For sheds less than 36sqm and 3m high overall then you may be fully exempt from all approvals! Most structures under 50sqm are eligible for a DA exempt Building approval and everything else will require a full DA. However, First Sheds are experts at designing Residential sheds to be exempt from DA so all you require is a relatively straightforward building approval. If you haven't built on more than 40% of your block, are 6m back from a front boundary, have less than 8m of wall within 900mm of a side boundary, are 3m off a rear boundary, and are less than 3.5m high on the side boundary (1.8m on southern boundary) we might be able to approve your Residential shed as exempt from DA (these are the main rules but there are another 30 or so!). This saves 4–6 months of time and thousands of dollars. Contact us or request a quote and one of our project consultants will do a thorough assessment of your block. Find out more information on our approvals page.

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 that an unapproved structure is on the property.

The end size depends on your end use, and we can scale our sheds to be anywhere from 15sqm to many 1000s of square metres large. A single car garage is usually 3m wide x 6m long, a double garage 6m x 6m, and a triple garage 6m x 9m. Often people add a few extra metres to the width or length for workshop or storage space. You can add extra height for a hoist, or increase the pitch to take solar panels. Our sheds are fully customisable and built to your needs. Get in touch with one of our consultants and we can design the perfect Residential 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 8333mm wide, 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 Residential shed and the rest can be designed and built to your needs! Multipurpose sheds like studios or granny flats are common, especially when having to go through lengthy council approvals for each new build.

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

Don't be tricked by online retailers selling you a "Residential shed" for a few grand. A bunch of steel and cladding delivered to your driveway isn't a complete project. You still need block plans drafted, approvals completed, earthworks done, stormwater connected, a concrete slab poured, and the shed erected. You may also need existing structures removed, and electrical & plumbing works completed, etc. The end cost depends on the full scope and size. A relatively small Residential shed project like a single car garage can cost between $15,000–$30,000. A full project for a 200sqm Residential shed at 4m eave height, 10m wide, and 20m long usually costs in the range of $100,000–$130,000, including earthworks, concreting, stormwater connection, supply of materials, and erection.

It's all about what type of approval is required and how long that approval takes. Typically, the initial quote, design, and acceptance take 1–2 weeks. A DA-exempt Building approval for a single car garage takes around 6 weeks. The material supply then 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, it's in the region of 14–16 weeks for a complete project INCLUDING approvals. If a DA is required, this adds an additional 4–6 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—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.