suppliers sell, and the one to choose for wide, column-free spans.
How wide can a steel frame span?
Clear spans of 60 feet and more are routine for steel, and wider spans are possible with a heavier frame. What usually limits a span is the design snow load your county or city publishes, and those figures vary widely across the state: a span that is economical at 30 psf can get expensive at 90 or 100. We plan the span you need around the published figure for your parcel.
Is steel better than wood in Colorado?
It depends on the building. Steel wins on wide spans, tall walls and heavy snow over an open floor. Post-frame and wood framing often win on cost for moderate spans and are easier to insulate. Steel also keeps its columns out of contact with the soil, which suits expansive clay. We price both when the building could go either way.
Does a steel frame need an engineer's stamp?
In practice, almost always. A steel rigid frame is designed rather than taken from a prescriptive table, and building departments want sealed drawings for it. A Colorado-licensed professional engineer designs and seals the frame and provides the column reactions the foundation is designed to.
What foundation does a steel building need on Front Range clay?
Whatever the soils report says. On clay with high swell potential that is often drilled piers into stable material with grade beams spanning between them and a void beneath, so the swelling soil cannot lift the building. The Colorado Geological Survey lists undersized piers and inadequate void space beneath grade beams among the common construction problems on swelling soils.
How does a steel frame handle wind?
Through bracing, rigid frame connections and anchor bolts into a foundation heavy enough to resist uplift. The design wind speed comes from your jurisdiction and can be high along the Front Range foothills — Larimer County sets up to 225 mph at some sites. The frame and foundation are sized for it.
Can a steel frame building be a comfortable home?
Yes, if the envelope is designed for it. The steel frame carries the load; the insulated wall and roof assemblies make it a house. Continuous insulation outside the frame, or a framed interior wall with insulation, keeps the steel from becoming a cold bridge. Where your jurisdiction has an energy code, the assembly is drawn to meet it.
How do I get a steel frame designed for my land?
Start the survey with the location, the span you want and how the building will be used. From the location we find the snow load, wind speed and frost depth your jurisdiction publishes and whether a soils report is likely to be needed. We come back with the frame that suits the site.

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Ready to put steel construction against a real plan? Start there and the rest follows.

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Tell us about the land

Tell us where the parcel is and what you want on it, and we will come back with who has jurisdiction, what the land needs before it can be built on, and a realistic budget range. Starting the survey costs nothing.

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