Navajo County, Arizona Flagstaff & Northern Arizona

Barndominium Builders in Navajo County, Arizona

We build barndominiums across unincorporated Navajo County, from the pines around Heber-Overgaard and the White Mountains down to the open high desert near Holbrook and Winslow. We put up steel-framed shop homes, pole barn homes and turnkey builds, and we ship barndominium kits to owners who plan to raise the frame themselves. Land here is affordable and often a long way from a sewer line or a power drop, and the county's permit sequence reflects that. Navajo County Planning & Development Services issues the building permit outside the incorporated towns, working from the 2018 International Residential Code with the county's own addenda. The sewage system has to be available before construction starts, which on most rural lots means a soil test and a septic permit come first. The county also will not let a shed or outbuilding go up on vacant land ahead of the primary dwelling, so a steel barndominium that combines the shop and the house under one roof fits the rules well. If you are comparing barndominium contractors near Navajo County towns such as Holbrook or Snowflake, ask how they plan to sequence the septic, the power and the home. Then start the survey and tell us where your parcel is.

Navajo County at a glance

County: Navajo 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 Navajo 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

Navajo County Planning & Development Services (Building Division)

Navajo County Planning & Development Services regulates planning, building construction, manufactured home installation and septic systems in the unincorporated county, and takes permit applications through its online permitting center. It also keeps an office in Show Low. The incorporated cities and towns, among them Show Low, Pinetop-Lakeside, Snowflake, Taylor, Holbrook and Winslow, run their own permit programs.

Tribal land: Navajo County reports that almost 66% of its land is Indian reservation land, held by the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe and the White Mountain Apache Tribe. On that land the tribal government has jurisdiction, and county permits do not reach it. We build on private land under the county's program.

Source: Planning & Development Services | Navajo County, AZ (navajocountyaz.gov)

Adopted code edition: By Resolution 9-2022, the Navajo County Board of Supervisors adopted the 2018 International Building Code and 2018 International Residential Code with amended county addenda and additions, for construction in the unincorporated portions of the county, effective 22 June 2022.
Sewage before construction: Navajo County requires the sewage system to be available before construction begins. For a community sewer, the operating company must release the hook-up first. For a septic system, a soil test is required where the system will go, and the system must be installed and inspected so it is ready once the building is complete.
Dwelling first, then outbuildings: Navajo County does not allow a storage shed or building to be placed or built on vacant land before the primary dwelling; a shed can be permitted only once construction documents are in and a building permit is open. Power to vacant property is permitted only after a valid primary dwelling and septic permit are submitted.
Living in an RV while you build: Navajo County issues a Temporary RV permit only after a building permit or mobile home permit for the primary dwelling is secured, and the permit is good for up to one year.
Who owns the land: Navajo County puts its area at 9,949 square miles, almost 66% of it Indian reservation land. Individual and corporate ownership accounts for 18%, the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management together 9%, and the state 5.9%.
Water outside the AMAs: Navajo County is not among the counties that ADWR's water supply overview lists as holding part of an Active Management Area. Subdivisions here come under ADWR's Adequate Water Supply Program, which has the public report disclose whether the water supply is adequate.

Building on land near Navajo County

Private land is under a fifth of Navajo County, by the county's own figures, so the first check on any listing is who owns it and whose rules apply. Reservation land is under tribal jurisdiction, forest and BLM tracts are federal, and the incorporated towns permit their own lots. On private county land the practical sequence is a soil test and septic permit, then the dwelling permit, then power and any outbuildings. Water is the other early question: a shared system, a private well or hauled water, and the listing may not say which. Metal building homes on a few acres near Snowflake, Taylor or Heber-Overgaard are a common request, and a cheap lot with a long, unmaintained road can cost more to build on than a pricier one beside a county road.

Other locations in this part of Arizona

Flagstaff & Northern Arizona

Barndominiums we build in Navajo 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 Navajo 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.

Start your build survey

Building in Navajo County: questions

Start the survey

How much does a barndominium cost in Navajo County?

Land is often inexpensive here, but the site work can be the swing factor. A soil test and septic system, a well or water storage, a power line extension and road access can each move the budget, and a higher-elevation lot needs framing sized for snow. We price against your parcel once the survey tells us where it is. For sourced ranges and what drives them, see our barndominium cost guide.

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

Yes. The county's FAQ says any shed or structure over 200 square feet needs a building permit, so a new home certainly does. In the unincorporated county, Planning & Development Services issues it, and the septic or sewer has to be in place before construction starts. Inside an incorporated town, that town's building office handles the permit. On turnkey builds we handle the application; our permitting service explains the steps.

Can I put up the shop first and build the house later?

Not on vacant land in the unincorporated county. Navajo County will not permit a shed or outbuilding before the primary dwelling, and it allows power to vacant property only after the dwelling and septic permits are filed. A barndominium that puts the shop and the living space under one roof avoids that problem, and our shouses page shows how those layouts work.

Can I live in an RV on my land while you build?

Navajo County offers a Temporary RV permit once the building permit for the primary dwelling is secured, and it lasts up to one year. We plan the build schedule with that window in mind, so the shell and the utilities are ready before the permit runs out. Our build timeline guide lays out a typical sequence.

Keep reading

What usually comes next once you know what Navajo 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 Navajo County facts above. Rules change, so check the current version with the office before you rely on it.

Barndominiums near Navajo 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.

Show Low

Navajo County, Arizona

Apache County

Arizona county

Coconino County

Arizona county

Gila County

Arizona county

Building in Navajo 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