Tennessee Barns
From open land to move-in day
Find land, draw up design, watch an itemized estimate update as you go and download a conceptual plan set — then run the build from a workspace for vendors, budget and schedule. Free for owners.
No card, ever. A free account is only needed to save projects and use the build workspace.
Front elevation
- Footprint
- 60′ × 36′
- Conditioned
- 2,160 sq ft
- Garage
- 624 sq ft
- Under roof
- 3,224 sq ft
Floor plan
3 bed · 2 bath
- Conditioned
- Garage
- Covered porch
Live estimate
Sample design
- Building
- $309,017
- Site work & soft costs
- $134,571
- Contingency (10%)
- $44,359
- Base total, before land
- $487,946
Low $373k High $747k
Illustrative planning estimate — standard finish, Middle Tennessee (Franklin baseline) factor. Recalculates as you design. Not a quote.
How it works
Five free steps, one continuous project.
The first four work without an account. The fifth needs a free one, so your project has somewhere to live.
- No account
Land
Search land listings by place, radius, price and acreage — or skip ahead with land you already own, or none yet.
- No account
Design
Start from a preset, then set the footprint, rooms, garage, porches and finishes on a dimensioned 2D plan.
- No account
Estimate
Every change recalculates an itemized low, base and high planning estimate with a material takeoff.
- No account
Plans
Open the Plans page and a 15-sheet conceptual plan set is drawn from your design, ready to view and download as a PDF.
- Free account
Build
Save the project to a build workspace: vendors and bids, budget, schedule, tasks, checklists, files and financing.
What you get
A working toolset, not a catalog of static plans.
The design, the estimate, the drawings, the financing picture and the budget all read from one model of your building, so a change in one place shows up everywhere.
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Land listings search
Land-for-sale listings from RentCast on deployments configured for it, with a due-diligence checklist for every lot. Without it, you see clearly labeled demo properties — never passed off as real.
Demo properties on this deployment
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A real 2D designer, deliberately constrained
One-story rectangular footprints, four presets, an attached garage or shop and porch modules. Rooms are true rectangles — drag a partition and everything stays snapped, in bounds and non-overlapping.
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Itemized estimate with scenarios
Low, base and high figures per line from a versioned rate catalog — plain arithmetic you can inspect. Save alternative configurations and see where the difference comes from, line by line.
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15-sheet conceptual plan set
Floor plan, roof plan, elevations, foundation, framing and MEP concept sheets, drawn in your browser as a vector PDF from your design’s geometry, with a material takeoff CSV and a cost report.
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Financing planner
Turns the planning estimate into a rough construction-loan picture: down payment, loan amount and an illustrative monthly payment from a rate you type in. An illustration, not a loan offer.
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Trade-by-trade vendor checklist
Every trade from surveyor to final clean, each with a scope-of-work template. You add your own vendors and bids; the bundled examples are labeled demo vendors.
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Budget: baseline, bids, actuals
Your estimate stays as the baseline. Enter real bids, contracts and invoices as they arrive and watch the variance, kept separate from the calculated numbers.
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Milestone schedule & task board
A phase-by-phase checklist from due diligence to handover, with editable dates, dependencies and a simple status board. No promised approval timelines.
The plan set
Fifteen sheets, drawn from your design.
Every sheet is drawn in your browser from the same model as your estimate, so dimensions and areas agree across the set. Where the model cannot support real design — structure, electrical, plumbing, HVAC — the sheet is a labeled concept for a professional to complete.
Each set carries its issue date and a short design reference code, and comes with a material takeoff CSV and a cost report. Thumbnails below are drawn from the sample preset.
- G0
G0 Cover
Sheet index, project data and disclaimers
- A1
A1 Site concept
Schematic placement only — not a survey
- A2
A2 Floor plan
Dimensioned rooms, doors and windows
- A3
A3 Roof plan
Roof planes, ridges and pitch
- A4
A4 Elevations
Exterior views from the model
- A5
A5 Wall section
Typical assembly, concept only
- S1
S1 Foundation layout
Slab concept layout
- S2
S2 Foundation details
Typical detail concepts
- S3
S3 Roof framing
Framing concept diagram
- E1
E1 Electrical
Fixture and outlet concept
- P1
P1 Plumbing
Fixtures and preliminary routing
- M1
M1 HVAC
Zoning and equipment locations
- Q1
Q1 Takeoff
Preliminary material quantities
- B1
B1 Budget
Estimate snapshot and assumptions
- V1
V1 Trade scopes
Scopes and vendor selection checklist
On every sheet
CONCEPTUAL PLANNING DOCUMENT — NOT ENGINEERED, NOT PERMIT-READY, NOT FOR CONSTRUCTION. Field verification and review by qualified local professionals required.
Free for owners
Free for owners — and here is how we plan to pay for it.
Everything on this page is free for the person planning the build, and will stay free. There is no paywall and no card.
The plan is a partner program: contractors and trades would pay to be listed as verified vendors and to receive project requests, and lenders would pay for referrals. Owners would not be charged.
None of that exists yet. No vendor or lender pays PlotBarn today, nobody is verified, PlotBarn sends no leads or messages to anyone, and every vendor and lender shown in the product is a fictional, labeled demo entry.
Without an account
Free- Land search, saved lots and due-diligence checklists
- The 2D designer and the live itemized estimate
- 15-sheet conceptual plan set (vector PDF)
- Material takeoff CSV and cost report
- Financing planner
With a free account
Free- Projects saved to your account instead of one browser
- Vendors and bids, with trade scopes
- Budget, schedule, tasks and checklists
- File uploads and project export
PlotBarn does not provide engineering, stamped drawings, permit submission, contractor services or loans. Try the financing planner or tour a sample workspace.
Please read before you rely on it
What PlotBarn is — and what it is not.
The plan set
Conceptual only — not engineered, permit-ready or approved for construction. Licensed professionals and your local authority must review and complete required design.
The estimate
Planning estimate, not a contractor quote or binding bid. Site conditions, specifications and local market prices may materially change cost.
PlotBarn is a planning tool — not an architect, engineer, contractor, lender, broker or law firm.
Read the full disclaimerQuestions
Straight answers.
The limits matter as much as the features. If something here is unclear, get in touch.
Is it really free?
Yes. PlotBarn is free for owners and will stay free for owners. Land search, the designer, the estimate, the plan set, the financing planner and the build workspace cost nothing, and there is nowhere on the site to enter a card.
A free account is only needed to save projects and use the build workspace.
Then how does PlotBarn plan to make money?
The plan is a partner program: contractors and trades would pay to be listed as verified vendors and to receive project requests, and lenders would pay for referrals. Owners would not be charged.
None of that exists yet. No vendor or lender pays PlotBarn today, nobody is verified, PlotBarn sends no leads or messages to anyone, and every vendor and lender shown in the product is a fictional, labeled demo entry.
Is the plan set permit-ready?
No. The plan set is conceptual only — not engineered, permit-ready or approved for construction. Licensed professionals and your local authority must review and complete the required design.
Its job is to communicate what you want, clearly and to scale, to the people who will finish the design: a structural engineer, your building department and licensed trades. Every sheet carries that statement in its footer.
How accurate is the estimate?
It is a planning range, not a quote. Costs come from a versioned rate catalog of illustrative placeholder values, adjusted by a regional factor and finish tier, and shown as low, base and high. Site conditions, specifications and local market prices may materially change cost.
Once you have real bids, you enter them in the build workspace and track them against the original estimate, which is kept as your baseline.
How is the plan set made, and is it saved anywhere?
It is drawn in your browser by the same code that measures your design — no AI is involved. Opening the Plans page draws the set for the design as it is now, and each set carries its issue date and a short design reference code.
PlotBarn does not store plan sets. If you want to keep a particular version, download the PDF before you change the design.
Where do land listings come from?
From RentCast’s for-sale listing data, on deployments where a RentCast key is configured. Listings may be incomplete or outdated, so confirm availability and details with a licensed real estate professional.
Without a key, PlotBarn shows a small set of fictional demo properties under a clear banner. They are not for sale.
Do you verify zoning, utilities or whether a lot is buildable?
No. A listing gives us a point on a map and a few facts — not surveyed boundaries, setbacks, covenants, flood status, soil conditions, septic suitability or utility access.
Each lot comes with a due-diligence checklist where every item starts as “Unknown / Verify”, with a short explanation of who can confirm it.
Are the vendors and lenders real?
No. Every vendor and lender that ships with PlotBarn is a fictional demo entry, labeled as such, included to show how the tools work. They cannot be hired or borrowed from, and PlotBarn does not contact anyone on your behalf.
You add your own vendors, contacts and bids, and those stay private to your project. PlotBarn does not vet or recommend vendors.
Is the financing planner a loan offer?
No. It is a calculator that turns your planning estimate into a rough construction-loan picture — down payment, loan amount and an illustrative monthly payment from a rate you type in.
It is an illustration, not a loan offer, pre-approval, rate quote or financial advice. PlotBarn is not a lender or broker, and the lenders listed alongside it are fictional demo entries.
Do I need an account?
Not for land search, the designer, the estimate, the plan set or the financing planner. Your draft is kept in your browser.
You create a free account when you want to save a project and use the build workspace.
Who is PlotBarn for?
People in the United States planning a one-story barndominium — especially first-time owner-builders who want a clear process — and small builders who want a quick planning tool to use with clients.
If you need a multi-story or irregular floor plan, this version of the designer will not model it.
Start with the land, or start with the plan.
Search for a lot or go straight to the designer. Land search, the designer, the estimate and the plan set all work without an account, and your draft is saved in your browser.
Free for owners, with no card. A free account is only needed to save projects and use the build workspace.