Storey County, Nevada Reno, Sparks & the Truckee Meadows

Barndominium Builders in Storey County, Nevada

Storey County is small, steep and high. The county seat and Gold Hill sit on the Comstock, the Highlands north of them are laid out as estate subdivisions, and the county's zoning sheet also carries the McCarran and TRIC industrial zones. For a barndominium, those one-, ten- and forty-acre estate subdivisions are where the conversation usually starts. We handle the planning side: picking the building package, checking it against the county's criteria and pulling the permit documents together, and contractors licensed by the Nevada State Contractors Board carry out the work. Storey County Community Development issues building permits, and the 2024 Northern Nevada Code Amendments have been mandatory there since 1 January 2026. The county's own rules shape a shop house more than the frame does. You cannot put up the shop first and live in it later, hauled water does not count as a water source, and roof snow loads climb sharply with elevation on the ridges. Metal building homes and steel homes work well here when they are ordered for the site's height. Before you line up barndominium contractors near Storey County, send the parcel through the survey so the elevation, zoning and water question are settled first.

Storey County at a glance

County: Storey County
Building permit: County (unincorporated land)
Local facts on this page: 5, each linked to its source

Tell us about your land

Before you build in Storey County

The local answers that shape a build here, each taken from the office or document that publishes it. Rules change, so they are confirmed again against your parcel before drawing.

County-issued permitWho issues the permit

Storey County Community Development / Building Department

Storey County Community Development issues residential building permits. Before one is issued, the county requires land use, sanitation, water, driveway access and building plans to be in order. The 2024 Northern Nevada Code Amendments became mandatory in the county on 1 January 2026.

Source: Permitting | Storey County, NV - Official Website (storeycounty.org)

Snow load by elevation: Storey County's 2024 Building / Design Requirements sheet (revised 27 May 2026) sets ground snow for Risk Category II at 20 psf from 4,500 to 5,499 ft, 50 psf at 5,500 to 5,999 ft, 70 psf at 6,000 to 6,499 ft, 90 psf at 6,500 to 6,999 ft and 129 psf from 7,000 to 8,500 ft.
Other design criteria: The same sheet lists a 24-inch frost line, seismic design category D2 for the residential zones, a 120 mph ultimate wind speed for Risk Category II, a 10°F winter design temperature and an ice shield underlayment at 5,000 ft and above.
Shop before house: Storey County Community Development states that a garage or shop may be built before the house only if an active permit has been issued for the principal building and it is being built at the same time. A temporary trailer permit for living on site during construction is at the building official's discretion.
Water source required: The county's FAQ answers no to delivered water in place of a well, citing County Code 15.12.090, Water Source Required.
Minimum home size: Storey County does not allow specifically defined tiny homes; its FAQ gives a 401 square foot minimum in the E-40-VR estates zone under County Code 17.40.050. Camping is not an allowed use on any parcel, and nothing may be stored on an unimproved lot.

Building on land near Storey County

Buying land near Storey County's towns mostly means the Highlands estate lots, zoned E-1-VCH, E-10-HR or E-40-VR, and every home there needs a permanent water source of its own. Before you buy, confirm the parcel's elevation, because the county's snow load steps up every few hundred feet above 5,500 ft. Ask whether a well already exists or what nearby well logs show, since hauled water will not satisfy the county. Check the driveway grade and access, which the county reviews before a permit. Remember you cannot store equipment or camp on a lot while you plan, and the shop has to go up alongside the house, not ahead of it.

The area this page covers

Map of Storey County, Nevada: the area this page covers, not an office location.

Reno, Sparks & the Truckee Meadows

Barndominium services in Storey County

Kits, custom plans and turnkey projects. The parcel decides the budget more than the floor area does, so estimates are worked out against your land rather than a rate card.

Custom Plans

Custom barndominium floor plans for Nevada parcels, drawn around your land's sun, snow and septic, with structural sheets sealed where the county requires.

Barndominium Kits

Barndominium kits for Nevada land: steel or post-frame shell packages drawn to the snow, wind and seismic values your own county publishes.

Turnkey Builds

Turnkey barndominium builds in Nevada: one plan from bare land to keys, with the construction carried out by Nevada-licensed contractors.

See every service

Have land in or near Storey 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.

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Building in Storey County: questions

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How much does it cost to build a barndominium in Storey County?

Elevation and water weigh most. A roof for 129 psf of ground snow is a different structure from one for 20 psf, and drilling a well on a ridge lot can be a large, uncertain line. We do not publish our own prices. See the barndominium cost guide for sourced ranges, and use the survey to get a plan matched to your lot.

Do I need a building permit for a barndominium in Storey County?

Yes. Storey County Community Development issues it once land use, sanitation, water, driveway access and plans are all in place. Our permitting service lines those items up in the order the county checks them.

Can I build the shop first and live in it on a Storey County lot?

No. The county lets a garage or shop go up first only when the house already holds an active permit and is being built at the same time. A combined shop house under one roof avoids the problem; see shouses and barndominium kits.

Are metal homes practical on the Highlands estate lots?

Yes, if the frame and roof are ordered for the lot's elevation, because the county's sheet raises the snow load in steps as the ground climbs. Each home also needs its own permanent water source. Our metal homes service covers how the package is matched to the site.

Keep reading

What usually comes next once you know what Storey County allows.

Barndominium Cost Guide

Sourced per-square-foot ranges by tier and size, and what moves the number on your land.

Read it

Is a Barndominium Legal in Nevada?

Zoning, water, septic and who inspects, before you buy the land.

Read it

How Long Does It Take?

From parcel to move-in, and which steps set the clock.

Read it

Sources for this page

The published pages behind the Storey County facts above. Rules change, so check the current version with the office before you rely on it.

Barndominium builders near Storey County

Nearby places we also cover. Across a city limit or a county line the permit office, zoning, water and septic rules can change, so each has its own page.

Sparks

Washoe County, Nevada

Dayton

Unincorporated Lyon County, Nevada

Lyon County

Lyon County, Nevada

Washoe County

Washoe County, Nevada

Building in Storey County?

Start with the survey. Tell us where the land is and what you want on it, and we will come back with which office permits it, what it will allow, and a plan to fit.

Start the survey