If you compare a pole shed and a steel shed on the kit price alone, you’re comparing the wrong thing. The cheapest kit can turn into the dearest building once the holes, labour, doors and years of use are added in. Here’s how to compare the whole job.
Compare these line by line #
| Cost item | What to ask |
| The kit | Is it engineered for your site’s wind and snow, or a standard design? |
| Foundations | Pole holes and concrete, or footings and a slab? Who digs and pours? |
| Floor | Slab, hardfill or dirt? A slab is often extra on both types. |
| Labour | How many days to build, and by whom? Who supplies the crane or hire gear? |
| Doors | Number, size and type. Doors are often quoted separately. |
| Consent and engineering | Included, or an extra? |
| Delivery | Included to your site? |
| Upkeep | What needs checking, treating or replacing over the next 20 years? |
Where pole sheds come out cheaper #
Small, simple sheds in sheltered spots, where internal poles don’t get in the way, are where a pole shed can be the cheaper choice. Timber is familiar to local builders, and a basic open-front shed can go up quickly.
Where steel catches up #
Span. As a pole shed gets wider, it needs more poles, more holes and usually a line of poles inside. A steel portal frame spans the full width, so the cost doesn’t climb the same way, and you get the whole floor.
Floor you can actually use. An internal pole doesn’t show up on a quote, but it costs you every day. It takes floor space, limits where machinery can turn, and gets hit. If you’re paying for floor area, count the area you can really use.
Build time. Steel portal frames arrive cut, punched and ready to bolt together, so there’s less measuring and cutting on site. Actual build time depends on the site: slopes and drop-offs, access equipment, how far away power and facilities are, and more.
Upkeep and lifespan. Galvanised steel frames don’t rot or get borer. Timber in the ground is the part of a pole shed most likely to need attention as it ages.
Will your site take timber poles? #
Timber poles get their bracing and uplift resistance from being set deep into the ground, often a third of their height or more. That needs holes you can actually bore, and some sites won’t allow it:
- Peat, marine clays and muds, or a high water table, where the hole fills in or keeps caving.
- River shingle, rock or old lava flows, where you can’t bore the hole at all.
Steel handles these sites better. A steel building can sit on a shallow floating raft slab over poor ground, with the frame bolted to the slab. Before you buy a kitset pole building, make sure you can actually get the poles into your site.
Damp from the ground #
Poles set into the ground often reach the water table. Timber is a natural product and can wick that moisture up into the building, which can leave a damp smell. That doesn’t matter much in an open hay shed, but if you plan to enclose and line the building, or work in it for long periods, it’s worth thinking about. Poles can be sleeved, protected or sealed before they go into the concrete or ground. With steel, the frame sits on top of the slab or footings, so there’s no path for ground moisture to wick up into the shed.
A fair way to decide #
Get both quotes to the same size, height, door layout and level of finish, with the slab and labour either in or out of both. Then add what the internal poles would cost you in lost space and handling. That’s the real comparison.
Send us your pole shed quote, and we’ll price a steel building to the same spec so you can compare.
Talk to Steelspan #
Send us the pole shed quote you’ve got, and we’ll price a steel building to the same spec so you can compare like for like. Use our Easy Shed Quote or call 0800 787 726.
