2. How to Build a Bike Shed
About this page
So you want to build a Bike Shed at your school? There are some important questions you should ask, and a few critical things you need to know. Lucky for you we have collected them all here and broken them down into three clear stages.
Stage 1 - Initial research
How many riders?
The first thing we recommend you do is undertake monthly Hands Up surveys of student travel in order to develop an accurate picture of how students are getting to school. Register for Hands Up online to make it easy. Find out just how many regular riders there are and how many more there would be if facilities were better.
Is a bike shed best?
It is important to consider whether building a dedicated bike shed is the best way to go. The most cost effective option is to find an existing area in the school grounds that could be converted to bike storage. Ideally it will be sheltered and/or secure, or can be easily made so. Examples include the ‘dead’ space between buildings, an area under a large set of stairs or a neglected shelter shed. If you have such a space all you’ll need to do is install some good bike parking rails and perhaps a gate or fence. If you don’t have this kind of space you’ll probably need to build a dedicated shed.
What sort?
We have found that an open-sided, fenced, gabled-roof carport makes an ideal bike shed solution. (A walled shed may tempt overly curious weekend visitors to find out what is inside.) If security is not an issue at your school, you may not even need to fence your bike shed in. Fairfield Primary School have installed a shed without fencing, reducing cost and increasing the number of bikes that can be housed. Bayswater North Primary and Rosebud have also erected open-sided, carport style bike sheds that have been fenced in. Note that if you choose to fence in your shed, be aware you may lose some space for parking rails, as Cambridge Primary did when they built their shed. If fencing your shed in, you may need to build it a little wider.
Remember that a bike shed can contribute to other school policies such as sustainability. A shed with gutters will provide a useful catchment area for a water tank for your vege patch or gardens. You may be able to incorporate recycled materials such as envirocrete into the design. Take a look at this design for a sustainable shed. Your shed can be multipurpose - providing a sheltered area for outside activities or some additional storage.
How Many Bikes?
You will need to determine how many bikes you want to house. We recommend that at the absolute minimum, schools provide secure, sheltered bike parking for 10% of their students. Summer overflow parking, which doesn’t need to be sheltered, but should be secure, can provide an extra 5% or 10%. Once you have decided how many bikes it must fit, then you can determine the dimensions of the shed. We have developed budgets and specifications for structures that will hold 24, 48, 72 or 96 bikes using our tried and true formula. We arrange bikes in rows allowing a floor area 0.5 m wide by 1.5 m deep for each bike with 1.5m of access between each row to maneuver bikes in and out.
Where?
Finding the right spot in your school grounds is very important. Check whether your school has a master plan. It will show you where future locations for portable classrooms are located so that you don’t build a bike shed this year and realise you have to move it next!
A location that is close to the preferred car-free entry point is important as it will prevent students riding across school grounds. The ideal scenario is to have a dedicated gate for Bicycle Only access as Fairfield Primary have done. In some school settings, the need for passive surveillance of the bike shed is an issue, as theft even from a secure bike shed is always possible. A location overlooked by classrooms or the school office is ideal.
What kind of floor?
A significant but often overlooked and costly consideration is what flooring surface to use. A concrete slab is the most expensive option, but is very durable and low maintenance. An environmentally friendly alternative is a floor of ‘envirocrete’, which is crushed and recycled concrete, wetted and compacted with a whacker to make a ‘pseudo- slab’. The drawback with envirocrete is that it will get dusty and is still costly to construct. The cheapest option is to use crushed rock, although this is also the messiest, and most likely to need ongoing maintenance. Parents may be also able to help spread and compact an envirocrete or crushed rock floor in a working bee, saving on expensive bobcat hire and builder’s labourer costs. Parental involvement will also create a sense of ownership. Ask parents if they want to get involved.
How much will it cost?
A purpose-built, sheltered and secure bike shed is not cheap. Erecting a quality bike shed that will house 48 bikes will cost around $16,000. For costings on our 24, 72, and 96 bike sheds see our budgets, specifications and layouts. Keep in mind that a shed can have multiple uses. Well designed, it can have separate areas for gardening materials, recycling and composting stations or sporting equipment storage. A bike shed can also act as catchment for a rainwater tank, or provide an area of sheltered seating. See the pages on Rosebud and Merri Creek for ideas. A structure with multiple uses will be easier to justify in terms of cost, and can contribute to the sustainability of your school..
You’ll need to find a builder who can quote you not only on the shed, but the fencing and the floor as well; otherwise you will need to find different contractors for each aspect of the job. We have found that carport and barn manufacturers such as Shed Bonanza offer value in the supply and installation of the shed structure. They will also obtain the necessary building permits and install the fencing and flooring. A standard 6 m by 9 m double carport makes an ideal 48 Bike Shed. Email Shed Bonanza for a quote.
Don’t forget the all important parking rails. Bicycle
Importantly, if you are a government school and the shed costs less than $15,000 you will only need one quote, but if it is more than $15,000 you will need to get three quotes. Details on this policy can be found in Ministerial Direction No.1. Contact your regional Department of Education office to clarify if need be.
Funding?
Assistance is available to help you pay for your bike shed. See our Funding a Bike Shed page for the latest news on grants and other funding opportunities. Remember though that schools will have to do some of their own fundraising too.
Stage 2 – Going ahead
So you’ve done all the research, you know what you want, where it will go, how much it will cost, who will build it for you and how you’ll pay for it. The next stage is obtaining permits and the necessary documentation.
Permits
If you are a government school, you probably will not need a council Planning Permit to build a bike shed, as the land is administered by the State Government’s Department of Education. However you will need written advice from council acknowledging that you do not need a Planning Permit. If you are an Independent or Catholic school the situation will be different again. Make the necessary enquiries.
All schools will definitely need a Building Permit. Government schools will need permission from the Department of Education to apply for their building permit. Email Philip Trengove, Senior Project Officer with the School Facilities Unit or call him on 9637 3840 and request written permission from the Department to apply for building permit on the Department’s behalf. Independent or Catholic schools will have to get permission from the landowner, likely the School Council or Parish, to apply for a building permit.
To get a building permit you will also need the Title documents for your school. You can buy these on line from the Land Channel for around $20. You will also need the sub-divisional plan, which you can purchase when you buy the Title online. Finally you will need a site plan of the entire school grounds with the position of the proposed shed marked to scale. The school office should have a site plan on file.
The shed builder will likely have a building surveyor who can process the building permit for you for around $650. SomLocal councils also offer this service.
Site Inspection
Before you go any further, we recommend you arrange a Site Inspection with the shed builder. It will cost around $280, but could save you a lot more in the long run. A qualified builder will be able to identify any potential hidden costs such as drainage, problematic siting, access and safety, before you start construction. Take a look at this Sample Site Inspection Report and note additional costs such as bin hire, tree root removal, or concrete pumping.
Raise purchase orders
In order to initiate shed construction, and get final ‘sign-off’ from everybody involved, you’ll need to raise a purchase order from the school. Once the builder has received the purchase order, they will be able to set a construction date.
Don’t forget to also raise a purchase order for the supply, delivery and possibly installation of the bike parking rails. Once Bicycle
Stage 3 – It’s Up
Congratulations on building your dream shed. If you are a government school you will need to supply the Department of Education with a site plan of the school with the new shed marked on it for their assets register
Don’t forget to send us some photos and tell us some tales about your new bike shed. We’d love to publish them on our website.
Finally, continue with regular Hands Up Surveys in order to monitor changes in student travel. That way you’ll know for sure that you’re getting more students riding more often!
Bike Shed Project Management Checklist
If implementing all of the above steps seems a bit daunting, we have created a simple Project Management Checklist so you know exactly what’s been done and what is still left to do.
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