When Luke Fryer boarded a plane to Texas, he wasn\u2019t chasing BBQ or cowboy hats. The former Metricon executive and founder of Longhorn Group was chasing an idea \u2013 a radical rethink of how Australians build homes. What he found were \u201cBarndominiums\u201d: vast, steel-framed ranch-style houses with soaring ceilings, stone fireplaces, and panoramic glass that [\u2026]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, Fryer wants to roll them out \u201ceverywhere from Darwin to Launceston and over to Broome\u201d. His claim? They\u2019re faster, cheaper, and better suited to the Australian landscape than the houses we\u2019ve been building for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What Exactly Is a Barndominium?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The name might sound odd, but in the US it\u2019s already a movement. Barndominiums are oversized steel-framed homes with cathedral-like spaces, often wrapped in rustic finishes. Think: eight-to-twelve-metre-high ceilings, expansive verandas, off-grid capability, and living spaces big enough for a family gathering, a wedding, or just a fire-lit evening overlooking the paddocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Longhorn\u2019s designs come with American names \u2013 the Oklahoma, the Wyoming, the Minnesota \u2013 but Fryer insists they belong in Australia. With floor-to-ceiling glass looking out to ridgelines and valleys, he argues they\u2019re built for our rugged countryside as much as Texan plains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese homes capitalise on what Australia has in abundance \u2013 land, views, and lifestyle,\u201d Fryer says. \u201cBut right now, there\u2019s no real product in our market that does that justice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Price Tag: From $700k to $2.3m<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The entry point for a basic model is around $700,000, with high-spec versions running to $2.3 million. Fryer claims that\u2019s up to 10% cheaper than most comparable builds in regional Australia, while offering sizes between 450 and 730 square metres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Crucially, they\u2019re designed for rural blocks \u2013 often off-grid. Packages include solar, water storage, and sewage treatment systems, giving farmers and regional buyers a house that works independently of town supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That raises a big question: is this a solution to housing affordability, or just a premium product for cashed-up buyers chasing lifestyle acreage?<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Faster – But Not Texas Fast<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In Texas, Fryer saw homes go up in 150 days. In Australia, a similar home can take 10\u201311 months. He doesn\u2019t pretend we\u2019ll catch up with US timelines \u2013 labour shortages make that impossible. But with dedicated Barndominium build teams, Longhorn Group is targeting six months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That means consecutive work streams rather than waiting weeks for the next trade to arrive. It\u2019s not radical technology \u2013 just tighter scheduling \u2013 but Fryer says it could be a step towards faster delivery in an industry crying out for innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u200d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read full The Good Builder article here: https:\/\/bit.ly\/46YUmG2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When Luke Fryer boarded a plane to Texas, he wasn\u2019t chasing BBQ or cowboy hats. The former Metricon executive and founder of Longhorn Group was chasing an idea \u2013 a radical rethink of how Australians build homes. What he found were \u201cBarndominiums\u201d: vast, steel-framed ranch-style houses with soaring ceilings, stone fireplaces, and panoramic glass that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1281,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[20],"class_list":["post-1280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs","tag-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/longhornbarndominiums.tmpdev.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/longhornbarndominiums.tmpdev.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/longhornbarndominiums.tmpdev.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longhornbarndominiums.tmpdev.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longhornbarndominiums.tmpdev.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1280"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/longhornbarndominiums.tmpdev.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1282,"href":"https:\/\/longhornbarndominiums.tmpdev.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1280\/revisions\/1282"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longhornbarndominiums.tmpdev.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/longhornbarndominiums.tmpdev.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longhornbarndominiums.tmpdev.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longhornbarndominiums.tmpdev.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}