Shed Prices And Questions

[No Crust Racing]

Planning my shed and have a few questions from those who have done it before.

Here's what I'm planning. I will be building it myself/with mates.

7x10.5x2.7m WxLxH (11 degree roof if that matters).

Gable end will have 2x 2.5x2.7m WxH roller doors. Current quote has motors on those but I think I might save the $500 and take them out.

There's 1 personal access door on the quote also.

That comes as a kit delivered for just under $5500 through Best Sheds (with the roller door motors taken out and $700 delivery to me but the price is substantially better than anything else I have seen so far).

My questions.

- Is this a decent price? I'm in Victoria if that matters.

- What's the consensus on Windows? I thought about adding one up the non roller door end, this adds about $200 to the price.

- What have people done insulation wise? I want it to be semi comfortable and am willing to put some basic insulation in the walls and under the roof sheet, assuming foil then batts? I will use the same kit on the doors I used on the house garage doors which worked well, it was a GDI

Reflecta kit, two bits of aluminium with honeycomb material sandwiched between. I will put in at least 1 whirlybird and have a plate to block it during winter.

- I'd like to paint the floor, easier to paint the slab before the shed goes up? Or can it not sit out in the weather?

Appreciate any comments/feedback.

Cheers

[warps]

RE: painting the slab, you will most probably scratch the buggery out of the paint in the process of erecting the shed. I painted the floor in my shed (2 pack is the best option, but be careful as some 2 pack paints are very slippery and hold a static charge). The floor now has a lot of marks on it from the steel fab work I've been doing (work benches, shelving units etc). Not a big problem but the less damage you can do the paint the better in the long run

If you can get the piece between the 2 roller doors removalbe, this can give you flexibility with putting awkward shaped / sized items in the shed. It can be a good thing, although I never used the feature in the last colorbond shed I owned.

You might consider a couple of sheets of translucent roof sheeting to give you a bit of natural light. This lets in the heat too, but if you only have a single strip, it might be the best compromise.

I assume this is just going to be a workshop, or are you going to be parking your (and the missus) car in there permanently? If the latter, then the electric doors are fkn handy - it gets pretty tiring having to get out of the car each time you want to park it in the garage. If it's only for working on the cars, then don't waste money on the auto doors.

The size you've quoted is pretty good, although you'll find that no matter how big it is, it's still too small (my current shed is 18 x 8 and I'm still looking for more room).

The most important thing to think of - lots of light. Again, you can't have too much of this. I've got six double fluoro fittings in my home garage (12 x 9m) and it's nice, but could use more. Now I have the big shed, I don't work in the home garage anymore though (it's become a games room / gym / dance studio / dojo)

Hope some of that helps.

[JZP]

OK, I've built a few large sheds myself.

I purchased my sheds from Senior Steel in Shepparton, cheaper in getting the kit and engineering done all in one place from Rodney there. Tell him Jack sent you. The other place that does well engineered sheds is safety steel structures in Dandenong. You might want to do a comparison with those guys.

Steel prices are only going up, so $5k doesn't sound expensive - but devil is in the detail - what kind of columns and beams & thickness are they supplying (RHS vs c-channel?). Is it a clear span, or do they have knee-joints holding the roof beams up against the vertical columns? Technically you get what you pay for, steel just gets more and more expensive as time goes on. It just depends if you are dealing with a reputable shed company and you trust the guy on the other end. Make sure you get all the engineering drawings, council paperwork done, install instructions and they are easy to follow.

Windows are good, just depends if you are likely to be in an area where someone might use it to break in? It's nice to be able to look outside, have some natural light and open a window if you need to.

Use the rolls of foil bonded with fibreglass, in the roof between battens and the roof sheet. Best to do that install during construction - much harder doing it later. Most of the heat comes from the roof, so walls aren't as important.

Paint the floor after - installing the shed will wreck the paint if you do that first. Just use a 2-pack paint, my mate runs a tyre business and the 2-pack is really durable. I used the cheaper roll on stuff and it scratches way too easily (plastic storage containers can even scratch the surface of my floor!).

[No Crust Racing]

Cheers, will get a quote through those guys too.

Yeah just a workshop for my track car, and will be doing some vehicle wrecking/repair work in there as well.

So not frequently in and out of it.

Here's what's in the quote, I can post the drawing also.

MAIN COMPONENTS

ROOF CLADDING 0.42 Corro bmt - 0.48 Corro tct

WALL CLADDING 0.35 Corro bmt - 0.40 Corro tct

COLUMNS C15015 "C" Purlin, Fixed with heavy duty plates and bolts

RAFTERS C15015"C" Purlin, Fixed with heavy duty plates and bolts

PURLINS & GIRTS TS064.75 purlin fixed with heavy duty framing teks

GUTTER Quad

DOWNPIPES To ground level

As for joins, here's the gallery.

http://bestsheds.com.au/photogallery

I shyed away from laser light sheets as I thought they were weaker (hail damage) and discolour and look shit over time.

The centre roller door section is not removable on this kit unfortunately as I did ask.

I know bigger is better but I only have so much space to work with, could go wider than 7m but then I'm into custom size territory and the prices seem to go up, this is the best kit I've found to fit my space.

[D.I.Y. Mik]

+1 for clear roof sheets, at least a couple. Its good light for detail work.

Sounds cheap, how good is the metal?

I have a Stratco, expensive and sht service, but good steel.

And the clear panels are good quality.

[JZP]

Their foil insulation looks OK.

It seems they are using the bracing in the roof, and they are using c-section which is a bit cheaper. Cheaper cladding is thinner & some companies count the paint as part of the thickness!. Depends what your budget is at the end of the day and what you are prepared to pay.

I removed my skylights as I live in a bushfire area and lost lots of equipment during black Saturday because of it (fire burnt through). Not sure if that is a consideration for you. However light is really important, so make sure you put lots of flouro's in!

Expenses jump when you go over 7 and 9 meters. You shouldn't be in custom territory over 7 meters!

[Adriano]

Have you considered polished concrete over paint?

[No Crust Racing]

I'll see if clear roof sheets are an option, these kits seem cheap because they are bulk ordered with no flexibility.

Hadn't considered polished concrete, what is going to be more cost effective?

I want to minimise the dust and stop oil staining it. I usually put old carpet down also, at least under the track car lol

[JZP]

Have you considered polished concrete over paint?

Quite expensive to do polished concrete. Personally think it is overkill for a workshop.

I'd just do a smooth trowel finish. You can ask the concreter to do a high-gloss finish with the 'helicopter' tool.

[No Crust Racing]

Is that going to be any better than me just painting it myself.

[JZP]

Is that going to be any better than me just painting it myself.

Lower maintenance in the long run. It's just shiny concrete. Painted concrete will eventually need re-painting. Depends how fussy you are and what you want it to look like.

Personally I hate my painted floor. It just looks like it needs maintenance all the time. You can't touch it up as it looks patched up. Then again my mates two pack floor looks a million times better and it is in a commercial setting.

Oh yeah, make sure the concreter cuts expansion joints into the slab with a concrete saw. Don't let him trowel in a join, as you won't be able to run your trolley jack across the floor with weight on it (eg car or transmission).

[No Crust Racing]

Cheers, started getting some numbers for local concreters so should have some indicative pricing soon.

The real pain will be that wee can't get a concrete truck down there and it's 40m+ from the front of the block to the front of where the shed will be.

Good times ahead.

[jiffo]

Cheers, started getting some numbers for local concreters so should have some indicative pricing soon.

The real pain will be that wee can't get a concrete truck down there and it's 40m+ from the front of the block to the front of where the shed will be.

Good times ahead.

Pump, don't even think about wheeling it.

[No Crust Racing]

There's only double gate access down the side of my block, you'd get a car down there but not sure about a concrete truck, plus the weight would absolutely f**k my lawn.

Or is there some kind of pump I can hire are you saying?

As you can see I know SFA about concreting.

[JZP]

You might be able to get a mini mix truck down the side if you can get a car there.

Otherwise the concreter might charge more to wheel barrow the loads down the driveway.

Concrete pump is probably arranged by the concreter. Adds to the cost too.

[No Crust Racing]

I'll have a chat to the concreter and see what we can come up with.

[jiffo]

7.6+ metres?

Don't think too many of you guys have wheeled concrete.

A full to the brim barrow holds 0.2 mtrs, well the first few do after that they hold less and less.

Hold the truck up filling barrows and you're paying waiting time.

Mini mixes, nope, not long enough chutes to do that job, you'll either be shovelling lots or driving on your reo.

Go the pump.

[No Crust Racing]

Any rough ideas on the cost of a pump?

Can't imagine it'd take long to lay this slab so we'd only be hiring one for a few hours.

[Hertz Donut]

Yep, get the pump truck in. We built a new room (33sq.m) on the back of a house with very tight access and no drive-on a few years ago, and the pump meant the job to fill the blocks was over and done with in very short order. Can't remember the prices sorry but pretty sure it was only a few hundred. The concreter organised it himself.

[No Crust Racing]

Is the pump like a crane attachment or a big ass hose? As the truck would be 40m+ away from the slab site.