Barndominium Builders in Shreveport, LA

Barndominium builders serving Shreveport work at the edge of three states. Shreveport is the seat of Caddo Parish, which sits in the northwestern corner of Louisiana and borders Miller and Lafayette counties in Arkansas and Panola, Harrison, Marion and Cass counties in Texas. The city was founded in 1836 and incorporated March 20, 1839, and it stretches along the west bank of the Red River at about 236 feet above sea level. Dallas is 188 miles west. For a lot of people that combination, a real city with open country in every direction, is a strong reason to look at land here for a barndo.

Below is how we think through a Shreveport-area build, in the order the decisions actually come up.

First decision: city lot or parish acreage

Shreveport covers about 123 square miles, roughly 15.5 of them water, and most of it lies in Caddo Parish with a portion in Bossier Parish. Outside the city, Caddo Parish has 11 incorporated municipalities (one city, five towns and five villages) plus unincorporated communities such as Keithville. Each jurisdiction has its own zoning and its own view of metal-sided homes. A barndominium on five acres outside the city limits is usually a simpler conversation than one on a platted lot inside them. We confirm which office reviews your parcel, and whether a subdivision has deed restrictions on exterior materials, before money goes into drawings.

Second decision: river ground or upland ground

The Red River built the land along Shreveport's eastern side. River-bottom soils in this part of the state are typically heavy clays. The USDA's Perry series, for example, describes very-fine clay soils on the alluvial plains of the Arkansas and Red Rivers, poorly drained with very slow permeability, carrying 60 to 85 percent clay between 10 and 40 inches deep, and flooded for short periods nearly every year unless protected by levees. Away from the river the ground rises, drains better and is often wooded. That split affects everything: slab design, pad height, driveway base and where a septic system can go.

Our rule is simple. No slab gets designed in Caddo Parish without a soil report, and on river clay we expect that report to drive moisture conditioning, fill and a stiffened or post-tensioned slab. The steel frame above is the easy part.

Third decision: designing for the weather

Shreveport's 1991-2020 normals at the regional airport show about 51.43 inches of precipitation a year, an average July high of 94.3 degrees F and an average January low of 37.3 degrees F. The record low is -5 degrees F, set in February 1899, and the city averages about 0.9 inches of snow a year. Severe thunderstorms with heavy rain, hail, damaging winds and tornadoes come mainly in spring and summer.

For a barndominium, that adds up to a short list of priorities:

• Wind and hail. Engineered anchorage from roof to foundation, rated overhead doors and a roof panel and fastener schedule built for uplift. Louisiana's 2023 code update also tightened roof nailing patterns for high winds and added secondary roof barriers.
• Cold snaps. A rare deep freeze is still a freeze. Plumbing stays inside the conditioned envelope, and exterior walls in the shop get insulation too if water lines run there.
• Summer humidity. Long, hot summers make latent load the real HVAC problem in a metal home. Closed-cell spray foam on the panels and a properly sized system keep sweat off the steel.
• Heavy rain. Fifty-plus inches a year means gutters, downspout extensions and grading that move water away from the slab, especially on clay that swells when wet.

Fourth decision: the code and inspections

Louisiana adopted the 2021 International Residential Code, along with the 2021 plumbing, mechanical and fuel gas codes and the 2020 National Electrical Code, effective January 1, 2023. Residential construction is now inspected for energy code compliance, which was not previously required. New homes also need GFCI protection on most 110-volt outlets and some 220-volt outlets, which matters in a shop bay full of tools and compressors. We plan these details into the drawings so inspection day is routine.

Fifth decision: shop size and use

Serious shop space is a common goal: room for a boat headed to the lakes, a camper, a tractor for acreage, or a hobby business. The shop drives the building's clear span, door sizes and slab thickness. Deciding that early keeps the frame from being redesigned later.

Roads, loops and getting out of town

Interstate 20 reached Shreveport in the 1960s. Interstate 220 forms the northern Outer Loop and Louisiana Highway 3132 the southern Inner Loop, and I-49 runs north to I-30 in Arkansas, with a gap through the city. Those roads are how most rural parcels in Caddo Parish connect back to work in town, and they shape where buyers look for land.

A note on population

Shreveport counted 199,311 people in 2010 and 187,593 in 2020, and Caddo Parish dropped from 254,969 to 237,848 over the same decade. For buyers, a stable or softer market can mean more choice of rural acreage than in faster-growing parts of the state.

Ready to talk about your Caddo Parish land? Call (225) 320-7298 or

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