Lathe Plans: Wood Barn vs. Metal Barn: Which is Better?

Everyone who owns a barn has opinions on construction – both in structure and material. However, regardless of opinions, deciding the correct way to build a barn will be entirely dependent upon what you plan on using it for. Two of the most common construction trends with barns as of recent revolve around the selection of materials: wood vs. metal.

Wood Barn vs. Metal Barn: Which is Better?

As stated before, all decisions on barn construction will boil down to purpose. Here is a high-level overview of what wood and metal barn constructions are best for:

Wood Barn Construction

Barns have been traditionally constructed from wood for hundreds of years. Generally speaking, wood barns are great for living quarters, as the wood provides structural integrity and a certain degree of insulation (at least better than metal!)

If you are building a barn for the purposes of living, whether your primary home or an additional guest home, wood will always outrun metal in the competition.

Also keep in mind, wood is a much better sound isolation material, so if you are building a workspace for loud projects, wood will be a better material of choice!

Metal Barn Construction

Metal is a more recent material being used in the construction of barns, but it has a wide variety of applications. Metal barns are almost always a better choice for storage and project needs. If your biggest priority is durability and you are not entirely concerned with achieving perfect insulation and sound isolation, metal is an easier and cheaper option for barn construction.

Metal barns are primarily used for work spaces, as they are easy to build and materials are always readily available.

Conclusion

It’s hard to say whether wood or metal is better for barn construction, as it all boils down to what the barn will be used for. Keep in mind, wood is always better when your barn requires insulation and sound isolation benefits. Conversely, metal barns are cheap to build and easy to source materials for and work great for work spaces and storage needs.

Make sure to do your research and select the building material that best suits your project!