What size shed do I need?

Garages: the minimum and the comfortable size

The Queensland Housing Code, which commenced on 1 September 2026, sets minimum vehicle parking space sizes for houses. They are minimums for a parking space, not a recommendation for a shed you will also store things in, but they are a good floor to work up from.

For comparison, the old QDC MP 1.2 minimums for a double garage were 5.7 m × 6 m internal, and those older rules still apply in councils that have not yet adopted the new code. Either way, a 6 m deep double garage leaves very little room in front of or behind a large ute or four-wheel drive.

The Australian design vehicles used for parking layouts give a sense of scale. The B85 car, the 85th percentile vehicle, is 4.91 m long and 1.87 m wide. The B99 car, the 99th percentile, is 5.20 m long, 1.94 m wide and 1.878 m high. Add mirrors, open doors and a walkway, and it becomes clear why many people step up in depth and width for a garage that also holds a workbench, bikes or a fridge.

Caravans, boats and campers: size the door first

Under national trailer rules summarised by the South Australian Government, a caravan or light trailer can be up to 2.5 m wide, including side-mounted awnings, 12.5 m long and 4.3 m high. Most vans are well under those limits, but the point stands: measure your van's height to the top of the air conditioner or roof hatch and its width at the awning.

Door manufacturer B&D describes a standard single garage door as about 2.1 m high and 2.4 m wide, and a standard double as about 2.1 m by 4.8 m. That is fine for cars and useless for most caravans. A caravan shed therefore needs a taller door opening, and a taller door means a taller wall, because a roller door's drum sits above the opening. Door retailers generally allow around 450 mm of headroom for the drum. Work out the door, then the eave height, then the rest of the shed.

Workshops

• Mark out your benches, machines and storage at full size on the ground or driveway before you pick a size.
• Leave clear space around a vehicle hoist, or where you will work on a vehicle with its doors open.
• Think about where power, water and natural light will come in, and keep that wall free of racking.
• Add a personal access door so you are not lifting a roller door every time you walk in.

Farm machinery

There is no useful standard size for a machinery shed because the machines vary so much. Measure your largest machine with any fronts, booms or attachments fitted, in the position it will be parked, including its height with the cab, exhaust or aerial. Then allow room to walk around it and to open doors and service panels. Open-front bays suit gear that comes and goes daily; enclosed bays with roller doors suit equipment you want locked up.

Remember classification: a shed that houses three or more farm vehicles is a Class 7 farm building under Queensland's QDC MP 3.7, which changes the design requirements compared with a small Class 10a shed.

Plan for the next five years, not the next five weeks

The most common regret with sheds is building one bay short. Adding length later means new footings, new frames and new cladding that may not match, so it is usually worth pricing one extra bay now. Check the extra size against your approval position too: a bigger footprint can change setbacks, site cover or, on rural residential land, a floor-area threshold in the planning scheme.

Requirements depend on your property, proposed structure and local planning/building controls.