Barndominium Builders in Olympia, Washington
Olympia's neighborhoods are mostly settled city lots, but the land a barndominium buyer finds here often sits just past the city limit, in Olympia's urban growth area or in the open country of Thurston County. The line matters more than the mailing address. Inside the limits, the City of Olympia's Permit Center issues the building permit and City utilities supply water, while septic systems, wherever they remain, are permitted by the county's environmental health program. In the urban growth area outside the limits, Thurston County issues the permits under a joint code written with the City. Past that, rural county zoning takes over, and wells and septic become the main questions. Barndominium kits suit a buyer who wants to raise the frame with their own crew; a custom plan is usually the better start on a city lot, where the house, the shop bay and the setbacks have to share a narrow footprint. If you are weighing a pole barn homes plan on a few acres, the county page is the one to read. Send us the parcel and we will confirm who reviews it.
Olympia at a glance
- Principal county
- Thurston County
- Building permit
- City building department
- Land use
- City and county zoning
- Wastewater
- Public sewer
- Water
- Public water system
Barndominium Builders Near Olympia
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 Olympia
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 Olympia: 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 Olympia, taken from the office or document that publishes it. Rules change, so check them again against your parcel before anything is drawn.
City of Olympia Permit Center (Community Planning and Development)
Inside the city limits, the Permit Center handles building permits and land use review, with applications, forms and fee schedules in its online permit portal. The City requires permits so projects meet the national building codes as amended by Washington and the Olympia Municipal Code; only small items, such as a one-story storage shed of 200 square feet or less, are excluded.
Source: What Do I Need?, City of Olympia Building Permits and Land Use Review (olympiawa.gov)
City of Olympia inside the limits; Thurston County in the Olympia urban growth area
The City zones land inside its limits. The Olympia urban growth area outside the limits is unincorporated county land that may one day be annexed; Thurston County issues permits there under a joint plan and joint code (Title 23) prepared with the City, so the rules there typically match the City's. Beyond the growth area, the county's rural zones apply.
Source: Plan Your Project, Thurston County (thurstoncountywa.gov)
City of Olympia Wastewater Utility; Thurston County Environmental Health for septic
Thurston County's Environmental Health program permits septic systems throughout the county, including inside Olympia's city limits. The City does not force a working septic system onto the sewer, but if the system fails or the home is expanded beyond its capacity, a property within 200 feet of an available sewer must connect.
Source: Septic to Sewer, City of Olympia (olympiawa.gov)
City of Olympia Drinking Water Utility
The McAllister Wellfield, about nine miles east of the city, supplies the City's whole water service area year-round and typically about 85 percent of its water, having replaced the McAllister Springs source in 2014. Wells in West and Southeast Olympia supply the rest. Land beyond the service area relies on its own well.
Source: Groundwater Protection, City of Olympia (olympiawa.gov)
- Drinking Water Protection Areas
- Olympia maps Drinking Water Protection Areas several square miles across around each of its supply wells, marking their main recharge zones. Federal, state and county rules and the Olympia Municipal Code apply there to protect the supply, and the City's online map shows whether a parcel falls inside one.
- Check the permitting jurisdiction first
- Thurston County's own guidance tells owners to look up a parcel's permitting jurisdiction before anything else: the county issues permits for land marked COUNTY and for its urban growth areas such as OLYUGA, and does not issue permits where the jurisdiction is a city.
Source: Groundwater Protection, City of Olympia (olympiawa.gov)
Source: Plan Your Project, Thurston County (thurstoncountywa.gov)
Building on land near Olympia
Pull the parcel's data sheet and read two lines: the permitting jurisdiction and the zoning. A parcel marked Olympia is City land; one marked OLYUGA is county land in the urban growth area under the joint code; anything else in the county falls under rural zoning. City lots are mostly on sewer and City water, and some sit inside a Drinking Water Protection Area, where added rules protect the water supply. Outside the city, plan for a well and a septic system and expect the county to want both approved before the building permit. For land with room for a shop and animals, start with our Thurston County page.
Other places in this part of Washington
Tacoma, Olympia & the South Sound
Have land in or near Olympia? 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 Olympia: questions
Start the surveyHow much does it cost to build a barndominium in Olympia?
Do I need a building permit for a barndominium in Olympia?
Can I keep a septic system on an Olympia lot?
Keep reading
What usually comes next once you know what Olympia 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 Olympia facts above. Rules change, so check the current version with the office before you rely on it.
- What Do I Need?, City of Olympia Building Permits and Land Use ReviewBuilding permit authorityolympiawa.gov
- Plan Your Project, Thurston CountyLand use and zoning; Check the permitting jurisdiction firstthurstoncountywa.gov
- Septic to Sewer, City of OlympiaSewer or septicolympiawa.gov
- Groundwater Protection, City of OlympiaWater supply; Drinking Water Protection Areasolympiawa.gov
Other places near Olympia
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 Olympia?
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.