# Forum Home Renovation The Garden Shed  boundary clearence?

## pinkstuff

in nsw (wollongong) does anyone know how close i can build a garage to the boundary line? i have a figure of 900mm floating around in my head,does this sound right?
i know,call the councill,sick of talking to the idiots there and too lazy to pick up the phone...lol
also...........how close can i build it to the house? its a 9x5 typical colorbond shed.i am wanting to leave a 1 meter gap between it and the veranda.

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## TimberNut

if you go to your councils website and download the DCP it'll list it there.  
where I am (Bankstown Council) you can build 900mm off the boundary with windows, but if the wall has no windows, you can go as close as 450mm.
sheds come under same regs as a domestic dwelling (ie a house) so whatever the rules are for that, also apply to outbuildings (ie sheds). 
be careful as to where you measure to though. From memory, the distance in the DCP is to the most external point of the eave, not to the outside wall. So if you had a wall of the shed with no windows, and it was 450mm off your boundary, and then your eaves and gutters encroached on that, you might be up the creek. 
But just check your DCP.
here's a link you'll need. (i think you want DCP 49, but I didn't download it so don't quote me on it  :Redface: )  http://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/planning/policies.asp 
Hope that helps.

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## TimberNut

well what do you know.. I just downloaded it for you and checked. DCP49 - Pages 10-5 and 10-6  list the relevant info for you. 
"Generally, dwelling walls must not be less than 900mm and eaves/gutters not less than 450mm from the side and rear property boundaries." 
"Freestanding garages/outbuildings with habitable roof spaces must be setback at least
900mm from a side or rear property boundary. Detached single storey garages/outbuildings
must be setback at least 500mm from a side or rear boundary, unless constructed of
masonry, in which case a lesser setback may be considered in accordance with the criteria below....." 
(as I noted in previous post, I'm not sure about your council, but in mine, the presence of a window in the wall affects the minimum setback allowed, so best bet is download and read the DCP, then speak to one of the council inspectors, who will clarify it for you)

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## pinkstuff

ahhhh k.thanx for the link. "habitable roof space" what the hell does that mean? its a gararge for pets sake lol............im trying to NOT involve the council here at all as i consider them to be bloodsucking parasites at best. i have a d.a for a carport but im going to put in a coulerbond garage on the slab instead.   cheers mate.

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## pinkstuff

<<<<<<. Detached single storey garages/outbuildings
must be setback at least 500mm from a side or rear boundary,>>>> 
does this mean a 'normal' coulerbond type gararge can be 500mm from the fenceline?

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## TimberNut

Mate, i can only answer based on my investigations with Bankstown council, and say that every council has slightly different regulations that you need to adhere to. 
If you were in Bankstown, and under the same DCP as me, then the answer would be yes, but not if any wall on the boundary has a window, then it must be 900mm. 
I'm not sure how Woolongong council interprets the wording. They'll be under the same LEP, but a different DCP to Bankstown (so you need to check theirs) 
I was in the same boat, and didn't want to give council any more info than was necessary but i found that once I'd read the DCP, I just rang and asked to talk to a building inspector and then just asked very specific questions like
"in DCP 49, point 10-5 it says....... does this mean.....?"
I found the guy to be most helpful (if a little thick  :Biggrin: ). 
that way i got all the info i need, and they got no info from me as to who I am or what I'm up to. 
sorry to harp on it, but unless you get it direct from them, you'll be pretty right, but can't guarantee it. I note your DCP makes no reference in that section to external windows on boundary walls, so you could take a punt, and put the colorbond shed 500mm off the boundary and see how that goes. 
Then again, if you have no windows on the boundary wall, then don't worry, just make sure your walls are 500+ from the boundary. 
You'll also need to check your wall height if you are planning on making it tall. The DCP will probably limit the maximum height to 3m but you need to know if that's to the top of the wall, or top of a pitched roof (and what pitch you can have). 
Again if you have a flat roof, then that's not going to be a problem either.

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## pinkstuff

eerrrmmmmmm i think i might call an inspector then....lol 
if i can get it as close as 500mm,i would be a happy camper.im trying to 'maximise' the sixe of the shed in my 'given' space. an extra 400mm will be a bonus. 
you wouldnt know how close i can build it to the house? i hate trying to decipher these council pdf's lol

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## TimberNut

not sure mate. my garage wasn't going close to the house, so that measurement wasn't relevant to me, so I never asked about that. However you may have another problem, depending on how big your block is, and that is free open space.  
Bankstown councils DCP stipulates a minimum of clear open space (ie not roofed) for kids to play, and there are minimum dimensions for it too. You can aggregate open space areas, but can't include areas in front of the main front wall of the house (ie not the front yard, nor the driveway that extends beyond the front wall of the house, and no part of the driveway that is covered by a carport). I'm trying to recall, but mine was something like, a minimum of 80 sq m with at least one area having a minimum length of 8m and no less than 40 sqm or something like that. If you are on a smallish block, and building a decent sized garage/carport you will want to ensure you meet that criteria. Councils now use Google Maps to verify this, and I know 2 people who've been caught out. And yes, they DID have to demolish their garages. 
It's not worth getting wrong.

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## Haveago1

See http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/vi...0+N/?fullquery=((( 
Suburban residential blocks are Zoned R1 - R4....so looks like 900mm is the minimum in NSW  *3.18* *Setbacks of outbuildings from side and rear boundaries* (1)  An outbuilding with a building height of up to 3.8m on a lot in Zone R1, R2, R3, R4, R5 or RU5 must have a setback from a side or rear boundary of at least the following: (a)  900mm, if the lot has an area of at least 450m<SUP>2</SUP> but less than 900m<SUP>2</SUP>,(b)  1.5m, if the lot has an area of at least 900m<SUP>2</SUP> but less than 1500m<SUP>2</SUP>,(c)  2.5m, if the lot has an area of at least 1500m<SUP>2</SUP>.

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## pinkstuff

ok thanx again 4 the replys guys. i have it d.a already for a carport but im going to put in a shed instead,just not going to tell the council about the changes.what they dont know wont hurt'em lol.   cheers

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## pinkstuff

bit of an update.
garage nearly finished ,waiting on 5 meter rollerdoor from b&d then start moving 'stuff' in. 
just spent 2 days painting the floor with amerlock 2k 400  2 pack epoxy Finnish. :2thumbsup: wow :2thumbsup:  does this stuff look a million$ when finished.well worth the 400$ price tag :Eek: .
try and get some pics up soon with the gear inside. cheers :Wink:

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