Sheds

We're in the process of getting quotes for a relatively big steel/colorbond shed for our property, and have not been surprised in the massive difference in price between different companies for exactly the same shed specification (35% difference between top and bottom quote).

We've come across a company called "Shed Makers" (their website says they have a presence in WA, SA, and VIC) that appear to put together a reasonable quality package (RSH posts/rafters rather than C-channel, Bluescope Colorbond) and which supposedly is easier to put together (important for us as we are going to put it up ourselves).

However, they haven't been around for long (company incorporated in April this year according to ASIC public records), don't really have any sort of display in SA (just a warehouse), and appear at first glance to be more of a web-front supplier, which gives us some pause when we have to hand over a lot of cash as a deposit (like all the other shed companies require), and they want full payment before delivery.

Has any member purchased a shed from this company? Any feedback on the product and/or service?

Alternatively, does anyone have suggestions of other shed kit supply companies we should be talking to that service the SA northern metro area?

Please feel free to PM me if you don't want to post any comments publicly.

Thanks.

Im just about to get a truck / machinery shed made from ranbuild they were reasonably priced just under $12,000 for a 80 odd sq mtr shed with a 4.2 eave height and 3.6 clearance opening colour bond everything (kit price only)

hi certainly from my research as we are putting up a 56sqm shed the prices are different ranbuild were the most costly at 5k more than my cheapest quote! and they all say that their sheds no matter what company insist on the strongest build and best quality so it can get quite confusing.

we ended up going with a shed place in burton ,SA

does pay to shop around, and yes i would recomend c channel, much easier to put up yourself

-Nathan

Thanks for your replies. Anyone out there buy a shed from Shed Makers?

yeah i went to shed makers to get a quote and as you mentioned they dont build out of C channel, from what the sales rep said they get all the welding and frames done overseas (in china) then shipped here and clad in local colorbond, from my research the RHS thickness used wasnt enough for me to warrant their use; and i asked myself "why does every shed company use c channel"

this is what makes them cheaper than the rest

We unfortunatley have purchased a Shedmaker product. Don't touch Shedmakers with a 10 foot barge pole. Once the FINAL UPFRONT payment was paid we experienced many long delays in delivery from China (promised 5 weeks arrived 13 weeks). Our shed also turned up without the roller doors, finally arriving 2 1/2 weeks later, builder had already left. We paid the extra freight for the roller doors, and when I requested reimbursement, the silence was deafening. The "ultra frame" sounds good when you read their advertising, unfortunatley the product doesn't come anywhere near the quality they espouse. We discovered that the RHS is poor quality and bowed. The RHS is not seamless and on some columns has not fused. The glavanising is poor with many blemishes and where the galvanising has not taken effect it is simply painted with silver paint. The PA door had already rusted inside, the excuse was that it is humid in China. There are many other critisisms but I would be here for hours. The 1st emailed complaint list was answered, with weak excuses, from somewhere in China. So when I contacted the owner of the business many times, by email, with our grievences, again, the silence continues to be deafening.

Thats pretty bad - I hope it still survives the test of time once it's up and you can forget about all that.

The problem with manufacturing in China is that they have very poor and often non existant standards. In Australia fasteners, hot rolled steel products and galvanising is specified by Australian standards and things like bolts and BHP steel is made to a very high standard. In China what you get is pretty much the luck of the draw - sometimes bolts break like chalk and steel products and galvanising can be like whats described above. Australia is very good at making these sorts of products.

This is completely untrue.

What you get when sourcing products from China is what you (or the company ordering the product) specify.

If the product specs are low then it will be a poor quality.

If the specs are high it will be as good if not better than the best in the world.

As for the OP. One thing I found when looking at sheds was the thickness of the wall cladding could also vary between companies. Make sure that the reason fo ra chaper quote isn't a difference in materials. (the the RHS to C channel)

I agree regarding your comment about Chinese steel being of low quality. Having worked in the steel industry for some time now, I have seen a lot of steel being rejected by clients as they have opted to go with the cheaper option and the quality has been crap.

The wall cladding comes in .35 or .42 thick...I would say most companies would use .42 but have only ever dealt with sheds in cyclonic regions, so the .42 was the minimum that could be used.

I can PM you with some details of a shed company NOT to use, but this was in WA. My family ordered a new shed for their farm, and then booked a builder separately to build it. The shed kit arrived with half of the sheets being corrugated, half being trimdek. Shed supplier refused to take responsibility for the mistake, in the end they were willing to replace the wrong sheets, but not happy to pay for the builder to hang around for the 3 days it would take for the correct sheets to arrive (the farm is in a very remote area). My parents now have a shed that has two different types of sheeting on it!

We used a company called Shed Boss, they are city side of Gawler. They were really good & we were very happy with the finished product, they did the lot from start to finish including arranging council approval, concreting etc.

I built a 12 x 7m shed with 3m walls and fully insulated and the best price by far for what i wanted was from Steelway on the goldcoast.

We started the process with buying a shed from Shed Makers 2 years ago.... They have a deposit of nearly $40k and we are still waiting for our shed/house. We have been told it has arrived and we can pick it up next week... but we must make our final payment first. We have been told at least 6 times that it has been shipped. We have also been promised that the owner, Bernard Hanley, would call us... we are still waiting. We have however spoken to his brother Peter Hanley, not that this made much difference.

To tell you the whole story would take up pages, we actually wrote them a 4 page letter 6 months ago... by this stage the letter would probably be 7 pages, of all the contact, promises and ultimately ****** we have been told.

The last year and a half have been very stressful and upsetting and I NEVER want anyone else to experience what we have been throught. I can not tell a consumer who to use or not to use as it is your individual choice. Also, things may of changed now since they have got rid of a few "bad eggs" and the WA office has a lovely girl called Jess working there. But I feel it would be un Australian not to share my story.

Unfortunately you haven't seen the worst yet - see my Post - Staycold of 21/5. You're not going to get any joy out of this mob.
The silence is still deafening, we'll never get compensation, even for the small amount for the
extra freight which was their fault, because they sent our shed without the rollerdoors. Yes they want
your money before dispatch because I'm sure, they know they wouldn't get paid the balance otherwise.
Our shed is up now thank goodness, but the stress this company causes is nearly soul destroying.

Unfortunately comparing apples with apples is no longer an easy task.

China provides cheap labour which is why most things are cheap from China. As previously stated here, they will make what the customer demands, but, BUT !! Even if the customer orders c-chanel in 1.2 mm thickness ETC..... there is all likelihood that the steel, even though 1.2 mm thick, will be of inferior quality. To the average person 'Steel is Steel', but that's not true. What do you think happens to all that re cycled steel the world is creating ? Simple, is goes to places like China, where they melt it down and make the cheap shed frames and other products. Complete with all the impurities that it contains !

Good quality Australian steel from reputable companies is made from raw iron ore, processed and then turned into high quality steel. It welds better, lasts longer and has higher stress tolerances ETC....
Recycled steel on the other hand can rust quicker, be harder to weld, more stress fractures ETC....

You buy cheap you get cheap. False economy to buy the cheapest shed out there. Ask the supplier where they source their materials from ?

I agree.

Ive erected 7.5L X 6.0W X 2.4wall ht. Olympic (portal beam) garages on 2 properties Ive owned and cant fault them.

Buying elcheapo is inviting disaster in dealing with those companies as you have already read, and more difficulties erecting them.

My previous post was removed, so I will rephrase my post more in line with prior comments.

As others have said, the company mentioned is precisely as described. Phone calls will not be returned and any monies given to them should be given with extreme caution.

You can PM me for further information however this is all I will say on a public forum.

Might I suggest a more reputable shed supplier such as Wide Span who honour every word on their website and marketing, use high quality Australian made steel, manufacture in Australia and understand local engineering requirements, building codes and local council laws.

My next shed I am going to build myself. I will design the plans and submit to the council after first having an engineer look at and approve the specs (simple task). Then I will weld all the roof truss' and it's then just a simple matter of putting it all together and cladding it all.

Not everyone's prepared to do this, but a $15,000 shed I could make myself for half that cost, and that's a big saving, and I would be satisfied that the quality and strength will be there as I will source the materials from quality suppliers I can trust.

The trouble for us is that we didn't by for the price but on the design, professional presentation, quality promise, delivery promise, etc etc, but the company we dealt with simply tell porkies............that's our gripe. Buying cheap is not in our vocab....so to all, just avoid dealing with the company we have discussed previously.

"Might I suggest a more reputable shed supplier such as Wide Span who honour every word on their website and marketing, use high quality Australian made steel, manufacture in Australia and understand local engineering requirements, building codes and local council laws."

Can anyone here verify that they have gone through Wide Span and had a good experience? I am having trouble just getting a quote from them at the moment and quite frustrated!

Has anyone used best sheds before?