Winery Tasting Room within Monitor Style Barn

Building Type:

Commercial

The tasting room at Boyne Valley Vineyards offers patrons way more than a place to sip wine. The monitor style barn’s high ceilings, stunning interior wood finishes, and warm atmosphere help create a truly memorable experience.

The winery owners had a bold project vision. A post-frame structure—and some painstaking engineering—brought it to life.

What the owners wanted:

The Petoskey Wine Region of Northern Michigan already boasted more than a dozen wineries. That’s a big reason why Boyne Valley Vineyards owners Tom and Christi Mahaney wanted a tasting room that would truly stand out from the others.

The owners had great ideas. But they also needed the right expertise to engineer and construct a year-round commercial building in rural Northern Michigan—a hilly region with notoriously sandy soil and ground snow loads of 70 pounds per square foot.

What was special about the project:

The rural location meant no access to public utilities. The tasting room would be relying on well and septic.

At the same time, a basic project goal was to create a gorgeous—and spacious—establishment. But not so spacious that the square footage would require a fire suppression system to meet township codes.

The situation demanded meticulous engineering.

“Wick did a phenomenal job at engineering this project right down to the square foot, including how much space the bar would take up inside that facility so that it would qualify for a maximum occupancy of 99 people.” – Keith Pinkelman, Lynnman Construction

What was tricky:

You may see a monitor style barn now and then. But it’s doubtful you’ve ever seen the kind of trusses that are inside this one.

The owners wanted to achieve a special open feeling for the interior space. A big part of making that possible was with the use of 9-foot span trusses for the main structure—plus another set of unique 3-ply trusses for the raised center ceiling. All were wrapped in weathered wood.

“I’ve done other monitors where it’s all one-piece trusses for the whole building. That was not the case here. The approach presented a number of unusual engineering and construction challenges that we were able to overcome.” – Keith Pinkelman, Lynnman Construction

Who helped build it:

Lynnman Construction was the general contractor for the project. In addition, another member of the Wick network of independent builders, Welch Builders, completed the general labor construction.

“You just don’t build a lot of buildings like this. The owners went over the top in so many ways. And the results were awesome. The place has this atmosphere, this powerful aura, that people really respond to.” – Keith Pinkelman, Lynnman Construction

Why Wick Buildings was the right choice:

The owners looked at all of their options at the project’s outset, including constructing a steel building and a stick-frame structure. But a Wick building wouldn’t require a full foundation—a huge cost saver. Then there was also the fact that post-frame buildings are ideal for sandy soils.

But even more important, says Keith Pinkelman from general contractor Lynnman Construction, this project demanded exceptional structural design and engineering capabilities. These can get lost within the excitement of all the aesthetic concerns. But without the expert engineering, a building like this wouldn’t have been possible.

“There aren’t many post-frame companies out there that could have pulled off the engineering. Wick was clearly the best choice for this project.” – Keith Pinkelman, Lynnman Construction

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	Yes	No
You understand that barndominium/shouse pricing is comparable to studwall home construction, particularly those with traditional 2-3 car garages and basements. Interior finishes are the same in either building type, and the advantages of a barndominium/shouse largely go away when the garage/shop space is modest and a basement is required. In many cases, you can expect to pay the same as studwall construction (i.e., somewhere between $175 - $250 per square foot depending on your market).
You want an attached garage and/or shop space > standard 2-3 car garage (i.e., > 1,200 square feet). Using post-frame building design, a barndominium/shouse is able to create large usable spaces cost-effectively in ways that traditional studwall construction cannot.
You like the aesthetic of steel (for the roof and sidewalls) typically used in a barndominium/shouse. Alternate materials may be used on the exterior, but they add cost.
You are comfortable using a concrete floating slab (or equivalent) to meet your foundation needs. A barndominium/shouse can be built on nearly any concrete foundation, including traditional basements. However, traditional basements are not necessary with a barndominium/shouse and having one increases cost.
You want to do some of the interior work yourself (such as mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fixtures), or you want to be the general contractor for that scope of work. While some builders will do full turnkey projects, most prefer to perform work through completion of the building shell.

	Yes	No
You understand that barndominium/shouse pricing is comparable to studwall home construction, particularly those with traditional 2-3 car garages and basements. Interior finishes are the same in either building type, and the advantages of a barndominium/shouse largely go away when the garage/shop space is modest and a basement is required. In many cases, you can expect to pay the same as studwall construction (i.e., somewhere between $175 - $250 per square foot depending on your market).
You want an attached garage and/or shop space > standard 2-3 car garage (i.e., > 1,200 square feet). Using post-frame building design, a barndominium/shouse is able to create large usable spaces cost-effectively in ways that traditional studwall construction cannot.
You like the aesthetic of steel (for the roof and sidewalls) typically used in a barndominium/shouse. Alternate materials may be used on the exterior, but they add cost.
You are comfortable using a concrete floating slab (or equivalent) to meet your foundation needs. A barndominium/shouse can be built on nearly any concrete foundation, including traditional basements. However, traditional basements are not necessary with a barndominium/shouse and having one increases cost.
You want to do some of the interior work yourself (such as mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fixtures), or you want to be the general contractor for that scope of work. While some builders will do full turnkey projects, most prefer to perform work through completion of the building shell.

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