Small Barndominium Floor Plans in Western Canada

A small barndominium is usually somewhere between 600 and 1,200 sq ft (56 to 111 m²) of living space under a simple gable roof: a retirement home on the home quarter, a first build on a new acreage, a guest house beside the main house, or a ready-to-move home built in a yard and trucked to the site. Small does not mean simple. The building code still sets minimum ceiling heights and room areas, winter still needs a place to take off boots and hang wet coats, and in British Columbia's Agricultural Land Reserve a small second home has hard size limits of its own. The plan choices that matter are where the space goes, not how much of it there is.

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What actually changes with this feature

The look is the easy part. These are the decisions that follow from it.

A real boot room, even in a small plan

In a Prairie or Interior winter the entry does the most work of any room. Give the main door a boot room with a bench, a tray or floor drain for melting snow, hooks that hold a full winter coat and a closet for the block-heater cord and the snow shovel. In a small plan it can double as the laundry, but it should never open straight into the living room.

Small enough to build in a yard and move

Many small plans can be built as ready-to-move homes: built at a yard, loaded on beams, hauled to the site and set on a permanent foundation. A ready-to-move home must meet the same building code as a home built on site, and its width and height are set by what can travel the road to your land, so settle the move before the plan is drawn.

Hallways sized to the code

A small plan saves space in the hall first. The code's minimum hallway width inside a dwelling unit is 860 mm, reduced to 710 mm only where the hall leads just to bedrooms and bathrooms and a second exit is provided near its far end or in each bedroom. Every bedroom also needs its own escape window or exterior door.

One floor, one roofline, fewer corners

Every jog in the outline adds corners to air-seal and flashing to detail. A plain rectangle under one gable roof is the simplest shape to heat through a Canadian winter and the easiest to build tight. Vaulting the living area instead of adding floor area makes a small plan feel bigger.

Small plans and the code minimums

The code measures ceiling height and room area, not square footage

Part 9 of the National Building Code – 2023 Alberta Edition, the code Alberta has built to since May 1, 2024, does not set a minimum house size. It sets minimum ceiling heights over minimum areas instead. Table 9.5.3.1 asks for a 2.1 m ceiling over the lesser of the room's area or 10.0 m² in a living space, 4.9 m² in a main bedroom and 3.5 m² in other bedrooms. Saskatchewan builds to the 2020 National Building Code of Canada and British Columbia to the BC Building Code 2024, which is based on it. Your municipality can still set its own minimum dwelling size in its land use or zoning bylaw.

Common ways to build this

Three common ways to lay this out. Yours does not have to match one exactly — this is a starting point for the conversation, not a catalog.

One-bedroom retirement plan

800 sq ft (74 m²) living / 1 bedroom / 1 bath

A single-storey plan with an open kitchen and living space under a vaulted ceiling, one bedroom, one bathroom and a boot room with laundry at the main entry. Doors and the bathroom are sized so the house still works if mobility changes later.

Two-bedroom first home

1,100 sq ft (102 m²) living / 2 bedrooms / 1.5 baths

Two bedrooms at one end, the living space at the other, and a boot room and mechanical room in the middle where the plumbing stacks together. A covered entry over the main door keeps snow off the step.

Guest or family house on the same parcel

900 sq ft (84 m²) living / 1–2 bedrooms

A second, smaller home beside the main house for parents, adult children or guests. Whether a second dwelling is allowed is set by the municipality's bylaw, and on Agricultural Land Reserve land by the provincial limits in the questions below, so check both before the plan is drawn.

Ways to build this

This layout can go together several ways. These are the service lines most relevant to it.

RTM Homes

RTM homes in Alberta and Saskatchewan: ready-to-move barndominiums built in our yard, moved to your land and set on the foundation built there.

Custom Plans

Custom barndominium plans for Alberta, Saskatchewan and BC: floor plans and permit drawings drawn for your parcel, your loads and your municipality.

Post-Frame Homes

Post-frame and pole barn homes in Alberta, Saskatchewan and BC: a wide-open shop and a house on one column-and-truss frame, built as a real home.

Small Barndominium: common questions

6 questions worth settling before this plan is drawn. If yours is not on the list, put it in the survey.

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Is there a minimum size for a barndominium?

The building code does not set a minimum house size. It sets minimum ceiling heights over minimum areas: Table 9.5.3.1 asks for a 2.1 m ceiling over at least 10.0 m² of a living space, 4.9 m² of a main bedroom and 3.5 m² of other bedrooms, or over the whole room if it is smaller. Your municipality may set a minimum dwelling size in its bylaw, so check the district your parcel is in.

Can a small barndominium be built as a ready-to-move home?

Often, yes. A ready-to-move home is built at a yard and moved to a permanent foundation on your land, and it must meet the same building code as a home built on site. The practical limits are the width and height that can be hauled to your parcel and the access into the site, so plan the move together with the floor plan.

Can I put a small second home on Agricultural Land Reserve land?

Sometimes. The Agricultural Land Commission allows one additional residence without an application in some cases: up to 90 m² (about 969 sq ft) on properties of 40 ha or less, or up to 186 m² (about 2,002 sq ft) on properties of more than 40 ha, measured to the inside of the exterior walls. It must be detached from the principal residence, and local government bylaws can restrict it further.

How small can a bedroom be?

The code's room rules work through ceiling height: at least 2.1 m over 4.9 m² of a main bedroom and 3.5 m² of any other bedroom. Each bedroom also needs an escape window with an unobstructed opening of at least 0.35 m² and no dimension under 380 mm, or an exterior door.

Does a small plan still need a boot room?

The code does not require one, but winter does. A boot room at the main door keeps snow, mud and wet gear out of the living space, and in a small plan it can share space with the laundry and the mechanical room.

Is a small barndominium cheaper to heat?

Less floor area and a simple outline mean less wall and roof to lose heat through and fewer corners to air-seal. The energy rules still apply in full: Alberta and Saskatchewan require at least Tier 1 of the code's energy performance tiers for houses, and British Columbia requires at least Step 3 of the BC Energy Step Code.

Where this plan fits in Western Canada

On the Prairies a plan answers to deep cold, snow load by place and big acreage; in British Columbia, to the Step Code, the 2024 earthquake requirements, wildfire and the Agricultural Land Reserve. These are the places this layout suits best.

Saskatchewan

Rural municipality country, where small plans often start on a farmyard or a country residence site.

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Red Deer

Central Alberta acreage where a small first home or retirement home is a common plan.

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British Columbia

Where Agricultural Land Reserve rules set hard limits on a second, smaller home.

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Keep reading

The pages that answer the next question this one raises.

What size barndominium fits your budget

How floor area, finish level and the site work together before you settle on a size.

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Want this drawn for your program and your parcel? That is where a build actually starts.

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Sources

Code references on this page are to Part 9 of the National Building Code – 2023 Alberta Edition, in force in Alberta since May 1, 2024; the National Building Code of Canada 2020, in force in Saskatchewan since January 1, 2024; and the BC Building Code 2024, in effect in British Columbia since March 8, 2024 (the City of Vancouver has its own building bylaw). The edition that applies to your permit governs.

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