Barndominium Builders in Franklin County, Washington
Franklin County is mostly farm country, and the County says so plainly in its Code of the West: much of the rural land is actively used for crops, livestock and mineral resources, and water, sewer and power may not reach urban standards. For a barndominium buyer that is the appeal and the checklist in one. Outside Pasco and the county's small towns, the County's Planning and Building Department issues the permit and zones the land, the Benton-Franklin Health District permits the septic system, and the building permit will not move without proof of potable water. The RR-5 rural residential zone, with five-acre lots and room for hobby farming, is the zone built for rural homesites, alongside the county's AP-20 and AP-40 agricultural production zones. Our crews clear and grade the pad through site preparation, draw a custom plan around the shop you need, assemble the County's permit set and deliver a turnkey build. Owners with their own crew can order barndominium kits or pole barn homes and handle assembly. Before you buy acreage, tell us about it through the survey; we look up the zoning, list the water documents Franklin County will require, and estimate how much land the drainfield will take.
Franklin County at a glance
- County
- Franklin County
- Building permit
- County building department
- Land use
- County rural and resource zoning
- Wastewater
- Septic permit from the health jurisdiction
- Water
- Private well
Barndominium Builders Near Franklin County
From a turnkey build to a shell you finish yourself, the work starts with the parcel: the access, the building pad, the route to sewer or septic, and the water source. The parcel decides the budget more than the floor area does, so each option is priced against your land rather than a rate card.
Turnkey Builds
Turnkey barndominiums in Washington State: one team from land and permits to the finished, inspected house, with water, septic and energy code planned in.
Custom Plans
Custom barndominium plans for Washington State: floor plans and permit drawings with the energy code credits and your site's design values built in.
Site Preparation
Barndominium site preparation in Washington State: clearing, grading, drainage and pads, planned around the well, septic area, wetlands and the climate.
Permitting
Barndominium permits in Washington State: city or county building permit, water supply evidence, septic permit, energy code credits and rural zoning.
Barndominium Kits and Pole Barn Homes in Franklin County
A kit suits an owner who wants to raise the shell with their own crew. A pole barn home sets its frame on posts and trusses (the engineering term is post-frame construction) and suits a wide, simple layout with a shop bay under the same roof; a metal building home uses a bolted steel frame. Which one fits your parcel comes down to the zoning, the site and the design values the local building office publishes, covered below.
Barndominium Kits
Barndominium kits and shell kits for Washington State land: frame, panels and drawings, sized to the design values your city or county sets for the site.
Pole Barn Homes
Pole barn homes and pole barn house kits for Washington State: post-frame buildings with a shop and living space, designed to your county's snow load.
Metal Homes
Metal building homes in Washington State: steel-clad houses finished to the state energy code, with the insulation and condensation details done right.
Building a Barndominium in Franklin County: Permits, Zoning, Septic and Water
On rural land the zoning, septic and water answers often come before the building answer. Here is who decides each part in Franklin County, taken from the office or document that publishes it. Rules change, so check them again against your parcel before anything is drawn.
Franklin County Planning and Building Department
The County's New Residential Dwelling packet (revised June 2024) lists what a new home needs before review: plans, a sewage disposal permit signed by the Benton-Franklin Health District (which may be waived inside a sewer service area), proof of potable water and a road approach permit. Pasco and the other incorporated cities issue their own building permits, so this packet covers unincorporated land.
Source: New Residential Dwelling Application Packet, Franklin County Planning and Building (franklincountywa.gov)
Franklin County Planning Department
Each county's comprehensive plan sets rural densities under the Growth Management Act, and Franklin County's Title 17 zoning code applies them. In the RR-5 Rural Residential zone the minimum lot area is five acres with one dwelling per lot, a 35-foot height limit, and a purpose of low-density homes and hobby farms that stay self-supporting without public water and sewer.
Source: Chapter 17.16 RR-5 Rural Residential Zone, Franklin County Code (library.municode.com)
Benton-Franklin Health District
Franklin County shares its local health jurisdiction with Benton County. The Benton-Franklin Health District permits, oversees the design and installation of, and inspects household septic systems, and the County's building review expects the septic tank and drainfield on the site plan to match the location on that permit.
Source: On-Site Sewage, Benton-Franklin Health District (bfhd.wa.gov)
Franklin County Planning and Building Department
Every new home needs evidence of an adequate water supply. The County's Water Availability Notification Form accepts a valid water right, a letter from a public water system that will serve the lot, a newly drilled well with its well log, or an existing well whose owner states it will supply a home within the domestic daily limit and irrigate less than half an acre.
Source: Water Availability Notification Form, Franklin County Planning and Building (franklincountywa.gov)
- Code of the West
- Franklin County's Code of the West warns rural buyers that water, sewer, electrical, telephone and other services may be unavailable or may not operate at urban standards, and that the county is largely agricultural, with much of the rural land actively used for crops, livestock and mineral resources.
- Land needed for a septic system
- Under the Benton-Franklin Health District's septic rules (revised 19 March 2025), a home that uses its own well needs at least one acre of land in most soil types, and two acres in the coarsest soils, while a lot served by public water can often get by with half an acre.
Source: Code of the West, Franklin County (franklincountywa.gov)
Source: Board of Health Rules and Regulations No. 2, Benton-Franklin Health District (bfhd.wa.gov)
Building on land near Franklin County
Rural Franklin County land ranges from five-acre RR-5 homesites to the AP-20 and AP-40 agricultural production zones. On a five-acre parcel a barndominium, a detached pole barn and a few animals fit comfortably under the zone's height and setback limits. Before you buy, confirm how you will prove potable water, since the County takes a well log, a water right or a purveyor letter but not a promise; check the soil for the septic land area; and ask how far the power line and a county road approach are. If a city lot suits you better, our Pasco page covers the City's rules.
Other places in this part of Washington
Tri-Cities & Walla Walla
- Kennewick
- Pasco
- Richland
- Walla Walla
- Benton County
- Franklin County
- Walla Walla County
Have land in or near Franklin County? Tell us about the parcel and what you want on it, and we will check it against the local rules before anything is drawn.
Building in Franklin County: questions
Start the surveyHow much does it cost to build a barndominium in Franklin County?
Do I need a building permit for a barndominium in Franklin County?
What proof of water does Franklin County want before it issues a permit?
Can I keep animals with a barndominium on Franklin County land?
Keep reading
What usually comes next once you know what Franklin County allows.
Barndominium Cost Guide
Sourced per-square-foot ranges by tier and size, and what moves the number on your land.
Read itIs a Barndominium Legal in Washington?
Zoning, rural land, septic, water and who inspects, before you buy the land.
Read itHow Long Does It Take?
From parcel to move-in, and which steps set the clock.
Read itSources for this page
The published pages behind the Franklin County facts above. Rules change, so check the current version with the office before you rely on it.
- New Residential Dwelling Application Packet, Franklin County Planning and BuildingBuilding permit authorityfranklincountywa.gov
- Chapter 17.16 RR-5 Rural Residential Zone, Franklin County CodeLand use and zoninglibrary.municode.com
- On-Site Sewage, Benton-Franklin Health DistrictSewer or septicbfhd.wa.gov
- Water Availability Notification Form, Franklin County Planning and BuildingWater supplyfranklincountywa.gov
- Code of the West, Franklin CountyCode of the Westfranklincountywa.gov
- Board of Health Rules and Regulations No. 2, Benton-Franklin Health DistrictLand needed for a septic systembfhd.wa.gov
Other places near Franklin County
Nearby places with their own pages. Across a city limit or a county line the permit office, the zoning, the septic program and the water rules can change, so each is covered separately.
Building in Franklin County?
Start with the survey. Tell us where the land is and what you want on it, and we will come back with which offices decide it, what the zoning allows, and a plan to fit.