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Maricopa County, Arizona Phoenix & the Valley

Barndominium Builders in Gilbert, Arizona

We build barndominiums in Gilbert, Arizona, for owners with a large lot inside the Town and for families looking at acreage just past its edges. What we deliver here ranges from barndominium kits with permit drawings to full turnkey builds with our crews on site from the pad onward. Gilbert's Development Services reviews residential plans, issues the building permit and books the inspections, with plans submitted electronically through the Town's online portal. The detail that catches people out is the ground. The Town's soils guidance says Gilbert soils can be expansive or compressive, and the adopted residential code requires the foundation design to deal with that, so a single-family home needs a soils report, an engineer's foundation review or a subdivision report the Town already holds. We plan for that from the first sketch rather than after the plan reviewer asks. If you are lining up barndominium contractors near Gilbert, ask how each one handles the soils step and the pad certification that usually follows it. Land in unincorporated county areas beyond the Town is reviewed by the county, not by Gilbert. Tell us about your parcel through the survey and we will take it from there.

Gilbert at a glance

Principal county
Maricopa County
Building permit
City building department
Local facts on this page
5, each linked to its source

Before you build in Gilbert

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.

City-issued permitWho issues the permit

Town of Gilbert Development Services (Plan Review & Inspection)

Inside the Town of Gilbert, Development Services reviews building plans, issues permits and inspects construction; plans go in through the Town's electronic plan review portal against its residential checklist for new projects. The Town's permits page currently lists its 2018 code amendments as the building code in force. Unincorporated parcels outside the Town are permitted by the county instead.

Source: Permits, Applications & Checklists | Gilbert, Arizona (gilbertaz.gov)

Code edition
Gilbert's Permits, Applications & Checklists page lists its 2018 code amendments under Current Building & Fire Codes. The Town's code adoption sheet shows the 2018 International Residential Code and companion 2018 codes in effect from 1 January 2020 under Ordinance 2739.

Source: Building Code Adoption Dates, Town of Gilbert (gilbertaz.gov)

Soils report for single-family homes
Gilbert's soils guidance says Town soils have expansive and/or compressive characteristics, which the adopted residential code (section R401.1) requires the design to address. Options are the subdivision's soils report from the Town, a new soils report, or a registered Arizona engineer's foundation determination; a pad certification is then usually required.

Source: Soils Investigation and Reports, Single Family Residential Only, Town of Gilbert (gilbertaz.gov)

Who prepares the plans
The Town's permits page says that for projects other than single-family residential, plans may be required to be prepared by an Arizona registrant. The page places no such line on single-family homes.

Source: Permits, Applications & Checklists | Gilbert, Arizona (gilbertaz.gov)

Town water supply
Gilbert has a 100-year Assured Water Supply designation from the state and draws on surface water, reclaimed water and groundwater. The Town reports recharging about 200 billion gallons, and holds the second largest balance of storage credits among cities in the Phoenix Active Management Area.

Source: Water Supply | Gilbert, Arizona (gilbertaz.gov)

Septic on unsewered land
Maricopa County Environmental Services takes applications for new septic systems, starting with a site and soils inspection and a Notice of Intent to Discharge, and issues a Discharge Authorization once the system is approved. It warns that building jurisdictions often want its septic sign-off before approving a building permit.

Source: Onsite Wastewater (Septic) Program Guidance for Homeowners (maricopa.gov)

Building on land near Gilbert

A barndominium lot in or around Gilbert starts with three checks. First, is the parcel in the Town or on unincorporated county land? That decides whose zoning, building code and inspectors you deal with. Second, what does the ground do? Gilbert's own soils guidance treats expansive and compressive soil as the normal case, so budget for a soils report and a certified pad before the slab. Third, how does the lot get water and get rid of wastewater? Inside the Town's water service area the utility holds an assured water supply designation, while a rural parcel off the sewer needs a county septic permit. Metal building homes on an acre or more are easier to site where those three answers are already known, and we get them before we quote.

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

Building in Gilbert: questions

Start the survey
How much does it cost to build a barndominium in Gilbert?
The site tends to matter as much as the floor plan. A soils report and pad certification, a septic system on unsewered land and the distance to utilities all feed the number. Send us the parcel through the survey and we will price your build against it. Our barndominium cost guide has sourced per-square-foot ranges and explains what drives them.
Do I need a building permit for a barndominium in Gilbert?
Yes. A new home inside the Town needs a building permit from Development Services, and the plans are reviewed against the codes the Town has adopted, including its soils requirement for single-family homes. Parcels outside the Town go to the county. We prepare the drawings and file the application on our turnkey builds. See our permitting service for the full sequence.
Do you offer pole barn homes or steel frames near Gilbert?
Both. Pole barn homes set posts into the ground under a clear-span roof, while a steel barndominium uses a bolted frame on a concrete foundation. On Gilbert's expansive soils the foundation design carries more weight either way, and the soils report shapes it. Compare the two on our pole-barn service page and our steel construction page.
Which areas around Gilbert do you cover?
We also build in Queen Creek, San Tan Valley, Mesa and Chandler. San Tan Valley is unincorporated and falls under Pinal County, so its permits, zoning and septic follow county rules rather than a town's.

Barndominiums near Gilbert

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.

Building in Gilbert?

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.