# Forum Home Renovation The Garden Shed  Build own shed or buy kit and build?

## craka

Hey, 
Done a bit of a search on here trying to find out this.  
I'm considering purchasing portal frame brackets, buying purlins and cutting myself and than cladding in zincalume.  They are australian built and engineered brackets. 
It would be building the shed as a complying development, wanting a shed of 6metre by 9metre size.
Has anyone gone down this path here rather than buying just a kit off the shelf so to speak?  What are the pro and cons? It would appear cheaper to go down this path?

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## OBBob

From what I seem to read the kits don't seem to make it a great deal easier.

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## johnc

I've always found kits cheaper to buy than sourcing the bits, it seems to be the cladding that blows the budget, the kit builders must get good pricing.

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## commodorenut

Talk to council first about what they want to see.   
Depending on your council, and wind zone, you may need engineering drawings.  This is where a kit is much easier - they've got the drawings on file, and simply apply it to your block and charge a small fee for this "personalised" engineering.  They have previously passed engineering specs for the actual shed construction in numerous council areas, and that creates a much easier path through council. 
Going it on your own you'll have to prove it can handle what it needs to - so you're likely to need to spend $ on an engineer & drawings, to show council how you intend to DIY it, and prove that on paper it can meet their requirements.

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## toooldforthis

I looked at putting up a 2nd hand shed similar size to you but it wasn't worth the cost, people had high expectations on price, dismantle and transport... but in that process I approached an engineer to do the *plans for council* and he said around $250 - $400 depending on things like structure, could he see it before dismantle, location etc. 
the kits seem to be a mess, generally have a bad reputation - some people have got struck putting them up and tried to get a pro - some who wouldn't touch them, others where they take twice as long to erect cause of design.
I ended up getting a local shed builder who did good quality stuff, wasn't cheap, but I got what I wanted.... eventually. 
so long story short:
build it yourself
engineering and plans might not be too expensive

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## jimfish

I got a kit shed 7m x 14m . It was a seamless process. I couldn't of bought the pieces for the price I got the kit for. I have heard some stories of the process going wrong though.
Good luck which ever way you go

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## craka

> Talk to council first about what they want to see.   
> Depending on your council, and wind zone, you may need engineering drawings.  This is where a kit is much easier - they've got the drawings on file, and simply apply it to your block and charge a small fee for this "personalised" engineering.  They have previously passed engineering specs for the actual shed construction in numerous council areas, and that creates a much easier path through council. 
> Going it on your own you'll have to prove it can handle what it needs to - so you're likely to need to spend $ on an engineer & drawings, to show council how you intend to DIY it, and prove that on paper it can meet their requirements.

  From what I understand with a complying development, I would just need a private certifier to pass it. I'm in a A1 wind zone. Already checked the regulation for height, distance from border, land to development ratio etc.

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## SilentButDeadly

We got the kit...then paid the supplier to build it. What would have taken us six weeks of intermittent fugging about took two blokes four days and added only a couple of grand to the cost. I have better things to do with my time.

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## craka

> I looked at putting up a 2nd hand shed  similar size to you but it wasn't worth the cost, people had high  expectations on price, dismantle and transport... but in that process I  approached an engineer to do the *plans for council* and he said around $250 - $400 depending on things like structure, could he see it before dismantle, location etc. 
> the kits seem to be a mess, generally have a bad reputation - some  people have got struck putting them up and tried to get a pro - some who  wouldn't touch them, others where they take twice as long to erect  cause of design.
> I ended up getting a local shed builder who did good quality stuff, wasn't cheap, but I got what I wanted.... eventually. 
> so long story short:
> build it yourself
> engineering and plans might not be too expensive

  My  understanding using the appropriate portal frame brackets, using the  adequate size purlin for rafters and columns according to span tables  should accomodate for structual integrity.
So I think I'm leaning on just building myself and not from kit apart from the brackets and bolts.   

> I've always found kits cheaper to buy than sourcing  the bits, it seems to be the cladding that blows the budget, the kit  builders must get good pricing.

   

> I got a kit shed 7m x 14m . It was a seamless  process. I couldn't of bought the pieces for the price I got the kit  for. I have heard some stories of the process going wrong though.
> Good luck which ever way you go

  Zincalume is  approximately about 8 bucks linear metre for 760mm cover so from my  rough calculations I still would be under including cladding. Roller  doors seem bloody expensive for what they are so was thinking I making  up steel framed sliding door and clad it in zincalume.

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## toooldforthis

I like my sliding doors

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## Bros

Your posts are a bit misleading. In the first you indicated not cladding in zinc alum and in your last post saying you want to clad in zinc alum is it a typo?

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## PlatypusGardens

> Your posts are a bit misleading. In the first you indicated not cladding in zinc alum and in your last post saying you want to clad in zinc alum is it a typo?

  
I saw it as the first post having the common "then/than" typo.   

> I'm considering purchasing portal frame brackets, buying purlins and cutting myself and than cladding in zincalume

   
However I'm not sure if he's cutting the purlins..... or..... buying purlins and cutting himself....    :Unsure:

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## Uncle Bob

I think, and if I had my time again building a "tin shed", that I later lined, I would've have not built a tin shed but DIY'ed a wooden frame one (because you usually need to build one for the lining anyway). But if you need DA's and such red tape, getting a tinny with certification is a better option, as in cheaper.

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## craka

> I saw it as the first post having the common "then/than" typo.     
> However I'm not sure if he's cutting the purlins..... or..... buying purlins and cutting himself....

  Correct. I was grammatically incorrect. I blame the nsw education system of the 80s and 90s for removing it from the curriculum.  
I was intending to use zincalume and purchase lengths of purlin and cut it to size myself.

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## Bros

OK I thought you may have wanted to clad in some other material. I went away from these sheds as I wasted the front to look the same as the rest of the house so I used Bessel blocks and timber roof trusses and used hardies shingles on the street side same as the house. I never costed it but it would have been more expensive than a tin shed. A mate of mine used timber frames and sheeted it with hardiplank to blend in with his house.

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## craka

Still thinking/planning things out, drawing things up. Can anyone advise what the standard spacing apart is between tophat for wall girts and roof? 
Realised I hadn't specified what size.   Using Tophat 64mm height and 0.75mm thick.

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## dazzler

Hi Craka 
Have you thought of building it the old way - timber frame, weatherboard cladding (or hardiplank), skillion roof or trussed gable? 
My 2c is they look a little better than steel sheds, use old building methods, the wall frame is ready for batts, easy to gyprock etc 
Cheers

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## craka

> Hi Craka 
> Have you thought of building it the old way - timber frame, weatherboard cladding (or hardiplank), skillion roof or trussed gable? 
> My 2c is they look a little better than steel sheds, use old building methods, the wall frame is ready for batts, easy to gyprock etc 
> Cheers

  Hi Dazzler,  
Yes I have thought of that, however unfortunately material cost would far exceed steel shed for not much gain I think. Though I do have a framing gun.

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## NZC

The last shed I built for myself I had steel portals made with tags on them so I could use timber girts, and just fixed the sheets straight to them. Then just nogged the inside to suit ply sheeting.

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## craka

> The last shed I built for myself I had steel portals made with tags on them so I could use timber girts, and just fixed the sheets straight to them. Then just nogged the inside to suit ply sheeting.

  Was this a design of your own or kit?

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## NZC

> Was this a design of your own or kit?

  Kit, I just ordered it without girts, got a welder mate to put the tags on.

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## craka

> Kit, I just ordered it without girts, got a welder mate to put the tags on.

  How did you get that council approved?  Wouldn't your changes have been noticed when inspected?

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## NZC

> How did you get that council approved?  Wouldn't your changes have been noticed when inspected?

  Its was drawn on the plans that way, girts are just fixing for the sheets. The council didn't care, I just had to prove qualified welder did the welding.

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## craka

> Its was drawn on the plans that way, girts are just fixing for the sheets. The council didn't care, I just had to prove qualified welder did the welding.

  They were drawn as timber girts on plan?   Not trying to be argumentative or pedantic but from what I've read regarding steel shed construction is that the girts and sheet cladding have a 'skin' effect of bracing.  
When you say you have to prove by qualified welder, do you mean prove a boilermaker did the welding ?  I was going to weld up my own frames, I'm not a 'qualified' welder but consider myself being able to weld up RHS section without too much problems.   If that is the case can't believe that I could weld a trailer up and get it blue slipped and registered for the road.

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## manofaus

ive just had a shed approved for construction myself. i am using duragal rhs for rafters and posts and duragal flat bar for the joints. 64mm top hat to screw sheets too. The council said that welds had to present well. I am a qualified welder, but I built the shed with alot of joint redundancy. Its a 16m x 9m american barn, but has no posts internal like the kit ones do. It works out alot cheaper then a kit and this has me worried I might be forgetting something.....
I did draw extra bracing, but its just that bracing strap steel you get in a roll. 
Talk to your council about what they think.

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## craka

> ive just had a shed approved for construction myself. i am using duragal rhs for rafters and posts and duragal flat bar for the joints. 64mm top hat to screw sheets too. The council said that welds had to present well. I am a qualified welder, but I built the shed with alot of joint redundancy. Its a 16m x 9m american barn, but has no posts internal like the kit ones do. It works out alot cheaper then a kit and this has me worried I might be forgetting something.....
> I did draw extra bracing, but its just that bracing strap steel you get in a roll. 
> Talk to your council about what they think.

  Hi Manofaus,
Sounds similar to what I have in mind but mind is quite a bit smaller,  just a 6m by 6m. I was too planning on using RHS 150 by 50 for post and rafters and 64mm top hat for wall girts and roof to fix sheeting to. With using a section of RHS as a knee brace between rafter and post.   Was going to do all welds as butt welds,  you have me wondering how you meant flat bar for joints?  Do you mean welding a section of bar over each butt weld? 
You*'re* probably right mate, I should contact council to see what they say.

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## Southernwood

Most councils will want a building surveyor to sign off on it, and you need engineering calculations and drawing for that.  There's a guy in Ferntree Gully who just sells sets of brackets for portal frames of several different types, and gives away generic engineering doco for free.  You go and then chase up the concrete, C sections, top hats, fasteners, doors, flashings, etc, and build it DIY.  There's good info on Youtube, especially Fair Dinkum Sheds' video.  I'm looking at doing it myself, and the saving looks to be only about $2-3k on the shed compared to kits and also saving maybe $3k of the $4.5k erection for 10x6x4.2m (although if I could get as much work as I wanted I'd maybe pay a labourer to assist me), and my construction manager son will help source a concreter for a day to screed the slab after we box it up and tie the steel in advance, saving a bit more.  Look at:    Shed Brackets Purlin Brackets  .    I talked to him on the phone and the strongest advice he had was that the hardest thing is getting planning permission - go and work on that before getting too far into planning to use his brackets.   He  says he has supplied 2000-odd sets with no building surveyor rejections, though some occasionally call up to ask questions. 
The kit of steel materials is only just over half the project cost. For me there's also concrete (both the slab and widening the crossing), building surveyor, about 5 different permits, electrics, insulation, a low retaining wall I need around the back corner, asphalt driveway, and owner builder registration & insurance.

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