Barndominium Builders in Whatcom County, Washington
Whatcom County runs from the saltwater shoreline at Bellingham Bay up the Nooksack valley to the foothills of Mount Baker, with farmland and rural acreage between the towns and the international border. Outside the cities, a barndominium usually means two to ten acres, a private well and a septic system, and plenty of room for a shop, hay storage or an equipment bay beside the living space. Whatcom County Planning and Development Services issues building permits for unincorporated land, and the county's Rural zones set how many homes a parcel can carry. The step that surprises most buyers is water: much of the county lies in WRIA 1, the Nooksack River basin with Lake Whatcom and nearby coastal drainages, where a new home on a new permit-exempt well has its own daily limits set by state rule. We build turnkey pole barn homes and steel-framed barndominiums here, supply barndominium kits to owners who plan to raise the shell themselves, and prepare custom plans that place the house, the drainfield and the well radius on the parcel before anything is priced. If the land is inside Bellingham or another city, that city issues the permit instead. Send us the parcel number and we will check the zone, the snow load for its elevation and the water path before you commit.
Whatcom County at a glance
- County
- Whatcom 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 Whatcom 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 Whatcom 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 Whatcom 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 Whatcom County, taken from the office or document that publishes it. Rules change, so check them again against your parcel before anything is drawn.
Whatcom County Planning and Development Services (Building Services)
For unincorporated land, Planning and Development Services takes building applications by email or through its online portal and no longer accepts paper. It recommends researching the property's land-use requirements first, and a Site Plan Review ahead of the building permit to fix the house, septic and turnaround locations. Cities and towns inside the county issue their own permits.
Source: Building Services, Whatcom County (whatcomcounty.us)
Whatcom County Planning and Development Services (zoning, Title 20)
The Growth Management Act leaves rural densities to the county's comprehensive plan, and the zoning code turns them into lot sizes. In the county's Rural District, a conventional subdivision creates lots of two, five or 10 acres depending on the zone (R2A, R5A or R10A) and whether public water is available, and each lot allows one single-family home.
Source: Chapter 20.36 Rural (R) District, Whatcom County Code (ecode360.com)
Whatcom County Health and Community Services (Onsite Sewage Program)
Before a building permit, the county health department must approve a septic design based on a soil and site evaluation, with room kept for a reserve drainfield, and that design is drawn on the site plan. Its Onsite Sewage Program oversees nearly 30,000 systems across the county.
Source: Onsite Sewage, Whatcom County (whatcomcounty.us)
Whatcom County Health and Community Services; Department of Ecology (WRIA 1 rule)
A building permit needs evidence of an adequate water supply. In WRIA 1, a new home permitted on or after June 27, 2020 on a new permit-exempt well is limited to 500 gallons per day indoors and outdoor watering of 1/12 acre, and the building permit carries a $500 fee. Homes permitted earlier, or using an older well, are not covered.
Source: Nooksack basin rule, Washington State Department of Ecology (ecology.wa.gov)
- Well review before the permit
- The County's Water Availability packet for a private well asks for a well site inspection, legal water availability documentation, the well log, bacteriological and inorganic chemical tests and a recorded covenant. Wells built after January 19, 2018 need a recorded well covenant before the building permit is issued.
- Snow and seismic design
- Whatcom County sets snow loads from the Structural Engineers Association of Washington study (revised January 1997), using the site's elevation and isoline, and a plans examiner will look up the value by parcel number. The County places the west half of the county in seismic zone D-1 and the east half in D-0.
Source: Water Availability Form, Private Water Supply (Well), Whatcom County Health (whatcomcounty.us)
Source: Design Loads, Whatcom County (whatcomcounty.us)
Building on land near Whatcom County
Look at three things before buying rural Whatcom land: the zone, the water and the soils. The Rural District's R2A, R5A and R10A designations decide whether a parcel can be split or carry only one house, and farmland in the agriculture zone has its own rules. Water comes next, because the WRIA 1 limits and the county's well review both have to be satisfied before the permit. Then the soils, which set the septic design and where the drainfield and its reserve can go. The County also counts more than 400 miles of shoreline of different types, and a parcel on or near one has extra permitting steps. Snow loads rise with elevation toward the foothills, which affects roof framing on a pole barn home. For city lots with sewer, see Bellingham.
Other places in this part of Washington
Everett, Bellingham & the North Sound
- Everett
- Marysville
- Mount Vernon
- Bellingham
- Snohomish County
- Skagit County
- Whatcom County
- Island County
Have land in or near Whatcom 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 Whatcom County: questions
Start the surveyHow much does it cost to build a barndominium in Whatcom County?
Do I need a building permit for a barndominium in Whatcom County?
Can I drill a new well for a barndominium in Whatcom County?
How many acres do I need for a barndominium in rural Whatcom County?
Keep reading
What usually comes next once you know what Whatcom 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 Whatcom County facts above. Rules change, so check the current version with the office before you rely on it.
- Building Services, Whatcom CountyBuilding permit authoritywhatcomcounty.us
- Chapter 20.36 Rural (R) District, Whatcom County CodeLand use and zoningecode360.com
- Onsite Sewage, Whatcom CountySewer or septicwhatcomcounty.us
- Nooksack basin rule, Washington State Department of EcologyWater supplyecology.wa.gov
- Water Availability Form, Private Water Supply (Well), Whatcom County HealthWell review before the permitwhatcomcounty.us
- Design Loads, Whatcom CountySnow and seismic designwhatcomcounty.us
Other places near Whatcom 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 Whatcom 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.