Gila County, Arizona Prescott, Payson & Central Arizona

Barndominium Builders in Gila County, Arizona

We build barndominiums on private land across unincorporated Gila County, from the pine country around Pine, Strawberry and the Rim communities down to the ranch and mining land near Globe. Our crews handle turnkey builds, and owners who want to put up their own shell can order barndominium kits from us. Outside the incorporated towns, Gila County Community Development issues the building permit, and the same department handles septic, floodplain, grading and zoning, with offices in Globe and Payson. A county building application needs more than drawings. The county's checklist asks for an approved drinking water supply, wastewater or sanitary district approval, and floodplain clearance before a new home moves forward, and in the Pine/Strawberry, Hellsgate and Tri-City fire districts the fire department signs off too. Much of the county is national forest or reservation land, so a private parcel with road access and water is the real starting point. Pole barn homes and steel frames both suit the terrain once the loads are sized for your elevation. If you are comparing barndominium contractors near Gila County land you are looking at, start the survey and tell us where it is.

Gila County at a glance

County: Gila County
Building permit: County (unincorporated land)
Local facts on this page: 6, each linked to its source

Tell us about your land

Before you build in Gila County

The local answers that shape a build here, each taken from the office or document that publishes it. Rules change, so we confirm them again against your parcel before drawing.

County-issued permitWho issues the permit

Gila County Community Development, Building Safety Division

The county's Building Safety Division regulates construction, demolition and occupancy of buildings in the unincorporated areas of Gila County. It reviews plans, issues building permits and inspects new homes, additions and alterations, and it inspects manufactured-home installations. The county lists six incorporated places (Globe, Miami, Hayden, Winkelman, Payson and Star Valley); a lot inside one of them goes to that town or city instead.

Tribal land: The San Carlos Apache Reservation spans Gila, Graham and Pinal counties, the White Mountain Apache lands reach into Gila County, and the Tonto Apache Reservation adjoins Payson. On those lands the tribal government has jurisdiction; county permits do not reach them.

Source: Building Safety (Gila County, archived 1 Jan 2024) (web.archive.org)

What a county application needs: Gila County's Building Safety FAQ (archived April 2024) lists the owner's tax parcel number, contractor details or the owner's signed statement, two sets of scaled plans and a site plan, an approved potable water supply for a new home, wastewater or sanitary district approval, floodplain clearance, and sealed truss or engineered specifications.
Fire district approval: The same Gila County FAQ says that in the Pine/Strawberry, Hellsgate and Tri-City fire districts, fire department approval is required as part of the building permit application.
Septic under ADEQ delegation: Gila County's Wastewater Division says it receives its authority by delegation from ADEQ. Its services include soil evaluation and percolation testing, septic plan review and inspection, transfer-of-ownership inspections, setback requirements and water well information.
Who handles floodplain permits: According to the county's floodplain page (archived August 2024), floodplain questions in Globe, Miami and Payson go to those municipalities. For Star Valley, Hayden and Winkelman, and for floodplain engineering issues, the page sends people to the Gila County Flood Control District.
Permit life: Gila County's Building Safety FAQ says a permit stays valid for 180 days from issue, and after the first passed inspection it stays valid while work continues with approved inspections. Stopping work for more than six months lets it expire, though the county says it may extend a permit when unexpected problems arise.
Tonto National Forest: The Forest Service runs Tonto National Forest ranger stations in Globe and in Payson. It describes the Tonto as more than 2.9 million acres, bounded by the Mogollon Rim to the north and the San Carlos and Fort Apache Indian reservations to the east.

Building on land near Gila County

Private land in Gila County is squeezed between national forest and reservation land, so the parcels that come up for sale are worth checking closely. Start with water: the county wants an approved drinking water supply before a new home permit, which means a well, a shared system or a provider's line. Then the septic: a soil evaluation and percolation test come before the design. Look for washes and drainage across the lot, since a floodplain clearance is part of the application, and find out which fire district covers the parcel. Metal building homes on Rim country lots need roof and frame loads sized for the site, and we take care of that in the drawings.

Other locations in this part of Arizona

Prescott, Payson & Central Arizona

Barndominiums we build in Gila County

Turnkey builds, kit packages and pole barn homes, drawn to the design figures and codes of the office that permits your land. The parcel decides the budget more than the floor area does, so we quote against your land rather than a rate card.

Turnkey Builds

Turnkey barndominiums in Arizona, raw land to keys: plans, permits, site work, a steel shell and the finish-out, built by us on one contract.

Barndominium Kits

Steel barndominium kits for Arizona land: a red-iron shell drawn to your jurisdiction's wind and snow figures, delivered and put up by our crews or yours.

Pole Barn Homes

Pole barn homes in Arizona, built as real houses: post-frame spans on concrete, termite protection for wood, and a wall that handles the desert heat.

See every service

Have land in or near Gila County? Tell us about the parcel and what you want to build, and we will check it against the local rules before anything is drawn.

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Building in Gila County: questions

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Do I need a building permit for a barndominium in Gila County?

Yes, on unincorporated land. Gila County's Building Safety Division reviews the plans and issues the permit, and the application also needs water, wastewater and floodplain clearances, plus fire district approval in some districts. On a turnkey build we gather those approvals and file the package. If you build from our kit, the filing is yours and we supply the drawings. See our permitting service.

How much does a barndominium cost in Gila County?

Site work sets much of it: a well or a water hookup, a septic system sized from the percolation test, the driveway and the snow load at your elevation. Tell us about the parcel in the survey so the estimate starts from it. For sourced ranges, read the barndominium cost guide.

Can I build a steel barndominium in the Rim country?

Yes. A steel barndominium sheds snow from a metal roof and gives a clear span for a shop or equipment. We design the frame for the loads at your site. Our steel construction page explains the options.

Do you build in Payson?

Yes. Payson runs its own building department, so a lot inside the town is permitted by the town rather than the county. We also work toward Show Low and the rest of the region.

Keep reading

What usually comes next once you know what Gila County allows.

Barndominium Cost Guide

Sourced per-square-foot ranges by tier and size, and what moves the number on your land.

Read it

Is a Barndominium Legal in Arizona?

Zoning, septic and who inspects, before you buy the land.

Read it

How Long Does It Take?

From parcel to move-in, and which steps set the clock.

Read it

Sources for this page

The published pages behind the Gila County facts above. Rules change, so check the current version with the office before you rely on it.

Barndominiums near Gila County

Nearby places we also cover. Across a city limit or a county line the permit office, zoning and septic rules can change, so each has its own page.

Gila County, Arizona

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Building in Gila County?

Start with the survey. Tell us where the land is and what you want on it, and we will come back with which office permits it, what it will allow, and a plan to fit.

Start the survey