Printing Barndominium Plans: How to Print a Barndo Plan Set from a PDF
Barndominium plans usually arrive as a PDF download. Then you find out the permit office, the lender, the builder and the steel or post-frame supplier all want paper. Here’s how to print a barndo plan set so every page is complete, to scale and in the right hands.
Short answer: print the PDF at the size it was drawn at (usually 24×36), in black and white for nearly every sheet, and add the building supplier’s drawings and any engineer’s foundation sheets as separate line items if they come as separate files. Print one set each for the permit office (if it takes paper), your builder and the job site.
Order prints: upload your PDF, pick size and color, and check out. Or start from the homepage.
A barndo set often comes in two or three parts
A barndominium is a home built in a barn-style shell, usually a steel building or a post-frame (pole barn) building. That’s why the plans often come from more than one place:
- The house plans from the plan seller or designer: floor plan, elevations, sections, electrical layout, and sometimes plumbing and a roof plan.
- The building drawings from the steel or post-frame supplier: framing, anchor bolt or post layout, and connection details. These are often stamped by the supplier’s engineer.
- Site-specific sheets: a site plan, and in many places a foundation design from an engineer for your site.
Before you print, collect all three and check them against each other. The permit office reviews them as one set, and the builder builds from all of them.
Size and scale
- Plan sellers often draw barndo plans on 24×36 sheets (24×36 printing). Supplier drawings are sometimes a different size. Check each PDF with the free PDF page size checker.
- If the files are different sizes, order each size as its own line item. Don’t shrink the large sheets to match the small ones.
- Print at full size. A scale like 1/4″ = 1′-0″ is only true at the drawn size, and on a 40×60 or 50×80 shell, a small scaling error adds up fast. See the blueprint scale guide.
Black and white or color?
Black and white ($1.95 a sheet) is right for nearly every barndo sheet: framing, foundation, electrical and dimension plans. Color ($3.75 a sheet) only pays off for a 3D rendering or a colored exterior elevation you’re showing a lender, HOA or family, or a site plan where color separates new work from existing. You can mix both in one order as separate items. More: black and white or color plan prints.
How many sets?
| Who | Why they want paper |
|---|---|
| Permit office | Some rural counties still take or ask for paper sets. Check the copy count first: how many plan copies for a permit |
| Builder or general contractor | Building and pricing from the plans |
| Job site | Approved plans for inspections and subs |
| Lender or appraiser | Construction loans often ask for plans. Many take a PDF, so ask first |
| You | A clean copy to mark up and keep |
Getting prices from several builders? Each needs a set: bid set printing.
What a barndo plan set costs to print
Printing only, before shipping, at $1.95 per sheet in black and white and $3.75 in color, the same price at all sizes (18×24 to 36×48), on 20 lb bond paper:
| Example | Sheets | Printing | With code WELCOME20 (20% off your first order) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12-sheet barndo set, 1 copy, B&W | 12 | $23.40 | $18.72 |
| 12-sheet set, 3 copies (permit, builder, site) | 36 | $70.20 | $56.16 |
| 16 sheets (house plans + building drawings), 2 copies, B&W | 32 | $62.40 | $49.92 |
| 15 B&W + 1 color rendering (separate items), 2 copies | 32 | $66.00 | $52.80 |
WELCOME20 takes 20% off printing on a first order. Students get 25% off printing with STUDENT25. One code per order. Price your own set with the plan printing cost calculator.
Before you upload
- Match the revisions. If the builder changed the shell size or door openings, make sure the house plans and building drawings show the same version.
- Print sealed sheets as received. If the supplier’s or engineer’s sheets are digitally signed, don’t edit or re-save them. See wet stamp vs digital seal.
- Check the page count against the sheet index so no detail or electrical page is missing.
- Ship sets where they’re needed. Send the builder’s set straight to them or to the site: ship plans to a job site.
Building a shop, garage or pole barn without living space? See metal building and pole barn permit prints. Bought a regular house plan online? See how to print house plans bought online.
What we do and don’t do
We print your PDF exactly as uploaded. We don’t design barndominiums, change plans, engineer foundations or file permits. Changes go back to your plan seller, designer or engineer.
FAQ
What size are barndominium plans printed on?
Barndo plan sets are often drawn on 24×36 sheets. Supplier or engineer drawings can be a different size. Print each file at the size it was drawn.
Can I print barndominium plans I bought online?
Yes, if your plan license allows printing. Upload the PDF, pick the size and the number of copies, and check out.
My steel building drawings are a separate PDF. Can they go in the same order?
Yes. Add each file as its own line item, at its own size.
Should barndo plans be printed in color?
Usually not. Black and white works for construction sheets. Use color for renderings or colored elevations.
Do you engineer the foundation or change the plans?
No. We print your PDF as uploaded. Engineering and plan changes go to your engineer or designer.
What file do I upload?
Upload a PDF. We print it to scale, exactly as uploaded. Need to print from another file type? Email us at support@printmyplans.com.
Printing it
When every PDF is final, upload it on the order page, choose the size, black and white or color, and the number of copies, and check out. Order by 3 PM ET, ships same day, arrives as soon as the next day. If we make a mistake, we reprint and ship it free of charge.
