OT - Buying/Building a Shed....what's your experience???

hughsey,

Like all things it is you get what you paid for. For our shed I designed and constructed myself, as it was cheaper buying the materials direct from the likes of Midalia etc and suited my specifications better.

On another note, from my experience stay clear of stratco (if you have them in NSW) We had a patio designed and supplied by them it it was bleep poor from the quality of material suppiled, the amount of material supplied (numerous trips back to get that extra peice that they did not supply, such as 3m short on the guttering), weak (IMO and a roofy friends opinion) design characteristics, and not built to exact specification, which for us was critical , as the patio needed to extend beyond the edge of the house as per our suppllied drawings, instead they just extended the house on the design- go figure.

Stick with the reputable builders, and get as many different quotes as possible. I have also found (and have been told numerous times by roofy friend) that get quotes from franchise companies in different locations, as often yo can get a better deal from franchise x 35m down the road from your local.

Remember a shed is a mans castle, not forgetting to factor into the quote for the bar fridge and plasma screen

good luck

just in the process of building a shed similar in size to yours, 12 X 7.6 X 3.1m.
But mine is besser block and steel roof.

Steel-if you go down the path of sorting your steel products individually, then GET QUOTES FOR EVERYTHING.
I made the mistake of buying quite a bit of reo bar from the nearest place and found out halfway thru that I was paying 40% more than Smorgons. It wasnt that one place was dearer, just that prices move like fuel prices.
The classic case in point was 180 universal beams, double the price from Smorgons and Statewide as Onesteel and purlin bolts $33 per 100 as opposed to $72 at another!
5 minutes on the phone or an email sent to all the sales departments can (and will) save you hundreds or thousands.

Good luck!

Hi Hughesy,
If I can give you just one piece of advice, it would that it will not be bigger enough. Go Bigger if money allows it.
Room only allowed me to go 6x10.5x2.4, wish I could of went 8x12x3.6.
You will always find something else you want to put in it or a mate will want to store something in it.
Thats if the Misses hasn't already claimed part of it. ;(

Yeah, their never bigger enough.

Hughesy,

I inspect sheds everyday for work, so yes you are correct in the different onstruction techniques. The ones I look at are cyclone rated so will be a little different to yours.

You will possibly require a shed designed to be able to withstand W41 winds?

To fix the wall columns to the cast in concrete mountings up here they use 4 x 16mm bolts so at least 2 x 12mm bolts should be OK for you.

If using 6" columns make sure it is the same gauge as the 4" column or you may be paying for less room internally for very little structural gain. This is due to the total cross sectional area of the steel column.

The shed supplier should be able to provide a complete erection schedule as well as a registered practicing engineer certification for the shed.

Remeber than wider and higher opening roller doors come in handy.

Enquiry about possible future additions to the shed eg front and side awnings.

If you need any more info let me know and I'll get some more info for you.

Cheers Sir Kev

i have found the c section garages to be good...very high clear span

get one at least 3 metres high and make it twice as large as you think you'll need...great for all the toys and workshop machinery while still allowing room for the beer fridge and heater.....i had extra purlins installed as the roofing sheets are as thin as paper This also helped in supporting the evap cooler

On a not unrelated question.
What would be the minimum eave height if intending to install a hoist to lift say a cruiser.
I'm looking at 18m x 8 x 3m at the moment. Is this high enough ?
In the Hunter region the most helpful have been Ranbuild at Heatherbrae.

Hi Hughesy,

Research it very carefully. I found the best outcome was to use a local small shed company that could custom build one to my specification.
For example most companies use a thinner cladding on the walls than on the roof (0.42 bmt monoclad – ie. 0.47mm TCT). I changed that so that my walls were also 0.42 bmt. Just after being built we got hit by a severe hail storm – my shed was one of a very few in area that had no dents in the walls.
One well known company (that advertises a lot) uses Chinese steel rather than Australian steel so of course its cheaper but quality???
Go bigger if you can afford to – I decided on 11m x 15m by 4.2m high (3.0m on eaves). The height allowed me to build a mezzanine floor in the far end of shed for extra storage and still have room underneath for trailer, tool, mowers etc etc. This means I am getting about 35 sq meters of extra storage area for nix (I did it myself with second hand hard wood timber).
As others have said you get what you pay for – the shed market is very competitive so shop around but be sure you are comparing apples with apples. All sheds are NOT equal. Check the knee and apex construction joints – should use at least a 3mm thick pressed plate. What size are purlin bolts and how many are used etc. How are uprights anchored to slab (dyna bolts, U bolts or chemical anchors etc).
Good luck, Hope all goes well.
Cheers,
Glen

Hughesy, I have built sheds and had them built. One piece to think of - you never build them big enough!

I have built kit sheds and think they aren't heavy enough or fixed into the concrete well enough. There are all sorts of grades/weights of C section and Z secton used in wall uprights, spans and purlins and you can't take anything for granted. You really need to inspect what builders are going to erect for you.

Make it high enough so something like a Troop carrier with Roof rack fitted will fit through the door (Note ... fit under the door when open, not just the door opening. ). Standard sheds are way to low.

I have never heard a bloke complain that his shed was too big!
Make sure you go as big as you can!

I'm in WA so youl'll have different manufacturers/builders, but use a small company to custom build what you want.

What ever you do, build the shed first, uprights in cement footings, then pour the slab inside.

Hi Hughesy
If you would like to call(0417723010) i can offer a fair amount of advice as there are a lot of things that affect the price from the advertised price in relation to terrain category, importance level, wind rating, z purlins or tophats etc.etc and you have just missed out by a few days if you have not purchased a shed already as there has just been another price rise with some companies.

Mattie