Barndominium Builders in Kitsap County, Washington
Kitsap County is almost all peninsula: forested acreage, small farms and waterfront between Puget Sound and Hood Canal, with Bremerton, Port Orchard, Poulsbo and Bainbridge Island as its cities. Outside them, rural residential land commonly comes in five-acre parcels, which suits a barndominium with a covered shop, a boat or RV bay, or room for animals beside the living space. Kitsap County's Department of Community Development issues building permits for the unincorporated county, but on a well-and-septic parcel the Kitsap Public Health District reviews the septic design and the proposed water supply before that permit can be issued. The whole county sits in WRIA 15, where a new home on a new permit-exempt well carries a withdrawal limit and a fee. Our crews put up complete homes on peninsula acreage, and owners who would rather raise the frame themselves can buy barndominium kits from us instead. A custom plan is where most Kitsap projects begin, because the drainfield, its reserve area and the well radius all compete for the same cleared ground. For a lot inside Bremerton, the City's own permit office applies. Tell us which parcel you are looking at, and we will read its zone, the health district steps and the water situation with you before you make an offer.
Kitsap County at a glance
- County
- Kitsap County
- Building permit
- County building department
- Land use
- County rural and resource zoning
- Wastewater
- Septic permit from the health jurisdiction
- Water
- Private well
Barndominium Builders Near Kitsap County
From a turnkey build to a shell you finish yourself, the work starts with the parcel: the access, the building pad, the route to sewer or septic, and the water source. The parcel decides the budget more than the floor area does, so each option is priced against your land rather than a rate card.
Turnkey Builds
Turnkey barndominiums in Washington State: one team from land and permits to the finished, inspected house, with water, septic and energy code planned in.
Custom Plans
Custom barndominium plans for Washington State: floor plans and permit drawings with the energy code credits and your site's design values built in.
Site Preparation
Barndominium site preparation in Washington State: clearing, grading, drainage and pads, planned around the well, septic area, wetlands and the climate.
Permitting
Barndominium permits in Washington State: city or county building permit, water supply evidence, septic permit, energy code credits and rural zoning.
Barndominium Kits and Pole Barn Homes in Kitsap County
A kit suits an owner who wants to raise the shell with their own crew. A pole barn home sets its frame on posts and trusses (the engineering term is post-frame construction) and suits a wide, simple layout with a shop bay under the same roof; a metal building home uses a bolted steel frame. Which one fits your parcel comes down to the zoning, the site and the design values the local building office publishes, covered below.
Barndominium Kits
Barndominium kits and shell kits for Washington State land: frame, panels and drawings, sized to the design values your city or county sets for the site.
Pole Barn Homes
Pole barn homes and pole barn house kits for Washington State: post-frame buildings with a shop and living space, designed to your county's snow load.
Metal Homes
Metal building homes in Washington State: steel-clad houses finished to the state energy code, with the insulation and condensation details done right.
Building a Barndominium in Kitsap County: Permits, Zoning, Septic and Water
On rural land the zoning, septic and water answers often come before the building answer. Here is who decides each part in Kitsap County, taken from the office or document that publishes it. Rules change, so check them again against your parcel before anything is drawn.
Kitsap County Department of Community Development (Permit Services)
For unincorporated land, Community Development accepts permit applications online only, through its Permit Application Portal, with fees, reviews and approved documents handled in a separate Online Permit Center. Several county divisions review each permit, and a new home needs a final inspection and occupancy approval. Cities inside the county, such as Bremerton, Port Orchard, Poulsbo and Bainbridge Island, issue their own permits.
Source: Permit Services, Kitsap County Department of Community Development (kitsap.gov)
Kitsap County Department of Community Development (zoning, Title 17)
County comprehensive plans set rural densities under the Growth Management Act, and the zoning code applies them parcel by parcel. Kitsap's Rural Residential zone allows one dwelling unit per five acres and is meant for low-density homes and farming consistent with rural character, on land relatively free of sensitive areas and with limited public services.
Source: Rural Residential Zone, Kitsap County (kitsap.gov)
Kitsap Public Health District
For a new system, a licensed septic designer submits a Building Site Application to the health district, proposing the system and describing the water supply. Only after the district approves it does the owner get the building permit; a certified installer then obtains the installation permit, and occupancy follows approval of the new system.
Source: Septic System Construction, Repairs & Maintenance, Kitsap Public Health (kitsappublichealth.org)
Kitsap Public Health District; Department of Ecology (WRIA 15 plan)
Proof of an adequate water supply comes before the permit. WRIA 15 covers the entire Kitsap Peninsula, and a new home on a new permit-exempt well in WRIA 15 is limited to an annual average of 950 gallons per day, pays a $500 fee with the building permit, and has the limit recorded on the title.
Source: Watershed Restoration and Enhancement Plan, WRIA 15 Kitsap Watershed, Department of Ecology (apps.ecology.wa.gov)
- New well requirements
- Kitsap Public Health inspects a well site before drilling and again during it, and approves the water supply only with the well log, a pump test showing at least five gallons per minute per residential connection, a bacteria test and a chemical test for iron, manganese, nitrate, chloride and conductivity, which the district calls the Kitsap 5.
Source: 1 & 2-Party Wells, Kitsap Public Health (kitsappublichealth.org)
Building on land near Kitsap County
Start with the zone and the soils. The Rural Residential zone's one-home-per-five-acres density decides whether a parcel can be divided, and the health district's septic review decides where the house can sit, because the drainfield and its reserve area must stay clear of buildings and parking. Much of the peninsula is wooded and cut by small streams draining to Puget Sound or Hood Canal, so clearing, driveway grades and the location of streams shape the site plan. Waterfront parcels add shoreline rules within 200 feet of the water. Budget time for the well: inspection, drilling, a pump test and water tests all come before the permit. For city lots on sewer, see Bremerton.
Other places in this part of Washington
Kitsap & the Olympic Peninsula
- Bremerton
- Port Angeles
- Kitsap County
- Clallam County
- Jefferson County
- Grays Harbor County
Have land in or near Kitsap County? Tell us about the parcel and what you want on it, and we will check it against the local rules before anything is drawn.
Building in Kitsap County: questions
Start the surveyHow much does it cost to build a barndominium in Kitsap County?
Do I need a building permit for a barndominium in Kitsap County?
Can I put a barndominium on five acres in Kitsap County?
What does the WRIA 15 well limit mean for a new home?
Keep reading
What usually comes next once you know what Kitsap County allows.
Barndominium Cost Guide
Sourced per-square-foot ranges by tier and size, and what moves the number on your land.
Read itIs a Barndominium Legal in Washington?
Zoning, rural land, septic, water and who inspects, before you buy the land.
Read itHow Long Does It Take?
From parcel to move-in, and which steps set the clock.
Read itSources for this page
The published pages behind the Kitsap County facts above. Rules change, so check the current version with the office before you rely on it.
- Permit Services, Kitsap County Department of Community DevelopmentBuilding permit authoritykitsap.gov
- Rural Residential Zone, Kitsap CountyLand use and zoningkitsap.gov
- Septic System Construction, Repairs & Maintenance, Kitsap Public HealthSewer or septickitsappublichealth.org
- Watershed Restoration and Enhancement Plan, WRIA 15 Kitsap Watershed, Department of EcologyWater supplyapps.ecology.wa.gov
- 1 & 2-Party Wells, Kitsap Public HealthNew well requirementskitsappublichealth.org
Other places near Kitsap County
Nearby places with their own pages. Across a city limit or a county line the permit office, the zoning, the septic program and the water rules can change, so each is covered separately.
Building in Kitsap County?
Start with the survey. Tell us where the land is and what you want on it, and we will come back with which offices decide it, what the zoning allows, and a plan to fit.