Barndominium Builders in Matthews, NC

Barndominium builders in Matthews are mostly working with land that has been part of a town for a long time. Matthews was incorporated in 1879, five years after the first train reached it on December 15, 1874. Before the railroad it was a stagecoach stop between Charlotte and Monroe, unofficially called Stumptown and later Fullwood, and it was eventually named for Edward Matthews, a director of the Central Carolina Railroad. Uptown Charlotte is 11 miles to the northwest.

Suburban Boom, Then Steady

Matthews grew from 1,648 people in 1980 to 13,651 in 1990. Since then it has grown steadily: 27,198 in 2010, 29,435 in 2020 and an estimated 32,769 in 2025. The town covers 17.19 square miles, so most land is already built out. A barndominium here is often an infill or teardown project, or a build on one of the larger parcels near the edges of town.

Fitting a Barndo on a Matthews Lot

On a typical in-town lot, the barndominium has to look at home on the street. That usually means:

• Board-and-batten, lap siding or brick on the street side, with metal roofing
• A garage that faces the side or rear rather than dominating the front
• A two-story plan if the lot is narrow, keeping the footprint inside the setbacks
• Covenants checked first in any subdivision

The structure underneath can still be steel or post-frame, which gives you wide open interior spans.

Where Permits Come From

Matthews is one of seven municipalities in Mecklenburg County. Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement, part of the county's Land Use and Environmental Services Agency, handles plan review, permits and inspections for construction across the county, using the North Carolina State Building Code. Town zoning rules still apply to the lot, and we check those before drawings go to the county.

Creeks on Both Sides of Town

The town center sits on a ridge that drains north toward McAlpine Creek and south toward its tributary, Fourmile Creek. Land along those creeks can fall within FEMA-regulated floodplains. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services, which serves Charlotte, the six towns and the county, administers floodplain development permits and the floodplain maps. We check any lot near either creek before choosing the building pad and floor height.

Elevation and Ground

Matthews sits at about 745 feet on the rolling Piedmont. Upland soils in this part of the state commonly include the Cecil series, a well-drained soil with a red clay subsoil. Clay like this compacts well for a slab when it is dry, but it needs a plan for wet-weather work, good gutters and positive drainage away from the house.

Mechanical Planning for a Metal Home

In a humid climate like the Charlotte area's, an insulated, air-sealed shell matters more than the cladding. We design the insulation layer to keep warm indoor air off cold steel, then size heating and cooling for that envelope. That keeps a Matthews barndo comfortable and keeps the panels dry.

Rain and Roof Runoff

Charlotte, next door, averages about 43.6 inches of rain a year. A barndominium roof is often larger than a conventional house roof because it covers a garage or shop too, so we size gutters and downspouts for that area and send the water to splash blocks, swales or drains well away from the slab and from neighboring lots.

Matthews Projects That Work Well

• A teardown replacement with a modern farmhouse barndo front
• A detached shop and studio behind an existing home
• A two-story barndo with an open great room on a narrow lot

Call (980) 689-3758 or

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to start with a lot check.