If your open bay shed is less than 200sqm then no! However many open bay sheds are a good deal larger than this, so as a rule of thumb you will either need a full DA & CC through your local NSW council, or a complying development certificate issued by a private certifier. Navigating this is painful and tricky, however First Sheds undertakes the whole thing for you. Including, architectural plans, site plan drafting, engineering, lodgement of all forms and ongoing approval management.

As the owner of the block it is your responsibility to ensure that any and all buildings on your block are approved by the correct entities. If you engage a qualified builder like ourselves we will handle the approvals process for you and ensure that your structure is approved, engineered and built to the correct standards. If you do not opt to get your shed approved then you open yourself to a potential notice to remove from your local council or a service provider on your block (e.g. if you block access to a mains power pole or sewer network) More importantly it can be a grey area for insurance and some providers may not offer insurance on buildings that are unlawfully constructed. Realistically many people still build structures unapproved (first sheds does not recommend this) and in this event if you sell your property it will be noted in the building report. The buyer will have to acknowledge and accept an unapproved structure is on the property.

Because a open bay shed under 200sqm is exempt from approval it common to build a 10m wide x 20m long Open bay shed. However this is by no means set in stone and customise our design to your requirements. We can scale our sheds to be anywhere from 15sqm to many 1000s of square metres large. Get in touch with one of our consultants and we can design up the perfect open bay shed for your space, needs and budget!

Yes! We are fully customisable and make every shed to order. If you want to maximise the size you have on your block to a non standard dimension like 13.455m deep we can make the structure exactly that size. Add custom windows, doors, insulation, roof pitch, openings, internal walls, the lot!

No, a portion of the shed can be purpose built as a open bay shed and the rest can be designed and built to your needs! Multipurpose open bay sheds are common, think part shed house, part storage, part garage.

You sure can! Often we can get both structures through at the same time on the same approval. We can design multiple projects like a carports, storage sheds, open bay sheds to flow seamlessly on your block.

Don't be tricked by online retailers selling you a "Open bay shed". A bunch of steel and cladding delivered to your driveway isn't a Open bay shed. You still need block plans drafted, approvals completed, earthworks done, stormwater connected, concrete slab down and then the shed erected. You may also need existing structures removed, electrical works, plumbing works etc. The end cost depends on the full scope, size etc. Get in touch with us today for a ballpark price over the phone and we can organise a time for a site visit.

Its all about what type of approval is required and how long that approval takes. Typically the initial quote, design and acceptance takes 1-2 weeks, longer where more intricate design is needed. If your shed is less than 200sqm then it will be DA exempt, there we can get cracking straight away. The material supply takes 4-6 weeks, during this time we can get started on the earthworks and concreting. After the material arrives we like to get to our builds in about 2 weeks. So all up its in the region of 10-14 weeks for the full build. If you require a DA & CC then unfortunately the current wait times in NSW Council are around 6 months.

We include everything! A base build includes the shed material or kit, earthworks prep for the slab, concrete slab, shed construction & drafting and approval fees (if applicable). If your project requires we can include additional concreting, electrical and plumbing, subfloors, fencing or if you only need the kit and the erect we can just do that too.

It certainly is! Our material is backed by a 30 year bluescope warranty. When we build your shed under our building license it is also backed by a 7 year structural warranty! We are a licensed builder with Public liability & professional indemnity insurance.