# Custom Home Builder in Jonesville, Michigan — Strouss Construction

> Custom homes, additions, barndominiums and pole barns in Jonesville, Michigan, from the historic blocks in town to the farm townships around it.

Jonesville sits on the St. Joseph River where US-12 and M-99 cross, about twenty five minutes south of our home base in Concord. We have been building in this part of Michigan since 1949, and the fourth generation of our family runs the company now.

Jonesville is two building jobs in one. In town you have narrow tree lined lots along Chicago Street and houses that went up in the eighteen hundreds. Past the edge of town, Fayette and Scipio townships are farm ground with room for a pole barn, a shop or a barndominium.

## Additions on Old Foundations
Most of the older housing in town dates to the eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds, which means stone and block foundations, balloon framing, and additions that were tacked on over the years without much of a plan. When we put an addition on a house like that, the first thing we do is figure out what is actually holding it up. The in town lots are deep and narrow, often with an alley behind, so a new garage usually goes at the back of the lot.

## Farm Splits and Barndominiums
Out in Fayette and Scipio townships and up toward Litchfield, land gets split off family farms in five to twenty acre pieces, and the buyers want a house and a big barn on the same parcel. That is where barndominiums make sense. You are on well and septic instead of city water and sewer, so the health agency permit and the perc test come before we draw anything. Ground near the St. Joseph River holds water, and we plan the site around that instead of fighting it.

## Where We Build Around Jonesville
Downtown Jonesville and Chicago Street, Fayette Township, Scipio Township, St. Joseph River corridor, M-99 north toward Litchfield, Baw Beese Lake area

## What We Build in Jonesville
- **New Homes & Barndominiums** ([details](https://stroussconstruction.com/services/new-homes-barndominiums.md))
- **Additions & Remodeling** ([details](https://stroussconstruction.com/services/additions-remodeling.md))
- **Garages & Barns** ([details](https://stroussconstruction.com/services/garages-barns.md))
- **Commercial Construction** ([details](https://stroussconstruction.com/services/commercial-construction.md))

## FAQ
### Can you build a barndominium on acreage outside Jonesville?
Yes. Most of the barndominium work around here lands in Fayette and Scipio townships and up toward Litchfield on parcels split off working farms. Before we price anything we check the township zoning, because rules on living space inside a post frame building differ from one township to the next in Hillsdale County. Then we sort the driveway approach and the septic. After that we design around how you actually plan to use the shop side.

### We own an older house in town. Can you add on to it?
Yes, and that is common work here. A lot of the homes near Chicago Street are well over a hundred years old with stone or block foundations and framing that was never sized for a modern load. We open things up, look at what is carrying weight, and match the new roofline and trim to the old house so it does not read as a box stuck on the back. In town, zoning approval comes from the city first and the building permit runs through the Hillsdale County Building Inspection Office, and the lot setbacks shape where an addition can go.

### How far is Jonesville from your base?
About twenty five minutes. We are based in Concord in Jackson County, one county line away, so Jonesville sits comfortably inside our working range. Material, equipment and the crew all make that run without it touching your schedule.

### Can you build near the St. Joseph River?
Yes, with the water table setting the rules. Ground near the river and the low spots off it holds water, so we look at drainage and septic placement before the house is sited, and sometimes the right call is moving the pad to higher ground on the same parcel. Planning around the water beats fighting it for the life of the building.

## Contact
Phone (517) 750-0031 · https://stroussconstruction.com/contact