American Barns

What is a Lean-To?

A lean-to is a versatile addition to an enclosed shed, providing an open-sided area with a sloping roof. It creates extra covered space for vehicles, equipment, storage or everyday activities without the need for a fully enclosed structure.

Why Choose a Lean-To?

Lean-tos offer an affordable way to expand your usable shed space while protecting vehicles and equipment from sun, rain and hail. With fewer enclosed walls required, they can provide practical shelter at a lower cost than extending your shed with a fully enclosed section.

Add extra protection and functionality to your shed with an eave extension of up to 1m, available on most shed designs. Eave extensions create additional coverage around the building, helping protect walls, doors, windows and stored items from rain, wind and harsh Australian weather.

Beyond practical protection, extended eaves can improve the overall appearance of your shed by creating a more balanced and finished roofline. They can also provide additional shade around entrances and outdoor areas, helping keep internal spaces cooler.

Whether you want greater weather protection, improved functionality or a more refined exterior, eave extensions are a simple and effective way to enhance your shed design. Speak with our shed specialists to determine the best eave extension for your project.

Bring more natural light into your shed with industrial-strength fibreglass skylight roof sheeting. Designed for durability and performance, these panels allow daylight to enter your shed while maintaining the strength and reliability expected from a quality steel structure.

Skylights can reduce your reliance on artificial lighting during the day, helping create a brighter and more comfortable working environment while potentially lowering energy consumption. They are particularly useful in workshops, garages, storage areas, rural sheds and commercial buildings where good visibility is important.

Natural light can also make large enclosed spaces feel more open, welcoming and practical. Strategically positioned skylights can improve visibility across your shed without compromising its overall design.

Planning to install solar panels on your shed? Solar panels add additional weight and can increase wind loads on the roof structure. Our solar-ready engineering options ensure your shed is designed to safely accommodate these additional loads from the outset.

Why Include Solar Engineering?

1. Meet Building Requirements: Sheds fitted with solar panels may be subject to additional structural and building requirements. Including the appropriate engineering during the design stage helps ensure your shed is designed with these requirements in mind.

2. Support Insurance Requirements: A roof that has not been designed or engineered for solar panels may create complications with future insurance or compliance.

3. Future-Proof Your Shed: Even if solar isn't part of your immediate plans, incorporating solar-ready engineering during construction can make a future installation easier and more cost-effective.

Add convenient pedestrian access to your shed with a durable Personal Access (PA) Door. Ideal for residential, commercial and industrial buildings, PA doors provide a dedicated entry point without needing to open a larger roller door.

Designed for easy everyday access, our PA doors can be installed alongside roller or industrial doors and are available in disability and wheelchair-compliant options. Stable-style split doors and industrial pedestrian doors up to 1.1m wide are also available.

Choose the access solution that best suits your shed’s layout, purpose and day-to-day use.

Steel sliding doors are an ideal solution for larger sheds, garages, workshops, industrial facilities and aircraft hangars. Designed for smooth operation and heavy-duty use, they provide wide, practical access for vehicles, machinery, equipment and easy loading or unloading.

Their space-saving design allows the doors to slide neatly along the building, making them a practical choice where traditional hinged or roller doors may not be suitable.

For a more modern look, glass sliding door kits are also available on request, providing additional natural light and a contemporary finish.

Make your shed brighter, more comfortable and easier to use with thoughtfully positioned windows and glass sliding doors. These additions introduce natural daylight, improve visibility and create a more open interior environment.

Windows can also provide valuable ventilation, helping fresh air circulate through workshops, garages and storage areas. Glass sliding doors offer the added benefit of easy pedestrian access while creating a modern connection between your shed and outdoor spaces.

Choose the size and placement that best complement your shed’s purpose, layout and overall design.

Improve the comfort and performance of your shed with the right insulation solution. Roof insulation and sarking can help reduce the impact of radiant heat, manage temperature changes and provide an additional layer of protection from the elements.

The right combination can make your shed more comfortable throughout the year, particularly in hot Australian conditions. Available options can be tailored to your shed’s design, purpose and environment, with safety wire included for added security.

Help keep your shed clean, secure and protected from unwanted pests with our vermin-proofing solutions. These options are designed to close gaps between the wall sheeting and concrete slab, creating an effective barrier against rodents, insects and other unwanted visitors.

PVC Vermaseal - A durable plastic sealing system designed to close the high points of the wall sheet profile at the base of the shed, helping prevent vermin from finding their way inside.

COLORBOND® Steel Flashing - For a stronger, more robust solution, folded steel flashing can be installed along the internal wall base and extended over the slab. This option is suitable for a wide range of environments, including bushfire-prone areas.

Speak with our shed specialists to choose the vermin-proofing option best suited to your shed, site and environment.

Corodek® combines the timeless look of corrugated steel with the strength and durability required for modern sheds. Suitable for roofing and wall cladding, it is manufactured from high-tensile COLORBOND® and ZINCALUME® steel in 0.42 BMT and 0.47 TCT options.

For a distinctive architectural finish, Corodek® can also be installed horizontally in a “Horro Corro” configuration, creating a clean and premium appearance.

Metroclad 850 offers a clean, low-profile finish with the strength and durability of high-tensile steel. Designed primarily for wall cladding, it provides a sleek appearance while delivering reliable long-term performance.

Available in 0.35 BMT and 0.42 TCT COLORBOND® and ZINCALUME® steel with an AZ150 coating class, Metroclad 850 is a practical choice for sheds where durability, appearance and lasting protection are important.

Site-specific engineering helps ensure your shed is designed to perform safely and reliably in its intended location. By considering the conditions of your site and the requirements of your building, we can provide a structure that offers greater confidence, durability and long-term value.

Before your plans and council documentation are released, our designs are reviewed by trained classification experts to help ensure the proposed structure is suitable for the site and intended use. This can provide:

• Smoother council approval and certification
• Greater confidence in insurance compliance
• A shed designed for local site conditions
• The right structural solution for your specific requirements
• Better long-term performance and peace of mind

We’re proud to be a ShedSafe accredited steel kit building supplier, demonstrating our commitment to quality engineering, structural integrity and industry standards.

ShedSafe is an independent industry organisation that reviews supplier engineering designs and structural calculations to help ensure they align with the National Construction Code. This includes careful consideration of site-specific factors such as wind regions, wind speeds and structural loads. For you, it means greater confidence that your shed has been designed with the right engineering considerations for its location and intended use.