Planning a Post-Frame Building: 5 Steps to Your Ideal Build
Planning a post-frame building involves defining its purpose, evaluating site conditions, and securing necessary permits. Key considerations include structural dimensions, insulation for regional climates, and choosing durable materials. This process ensures your agricultural, residential, or commercial building meets functional requirements while remaining cost-effective for years to come.
Step 1: Define your building's purpose
The journey toward a successful custom build begins with one question: what will this building actually be used for? Housing machinery, sheltering livestock, or living in it full-time as a barndominium each demand different floor thickness, ceiling height, and ventilation.
- Agricultural buildings: Plan around your largest piece of equipment — height, turn radius, and clear-span room to move.
- Workshops & garages & shops: Placement of outlets and overhead doors should follow your workflow, not the other way around.
- Horse barns: Prioritize animal safety, stall layout, and easy hay access.
Step 2: Select the right site
Five site factors to weigh:
- Soil Quality: Ensure the soil can support the weight of the posts without excessive settling.
- Accessibility: Can large delivery trucks reach the site during construction?
- Utility Proximity: How far will you need to run electricity, water, or gas lines?
- Sun Exposure: Proper orientation can help with natural heating in the winter.
- Future Expansion: Leave enough room on at least one side for a potential addition.
Consulting an expert during our process catches issues like a sloped lot before they become expensive surprises.

Step 3: Secure permits
Permit requirements shift from county to county, so the process in Kansas can look nothing like Wisconsin. Setback distances, floodplain rules, and utility easements all affect where you can legally build — which is why this step and site selection go hand-in-hand. A local Gingerich Pro who already works in your county can flag likely issues before you've spent a dollar on engineering.
Step 4: Determine size and layout
Most owners build too small and fill the space fast, so plan for where you're headed, not just where you are.
- Bays: Standard post spacing is 8–9 feet, which sets where doors and windows can go.
- Height: Measure your tallest equipment or camper and add 2+ feet of clearance — a 14- to 16-foot eave is common for lifts or tall storage.
- Interior layout: Post-frame's open-concept design skips load-bearing interior walls, so barndominium owners can place rooms wherever they want.
- Future use: Building for a boat, RV, or shop space you don't need yet is cheaper now than adding on later.
Features to consider (and how they affect cost)
- Insulation: Without it, a metal building runs hot in July and cold in January. Will you use the space daily year-round, or just seasonally? That answer should drive whether you invest in spray foam or a lighter option.
- Doors & windows: Sized for what you'll ever park inside, not just what you own today? Oversizing now costs less than retrofitting a door opening later.
- Flooring: Poured concrete or gravel? Concrete costs more upfront but is the standard for workshops, garages, and living spaces.
- Electrical & plumbing rough-in: Planning this before the slab is poured avoids a much more expensive retrofit after the fact.
Step 5: Choose a builder who stands behind the work
A builder who only ships a generic kit can't adjust for your soil, slope, or climate — a true custom post-frame build is designed around your site. Gingerich Structures backs every project with a 5-year workmanship warranty, and because our Pros live and work in the territories they build in, you get a local expert, not a 1-800 number.
Ready to put these five steps to work? Start your custom build today and Contact your Local Gingerich Pro.

Looking to Talk to Someone?
Your Local Gingerich Pro will answer your questions and walk you through the Gingerich approach


