Minnesota · Service area
Metal buildings in Minnesota.
We supply shops, machine sheds, hay barns, barndominiums and more across Minnesota. Our work reaches from the Twin Cities to the north woods, and anywhere else you’re building.
Ground snow
50 or 60 psf
Frost footing depth
3½ or 5 ft
Agricultural buildings
Outside the code
Local enforcement
Where adopted
Snow and frost depth are set by county in Minnesota Rules, chapter 1303. The current code is the 2020 Minnesota State Building Code, based on the 2018 IBC and IRC.
What people build in Minnesota
Farm ground, lake country and growing suburbs, all with deep frost and real snow to design for.
Shops & garages
Unfinished and under sixty feet wide, tubular steel is usually the answer, sized for the snow in your county.
Machine sheds & hay barns
Equipment and hay storage go up on farm ground across the state. Red iron takes over past eighty feet.
Equipment storage
Settle the door before the footprint. Every two feet of eave above twelve adds roughly five percent to the frame.
Barndominiums
Steel truss is the fit. Drywall attaches to the frame, so there’s no second wall to build.
See what a steel building costs for real per-square-foot ranges.
What matters for metal buildings in Minnesota?
Who enforces the code
- The State Building Code is the minimum standard everywhere in Minnesota.
- A city or county enforces it only if it has adopted it locally. Where none has, there may be no one inspecting, but the code still applies.
Agricultural buildings
- Buildings used only for agriculture, on agricultural land, aren’t covered by the State Building Code.
- The exemption depends on both the use and how the land is classified, so we confirm it before plans are drawn.
Snow
- Minnesota sets ground snow by county: 60 psf in 29 northern counties, including St. Louis, Crow Wing and Otter Tail.
- Every other county, including the Twin Cities, uses 50 psf.
Frost depth
- Without a soils engineer’s determination, footings go 5 feet deep in the northern Zone I counties.
- In Zone II, which includes the Twin Cities, Rochester and St. Cloud, the minimum is 3½ feet.
In Minnesota, the code covers every county, but an inspector doesn’t. Some areas have a building official checking each step; others have no local enforcement at all. The code still applies either way, so we design every building to it, and to the snow and frost depth for its county.
Local guides for Minnesota
We deliver and install anywhere in Minnesota. These guides cover the permit rules around the state’s larger cities, and we check the rules for every other address the same way.
Twin Cities metro
Rochester & southeast Minnesota
St. Cloud & central Minnesota
Duluth & northern Minnesota
Building somewhere that isn’t listed? Tell us the address and we’ll confirm who permits it and what applies. See our whole service area.
Start with a conversation
Let’s talk about your Minnesota project.
Tell us what you’re planning and where you’re building. We’ll help you work out the next steps.
- Tell us what and whereSend us the size, how you’ll use the building and the address.
- We check the siteWe confirm who permits the address and which code and loads apply.
- You get a clear recommendationWe recommend the frame that fits and price it against the alternatives.
Or call
417-218-8348