Picking the best shed company for you depends almost entirely on the size of the shed you're after. A backyard garden shed and a 400 square metre machinery shed come from completely different companies, so it pays to work out roughly what you need before you start comparing names.
To make that easier, we've grouped the standout NSW shed companies into three brackets: small, medium and large. Each one has its own set of names worth knowing.
It’s worth mentioning up front that Standwell builds large structural steel sheds, so we sit at the big end of this list. We've kept the reviews honest and flagged where another company does a job better than we would.
Small sheds are generally anything under 10 square metres. In most NSW council areas, a shed this size won't need approval as exempt development, as long as it stays under 2.4 metres high and meets the usual setback rules. Check with your local council first, but for a lot of backyards these are a buy-it-and-build-it weekend job.
At this end of the market, you're choosing between a few well-known brands sold through hardware stores and online:
|
Company |
Best for |
Worth knowing |
|
Bunnings |
Grabbing off the shelf and building in a weekend |
Stocks brands like Absco with no lead time to wait on |
|
EasyShed |
Keeping costs down | Genuine Colorbond and free delivery on many models, though assembly takes more patience than the name lets on |
|
Absco |
Wide availability and warranty | Patented SNAPTiTE system cuts down on screws, with a lifetime warranty on most models |
|
Stratco |
Build quality | Thicker steel and part-assembled panels that go together quickly, at a higher price |
The deciding factors here are price, how much of your weekend you want to spend, and whether you'd rather drive it home today or wait for delivery. Any of them will do the job for basic storage.
Medium sheds cover roughly 10 to 200 square metres: single and double garages, workshops, small rural sheds and hobby spaces, usually built as kitset pole barns or steel sheds. You'll almost always need council approval at this size, and most builders will help you sort the paperwork.
|
Company |
Best for |
Worth knowing |
|
Fair Dinkum Builds |
National brand reassurance | Owned by Stramit, part of Fletcher Building, with more than 140 outlets, so you get a local shed expert backed by a large parent company |
| Wide Span Sheds | Cost-effective rural and residential sheds | Australian BlueScope steel, design to order in increments as small as 100mm, and ShedSafe accredited so the engineering is independently checked against the National Construction Code. |
| Ranbuild | Non-standard custom builds | Around 70 years in the game with a 100-plus dealer network, building fully custom, site-specific designs in BlueScope steel with ShedSafe-accredited engineering |
For most medium builds, it's a trade-off between the support of a big network and the freedom of a custom design, so it's worth being honest with yourself about how standard your plans really are.
Large sheds start at around 200 square metres and are built for the long haul: big machinery storage, industrial workshops, commercial premises and serious agricultural buildings. Engineering matters far more at this scale, and so does who stands behind the product in twenty years' time.
This is where we specialise, so take our view with that in mind. A couple of the companies below are based in Victoria, but all of them design and build throughout NSW, so they're well worth considering for a local project.
|
Company |
Best for |
Worth knowing |
|
Standwell |
Long-term peace of mind |
Family-owned and operated from Young, NSW since the 1980s. Builds fully engineered, hot-dip galvanised structural steel sheds with clear spans up to 60m, backed by a 25-year “You're Covered” guarantee |
| Central Steel Build | Very wide spans | Based in Kyneton, Victoria, and building across NSW since 1975, when it started as Central Victorian Sheds and Garages. Handles very wide spans and large commercial projects, such as a $10.5m grain facility |
| Entegra Signature Structures | Heavy industrial applications | Based in Swan Hill, Victoria, with around 40 years behind them and a focus on food and beverage factories and large processing facilities. ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 certified, and known for well-engineered patented designs like their ridgeback |
| The Big Steel | Efficient production of simpler buildings | Five standard widths (12, 16, 20, 24 and 30m) at any length, manufactured in-house. A robotic welding line added in 2022 keeps the frames consistent and the pricing sharp |
Whichever way you lean, the biggest difference at this scale is the frame. A structural steel portal frame handles wide spans and heavy loads far better than the lighter purlin systems used on smaller kits, so ask any manufacturer how their frames are built and rated before comparing prices.
The right shed company comes down to what you're building. For a bit of backyard storage, a hardware-store brand does the job; for a garage or rural shed, a national or custom builder is the way to go; and for a large structural build meant to last decades, you want a manufacturer that works on big sheds day in, day out.
If you're planning a large shed and want a team that treats your build like it's their own, our team at Standwell will be glad to talk it through. Request a shed quote today for honest advice and a fixed price on your project.