Shed kit, supply-and-install or custom design: which suits you?
DIY shed kits · Updated · 7 min read · BWG Sheds
Short answer
A DIY kit costs you time and responsibility instead of labour: you organise the slab, the approval, the crew and the safety, and an owner-builder permit is needed above $11,000 including GST. Supply-and-install hands the build to a licensed builder. A custom design sits underneath both: the shed is sized and engineered for your site and use. The right choice depends on your skills, equipment, the shed's size and whether it is a farm or residential building.
- Every engineered shed starts with a design for the site; the difference is who builds it.
- Owner-builder permit needed for work valued over $11,000 incl. GST, with materials counted.
- Owner-builders can build a garage, carport or residential shed, not a farm or industrial building.
- Erecting a shed for someone else is licensed building work above $3,300.
- Kits suit capable builders with help and equipment; installation suits bigger, higher or time-critical jobs.
Three ways to get a steel shed
| DIY shed kit | Supply and install | Custom design | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design and engineering for your site | Supplier | Supplier | Supplier, around your brief |
| Approval documentation | Supplier can prepare and coordinate | Supplier can prepare and coordinate | Supplier can prepare and coordinate |
| Building approval issued by | Building certifier | Building certifier | Building certifier |
| Slab and footings | You (or your concreter) | Arranged as part of the job or by you, as quoted | As quoted |
| Erection | You and your crew | Licensed builder | Either |
| Owner-builder permit | Needed above $11,000 incl. GST | Not needed | Depends on who builds |
| Work health and safety on site | You | The builder | Whoever builds |
Custom design is not a separate product so much as the starting point. Every engineered shed has to be designed for its site's wind conditions, the ground it sits on and the way it will be used. A custom design simply means the size, doors, openings, height and layout come from your brief rather than a fixed catalogue size. That shed can then be supplied as a kit or installed.
When a DIY kit makes sense
- You or your helpers have built with steel before, or are confident following detailed plans.
- You have, or can hire, the lifting gear and elevated work platforms the frame height requires.
- The shed is a garage, carport or residential shed, which owner-builders are allowed to build.
- You can manage the slab, the certifier's inspections and the timing yourself.
The QBCC requires an owner-builder permit for a project valued at more than $11,000 including GST on your own land. The value is worked out as if a licensed contractor did the whole job at trade prices, materials included, even if your labour is free. Owner-builders can build a garage, carport or residential shed, but QBCC says they cannot build commercial or industrial buildings, including farm buildings. Farm building work valued at $27,500 or less is not building work at all under the QBCC Regulation.
Building it yourself? See what arrives in a BWG Sheds kit and what you organise.
Explore DIY shed kitsWhen supply-and-install makes sense
- Large spans, tall walls or heavy frames where lifting and working at height need a trained crew.
- Farm buildings above the $27,500 value where a licensed contractor is required.
- Commercial or industrial sheds, which owner-builders cannot build.
- You want one party responsible for the build and the certifier's inspections.
Erecting a shed for someone else is licensed building work in Queensland once its value exceeds $3,300, and the kit price counts towards that value. So a mate who builds sheds on weekends for cash needs the right QBCC licence too. Our supply-and-install work is carried out under a QBCC licence; the licence details are shown at the foot of every page on this site.
Questions to ask any kit supplier
- Is the engineering done for my address, or is it a generic rating? Ask for the wind classification or design wind speed in writing.
- Which Australian Standards does the product meet? Sunshine Coast Council advises that the specifications of any DIY shed kit should include them.
- Will I get engineering drawings for the slab and footings, and the documents my certifier needs?
- Has the engineering been independently reviewed? The Australian Steel Institute's ShedSafe scheme, for example, reviews a supplier's engineering plans and calculations for NCC compliance.
- What exactly is in the kit, and what is excluded: doors, flashings, fixings, gutters, insulation?
- Who do I call if something does not fit during the build?
Is it cheaper to build your own shed?
It can be, but compare like with like. A DIY kit removes the installer's labour from the quote and adds your own time, equipment hire, the owner-builder permit if needed, and the risk of mistakes. Mistakes with bracing, fixings or the slab are expensive to fix once the cladding is on. Ask each supplier for the same size, wind rating, doors and inclusions, then add up what you would still have to pay for yourself.
Requirements depend on your property, proposed structure and local planning/building controls.
Not sure which way to go? Tell us about the job and we will quote both a kit and an installed shed.
Compare kit and installed quotes