Resources
DETERMINING YOUR SITE WIND CLASSIFICATION
Help to Choose the right shed for your site.
When it comes to shed design, Australia is divided into four main Wind Regions based on the maximum wind speed expected during peak storm activity.
The four main wind regions existing in Australia are as follows.
Region A :
The most common wind region encompassing the vast majority of the southern region coastal areas and Australia's expansive inland areas.
Region B:
Mainly encompassing areas above 30° latitude and generally greater than 50 km from the coastline, but within 200 km of the coastline.
Region C:
Extends along the coastline, within a distance of 50 km from the coast, for regions above 25° latitude. Classified as a cyclonic region.
Region D:
Covering a smaller region that is only specific to the west coast of Australia between 25° and 20° latitude, within 50 km of the coastline. Classified as a cyclonic region. For more specific determination of wind regions reference should be made to AS1170.2, Figure 3.1.
The region associated with a particular building locality can be found from:
- The local Council for that area, or
- A structural engineer, building surveyor or certifier.
The following map shows the approximate location of the region boundaries. It should be taken only as a guide and the region verified by one of the above methods.
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It is very important that all considerations of your particular building site are considered when choosing a shed. If your shed does not have the appropriate wind rating for your site it could become dangerous during a weather event. or if it is overdesigned, you end up throwing away good money that could have been spent elsewhere.
Your area of the Australian continent might well be a general wind rating as shown above, but your block may either be on the high, middle or low end of that general wind rating, depending on local topographical influences and then your actual site might may or may not be shielded from surrounding buildings and hills. The point is, that there are more localised influences to consider and if you don't take these into account you may over-design your shed you end up paying more than you have to and if you underdesign it its not going to last very long.
Here is a good example: This shed has to be stronger at the top of the hill than it does at the bottom. The boffins at the Australian Steel Institute (ASI) and James Cook University have done tests which prove it.
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Here's another good example: The shed in between the houses is not going to have to be as strong as the one in the paddock because the winds or storms will hit the houses to either side and deflect over the top of the shed, its a bit like aerodynamics with a car or plane.
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So what does this mean to you? The council will tell you what you need, right? Well, not always, They may tell you something like W41 or N3 or N2 which is a general rating that we spoke about at the start, and is more appropriate to houses than to shed (structural steel) design. Some councils are quite good and are up to date with the latest standards while others, sadly are not. The latter seem to pass just about anything as long as it has a general wind rating on it which won't help you when your shed ends up in the lounge room during a storm and your shed contents are ruined and the insurance company won't pay out. It can only takes a gust, or a short blast of wind to blow something apart and it can come without any warning.
So what can you do about it? For a start, you should stay clear of any shed company who only gives you a quote with a "N" or a "W" value on it. The values are now out of date so it means nothing. That's what we at Dinky Di call old school. The design and therefore the written quotation must list the Terrain and Topography value used that we mentioned above, as well as the Shielding and Importance Value. All of those things go into a mathematical enginering calculation that produces the correctly designed shed for you. A good company will be happy to help you with these considerations and also provide a full set of individual calculations to prove how they arrived at the engineering outcome for your shed.
Make sure that you tell your salesperson about your building site and how exposed or shielded it is from the general elements. If the companies salesperson does not care about that, or supply those details on the quote then you should probably not consider that one for purchase.
Further information can be found on the ASI website at www.steel.org.au
ASI WIND ACTION DESIGN GUIDE
HOW TO INSTALL A ROLLER DOOR
Roller Door Installation Video
HOW TO INSTALL A RESIDENTIAL ROLLER DOOR (PDF) INSTRUCTION MANUAL
For More Information visit www.taureands.com.au/installers/
HOW TO INSTALL AN INDUSTRIAL ROLLER DOOR (PDF) INSTRUCTION MANUAL
For More Information visit www.taureands.com.au/installers/
HOW TO INSTALL A STEEL SLIDING DOOR (PDF) QUICK START GUIDE
Steel Sliding doors can offer many advantages over traditional roller doors including:
Full Door Height Openings, Unlimited Door Opening Width, Unlimited Cladding & Infill Options, Easy On-site Repairs, Add a Window or P.A. Door, Open Only as Wide as You Need. No Centre Mullions.
For More Information visit www.vaterhardware.com
SOIL CLASSIFICATIONS
A
Sand/Rock, good for foundations, however problems may be encountered wth site excavation and trenched etc.
S
Stable site - generally the lightest footing design is applicable.
M
Moderatley Reactive. The majority of clay sites fall into this category.
H
Highly reactive clay sites requiring heavier than normal footing designs. Most "Black Soil" areas are at least a "H" class soil.
E
Extremely Reactive clay sites. These are not common, however results in very expensive footings.
P
Problem Site. This may be Mine Subsidence, uncontrolled or controlled fill greater than 400mm in depth, landslips, or soft bearings/collapsing soils and trees near the construction area.
D
A sub-classification had been introdiced to indicate deep seated movement. The sub-classification is required for reactive sites, classes M, H and E and is symbolised by the addition of D. The full classification for these areas would simply be M-D, H-E or E-D.
VARIOUS SHED AND PATIO CONSTRUCTION MANUALS
FAIR DINKUM SHEDS CONSTRUCTION MANUALS
BEST SHED CONSTRUCTION MANUALS
STRATCO SHEDS AND STRATCO OUTBACK CONSTRUCTION MANUALS
Please find below variouse construction manuals and aids for the construction of a Fair Dinkum Shed and others. Please contact Fair Dinkum Builds head office directly at 02 46468200 for the most up to date construction manuals and assistance.
Best Sheds: www.bestsheds.com.au
Stratco: www.stratco.com.au/install#shed
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Dinky Di Sheds Pty Ltd
Trading as Dinky Di Sheds
ABN 75 164 746 639
1800 785 224
Head office 226 Campbell St
Toowoomba 4350
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