Design your shouse with shed designer.
Design a shouse online and get quotes from ShedSafe accredited dealers. NCC Class 1a + 10a hybrid, BlueScope steel, lender and council aware.
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What is a shouse?
A shouse is a hybrid steel-framed building that combines a habitable home with a workshop, garage or shed space under a single roof. Shed plus house. The "shed" half stays a non-habitable Class 10a structure under the National Construction Code. The "home" half is built and certified as a Class 1a dwelling. A fire-rated wall and door separate the two so the residential half meets the energy, glazing and fire provisions a regular house would, while the workshop half stays open for tools, vehicles and trade equipment.
Shouses suit tradies, mechanics, farm operators, hobbyists with serious workshops and any household that wants the workshop inside the home compound rather than down the back of the block. For the broader category context, see our shed homes parent page. For the barn-shaped variant, see also our barndominium designs sibling.
Shouse options
Three configurations cover most shouse briefs.
Single-storey shouse
Workshop and living wing side by side, single storey, fire-rated wall between. Open-plan living, two to four bedrooms one end, double or triple garage workshop the other. The most common shouse build. Quick to design, quick to certify.
Two-storey shouse
Workshop and garage on the ground floor, full living quarters on the first floor above. Suits tight or sloping blocks where footprint is constrained. Stairs and lift access need to be planned at design stage, not retrofitted.
Mezzanine shouse
Single-storey shell with a mezzanine over part of the workshop or living area. Loft bedrooms, study or storage above the workshop, open-plan living below. Plays to the high gable ceiling that defines the shed shape.
Workshop-anchor shouse
Trade-grade workshop is the brief, the home is built around it. Three-phase power, 9 m to 12 m clear span workshop, vehicle hoist clearance and a roller door wide enough for a truck. Living quarters are sized to fit, often 90 m² to 140 m² of floor area.
NCC, lender and council reality
A shouse is a real Class 1a building wearing a shed shell. Treat the certification side seriously and the rest of the project flows.
NCC classification. The Australian Building Codes Board defines Class 1a as a single dwelling, Class 10a as a non-habitable structure such as a private garage or shed (Australian Building Codes Board, NCC 2022 Volume Two, Class of Building). A shouse is one building containing both, separated by a fire-rated wall built to NCC fire and acoustic provisions for mixed-class buildings.
Energy efficiency. From 1 May 2024 most jurisdictions require new Class 1a homes to meet the 7-star NatHERS minimum and the whole-of-home energy use limits in NCC 2022, settings carried forward unchanged in NCC 2025 (Australian Building Codes Board, NCC 2022 Energy Efficiency Provisions). The habitable wing of a shouse meets that benchmark in full. The Class 10a workshop wing has separate, lower-bar requirements.
Wind and bushfire load. AS/NZS 1170.2 sets the wind region and AS 3959 sets the Bushfire Attack Level for blocks in designated bushfire-prone areas (Standards Australia, AS 3959:2018 Construction of buildings in bushfire-prone areas). The dealer's quote includes the engineering documentation that supports your council application.
Lender policy. Mainstream Australian lenders treat shouses the same way they treat barndominiums. Industry commentary published by Your Mortgage in 2024 noted that the big four banks lend on Class 1a steel-framed homes if the build is signed off by a registered builder and the LVR sits at 80% or lower, but classify them as non-standard construction. Always confirm with your broker before locking in a design.
Before you get quotes
A shouse is a 30-year build that has to satisfy your council, your bank and your day-to-day workflow. Steel, engineering and the dealer all need to be right.
100% Australian-made BlueScope Steel. Frame and cladding. COLORBOND® steel roofing on residential dwellings carries BlueScope warranties of up to 36 years against corrosion to perforation, depending on location; for non-habitable shed and garage applications, such as the workshop wing, the warranty runs up to 15 years (BlueScope, Warranty pages). Check your build on BlueScope's online warranty estimator.
ShedSafe accredited dealers, no exceptions. Every dealer on ShedDesigner is accredited under the Australian Steel Institute's third-party assessment programme, which verifies design and engineering practice against AS/NZS 1170.2 wind loading and the National Construction Code (Australian Steel Institute, ShedSafe accreditation, 2024).
One design, multiple quotes. You design the shell once in our 3D designer. The build goes out to ShedSafe accredited dealers in your region, all priced against the same specification, so you can compare without re-listing the brief.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a shouse?
A shouse is a steel-framed building that combines a habitable home with a workshop, garage or shed under one roof. Under the National Construction Code, the home half is built as a Class 1a dwelling and the workshop half as a Class 10a non-habitable structure, separated by a fire-rated wall (Australian Building Codes Board, *NCC 2022*).
What's the difference between a shouse and a barndominium?
A barndominium is a fully habitable Class 1a home built in the shape of a barn. A shouse is a hybrid build: Class 1a home wing plus Class 10a workshop or garage wing, separated by a fire-rated wall. Shape is the giveaway. Shouses can be barn-shaped, gable-roofed, skillion-roofed or any combination. Barndominiums are specifically barn-shaped.
Can I build a shouse on rural land?
Yes. Rural and rural-residential zones are the most common shouse locations because the larger block sizes accommodate the combined footprint and the council overlays often suit hybrid use. Bushfire, wastewater and access conditions still apply. AS 3959:2018 sets the construction standard for buildings in bushfire-prone areas (Standards Australia).
How is a shouse classified under the NCC?
The home half is Class 1a, a habitable single dwelling. The workshop half is Class 10a, a non-habitable structure such as a private garage or shed. The boundary between them is a fire-rated wall built to NCC fire and acoustic provisions for mixed-class buildings (Australian Building Codes Board, *NCC 2022 Volume Two, Class of Building*).
Can I get a mortgage on a shouse in Australia?
Some mainstream lenders treat a Class 1a shouse as a standard residential mortgage, others classify it as non-standard construction and require a higher deposit. Industry commentary published by Your Mortgage in 2024 noted that the big four banks generally lend on Class 1a steel-framed builds if the LVR sits at 80% or lower and the build is signed off by a registered builder. Confirm with your broker before locking in a design.
What's the typical layout of a shouse?
A typical single-storey shouse runs roughly 18 m to 24 m of total width, split between a 9 m to 12 m workshop wing (two to three roller-door bays) and a 9 m to 12 m living wing (open-plan living plus two to four bedrooms). Total floor area usually lands between 200 m² and 350 m². The fire-rated wall sits between the two wings, with a personnel door for internal access.
Do you need a Building Certificate for a shouse?
Yes. The Class 1a half requires the same certification as any other home: Construction Certificate or Building Permit, structural engineering, energy assessment, plumbing and electrical sign-off and an Occupation Certificate before move-in. The Class 10a workshop half is certified separately under its own less onerous provisions. Both certificates are issued by the building certifier.
Can a shouse be a primary place of residence?
Yes, the Class 1a half is a legal primary residence in every Australian state and territory once the Occupation Certificate is issued. The workshop half is not a habitable space and is not certified for sleeping or permanent occupation. Use the workshop side for what it's built for: tools, vehicles, storage, trade work.
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