180 square meter kitset steel Habitable Shed with Mono Pitched Roof – designed and made by No Bull Sheds – built in French Pass / Cambridge

Sefton Banks has been in his lifestyle shed now for two years and isn’t just liking it – he’s loving it. What he wanted was an easy living space, and a kind of half man cave, half workshop set up.

The section he bought was the second one sold on the subdivided farmland in French Pass Road, just out of Cambridge, and was directly across from his current home, which he needed to sell first! The site for his habitable shed is much more open to the sun than his prior home, and he observed the sun path over the land before situating the house. Morning sun greets him in his bedroom now, and he oriented the house to make sure he maximised the late afternoon winter sun.

He was especially impressed by the foresight of the Waikato Sheds team in using three rods in the footing when they could have just got away with one – he hadn’t thought about it. This means that the workshop area can be made livable in the future.

The interior of the living area walls and ceiling are lined with warmly textured mahogany ply and finished with three coats of clear acrylic varnish. For these he got to handpick the ply sheets from Mitre 10. The floor is exposed concrete with two coats of duplex – as three might have peeled or been prone to scuffing. Sefton chose concrete as it has the ability to absorb heat from direct sunlight , store the heat and release it slowly. Great for warming the feet on chilly mornings. There is a lovely iron Homewood Stove (“just a dream to cook on”) which is connected to a wetback and there’s space under the bench for artfully stacked wood.

He didn’t have to go far for other home fittings, and readily sourced them amongst friends and acquaintances, and that is the way the bathroom sink, toilet, vanity and shower mixer all found their way into his home. Sefton also found an old plough fitting and plans to fit the rustic pole with LED lights as a long feature light suspended from the ceiling. The interior has exposed black iron structural beams which contrast strikingly with the warm ply, so rather than closing them in, the beams were left exposed to give the interior a bit of ‘x-factor’.
On the outside, the eaves were reduced somewhat from what he originally envisioned, and are now 600mm deep. The doors run along run the length of the house offering stunning views, and with all the joinery double glazed the home is efficient at keeping the space warm in winter and cool in summer. The Waikato Sheds’ team also convinced Sefton to go with the colour Flaxpod for the flashings to contrast slightly with the Ebony wall cladding and he is glad he went with that. The use of Titania for the joinery makes a statement and completes the modern look of this rural home.

The monopitch roof is at a 5° pitch. The original plan had the roof pitch at 15° but he felt it was a bit high in the front. Sefton wanted it just high enough for a loaded work trailer to be able to be driven in – and straight out of the garage. The drive-through garage is a feature he thought of himself, and swallows love it too, practicing their fly-through manoeuvres playfully.

Standard on all our sheds

Sheds engineered by a Chartered Engineer to comply with the NZ Building Code and Regulations

• Full set of Plans with PS1
• Designed to Importance Level 2
• Site Specific Wind Speed Calculations
• Edge thickening on concrete slab
• Bird Brush on all Roller Doors
• Colorsteel Vermin Flashings
• Thermacraft Wrap & Safety Mesh for the Roof

No Bull Sheds are proud to partner up with other Companies producing New Zealand made product. Click on the logo for more information on the products we use.