Custom shed and steel building design

Start from how the building will be used

A good shed design starts with what goes inside it. The width of a boat trailer, the turning circle of a tractor, the height of a caravan, where the workbench sits and how you will get a forklift to the racking all decide the span, the bay layout and where the doors go. We ask those questions first, because a shed that is the right size on paper can still be awkward to use.

From there we settle the roof style (gable, skillion or barn-style), eave height, door types and positions, windows and personal access doors, awnings or lean-tos, and the cladding colours. Where it helps, you can see the building in 3D before you commit.

The online 3D shed designer

Our 3D shed designer runs on the Composite Steel Buildings platform. You can try different sizes, roof shapes, doors and colours and see the result from every side. It is a planning tool: once you are happy with a model, send us the design details together with your site address, and we check it against the site and prepare a proper quote.

The designer does not replace the site check. The final layout, engineering and price are based on the design we confirm with you, not on the online model alone.

Checked against the site before it is quoted

Every design is checked for the things that change the structure or the approval: the wind classification of the lot, the distance to boundaries and to neighbouring windows, the ground and the slab it will sit on, the council zone and any overlays such as flood or bushfire. In Queensland, siting rules for sheds and garages come from the Queensland Development Code or the council's own planning scheme, and a design that sits inside a boundary clearance can need a council referral.

Catching these early means the design you approve is one that can be engineered, approved and built without being redrawn.

How the design process works

1. Brief: tell us what the building is for, the rough size you have in mind and send the site address, a few photos of the spot and any drawings or 3D designer model you already have.

2. Layout: we propose a layout with bay spacing, roof style, openings and colours, and adjust it with you.

3. Site check: wind classification, boundary setbacks, overlays and access for delivery and construction.

4. Engineering and documentation: the structure is engineered for the site, and the drawings needed for the building approval are prepared.

5. Approval pathway: we tell you whether the design is likely to need building approval, planning approval or a council referral, and can manage the paperwork through our council approvals service.

6. Quote: the confirmed design is quoted as a kit for you or your builder to erect, or supplied and built by us in Queensland.

Where we design for

Sheds we build are designed for sites in our Queensland service area, from the Lockyer Valley and Toowoomba region to Brisbane and South East Queensland. Kits can be designed and supplied for sites further afield, including northern NSW, where the building is erected by a locally licensed builder. Tell us the site address first and we will confirm what we can offer there.