Carports and Garage Sheds Can Protect Your Car or Truck from Harsh Weather

If you are a Perth resident, you have probably seen some garage sheds or carports in your neighbourhood, and wondered why people don’t just park their cars in their garages. Many houses don’t have garages, and many people who do have garages use them as storage sheds, while parking their cars and trucks outside. Also, some families have more vehicles than they can fit in their garage. In addition, a lot of people just don’t like the hassle of parking their car in an enclosed garage.

For some reason, we often think our cars and trucks are indestructible. Consequently, we leave our $30,000 cars or trucks outside, and fill our garages with $500 worth of our “treasures.” Meanwhile, our cars and trucks are exposed every day to the whims of Australian weather. They get rain, wind, heat, sun, and sometimes whatever gets blown on them in a storm. This can cause chipped or faded paint, scratches, dents, and even broken windshields. And we haven’t even mentioned what birds and other animals can do yet.

There is, however, a perfect solution to this. It is inexpensive, and can be used with or without a standard garage. You can get a garage shed or a carport. A carport is the easiest, most flexible, and least expensive of all options. It usually consists of a roof supported by four poles. It keeps many of the elements we mentioned off of your car. They can also come with tarps to attach to them during rain or storms. Carports are great for someone who wants to protect their vehicle, but doesn't want to spend a lot of money.

The next option, which costs a little more, is a garage shed. A garage shed is like a garage, but with the front open. It has three walls and a roof. It offers more protection from the elements, and is a bit sturdier. A garage shed costs more than a carport, but still doesn't cost nearly as much as building a standard garage.

We also carry full garages, with sliding doors or roller doors, or even a garage/workshop combination. They aren’t as expensive as a standard garage, but still offer a lot more protection than a garage shed or a carport. For Perth’s best selection of garage sheds or carports, contact us today.

Is Your Shed Cyclone Ready?

Last year, the Australian Steel Institute (ASI) introduced the ShedSafe program. The program was designed to identify and certify those sheds which are built to standards that meet both load and wind requirements as described in the Building Code of Australia. Australia has a lot of rugged terrain and volatile climate. Sheds, in Perth or anywhere across Australia, must be built to standards that allow them to withstand the harsher elements of Australia’s weather.

According to Neil Creek, ASI National Manager—Steel Shed Group, ShedSafe is a voluntary program in which participating resellers and manufacturers verify that their products are compliant with BCA standards, and safe for use in any part of Australia. According to Creek, “ShedSafe… guarantees that members have undergone- requisite training and submit to regular reviews of the manufacturer’s design principles and processes.”

Creek also noted that ShedSafe ensures the integrity of the brand by guaranteeing that “it’s not used by non-compliant operators and not misused by any members.” Creek recommends that shed buyers should always look for the ShedSafe logo before buying any shed. We agree with this 100%, and that’s why we only carry ShedSafe certified products.

On a post at their website, ASI gives a rundown of what the ShedSafe label means to you when you buy a shed.

1. The manufacturer has undergone an independent 3rd party review. 

2. Designs and samples have been checked and documented by a 3rd party structural engineer, and have been found to meet the ShedSafe accreditation standards. 

3. The manufacturer has verified that they are compliant. 

4. All sheds are documented to meet the standards of the Australian Steel Institute Design Guide Portal Frame Sheds and Garages, as written in 2009. 

5. The reseller will only recommend a shed design that is appropriate for your needs. 

6. The reseller has undergone training to help them meet the above criteria. 

7. Local wind loads will be considered when making any recommendation. 

8. The reseller has been trained to properly ascertain the appropriate wind load.

In other words, as the ShedSafe site says, “SHEDSAFE accreditation cannot be purchased; it has to be earned.”

ShedSafe helps sort out what is really important for a consumer. Since any company can print persuasive sales flyers and make their merchandise sound great, it is difficult for the consumer to figure out who is telling the truth and who is making the best sheds. There are so many criteria involved that it is easy for a customer to become confused.

For example, if a shed is advertised at a certain weight, what does the weight include? How does the customer know that the weight is accurate? What section sizes, columns, battens, and rafters are appropriate for your needs? What do “cladding TCT’s,” “C2,” and “W50C” mean? Most of all, how do you know that a company is telling you the truth about how their sheds are manufactured and engineered?

The answer, of course, is ShedSafe accreditation. If a shed has the ShedSafe logo, you can be confident that your shed is, indeed, safe. You will also know that your supplier, manufacturer, and reseller have all completed the accreditation process and are qualified to sell and recommend ShedSafe-approved products.

This takes a huge load off of the consumer, because he or she knows that any shed with the ShedSafe logo will be safe, and that the reseller is qualified to recommend the correct shed for their needs. We are proud of our ShedSafe accreditation, and you can check it out by visiting the ShedSafe website  http://shedsafe.com.au/ and searching for our company name Action Sheds Australia.

So, what was the main inspiration for the ShedSafe program? It was Cyclone Larry, which hit North Queensland in March 2006. The cyclone had top wind speeds estimated between 200-240 km/h, making it a Category 4 cyclone. In the area that bore the brunt of the storm, 30% of cold formed sheds had damage due to loss of cladding.

There were also many failures related to the failure to meet current design standards, such as the design itself or faulty execution of the design, resulting in corroded or missing connections. More damage was caused by the failure of roller doors and soffits. The best thing to come out of this was that all cold formed structures which were designed to what would become the current standards sustained minimal to no damage.

The government and the Australian Steel Institute then made a commitment to improve the standards. In 2008, the ASI Steel Shed Design Guide for Portal Frames Sheds and Garages was developed, and subsequently launched.

The rest is history. And now, Perth area residents who need sheds can rest assured that, whether barns, farm sheds, simple storage sheds, or cyclonic sheds, they will be done right. Whether you’re in Perth, WA, or anywhere across Australia: your shed should always have the SafeShed logo.

Is it Time to Replace those Old Farm Buildings?

Sometimes, the familiarity of an old building can be a source of comfort. Consequently, we have a tendency to hold on to our old farm buildings long after they should be torn down. What others may see as an eyesore or an accident waiting to happen, we still see as an old friend. Sometimes, though, it’s time to let go of the old, and bring in the new.

Is your barn or machinery shed full of holes and patches? Are there structural damages that look like they could be trouble someday, but are still holding on? Do they need a little more than just another paint job to truly look good again?

We have the answer for you. At Action Sheds Australia, we can deliver anderect a barn, machinery shed, stable, or farm shed for a lot less money than you might think it would cost. If you want to erect the shed or barn yourself, we can just deliver it for you.

We have plenty of options for you. You can get afarm shed with a roller door and an open bay for versatile use. If you need everything closed, we can also give you a double sliding door. If, on the other hand, you don’t need a closed shed, and just need to cover up bales of hay, you can get an open front farm shed. You can build stables out of a farm shed with open bays.

Our farm sheds are built of ultra-high quality BlueScope steel, which exceeds all known industry standards, with a rating 450MPA or higher. We provide a structural guarantee of ten years on all farm shed, and can deliver them throughout Australia.

We can custom-design and build a farm shed that is perfect for your individual needs. We offer centre pitches from 7.5 degrees up to 30 degrees, and we can pitch a lean-to from 5 degrees to 7.5 degrees.  Our options include colours, sizes, and shapes, sliding or roller doors, personal access doors, skylights, windows, mezzanine floors, internal walls, and windows. We also feature American Design, Australian Design, and Farm Design Barns.

If you finally want to replace your old farm building with something you can be proud of, please call us today at 1300 778 628, or ask for an online quote here. 

Betta Warwick Storage is Up and Running with 30 Storage Sheds and 90 More to Come

Sheds are great for storage. For personal or business use, they give the most bang for your buck of any building. You can build a huge shed for a fraction of the cost of a frame or brick building, but the reliability factor is close to being the same.

This month’s spotlight is on Betta Warwick Storage in Warwick WA. The facility, owned by Yve Stocks and Phil Ariel, is managed by Landmark Harcourts, and is on their property at 17-19 Betta Pl in Warwick WA. The owners have found storage sheds to be a perfect solution for storage facilities because of their durability and economy.

Though the word “shed” sometimes evokes images of simplicity and bare necessities, the reality is that sheds are now being used for increasingly modern applications. Landmark Harcourts’ advertising refers to the facility as “purpose-built and high-tech.” According to Yve Stocks, self-storage using industrial sheds is an effective solution for “de-cluttering your home” and “storing items knowing they’re safe and secure.”

Thirty of the sheds are currently ready for use, with another 90 being planned, for a total of 120 storage sheds. The facility has no onsite management, and is considered “purely customer-responsible,” but it features a high-tech security system working round the clock to ensure that only those who are authorised to access the site are able to do so.

Each customer gets their own unique user code, so they can enter and exit the facility whenever they need to. Customers will be responsible for their own padlocks and keys. The site has numerous security cameras installed all over the facility. When combined with the pass codes, they ensure that customers don’t have to worry about theft.

The sheds are also sealed, so as to be virtually leak-proof. The facility currently offers an opening special of $35 per week for a shed measuring 6m by 3m.

For us, this is just a confirmation of the popularity of sheds for so many uses. More and more businesses are coming to the conclusion that sheds make more financial sense than expensive bricks and mortar buildings. All sheds in Australia must come with an Engineers Certificate of Compliance. This virtually ensures that your shed will be safe for any usage for which it is designed.

At Action Sheds our industrial sheds come in Zincalume® or Colorbond® steel. Both are heavy duty steel, but resist corrosion up to four times the rate of galvanised steel. They can stand up to any Australian weather, and can protect your valuables as well as conventional buildings.

If you’re a business that is looking to expand, or one that just needs a little more storage space, sheds make sense. If you are someone with a small plot of land looking for a nice little commercial operation, you could easily do the same thing Landmark Harcourts is doing, but on a smaller scale if necessary.

But what if you are just a homeowner who needs more space? There are plenty of shed options available for you, too. A garage or workshop shed can double or triple the amount of space you may have for storage in your house, but for a lot less money than an addition. Garages don’t comply with building codes for living space, but that is a large part of what makes them such an economical solution for storage.

A well-conceived storage shed or garage can give you the freedom and effective living space of a much larger house. Why? Because it can allow you to remove a lot of your personal goods from your living space. Consequently, you can use the space that you just cleared as more living area within your house, while your possessions are safe and sound in a shed that is economical and out of the way.

Not only do you get more space inside, but you get less clutter, and your house is more organised simply by the act of having moved goods fit for storage into a storage area. In other words, a garage or workshop-sized shed can help you organise your house, leaves you with less clutter, and gives you more living space, all for a fraction of the cost of an addition or the cost of moving up to a larger house.

For retirees who want to dial down and move to a smaller house for retirement, a workshop or garage shed might maximise your lifestyle by allowing you to spend as little as possible on living space and as much as possible on enjoying retirement.

If you want some more space, or if you want a storage solution, take the example of Betta Warwick Storage to heart. Call us today at 1300 778 628 for an estimate, or visit our website for a quote.

Don’t Have a Garage? You Need a Carport

A carport is a kind of open shed or arena roof. Some carports have walls and some don’t, depending on the situation. Carports are great for those who don’t want to spend extra on a garage, and are better than no protection at all. Here are some advantages to having a carport.

Carports help keep your car safe from the elements. They aren't a garage, but they can keep your car from being rained on. Even if the wind blows some water in, your car isn't under direct attack by torrents of water. Arena roofs also seem to form a mental barrier against vandals and thieves. For some reason, they seem to perceive a carport as a closed structure, and feel like they are “breaking in” when they enter.

Another “element” that can be a real pain to clean off of your car is bird droppings. They can wreak havoc on a paint job in an area with a lot of birds. Better safe than sorry, in this case.

A carport can also be used as an outdoor porch on a hot day. This dual use probably wasn't intended by whoever thought up the idea, but it works great for parties and impromptu picnics.

Another great use for a carport is as a place to store extra vehicles. A boat on a trailer will fit under the roof just as easily as a car will. Motorcycles and ATV’s store just fine, too. If you decide to get a carport with walls, you can also store tools and boxes underneath it. 

Carports not only protect your car from the elements, but they can protect you from the elements, too. Imagine that you are driving home from shopping, and it starts to rain. If you have a carport near a side door, you can get all of your groceries indoors without getting them or yourself wet. 

Last but not least, as we touched on earlier, a carport is a lot cheaper than a garage. We have garages, too, but we would be happy to discuss a carport with you if you don’t want to pay for a garage. Some people actually have both: a garage near the back of the driveway, and a carport by the side or back door.

A garage, a carport, Perth, and you: call Action Sheds Australia today. 

With an Arena, You Can Always Relax in the Shade

An arena, or open roof arena, is a roof-only shed. They aren’t commonly used as storage sheds, because you can’t lock them. They are used on farms as heavy machinery sheds throughout WA, though. A large tractor or other piece of farm equipment isn’t exactly the easiest thing to steal, so the added security of a barn or storage shed isn’t really necessary.

Arenas are also used to shelter livestock and horses. Riding arenas are similar to large, open roof arenas that are used in parks for one of our favourite purposes, providing shade. We build and design riding arenas to custom specs, and can even add mezzanine floors, stalls, and wash bays. Open roof arenas are also used at marinas as covered boat slips, and the principle is the same as when they are used on farms. Boats are locked and turned off, and are usually safe from thieves.

Technically, an open patio can be classified as an arena shed, and it is the smallest use of a shed just for shade. Similar to the livestock and riding shelters mentioned above, open patios are great for sitting in the shade, enjoying the weather.

Larger arenas can be used for picnic areas, whether it’s a small one at home or a giant, commercial structure in a public park. Covered picnic areas are great, because a few drops of rain won’t spoil a cook-out, picnic, or any kind of large, outdoor, family outing.

Arenas can also be used as band shells. They can provide shelter for musicians as they perform, and it’s always good to keep the rain off of electrical instruments and amplifiers. These can range from large band shells where an audience can sit, or smaller ones that just cover bands. The smaller version would fit quite nicely in a standard back yard.

One unexpected benefit of a roof-only arena is that the wind usually has a lot harder time blowing it over. It’s really the best of both worlds; a heavy wind doesn’t do as much harm, but a light breeze on a hot day feels great in the shade.

So, the next time you wish you had some shade in the back yard, think about how cool it would be to have an open arena shed in your back yard.