Ellis County, Kansas Garden City, Dodge City, Hays & Western Kansas

Barndominium Builders in Hays, Kansas

Inside Hays, a barndominium goes through a full city plan review. The Planning & Development Division of the city's Public Works Department reviews plans for code compliance, issues building permits, inspects the work and licenses contractors, and it publishes its own design criteria rather than leaving them to guesswork. We design and supply barndominiums, shop houses and metal building homes for owners who want to build near Hays, whether that is an infill lot inside the city limits or a few acres on the Ellis County prairie beyond them. The drawings we prepare for a Hays lot start from the city's adopted 2024 International Residential Code and its stated snow, wind and frost values, so the foundation and frame are sized before the steel is ordered. Owners who would rather manage their own crew can take one of our barndominium kits instead of a turnkey build, and licensed trade contractors handle the plumbing, electrical and HVAC either way. Land outside town is a different conversation, because a separate permit covers the three-mile fringe and the county's environmental office takes over wells and septic. Tell us about your land and we will say which counter your project starts at.

Hays at a glance

Principal county: Ellis County
Building permit: City building department
Local facts on this page: 5, each linked to its source

Tell us about your land

Before you build in Hays

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.

City-issued permitWho issues the permit

City of Hays Planning & Development Division (Public Works Department)

Inside the Hays city limits the Planning & Development Division reviews plans for building code compliance, issues the building permit and performs the inspections. Its zoning and subdivision authority also reaches the extraterritorial area around the city, where a separate ETJ building application is checked by the city for zoning, setbacks and floodplain and by the Ellis County Environmental Office for well and wastewater needs.

Source: Planning & Development | Hays, KS (haysusa.com)

Residential code adopted: The City of Hays lists the 2024 International Residential Code and 2024 International Building Code among its adopted codes, alongside the 2023 National Electrical Code and the 2009 Uniform Plumbing and Mechanical Codes, with local amendments available from the Planning & Development office.
Design criteria: The City of Hays publishes its design criteria as a ground snow load of 25, a wind speed of 115 and a frost depth of 30 inches, and states that ice barrier underlayment is not required.
Building in the ETJ: For structures outside the city but inside the Hays extraterritorial jurisdiction, the city's ETJ building application can start at either the City of Hays or the Ellis County Environmental Office. The city verifies floodplain, zoning and setback compliance; the county verifies water well and wastewater compliance.
New home submittal: The City of Hays new home permit application lists a site plan, building drawings, a window schedule, the truss package and bracing, plumbing drawings with a fixture schedule, and a stormwater drainage permit application with stormwater site plan among the items to submit.
Septic outside the city: Ellis County's Environmental Office requires a permit before a wastewater system is built or modified, and the county Environmental Code requires the system to be inspected when property ownership is transferred within the county's jurisdiction.

Building on land near Hays

Most barndominium enquiries around Hays split between a platted lot on city water and sewer and a small acreage just past the city limits. Inside town, the permit package and the stormwater drainage review shape the site layout, and the 30-inch frost line sets the footing depth. Out in the extraterritorial fringe, the city still checks zoning, setbacks and flood zones, but a private well and a septic system each need an Ellis County permit before the house can be lived in. Post frame homes suit those fringe parcels well, since a wide clear-span shop bay and a compact living wing fit under one roof. Check whether a parcel lies in a mapped flood zone before you make an offer.

Where we build in this part of Kansas

Garden City, Dodge City, Hays & Western Kansas

What we build in Hays

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 floor plans for your Kansas parcel: septic sized to bedroom count, the well sited clear of it, and the values your county publishes.

Barndominium Kits

Barndominium kits for Kansas land: steel or post-frame shell packages sized to the snow, wind and frost values your own city or county publishes.

Turnkey Builds

Turnkey barndominium builds in Kansas: one contract from land check and septic permit through shell, finish and move-in, with licensed trades.

See every service

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

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Building in Hays: questions

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How much does it cost to build a barndominium near Hays?

The land decides much of it. A city lot with water and sewer at the curb avoids the well, septic system and long gravel drive that an acreage outside town may need, and those items can outweigh differences in the building shell. Size, finish level and how much of the floor is shop space come next. Our barndominium cost guide walks through sourced ranges and the variables that move them.

Do I need a building permit for a barndominium in Hays?

Yes. Inside the city limits a new home needs a permit from the Planning & Development Division, which reviews the drawings against the 2024 residential code and inspects the construction. Just outside town, the ETJ building application covers zoning, setbacks and floodplain, with Ellis County signing off on the well and septic. Our permitting service explains how we assemble the drawings for either route.

Can I buy a barndominium kit and use my own crew in Hays?

You can. Plenty of owners pair one of our kits with local framers, or with other barndominium contractors they already trust, and we supply the drawings the city asks to see, including the truss layout and bracing. Hays licenses the contractors who pull permits, so confirm your crew's standing with the city before work starts. Our barndominium kits page covers what a kit includes.

Are pole barn homes allowed on acreage outside Hays?

Usually. Pole barn homes are judged by the zoning district rather than by how they are framed. Within the three-mile extraterritorial area the city applies its zoning and subdivision rules, and beyond it the Ellis County regulations govern. In both places the living quarters need an approved sewage system and a permitted well if there is no public water. Start the survey with the parcel number and we will map the likely requirements.

Keep reading

What usually comes next once you know what Hays 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 Kansas?

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 Hays facts above. Rules change, so check the current version with the office before you rely on it.

Barndominium builders near Hays

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.

Ellis County

Kansas county

Salina

Saline County, Kansas

Garden City

Finney County, Kansas

Building in Hays?

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