Steelspan supplies kitset buildings anywhere in New Zealand and the Pacific, and also delivers full design & build projects. People often ask which is cheaper. The kitset price is lower on paper, but the real question is who takes on the work, the coordination and the risk between delivery and handover.
What a Steelspan kitset includes #
- a building designed for your site and your needs, not pre-designed plans or standard bay sizes that suit us
- engineering for your site’s wind, snow and earthquake loads, with a PS1 producer statement
- the steel frame, purlins, girts, cladding, flashings and fixings
- doors and gutters
- consent drawings, plus plans to build from
Your quote lists exactly what’s included, so read it carefully. It reflects what we’ve agreed with you. For example, if you only want the frame because you’ll put it up yourself and your own roofer or cladding supplier will do the cladding, the quote will say we’re supplying the frame only, with a design and PS1 ready for you to lodge with council.
What you take on with a kitset #
- the building consent, unless we’ve agreed to handle it
- site preparation, drainage and the concrete slab or foundations
- a builder or erector, plus any crane or hire gear
- booking inspections and pulling the paperwork together for the code compliance certificate
If you’re handy, or you have a builder you trust, that’s very manageable. An experienced steel erector who built one of our kitsets put it this way: “The kit was timely and well placed upon delivery. Plans [were] clear and correct.”
What design & build covers #
With design & build, we run the whole job:
- Site visit and a budget estimate
- Detailed design that removes the unknowns (earthworks, drainage, foundations, frame, linings, services)
- A firm price under a written construction contract
- Building consent (and resource consent if needed)
- Construction, with a project manager coordinating trades and inspections
- Handover, with warranty documents and the paperwork for your code compliance certificate
You deal with one company from start to finish.
So which is cheaper? #
| Kitset | Design & build | |
| Upfront price | Lower | Higher, because labour and management are included |
| Your time | Significant | Minimal |
| Coordination risk | Yours | Ours |
| Price certainty | Building fixed, site and labour costs up to you | Firm price after detailed design |
| Best for | Handy owners, farms, lifestyle blocks, builders | Commercial buildings, complex sites, busy owners |
If your time is cheap and the site is simple, a kitset usually wins. If the site has tricky ground, drainage or consent issues, or if downtime costs your business money, design & build often works out cheaper overall, because problems get solved on paper before they cost money on site.
A middle option #
Some customers buy a kitset and have us put it up. One told us they built the first of two sheds themselves, then had us assemble the second, and wished they’d had us do both.
Our own build team works most cost-effectively across the greater Auckland area, from Whangarei down to Hamilton and Tauranga. The team is used to travelling and working on remote sites, and we can mobilise them almost anywhere in the North Island. Taking tools and crew across Cook Strait usually isn’t economical, so for the South Island we can put you in touch with established builders who know our system and can build it for you.
Talk to Steelspan #
Tell us about your site and how involved you want to be, and we’ll price whichever route suits. Use our Easy Shed Quote or call 0800 787 726.
