Gently rolling Blackland Prairie grassland with deep dark cracking clay soil in the foreground and post oak along a fence line.
Dallas County 2021 IRC as adopted here

Barndominium Builders in Richardson, TX

Richardson is 28.6 square miles of finished city. Its population fell from 119,319 in 2020 to 118,542 in 2025, and its largest-lot residential district, R-2000-M, sets a minimum lot of 14,000 square feet - about a third of an acre. The Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance of 1956 contains no agricultural district and no estate district at all. So a barndominium on acreage is not a Richardson project, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise. What does happen here is a rebuild on a platted lot, or a detached accessory building, and Richardson regulates both closely: all detached structures together may cover only 8 percent of the lot, every wall above 150 square feet needs 35 percent masonry, and every foundation needs a Texas-registered engineer's seal. For land, look north and east - the outer edge of Collin County, then Grayson, Hunt or Kaufman.

Richardson at a glance

County
Dallas County
Population
118,542
Where we build
Richardson, Dallas, Irving, Garland, Grand Prairie

ZIPs 75080, 75081, 75082

Site visits
Site walks scheduled throughout Richardson and Dallas County
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Building conditions in Richardson

What actually changes from one Texas jurisdiction to the next: who issues the permit, whether the residential code is enforced there at all, what the structure has to be engineered to, and what the ground is like. These are the numbers your drawings have to satisfy.

Build conditions for Richardson , Dallas County, Texas : design wind speed 115 mph. BUILD CONDITIONS RICHARDSON, TXDallas County2021 IRCDESIGN WIND SPEED115 mph3-second gust, with 76 mph fastest mile, from Richardson's own Table R301.2(1) as amended in Codeof Ordinances s. 6-31.ZONING · R-1500-M THROUGH R-850-F SINGLE-FAMI…14,000 sq ft in R-2000-M, the larges…There is no agricultural district and no estate district in theordinance. In R-1500-M the lot coverage of all buildings is capped…WHO ISSUES THE PERMITCity of Richardson Building Inspecti…Temporary City Hall Annex, 2360 Campbell Creek Blvd., Suite 550,Richardson, TX 75082. Phone 972-744-4180, Monday to Friday 8 a.m. t…
Build conditions for Richardson, drawn from the sourced facts on this page. Every figure above is cited in the quick-facts panel below, with its source and vintage.
Largest residential lot minimum
R-2000-M, Richardson's largest-lot single-family district, sets a minimum lot of 14,000 square feet - about a third of an acre. R-1500-M sets 9,000 square feet. The Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance of 1956 has no agricultural or estate district at all, so nothing in Richardson's zoning contemplates acreage.

City of Richardson Code of Ordinances, Appendix A, Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance of 1956, Art. IV-A s. 4(a) and Art. IV s. 4(a)

Detached buildings capped at 8 percent of the lot
In R-1500-M the total area of detached structures, including garages and accessory buildings, may not occupy more than 8 percent of the lot area, nor have a floor area greater than 40 percent of the size of the principal dwelling. On a 9,000 square foot minimum lot that is 720 square feet for everything detached, combined.

City of Richardson Code of Ordinances, Appendix A, Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance of 1956, Art. IV s. 4(d)(2)

Metal is allowed, in proportion
The zoning ordinance does not ban metal in a residential district. Accessory buildings of 150 square feet or less "may be of nonmasonry construction or may be of all metal with baked-on or prepainted surface." Above 150 square feet, each exterior wall must be a minimum of 35 percent masonry - a proportion, not a prohibition, so the remaining 65 percent of each wall can still be metal.

City of Richardson Code of Ordinances, Appendix A, Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance of 1956, Art. IV s. 2(b)(2)

An engineer seals every foundation
Richardson amends IRC R401.2 to read that "Every foundation and/or footing, or any size addition to an existing post-tension foundation, regulated by this code shall be designed and sealed by a Texas-registered engineer." It reaches a slab extension for a room addition, not just a new house.

City of Richardson Code of Ordinances s. 6-31, amending the 2021 International Residential Code

Adopted code: 2021 IRC and 2021 IECC
Ordinance No. 4464, adopted 24 April 2023, put Richardson on the 2021 International Residential Code, the 2021 International Building Code and the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code. IRC Chapter 11 is deleted outright and compliance is pointed at the residential provisions of the 2021 IECC.

City of Richardson Code of Ordinances ss. 6-27, 6-30 and 6-33, and s. 6-31 (Chapter 11 deletion)

The population is falling
Richardson counted 119,319 residents in the 2020 Census and an estimated 118,542 on 1 July 2025 - a decline of 0.7 percent. Across 28.562 square miles of land that is roughly 4,150 people per square mile. Fully built cities shrink slightly; frontier cities do not.

U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 sub-county population estimates and the 2024 Census Gazetteer place file for Texas

Also worth knowing before you build in Richardson

Permits start at 40 square feet
Richardson cut the IRC's own permit exemption for a one-story detached accessory building from 200 square feet down to 40. The city's building inspection page states it plainly: "A building permit is required for all structures over 40 sq. ft." Anything over 150 square feet needs scaled drawings with the application.

City of Richardson Code of Ordinances s. 6-31 amending IRC R105.2, and the city's Residential Accessory Building permit page at cor.net

Accessory building height and storeys
Accessory buildings are limited to one storey. Those of 150 square feet or less may not exceed 12 feet in height; those over 150 square feet may not exceed 25 feet. A two-storey shop-with-living-space is not permitted as an accessory building.

City of Richardson Code of Ordinances, Appendix A, Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance of 1956, Art. IV s. 3(b)

Where a detached building may sit
A detached garage, carport or accessory building extending into the rear setback must keep at least 3 feet from the side lot line and 3 feet from the rear lot line, or 18 inches where the rear lot line adjoins an alley. The city's own handout adds 7 feet from a side property line unless the building sits entirely within the rear 25 feet of the lot, and 20 feet where the side adjoins a street.

City of Richardson Code of Ordinances, Appendix A, Art. IV s. 4(f)(2), and the city's Residential Accessory Building permit page at cor.net

Design criteria the city publishes itself
Richardson's amended Table R301.2(1) gives 115 mph 3-second-gust wind (76 mph fastest mile), 5 lb/ft2 ground snow, seismic design category A, moderate weathering, a 6-inch frost line, a 22 degree F winter design temperature and a mean annual temperature of 64.9 degrees F. Termite pressure is published as "Very Heavy," which is the value that rules out foam plastic below grade at the foundation.

City of Richardson Code of Ordinances s. 6-31, amended Table R301.2(1) of the 2021 International Residential Code

Contractors register before the permit issues
"Contractors performing work within City of Richardson are required to register prior to issuance of permit. The registration fee is $100." Registration certificates are valid for one year from the date of registration. Texas issues no state licence for a residential builder, so a city registration list is the only register there is.

City of Richardson Building Inspection Department, Contractor Registration page at cor.net

What Richardson deleted from the code
Local Government Code s. 214.212(c)(1) lets a Texas city add, modify or remove code requirements, and Richardson has used all three. IRC R313, automatic sprinkler systems, is "hereby deleted and is of no force or effect," and so is R322, flood-resistant construction. The city adds R904.5 requiring a minimum Class C roof covering, and a permit lapses if work is not commenced within 90 days of issue.

City of Richardson Code of Ordinances s. 6-31, amending the 2021 International Residential Code

The buying intent sits north of here
The Dallas-Fort Worth DMA runs 14,800 monthly searches for "barndominium" but only 4.0 percent of that volume is the proximity query that signals someone ready to build. The Sherman, Texas-Ada, Oklahoma DMA, which covers Grayson County an hour north of Richardson, runs 8.5 percent on the same measure - more than double.

Google Ads keyword volumes by Texas DMA, measured for this build 31 August 2026 and recorded in research/texas-keyword-research.md

An excavator grading a compacted building pad on a cleared lot, with survey stakes and a drainage swale visible.
Below the slab

The expensive surprises are in the ground, not the building

What moves a Texas budget is usually below grade, and it is soil rather than rock: shrink-swell clay. The Blackland Prairie and the Gulf Coast clays move enough between a wet season and a dry one to drive the foundation design across the state's largest markets, which is why several DFW cities require an engineer's seal on the foundation of every new house. Those are the same conditions that decide whether a septic field passes its soil and site evaluation, so the grading plan, the foundation and the drainfield get resolved together rather than one at a time. We price the dirt before we price the building.

What we build in Richardson

All nine of our services — kits, custom plans, post-frame and steel construction, site preparation, permitting and engineering, through to turnkey builds — are available across Dallas County. What a project costs depends far more on the parcel than on square footage, so we work from your land rather than from a rate card.

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What a build looks like

Three stages every Richardson project passes through, from a raw parcel to a finished home. Site work first, because that is where the budget is decided.

Aerial view of an undeveloped rural lot with cleared grass, a live oak and cedar elm treeline, and a pale gravel access track.
Stage one

The parcel

Zoning, setbacks, flood zone and utility access get checked before anything is drawn.

An excavator grading a compacted building pad on a cleared lot, with survey stakes and a drainage swale visible.
Stage two

Pad and permit

Clearing, grading and a compacted pad, while the submittal works through Dallas County.

A finished barndominium at dusk with warm interior lighting glowing through its large windows.
Stage three

Frame to finish

Shell erected and dried in, then systems, insulation and interior finish through to CO.

Those are the rules for Dallas County. Tell us what you want to build and we will draw it to them.

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Where we build around Richardson

Dallas County and the rural land around it. The buildable acreage for a project this size usually sits outside the city limits, which is frequently what changes who issues your permit.

Our Richardson service area, covering Dallas County and the surrounding rural acreage. This map marks the territory we serve, not a branch location.

Keep reading

The questions that usually come next once you know what Richardson allows.

Barndominium Cost Guide

Sourced per-square-foot ranges by tier and by size, with a calculator built on the same figures.

Read it

Is It Legal in Texas?

Classification, zoning, the HOA gate, and why "nonresidential farm building" does not cover a home.

Read it

How Long Does It Take?

Census build-duration data, and what actually sets the permit clock where you are building.

Read it

Nearby areas we build in

Others we cover in this part of Texas. The permitting authority, the adopted design criteria and the zoning can all differ from one to the next.

Plano

Collin County
Garland

Dallas County
Dallas

Dallas County

Building in Richardson: common questions

8 questions we get asked most often about building in Richardson. If yours is not on the list, ask it directly.

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Can I build a barndominium in Richardson?
Realistically, no - and we would rather tell you that than sell you a study. Richardson is 28.6 square miles of finished city with a falling population, and its zoning ordinance has no agricultural district and no estate district. Its largest-lot single-family district, R-2000-M, requires only 14,000 square feet, about a third of an acre; R-1500-M requires 9,000. Every one of those lots already has a house on it. A barndominium on land is a project for the outer edge of Collin County or for Grayson, Hunt or Kaufman county, not for a platted Richardson lot.
I own a lot in Richardson. What can I actually build?
Two things. You can take the existing house down and rebuild on the platted lot, which is a conventional site-built house under the 2021 IRC as Richardson amends it - and in the -M districts Article XXII-F requires at least 75 percent masonry on the facades of a new single-family dwelling. Or you can add a detached accessory building. That second option is tightly bounded: all detached structures together may cover no more than 8 percent of the lot area and no more than 40 percent of the dwelling's floor area, one storey only, 25 feet maximum height above 150 square feet.
Does Richardson allow a metal or steel building on a residential lot?
Yes, within limits, and the ordinance is more specific than people expect. Accessory buildings of 150 square feet or less "may be of nonmasonry construction or may be of all metal with baked-on or prepainted surface." Above 150 square feet each exterior wall must be at least 35 percent masonry - which is a proportion requirement, not a ban, and still leaves most of each wall available for metal. The 75 percent masonry standard in Article XXII-F is written for single-family residential structures, that is the dwelling itself, and does not reach a detached accessory building.
Which climate zone is Richardson in?
Both 2A and 3A, depending on the address. Richardson lies in Dallas County and Collin County, and the city runs the 2021 IRC and 2021 IECC adopted by Ordinance No. 4464. On the 2021 climate map Dallas County is Zone 2A and Collin County is Zone 3A, so the boundary runs through the city. Richardson's own adopted energy amendments accept this and publish both: its insulation table is headed "Insulation/Climate Zone 2 & 3" and its amended Table R406.4 carries a separate maximum Energy Rating Index for each zone. Establish which county the lot is in before the envelope is specified.
Who issues the permit and what does the city require of the builder?
The City of Richardson Building Inspection Department, at the Temporary City Hall Annex, 2360 Campbell Creek Blvd., Suite 550, Richardson, TX 75082, telephone 972-744-4180, Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Any structure over 40 square feet needs a permit; anything over 150 square feet needs scaled drawings with the application. Contractors must be registered with the city before a permit issues, at a published fee of $100 for a certificate valid one year. A permit becomes invalid if work is not commenced within 90 days of issue.
Do I need an engineer for the foundation?
In Richardson, always. The city amends IRC R401.2 so that every foundation and footing, and any size addition to an existing post-tension foundation, must be designed and sealed by a Texas-registered engineer. That is stricter than the IRC's own rule, and it applies to an accessory building slab as well as a house. It also lines up with the wider Texas position: expansive clay removes the engineering exemption for a slab under Occupations Code s. 1001.056(c)(2), and DFW sits on it.
Where should I look for land instead?
North and east, and the drive is shorter than people assume. The outer edge of Collin County beyond Princeton and Farmersville starts producing real acreage roughly 25 to 35 miles from Richardson. Grayson County, around Sherman and Denison, is about 55 miles up US-75 - and its DMA posts an 8.5 percent buying-intent ratio against Dallas-Fort Worth's 4.0 percent, which is a fair measure of how many people up there are actually building rather than browsing. Hunt County, around Greenville, is about 40 miles east on I-30, and Kaufman County about 35 miles southeast. All four are outside any city's limits over most of their area, which changes the regulatory picture entirely.
Why does this page say no when the rest of the site says yes?
Because twenty-one city pages all claiming their city is a fine place for a barndominium would be twenty-one pages worth ignoring. Richardson's numbers are what they are: a third of an acre at the outside, an 8 percent cap on detached structures, a population that fell 0.7 percent between 2020 and 2025. Saying so is what makes the pages about Grayson, Kaufman, Parker and Johnson counties worth reading.

Building in Richardson?

Start with the plan. Tell us what you want to build and we will draw it, then confirm what Dallas County will actually let you put on the parcel and what wind load it has to meet. That conversation costs nothing.

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