Barndominium Builders in Aubrey, TX

Barndominium builders are a natural fit for Aubrey, a town whose nickname is "Horse Country, U.S.A." Aubrey sits 12 miles north of Denton. It was known for the peanut farms around it, and by 2009 horse ranches surrounded the town. Since then, houses have replaced many of the old farms, and the population nearly doubled, from 2,595 in 2010 to 5,006 in 2020, with a 2025 estimate of 9,066. Plenty of owners here still want what drew people in the first place: room for horses and a home that works with the barn.

We design and build barndominiums and shop houses for that kind of property. A barndo can put stalls, a tack room, a wash rack and a hay loft under the same roof as the living quarters, or set the home and the horse barn apart on one site plan. The layout depends on how you live with your animals, how the land drains and what the county will permit.

Layouts that work for horse owners

• Attached barn: the living area at one end, a breezeway, then stalls and storage. Convenient, but smell, flies and noise travel, so we plan walls, doors and ventilation carefully.
• Shop in the middle: living quarters on one side, a conditioned or unconditioned shop between, and the barn wing beyond.
• Separate buildings: a steel or post-frame home near the road and a barn set back for drainage and turnout access.
• Home first, barn later: we size the slab, driveway and utilities so a barn can be added without tearing up the yard.

Drainage around barns and the house

Horse property moves a lot of water: roof runoff, wash racks and pens. On clay ground, standing water near a slab or under a barn floor causes trouble. Gutters, grading away from foundations and keeping wash water away from the septic field are part of every Aubrey site plan we draw.

The Denton County permit picture

Aubrey proper has its own city rules, and much of the acreage around it is unincorporated Denton County. There, the county's Development Services department requires a Development Permit for any development, which includes grading, paving, excavation and filling. A new driveway onto a county-maintained road needs a culvert permit. The department also runs the National Flood Insurance Program, including floodplain permits, and the county notes that even fences in the floodplain count as development. That matters for pasture fencing near creeks.

Septic on a horse property

Septic permits in unincorporated Denton County come from the Environmental Health Division of Denton County Public Health. A professional engineer or a Registered Sanitarian site evaluator has to prepare the site evaluation, including a site plan and soil textural classification. The county also asks owners to keep the tanks and drainfield clear of structures, parking areas, gravel, concrete, vegetable gardens and trees. On a horse place, we add our own rule: keep pens, paddocks and trailer parking off the field, and route heavy trucks around it during construction.

Ground conditions

The Sanger soil series has its type location in Denton County and is mapped mainly in the Grand Prairie of north-central Texas. The USDA describes it as well drained but with very slow permeability and high shrink-swell potential. Clays like this are a reason the foundation design and pad preparation come from a soil report on your lot, and a reason septic designs can vary from one property to the next.

How long does it take?

Timelines depend on permits, weather and how much finish-out you want. The order is predictable: survey and floodplain check, septic evaluation, drawings and permits, pad and slab, frame or kit erection, dry-in, rough-ins, insulation, and interior finish. Barns and shops can often go up alongside the home.

Call (469) 310-8310 or

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to plan a home and barn in Aubrey.