David Crawford’s Personal Shed Planning Tips

David Crawford’s Personal

SHED PLANNING TIPS

Here are David’s tips:

• Take the time to consider what you need and want in your shed
• What do you want to use the shed for?
• Does it need to be multi-purpose – eg. machinery storage, workshop, car storage, parts storage, etc. Do you need a secure and ventilatedarea for chemical storage or an area to store hay?
• Think about the shed layout that will give you the best use (including where you’ll put doors, personal access doors, benches, lighting, power outlets)
• How big is the machinery or equipment you want to store? This will guide you on how wide your openings need to be.
• Consider where to locate your shed, for workplace efficiency, but also for issues like overhead powerlines, functionality with other buildings, silos etc.
• Consider a concrete floor, lighting and electrical, and workbenches to make your shed a joy to work in
• Think about how you’ll work in the shed and where best to store things
• Don’t seek the cheapest shed quote or you may end up disappointed
• Value for money is far more important so check things like the shed materials to be used, how doors are made, size of footings bolts and other fasteners, etc.
• And judge how well the shed supplier will service your needs by the way they deal with you before you order and from the recommendations of others who have been there before.
• And finally … keep your wife happy…so you can have your shed !

David decided to go all the way and install a concrete floor, concrete aprons, lighting and electrical all straight after the shed was built. I could have saved money by doing it later but I think it’s a false economy because (a) I may never get around to doing those later and may regret it for a long time, and (b) it will cost even more later so I’m saving by doing it now.

In David’s case he decided he needed the following:

• 12m span, 22.5m long, 6.3m high
• 2 wide openings of 9m (30’) each for easy access and storage for his boomspray, tractors and other farmequipment.
• Sliding doors to fully enclose the shed for security reasons
• 6.3m (21’) height to give plenty of clearance for today’s large farm machinery
• A lean-to on one side that could be used to house the ute and family cars
• A door between the main shed and the lean-to for easy-access from one section to the other
• One bay of the lean-to partitioned off to create a parts and maintenance equipment storage area with plenty of shelving to keep everything well organised
• A personal access door on the house side of the shed for quick access
• Some decent sized work benches
• Good lighting – both general lighting for the shed and over workbenches
• Concrete floor throughout. 6” in the main shed, 4” in the lean-to and exterior aprons
• Gravel around the outside of the shed to reduce the amount of mud around the shed in winter

Looking Forward To Working In His New Shed

David said that he looks forward to doing mechanical maintenance on his farm equipment in the new shed. In the past he had to brave the elements of heat, cold, wind and rain outside and that was never much fun. He is also looking forward to undertaking a few production jobs at his new workbenches.

And his wife….?

Well David allowed her an area in the new shed for her car and for storing some household items which were cluttering up the house. And we know Andrea must be happy because she spent hours sorting through all David’s collections of nuts and bolts, spare parts and bits and pieces to help him get his spare parts section well organised right from the start. And he’s tickled pink with that!

What David Says About His New Shed:

Here’s what David Crawford says about his new ‘Aussie Tough’ farm shed from Grant Sheds.

You can check out more comments from others about their Grant Sheds here https://grantsheds.com.au/what-others-say/ .

You can even select your own area to see what people from your community are saying.