Design your custom garage with shed designer.

What is a custom garage shed?

A custom garage shed is a steel-framed residential building designed around the vehicles, gear and projects you actually own. Most are clad in Colorbond® and built from 100% Australian-made BlueScope steel, engineered to AS/NZS 1170.2 wind loading for your region. Unlike a kit garage with three preset sizes, a custom garage flexes on width, length, eave height, door type and roof pitch, so the build fits the block, the cars and the way you use the space.

ShedDesigner offers single, double, triple, garage-with-carport, garage-with-workshop and skillion or gable roof options. Pick the closest template, customise the dimensions, then submit your design for free comparable quotes from ShedSafe accredited dealers in your region.

Choosing the right garage size

The size you start with depends on what's parking inside and what you're storing around it. Australian Standard AS/NZS 2890.1:2004 sets the minimum residential parking bay at 2.4m wide by 5.4m long, but most working garages need a fair bit more than the minimum to be useful day to day (Standards Australia, AS/NZS 2890.1:2004).

Single garage

Internal footprint typically 3m to 3.6m wide by 6m long. Fits one sedan, hatch or small SUV with room for a workbench at the rear. Tight for a dual-cab ute. Start template: single skillion or single gable.

Double garage

Internal footprint typically 6m by 6m, scaling to 6m by 7.5m if you want storage behind the cars. Two standard cars sit side by side with door clearance. For two dual-cab utes, push to 7m or 7.5m wide internally so doors swing without scraping mirrors. Start template: double gable.

Triple garage

Internal footprint typically 9m by 6m, or 9m by 7.5m to 9m by 9m if you're adding a workshop bay or storing taller equipment. Three cars side by side, or two cars plus a dedicated workshop. Start template: triple gable.

Garage with carport

Enclosed garage on one side, open carport on the other. Useful when you want one vehicle locked away and a second covered for daily use, or when you need shaded space for a trailer. Start template: gable garage with attached lean-to.

Garage with workshop bay

Standard double or triple garage, plus an extra 3m to 4m bay for benches, tool storage, mezzanine or three-phase work. The bay can be walled off internally or left open. Start template: triple gable with rear workshop.

Garage with awning

Garage with a wide front or side awning for outdoor projects, drying space, or sheltered access between the house and the garage. Useful on tight blocks where a separate carport doesn't fit.

Roof choice usually comes down to look and council policy. Gable roofs sit well on suburban streets, drain water both sides, and suit raised mezzanines. Skillion roofs are simpler and lower-profile, often easier under height-restricted overlays.

Door, height and clearance reality

Door choice changes how the garage works more than most buyers expect.

• Roller doors are the default for residential work. Lift fast, take little headroom, simple to motorise. Standard residential roller doors come 2.1m high; bumping to 2.4m or 2.7m gives clearance for roof racks, dual-cab canopies and trailers.
• Sectional doors look cleaner from the street and seal better, but cost more and need more headroom inside the garage to track.
• Tilt doors suit retro builds and tight ceilings, but you lose the front parking metre while the door swings out.
• Caravan-friendly clearance usually means a 3.0m roller door with a 3.4m to 3.6m eave height. A standard 5.8m caravan sits around 2.7m to 2.9m tall on the drawbar, so 2.4m doors won't clear them.
• Dual-cab utes with bull bars and roof racks often need 2.4m wide bay openings and 2.4m door height as a working minimum.
• Internal eave height drives everything else. 2.4m eaves are tight for a workshop, 2.7m to 3.0m gives room for a hoist or mezzanine, 3.6m+ is caravan and boat territory.

Cladding sits on top of the structure. Colorbond® comes in 22 standard colours across roof, walls and trim, so the garage can match the house or stand apart on purpose. Light roof colours like Surfmist reduce internal heat in summer, which matters for a workshop you'll spend hours in.

Before you get quotes

A garage isn't a small purchase, and it stays bolted to your title for the next 30 years. The process works as one design, multiple quotes: your design goes out once, and dealers covering your region each price it.

100% Australian-made BlueScope Steel. Across structural framing and Colorbond® cladding. BlueScope's COLORBOND® steel cladding for sheds and garages carries a warranty of up to 15 years against corrosion to perforation, with the exact period set by location and application (BlueScope, Garages & Sheds Warranty). Check your build on BlueScope's online warranty estimator.

ShedSafe accredited dealers, no exceptions. Every dealer on ShedDesigner is ShedSafe accredited under the Australian Steel Institute's third-party assessment programme, which verifies design and engineering practices comply with the National Construction Code and AS/NZS 1170.2 wind loading.

Comparable quotes. Every dealer prices the same design, so the quotes you get back are directly comparable.

Local dealers. Dealers are local to a region. Build, delivery and after-sales support stay in your state.

Council approvals and Class 10a vs 1a

Most residential garages are non-habitable Class 10a structures under the National Construction Code, which keeps approval simpler. In NSW, a garage with a floor area of 20m² or less, height under 3m (or 2.4m within 1m of a boundary), and behind the front building line can qualify as exempt development with no DA needed (NSW Department of Planning, Carports and Garages: Rules for Exempt Development). Larger garages typically go through complying development (CDC) up to 60m² in many lots, or full DA for anything bigger or close to boundaries.

Other states differ. Victoria and Queensland use their own thresholds and overlays. Always check with your local council before pouring the slab.

If you're planning to convert the garage to a studio, granny flat or living space, that crosses into Class 1a habitable construction. The frame, insulation, ventilation, glazing and fire separation requirements are different, and lender policy gets stricter. Build the garage Class 10a, then decide later: easier and cheaper than retrofitting.