A shed home (also called a shouse, shome, or barndominium) is a steel-framed building that uses portal frame construction - the same structural system used in industrial and agricultural sheds - but is designed, engineered, and certified as a Class 1a residential dwelling under the National Construction Code (NCC). It’s not a shed with a bed in it. It’s a fully compliant house that happens to use shed construction methods because they’re faster, stronger, and more cost-effective than traditional brick-and-timber.
You can legally live in a shed - but only if it’s been designed, approved, and certified as a Class 1a dwelling. A standard garden shed or farm shed is Class 10a (non-habitable). If you just move into a shed without upgrading it to Class 1a, you’re living there illegally, your insurance is void, and council can order you to stop occupying it.
Every Shed Homes kit is designed from day one as Class 1a. We don’t sell sheds and hope you figure out the compliance - we design houses that use shed construction.
| Feature | Class 10a (Shed) | Class 1a (Shed Home) |
|---|---|---|
| Use | Storage, workshop, garage | Residential dwelling |
| Habitable? | No - cannot legally live in | Yes - full residential occupancy |
| Engineering | Basic wind & structural only | Full site-specific structural, wind, energy, BAL |
| Insulation | Optional | Required - must meet NatHERS targets |
| Plumbing/Electrical | Optional/basic | Full residential services required |
| Council Approval | Exempt under size limits in many cases | Full DA/BA + Building Permit always required |
| Insurance | Shed/contents only | Full home & contents, mortgage-eligible |
Always. No exceptions. A Class 1a dwelling requires a Development Application (DA) or equivalent planning approval, plus a Building Permit. This is non-negotiable regardless of which state you’re in or how rural your block is.
The typical approval pathway:
Every Shed Homes kit comes with certified architectural drawings, stamped engineering, and a NatHERS 7-star energy certificate - all council-ready.
If your zoning allows a dwelling, yes. Our shed homes are technically houses - they’re engineered as houses, certified as houses, and approved as houses. Council doesn’t care that the frame looks like a shed. They care that it meets NCC Class 1a requirements, and ours do.
The only time you might hit a wall is if your land is zoned in a way that doesn’t permit residential. That’s a zoning question, not a shed home question - it would stop any house, not just ours.
Technically yes, but practically it’s often a nightmare. Converting a Class 10a shed to Class 1a means upgrading engineering, adding insulation, waterproofing, compliant windows/doors, energy compliance, smoke alarms, and getting the lot re-certified. Many older sheds weren’t designed to carry the loads of internal linings, and the slab often doesn’t have a moisture barrier.
In most cases, you’ll spend more converting an old shed than starting fresh with a purpose-built Class 1a kit. We’d always recommend a new build - it’s faster, cheaper, and you end up with a better home.
Technically, no. You can’t legally occupy a Class 10a shed as a dwelling. Some councils will grant temporary occupation approval if you’ve lodged a DA for your new dwelling, the slab is poured, and basic amenities are connected. But this varies wildly by council and is time-limited (typically 6–12 months). Talk to your local council before assuming you can camp in your shed during the build.
It’s the first question everyone asks, and the honest answer is: it depends on your property. A shed home on a flat block in a sheltered valley costs less than the same design on an exposed coastal ridge in a cyclonic wind zone with a BAL-29 bushfire rating.
That’s why we quote based on your specific site address - because the site is part of the product.
Our base kit prices start from around $82,900 (The Noosa, our entry model) through to $218,900+ (The Freemantle, our largest). But these are starting points before site-specific engineering, wind region, soil classification, delivery, and internal wall framing are factored in.
The Multiplier Rule:
So a $130K kit typically means about $260K to lockup, $390K as an owner-builder finish, or $520K fully built by a licensed builder. These are guides, not guarantees - but they hold reliably across our range.
Steel is a commodity product and prices fluctuate. That’s why our quotes are valid for 30 days. If you lock in a price within that window, we hold it. If you wait 6 months, your quote might change. It’s the same with every steel building supplier in Australia - anyone telling you otherwise isn’t being straight with you.
For a typical 150m² shed home, expect roughly:
Total fitout for a 3-bed shed home typically ranges from $40K–$80K depending on finishes and how much you do yourself.
Absolutely. Every Shed Homes project starts with your ideas. Our 7 standard models (Noosa, Tweed, Tasman, Bangaree, Kyogle, Kakadu, Freemantle) are starting points - we can modify layouts, move walls, change room sizes, add or remove rooms, adjust verandahs, and reshape the floor plan to suit your lifestyle. Most of our builds end up as custom variations.
Yes. If you have a specific layout in mind - whether it’s sketched on a napkin or drawn by your architect - we can engineer and produce it as a Shed Homes kit. Custom designs do take longer and cost more in the design phase, but you end up with exactly the home you want.
Yes - our Freemantle model features a mezzanine level with a master bedroom overlooking the living space below. Two-storey and mezzanine designs require more engineering (especially in higher wind zones) and use heavier steel sections, but they’re a great way to maximise floor area within a smaller footprint.
Yes - this is one of our most popular configurations. A Class 10a shed (garage/workshop) connected to a Class 1a home with a 60/60/60 fire-rated separation wall between them. One slab, one roof, one DA - but two building classes under the same structure. It’s significantly cheaper than building two separate buildings.
Because your site determines your:
Two identical floor plans on two different blocks can have kit prices that differ by 20–30% because of these site factors. A quote without your address isn’t a real quote.
A geotechnical (geotech) report classifying your soil per AS 2870. This tells the engineer what slab and footing design your site needs. Cost: typically $500–$1,500 depending on location. You’ll need this before we can finalise engineering.
Yes - engineering is done site-specifically, because wind region, terrain, BAL rating, soil class, and exposure all affect the structural design. We don’t use generic engineering - every kit is calculated for your actual block. That’s why our kits pass council without pushback.
Yes - new homes require a minimum 7-star NatHERS rating under the NCC. Your Shed Homes documentation package includes a NatHERS certificate showing exactly what insulation, glazing, and thermal performance your build requires for your climate zone. This is included in every kit - it’s not an optional extra.
Total: 6–12 months typical. The biggest variable is council approval times and your builder’s availability. Having complete documentation (which we provide) speeds up approvals significantly.
We are a kit supply company. We design, engineer, manufacture, and deliver the kit to your site. We do not lodge DAs and we do not contract builds. You either build it yourself as an owner-builder or engage a licensed builder. We can recommend builders in most areas who have experience with our systems.
Yes, and many of our customers do. You’ll need an Owner-Builder Permit (requirements vary by state - typically an online course + application, around $300–$500). As an owner-builder, you manage the trades yourself and save the builder’s margin - typically 20–40% off the full build cost.
Our kits are designed for erection by competent trades - you don’t need to be a structural engineer. But you do need to be organised, patient, and comfortable managing multiple trades.
Be honest with yourself about these:
If you’ve got building experience, time, and patience - owner-building can save you $100K+. If you’ve never managed a build, consider at least getting your builder to take it to lockup, then you finish the internals yourself.
Yes - because it’s not a shed, it’s a Class 1a dwelling. Once it’s certified, it’s a house in the eyes of every bank, valuer, and insurer. Banks lend on them the same way they lend on any new-build home.
Some lenders are more experienced with steel-frame homes than others. If your broker hasn’t done one before, ask them to speak to their BDM - it’s standard residential construction.
Yes, if your shed home is a new, council-approved Class 1a dwelling used as your primary residence. FHOG amounts vary by state ($10,000–$30,000). Regional areas often get higher grants. You may also be eligible for stamp duty concessions and the First Home Guarantee (5% deposit scheme).
Absolutely. Once it’s certified as Class 1a, it’s insured like any other house - home and contents, landlord insurance, the lot. Steel-frame homes actually have insurance advantages: non-combustible frame (lower fire risk), no termite damage, no rot.
A certified Class 1a shed home is valued by bank valuers the same way as any other house - based on land value, floor area, number of bedrooms/bathrooms, finishes, and location. The construction method (steel frame vs timber frame) doesn’t negatively affect valuation. In fact, the durability of steel can be a selling point.
Where resale can suffer is if the fitout is poor quality or if the home looks like a shed from the outside. Our designs are architectural - they look like homes, not industrial buildings.
An uninsulated steel shed? Absolutely - it’ll be an oven in summer and a fridge in winter. But a Shed Homes Class 1a kit isn’t uninsulated. Every kit includes 8mm Reflex foamcell as base insulation, plus thermal break strips for the purlins where required. On top of that, the design must meet NatHERS 7-star energy efficiency requirements - the NatHERS certification determines what additional bulk insulation your specific build needs based on your climate zone, orientation, and glazing.
With the right combination of base insulation, bulk insulation (NatHERS dependent), thermal breaks, and compliant glazing, our homes perform as well as or better than many conventional builds.
Condensation is the #1 question in every shed group on Facebook - and for good reason. Steel sheds heat up and cool down faster than timber-framed houses, which creates condensation risk when warm moist air meets cold steel surfaces.
The solution is proper condensation management: vapour-permeable sarking membranes, thermal break strips on purlins, adequate ventilation, and bulk insulation (type and thickness determined by your NatHERS energy assessment). All of this is designed into our system - our engineering includes condensation management per NCC requirements.
Rain on an uninsulated steel roof is loud. Rain on an insulated, lined steel roof is about the same as any other house. The bulk insulation and plasterboard ceiling act as sound dampening. Most of our customers say they can hear rain - but it’s a pleasant background noise, not the deafening hammering you get in a bare shed.
Minimum is 2.4m for habitable rooms (NCC requirement). Our designs typically offer 2.7m ceilings in living areas as standard, with higher options available. The Freemantle model has a 6.5m ceiling height at the ridge with a double-height void over the living area. Higher ceilings = more steel = more cost, but the visual impact is worth it.
Yes. We engineer for all BAL ratings from BAL-LOW through to BAL-FZ (Flame Zone). Higher BAL ratings require specific materials - metal mesh ember screens, BAL-compliant glazing, ember guards on all openings, and non-combustible construction throughout. Steel frame is actually an advantage in bushfire areas because it’s inherently non-combustible.
BAL compliance typically adds 10–15% to kit cost. But it’s built into our engineering from day one - if your block has a BAL rating, we factor it in from the first quote.
We design for cyclonic regions (C1–C4) across North Queensland and the NT. Cyclonic design means heavier portal frames, stronger tie-downs, wind-rated roller doors, and specific cladding fixing patterns. It costs more than a non-cyclonic build, but it’s engineered to withstand the conditions your site actually faces.
If your property is in a bushfire-prone area (check your local council’s mapping or the state planning portal), yes. A BAL assessment by a qualified assessor determines your BAL rating based on vegetation type, slope, and distance to bushland. Cost: typically $300–$800. You’ll need this before we can finalise engineering.
Included in every kit:
Not included (fitout scope):
In short: we give you everything to get the shell up and the paperwork to get it approved. The fitout is your builder’s (or your) scope.
We don’t have traditional display homes, but we do have completed builds you can see in photos and video. As we grow, we’ll be adding more visual content from real customer builds. The best way to understand what you’re getting is to talk to us - we’ll walk you through the design, the engineering, and the numbers specific to your block.
All of Australia. We supply kit homes to every state and territory - QLD, NSW, VIC, SA, TAS, NT, and WA. We also have building capabilities in many areas across the country.
Delivery is included in our kit price for most metropolitan and regional locations. Some remote locations may incur additional freight - we’ll let you know upfront.
Have a question or need guidance on picking the right option? Send us a message, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
