Can of Bliss
October 29th, 2012The Big Bad Wolf Would Need a Plasma Cutter
Does anyone who reads this blog know anything about what it’s like to live in a metal house?
I ask because I was fooling around on the web, and I found a couple of insane properties in Texas. Around 25 acres. Metal buildings with living quarters (drywall, wood, etc.) built into one side. One of these places has a 2800-square-foot shop. I’m…I’m…it’s hard to breathe…losing consciousness…argghff…auugghfff…Rosebud…
This is north Texas. I don’t know much about it. Looks somewhat wetter than Dallas, which would be good.
If you don’t know what I mean by “metal building,” I am referring to the kind of building car dealerships use. Big steel arches hold it up, and the sides are steel. I’m wondering if there would be problems in the living area.
I’m not taking this too seriously, but man…all that for $117500. It’s like I dreamed it.
October 29th, 2012 at 5:56 PM
Dallas is considered to be in North Central Texas & the area came through the drouth better than others. East Texas is wetter than most parts of the state.
Don’t know about living in a metal house – there were some put up in the area but I’ve not been in one. They’re supposedly more tornado-resistant than standard houses, but I can’t say whether that’s anything but wishful thinking.
October 30th, 2012 at 2:06 AM
It depends on what kind of metal it is. You know the Duggar family from TV, built their own steel frame house, and it’s really pretty. If it’s a steel frame house some of those are very nice once you finish them out with drywall etc. In fact that’s what we were going to build here, but ended up not having the time to build due to my mother’s illness and my pregnancy. When we are able to build our dream house it will probably be a steel frame house.
October 30th, 2012 at 9:00 AM
It’s an inexpensive way to build and has almost no maintenance. It’s a little noisy during a hail storm but there is a coating you can put on the roof to minimize that. That area is nice to live in. A little hotter than Miami but A LOT less humidity. Plus you can see snow and ice in the winter.
Lots of nice friendly folks there also. Everybody is armed.
For that price the land is probably not good for much but living on. That is still a little cheap for that area.
October 30th, 2012 at 12:33 PM
Assuming you’re talking about the normal metal building common around here, and pretty much everywhere, they’re like living in a mobile home. The metal is thin, tin-snip thin. Proper or over-insulation for a living area would be essential, or you’ll bake and freeze. The shop part, well, I’d insulate that, too, so you could run a wood stove or such-like in the winter. But, it’s fairly common, you’re not talking about something exotic for Texas at all.
I’ve always wanted to do this, but wasted my time & money on other dumb things.
October 30th, 2012 at 3:59 PM
I have discovered that the proper term for this kind of house is “barndominium.”
October 31st, 2012 at 1:00 PM
We’re waiting for you here! I moved here from Illinois (another s***hole) 1.5 years ago. You will not believe the quality of life difference – I didn’t until I experienced it myself.
I urge you to come visit and just talk to people on the ground and see how intelligent, independent, motivated, and friendly everyone is. Then, pick any church and go to it on Sunday and you will find it filled with deeply spiritual folks.
November 6th, 2012 at 7:22 PM
My dad’s got a metal building much like you described, with a living area on one end, and a larger garage that he keeps his projects. The biggest problem I’ve seen for him is the garage is like any other of it’s type, too hot in our summers! He had the metal building built after he was divorced 13 years ago, then finished the living area himself.