Thread: American Barn or 'normal' shed?

For a shed of the same sqm they are MUCH more expensive. I forget the upcharge but there are a number of shed suppliers with prices online. You will soon see.


The high roof is a wonderful idea for so many reasons. Yes if you can go high enough you can have a mezzanine byt for example if you build a conventional single pitch with high walls you can get a complete 1st story or a part and the total cost will still be lower. I looked into this in detail some years back. I doubt very much it's changed.


Do not underestimate the value of clear spans. The opportunity to have double doors, doors where you want them and configuring the space inside as it suits.


And finally understand, really believe, no matter how big you will fill it. I know people with 11x22, 10x30 and yes even 4000sqm sheds. None have significant empty space.


There was a mob with great prices and a quality product. They were discussed here but I forget the name. They had a site with prices.


Don't get a space frame. More expensive than a portal frame, much harder to erect, less robust. Awful things. Only advantage is you don't have the big portal frames intruding into your area.


2c

Have a look at Best Sheds

Originally Posted by I_wanna_Shed

My thought first went to an American Barn, but I'm now thinking about a normal shed.

The "American Barn" uses a gambrel roof. Looks more interesting than the standard skillion or gable roof, but possibly more expensive depending on how it is bought and materials used. Cost comparison should take into account the additional space because of the height (permits a mezzanine floor) rather than just ground floor area. The extra height may have planning permission difficulties depending on your location (rural/urban).

Regards
Paul

Shop around and trade each company against the others on price, a mate got his shed, from Best Sheds in the end, for $5200 delivered to Narooma, and the initial price was $11,500. Big difference.

Make sure you compare the cost of the shed + install/slab, best sheds where the best price I could find for my shed. However once added the build/slab price from the builder list they reconmended plus asking some locals, it actually turned out to be almost 25% cheaper overall to go with a local shed builder to supply and construct

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'll have some quotes coming for the normal shed to see how the price compares. Some companies can do an American Barn that size with 2 bays deep instead of 3, meaning I'd have 2 poles in the middle of the floorspace rather than 4. This would probably be workable, and a good compromise for the nicer overall look and better mezzanine.

I'm finding quotes for the 'whole package' from the big shed players range from $6K to $18K just for the erection of the barn, concrete is fairly consistent at around $13K plus a 400mm cut and fill, while the barn itself ranges from $24K to $36K. I'll start to get some quotes from individual local concreters and shed builders.

I've been around this in a circle. I had my shed worked out but then prices rose. What was killing it was the erection cost.

Once the shed is over a certain size it is not realistic for me to do myself. Once it reaches a certain size, the kit cost of the portal frame gable shed is less than barn style but the erection costs are more. So I looked a barn style to reduce the erection costs. The kit was a bit more (more steel) but they are easier to erect. The barn was cheaper over all, however it almost balanced out and in the end I decided the posts would get in the way. So I've gone back to a portal frame shed design.
Best Sheds seem to be harder to erect and so I've gone off them and I'm now favouring a local shed company. Also my local company has figured out how to get to my main objectives most cheaply rather than just quoting for the specific dimensions I request.

In my zone the council reduced the height from 5m to 4.5m. Which appears to be a money grab because it has meant that about 70-80% of sheds in this zone have to apply for a relaxation. And no one with a reasonable plan, seems to have been refused a relaxation. There's $1,650 and an extra 8 weeks for no reason. So check your council rules early in the planning stage.

I also discovered there is a price jump from 3.5m high walls to 4.0 high walls. All the frame has to be upgraded.

So my recommendation is to properly research everything.

As I've discovered things, it has set me back and and this has taken so long the bank has now changed the lending rules. Which has really set me back. So I've made hardly any tangible progress. Although to be fair, most of my attention has had to be on the house build, so that would not be the case for most people.

Originally Posted by DaveVman

I've been around this in a circle. I had my shed worked out but then prices rose. What was killing it was the erection cost.

Once the shed is over a certain size it is not realistic for me to do myself. Once it reaches a certain size, the kit cost of the portal frame gable shed is less than barn style but the erection costs are more. So I looked a barn style to reduce the erection costs. The kit was a bit more (more steel) but they are easier to erect. The barn was cheaper over all, however it almost balanced out and in the end I decided the posts would get in the way. So I've gone back to a portal frame shed design.
Best Sheds seem to be harder to erect and so I've gone off them and I'm now favouring a local shed company. Also my local company has figured out how to get to my main objectives most cheaply rather than just quoting for the specific dimensions I request.

In my zone the council reduced the height from 5m to 4.5m. Which appears to be a money grab because it has meant that about 70-80% of sheds in this zone have to apply for a relaxation. And no one with a reasonable plan, seems to have been refused a relaxation. There's $1,650 and an extra 8 weeks for no reason. So check your council rules early in the planning stage.

I also discovered there is a price jump from 3.5m high walls to 4.0 high walls. All the frame has to be upgraded.

So my recommendation is to properly research everything.

As I've discovered things, it has set me back and and this has taken so long the bank has now changed the lending rules. Which has really set me back. So I've made hardly any tangible progress. Although to be fair, most of my attention has had to be on the house build, so that would not be the case for most people.

Not disputing your figures but surprised to hear that the quoted erection costs are cheaper with a Barn over traditional farm style. Do you know if it is because they require a crane with the larger spans of the farm style that is pushing the price up?
The barn style has a lot more components involved so would of expected a higher labour cost with equivalent size sheds

Yes Beardy, you hit the nail on the head. It is because they need a large crane with the portal frame. Which they either need to hire or factor into their costs. Although note, this was the case due to the size of the shed I want. The big heavy steel frame is an issue vs smaller sections in the barn style. For a smaller shed it might be the reverse. Hence my comment that you really need to do your own careful research. That comment might sound obvious but the problem is that a lot of these shed companies are now so busy they don't have as much time to help you explore options as they used to.

The barn style is more steel but the frame parts are smaller sizes. There is a cost premium as the size of the framework increases. Hence as the shed size and spans increase, the cost comparison it is not as simple as the kg of steel being used. Although a barn style would be more labour, it is not as dramatic as you might think for a professional crew. They put the shed up pretty quick and move on.

Also I was surprised to find that Best Sheds are cheaper to buy but more expensive to erect. I had assumed they were all made the same. Not true. Which means total costs may not be what you assume.

One neighbour went with Best Sheds. The kit has been sitting on their lawn for months and they still don't have a start date. This is because they didn't properly do their homework. They basically panicked with the rising steel costs. But in hindsight they will not be better off.

So all this means you have to find that sweet spot.

Maybe a dumb suggestion but would erecting two smaller building side by side work out cheaper? You could separate them by a few meters for semi screened storage or parking and the need for a big crane is removed as the components are smaller.

Pete

Originally Posted by QC Inspector

Maybe a dumb suggestion but would erecting two smaller building side by side work out cheaper? You could separate them by a few meters for semi screened storage or parking and the need for a big crane is removed as the components are smaller.

Pete

For a portal frame steel shed the steel frame size relates to the spans of and between frames, and height of the building. So two sheds of the same height would not save you anything. However I haven't ruled this out in my case because the rear part is for an office - which could have say 2.4m high walls instead of 3.5m. I have been told that it is cheaper just to have one long shed because then the earthworks and concrete slab is just a bit more of the same. Whereas erection costs of two sheds would be more than one.
I'd have to check if there would be 2 x the delivery charge, etc. Plus the greater wall area means more sheet steel.

I have not actually costed this out. Partly because I got a bit confused by the council rules and also because my bank changed their lending rules. Mostly because in my case, 2 sheds would make more sense if I built a retaining wall and had them on different levels. The shed company I was dealing with at the time was not interested in that so I would have had to get my own engineer and concreter to build the split level slabs. So there are more costs there. It all got a bit hard. Maybe it could be an option for me as a plan B. However there would also be another council permit cost. One for each shed. So you see every option can have hidden costs. Doesn't always add up like you first imagine.

Council will have min spacing requirements between buildings as well which may make too much wasted space to fit what you want in.

I'm surprised costing was that much different once to got to a bigger portal. My 24x12x5 had no crane for errection, was just a large offroad sissor and a standard electric sissor to put up the portal frames. that had that part of the shed done within a morning and total hire fees for the entire build was only $1.8k from memory

Originally Posted by BooY

Council will have min spacing requirements between buildings as well which may make too much wasted space to fit what you want in.

I'm surprised costing was that much different once to got to a bigger portal. My 24x12x5 had no crane for erection, was just a large offroad sissor and a standard electric sissor to put up the portal frames. that had that part of the shed done within a morning and total hire fees for the entire build was only $1.8k from memory

Wow!! I'm looking at 22.5 x 10 x 3.5or4 high. Very approximately the slab and erection are same as the kit cost. So take your kit cost and double it to get a rough idea of the cost. The split is different with each vendor so this is only a rough guide.

Yup, my slab+erection cost about the same as the kit (no crane required, but concrete pump was). 16x8m shed at 3.6 gutter, with slightly upgraded slab (150mm) and roof (for solar).