Five common misbeliefs about sheds (and a few facts)!
Everyone’s got an opinion on a shed – and none of them quite match.
So you’ve been Googling shed options late at night. Chatting with a couple of mates over the fence. Maybe even called up a local builder mate for an opinion.
But instead of clarity, you’ve ended up with more questions than answers…
Steel or timber?
Kitset or custom?
Consent needed or not?
If that sounds familiar, you’re in good company. We hear the same confusion every week from practical, switched-on Kiwis who just want to build a shed once and get it right.
So let’s clear the air. Below are the five biggest shed misbeliefs in New Zealand — and the truths that can save you serious time, money, and frustration down the track.
Misbelief 1: Steel sheds outlast timber sheds
Steel gets a lot of credit for being “strong”, but not all steel sheds are built the same — and that’s where things get misunderstood.
In NZ, most steel sheds fall into one of two camps:
Structural steel
This is the heavy-duty stuff — often 4–12.5mm thick — and it’s incredibly durable. Built right, it’ll stand up to decades of harsh conditions.
Rolled (cold-formed) steel
This is much thinner (usually 2–3mm) and relies on folded shapes for strength rather than thickness. It’s lighter and cheaper, which makes it popular for small sheds — but it doesn’t age nearly as well.
Most rolled steel sheds are only consented for around 25 years, because that’s their realistic lifespan in NZ conditions. Moisture, salt air, and temperature swings all take their toll.
By comparison, sheds built with treated timber framing and structural steel rafters can achieve a 50-year design life, which is the longest lifespan available.
Why the difference?
Rolled steel is usually electroplated, not hot-dip galvanised, meaning the protective zinc coating is thinner and easier to damage. Add thousands of Tek screws into the mix — each one cutting through that coating — and you’ve got exposed steel that can rust over time. Those same screws can also loosen, leading to rattles and structural issues.
Treated timber doesn’t rust, and hot-dip galvanised structural steel offers the highest level of corrosion protection available. Over decades, that difference really shows.
Misbelief 2: Steel sheds are quicker to build
On paper, steel sheds can look faster — lightweight parts, pre-punched holes, tidy drawings. On site it’s often a different story.
Rolled steel systems rely on lots of small components: brackets, braces, Tek screws, and detailed alignments. That adds time. They also commonly require complex concrete foundations, including reinforced footings and, sometime, multiple pours for portal connections.
Timber-framed kitset sheds are generally much simpler at ground level. Posts are placed around 1.5 metres into the ground and concreted in place — a fast, proven method that works especially well on rural sites.
Then there’s the build process itself. Bolted connections are quicker and more forgiving than thousands of screws. Pre-welded cleats save hours. And self-supporting designs mean no temporary props slowing things down during erection.
Bottom line: what looks quick in a brochure isn’t always quick on the paddock.
Misbelief 3: You can easily turn a shed into a house
Hold your horses! This one gets people caught out all the time.
While it’s technically possible to convert a shed into a dwelling, it’s rarely cheap — and it’s almost never simple.
Sheds aren’t designed to meet NZ’s habitable building standards, which include strict rules around insulation, ventilation, moisture control, fire safety, and weathertightness. Retrofitting all of that often means additional engineering, cavity systems, upgraded cladding details and costly compliance work.
In many cases, it makes far more sense to use a transportable or purpose-built dwelling for living, and let your shed do what it does best — store gear, protect machinery, and give you working space without unnecessary compliance costs.
Misbelief 4: Getting an engineer to design a shed Is cheaper
It can look cheaper at first glance. In reality, it often goes the other way.
Custom-designed sheds are frequently over-engineered, using more steel and structural detail than required. That pushes up material costs and build time. On top of that, architect or engineer fees can easily run into five figures, and the final design may still be impractical for real-world shed construction.
With a proven kitset system like ours, the design, engineering, consenting, and supply are already sorted – refined through our decades of shed-specific experience. The result is a structure that’s strong, efficient, and straightforward to build, without paying for unnecessary complexity.
What looks like a saving upfront can quickly turn into delays, redesigns, and budget blowouts.
Misbelief 5: “A shed’s a shed”
We hear this one a lot — and it couldn’t be further from the truth.
That’s like saying all utes are the same because they’ve got a tray and four wheels.
Sure, from the outside, many sheds look similar, but the real differences show up over time.
Some steel sheds are noisy in heavy rain, prone to condensation, and designed for a 15–25 year lifespan. Many aren’t bird-proof either, which means nests in the roof space and corrosive droppings on vehicles, machinery, and tools.
Well-designed timber-framed sheds are quieter, manage condensation better, and last significantly longer. Fully bird-proof designs also protect what you store inside, keeping the space cleaner, drier, and more hygienic.
If you’re building on a long-term property, especially a farm or lifestyle block, those little things make an enormous difference!
Why Choosing the Right Shed Matters
The stuff you hear might be easy to believe, but you’re the one who’ll have to live with the consequences. Like rust where you didn’t expect it, rattles every time a southerly blows through or a shed that doesn’t suit how your property evolves.
A shed isn’t just a short-term structure. It supports your land, your work, and often your legacy. Whether you’re storing machinery, parking up the. boat or planning for future growth, getting the decision right from day one makes all the difference.
For over 20 years, SHEDS4U has focused on building sheds that stand the test of time: bird-proof, efficient to construct and engineered for New Zealand conditions.
Because at the end of the day, a SHEDS4U shed isn’t just any shed; it’s your shed, your way.
