Barndominium Builders in Gonzales, LA

Barndominium builders in Gonzales start every conversation with elevation. The city sits about 10 feet above sea level, and Ascension Parish requires new primary buildings to sit 2 feet above the base flood elevation regardless of flood designation. Gonzales grew from 9,781 people in 2010 to 12,231 in 2020, and buyers moving here want the same things barndo owners want everywhere: open floor plans, a real shop and room to spread out. The difference is that here the slab height is part of the design from the first sketch.

What the freeboard rule says

The Ascension Parish zoning office spells it out: primary buildings shall be installed at base flood elevation plus 2.0 feet of freeboard. The rule reaches past the living floor:

• finished floors
• building machinery, including generators
• attached garages larger than 500 square feet

The parish gives a simple example: with a base flood elevation of 8.0 feet, the lowest machinery, the top of the bottom floor and the lowest horizontal member must sit at 10.0 feet. For a barndominium with an attached shop, that garage size threshold is worth knowing early, because a large attached shop bay has to meet the same height as the house.

Why it matters in Ascension Parish

In August 2016, after a levee was overtopped, about 15,000 structures in Ascension Parish flooded, nearly one-third of the homes in the parish. Waterways run all through it: the Mississippi, the Amite, Bayou Manchac, the New River and the Blind River, plus Bayou Lafourche, Spanish Lake and many bayous and canals. Ascension is the fourth-smallest parish in Louisiana by area, at 303 square miles, so a lot of water passes through not much land.

Permits inside the city

The City of Gonzales takes building permit applications through City Hall, and its resource hub includes a building permit form and a plot plan form. The city's flood page offers an address lookup to find your flood zone, lists elevation certificates among its services, and provides a proposed elevation certificate form. In practice, a surveyor's proposed elevation certificate is how you show the planned floor meets the required height before you build, and a final certificate confirms it afterward. The city also takes part in FEMA's Community Rating System, a program that can lower flood insurance premiums for residents.

Three ways to reach the required height

When the target floor is a few feet above existing grade, there are a few practical paths for a barndominium:

• Raised pad and slab. Bring in and compact fill, then pour the slab on top. This works when the height needed is modest and drainage rules allow the fill.
• Stem wall foundation. Perimeter walls hold the slab up with fill inside, which keeps the building footprint tidy.
• Elevated design. Living space goes on an upper floor, and the ground level carries parking, storage or shop space built to flood-resistant standards.

Which one fits depends on the base flood elevation, the lot's drainage, and how much shop space you want at ground level.

A little Gonzales history

The city is named for Joseph "Tee-Joe" Gonzales, who opened a general store and post office in 1887. The area was subdivided in 1906, incorporated as a village in 1922, proclaimed a town in 1952 and chartered as a city in 1977, with industrial growth helping push that last step. The first Jambalaya Festival was held in 1968, and Governor John McKeithen proclaimed Gonzales the Jambalaya Capital of the World. Airline Highway, US 61, runs through town.

Getting the paperwork right

We ask for a survey and the flood zone early, then design the foundation to hit the required elevation with room to spare. That avoids the worst surprise in this parish: a slab poured an inch or two low.

Call (225) 320-7298 or

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for a Gonzales or Ascension Parish lot.