Barndominium
Barndo is a custom family barndominium built around a simple industrial shell: a 120' by 60' PEMB structure divided into four 30' bays, with home, gym, workshop, garage, and independent-living functions organized under one disciplined design system.
What this site is for
This documentation set turns a very ambitious build into something reviewable: the LDDs capture the design intent, the audits challenge weak spots, the command dashboard tracks what must happen next, and the drawing/CAD library is where the project can mature into professional plans.
The short version: great concept, real budget pressure, and a few decisions that need to be locked before the building leaves imagination and becomes concrete, steel, ducts, drains, and inspections.
- ShellPEMB, four 30' bays, 60' x 120' footprint.
- ProgramIndependent living, gym, living core, workshop, garage, and Asgard Press support.
- SiteDelaware mid-Atlantic, pier foundation, FFE 252.4, above floodplain.
- ConstraintStrict $1.75M budget envelope, site preparation excluded.
Claude's 7.5 is the canonical air-gap score. Above average for custom-build LDD discipline: structural strategy is clean, plumbing and radiant are genuinely well-organized, and the constraint-discipline framework is the best meta-rule in the set.
Codex's 7.8 is a slightly different audit lens. I score decision discipline and testability a little higher, while still holding back for missing AHJ/code-basis, fire separation, egress, bid-alternate, and commissioning documents.
Headline assessment
Top three strengths
- Structural clarity. PEMB + four 30' bays + spine beam + no center column. The discipline to refuse a center column despite the 60' clear span is the project's signature move.
- Three-cluster plumbing. LDD-10 is the doc set's gold standard — the non-negotiable rules section reads like a senior engineer's checklist.
- Comfort-vs-maintenance radiant tiering. Two-tier (three-tier including the gym) strategy is the right answer and saves real lifetime energy.
Top three remaining concerns (Round 2 — many earlier risks dropped or downgraded)
- Korean BBQ vent engineering. Cost basis corrected ($25–40K vs $50–100K). 8' AFF + induction's reduced plume + dedicated MUA interlock + dedicated stainless duct in 18" cavity solves architecture and cost. Remaining bet: real-world capture under sustained Korean BBQ load. LDD-07 — build a $1–3K mockup before ceiling closes.
- Dedicated MUA adopted 2026-05-16 (LDD-28) — supersedes the boost-ERV approach previously locked in LDD-05/07. Adds ~$6–14K net to HVAC budget. Verify IMC §505/§506 interpretation with mechanical engineer.
- Floor 2 documentation still pending. Ballet + rebound walls now landed as LDD-25 and LDD-26; acoustic clouds as LDD-27. Floor 2 program (bedrooms, baths, mezzanine) still implicit in drawings — document formally before bidding.
What dropped off the risk list this round
- Lift SPOF — reclassified as material lift (Asgard Press inventory), not passenger.
- Pier foundation cascade — withdrawn. PEMB piers = column footings, slab is SOG.
- Make-up air backdraft — closed. All-electric + ERV interlock = no combustion safety concern.
- Type I commercial classification — downgraded. UL-listed residential induction in R-3 unlikely to trigger.
- Spine threshold sequencing — formwork step-down at pour, not retrofit overlay.
- Spine wall acoustic underperformance — mineral-wool hybrid wall covers it.
- Earlier dropped: Flood / site-prep concern (above floodplain, sewer lateral identified).
Status board
28 LDDs, color-coded by readiness. Green = ready as written, Yellow = needs engineer or owner decision, Red = high risk, re-evaluate before locking.
Scorecard breakdown
Full reasoning and per-category notes in the air-gap review.
Building at a glance
