Extending a Structure the Right Way

IN BRIEF

• Designing the building for potential extension in the future can save you money down the track. Engineering limitations of the original building may mean that an extension is difficult (or impossible).
• Planning ahead allows for easier growth and adaptation of the structure to changing needs.
• Extensions are best achieved from the gable end, but are also possible from the long side if you consider guttering and roof connections.
• In short – the best course of action is to factor in any potential extensions into your initial designs. This will ensure you’re covered for the future as your business grows.

Can You Extend a Structure? How to Extend Your Steel Building (The Right Way)

There are two approaches to building a shed extension: meticulous planning and tacking on an extension at a later date.

If you’re building a structure and there’s a possibility you might need additional space in the future, it’s best to let us know in the early design stages. When you design a building that is engineered to handle an extension, the process is vastly easier (and cheaper) when you go to add the extension at a later date. On the other hand, if building owners fail to plan ahead, it can be a difficult and costly process to extend or alter your structure, due to the structure’s potential engineering limitations.

What does this mean in practice?

Let’s take a closer look at how to go about designing your building the right way.

How to Extend Your Steel Shed

If you need to extend your shed and weren’t able to pre-plan for the extra space in the early design stages, you can still get a good result depending on the size, shape and orientation of your shed and the available space on site.

Extending From the Gable End

Extensions work best from the gable end, so it’s wise to factor this into your design, including considering how your structure will be positioned on your land. Allowing additional space at the gable end means you can extend the shed relatively easily in the future.

Extending From the Long Side

It is also possible to extend from the long, non-gable side of your structure so that you end up with something like an ‘M’ shaped roof profile, having two gable ends sitting side by side. However, you’ll need to ensure you include box guttering between the old and new structures.

Getting the Best Result With Guttering

A key thing to consider with any COLORBOND shed extension is making sure the guttering is adequate for the expanded roof space. If you’re looking to make an addition to an existing building that hasn’t been specifically designed for extension, the extension will have to be free-standing.

This means your guttering will join the existing building with a flashing, but the overall structure will stand on its own.

As mentioned above, box guttering is an option when you’re extending a shed roof and joining two roof lines together, to ensure you capture rainwater from the newly created valley in the roofline.