How to compare shed builder quotes in Casey
The cheapest total is meaningless until slab, permits, drainage, doors, engineering and handover are put on the same page. Use this checklist to turn 2 or 3 different offers into one fair comparison.
Issue one brief, then compare the expected handover total.
Ask 2 or 3 builders to price the same footprint, wall and ridge height, doors, Colorbond profile, insulation, internal use and site information. Give them the same photos, title plan, survey and soil report if available. When one quote assumes a flat cleared site and another includes 30 tonnes of excavation and spoil, their totals do not measure builder value. They measure different jobs.
Create a simple comparison with a row for every scope item and a column for each quote. Mark each cell as included, excluded, provisional or unclear. Then add realistic allowances for every exclusion to calculate an expected handover total. A $32,000 offer that needs $12,000 of owner-arranged work is not cheaper than a complete $41,000 offer.
Use our 2026 shed pricing guide as a reasonableness check, not as a substitute for site pricing. Land slope, access, soil, drainage and opening sizes can move a real project well outside an average range.
Every complete quote should answer these items.
1. Site information and set-out.
Who obtains the title, feature survey, soil report, service information and final set-out? Is the building priced to known levels or to “flat site by owner”? A normal allowance for soil and survey work can be $1,200 to $2,500 before engineering.
2. Permits and authority consents.
Identify building permit, any planning work, engineering, title search, Legal Point of Discharge, easement consent and inspections. State who lodges each application and pays each fee. A combined domestic approval and documentation allowance can readily be $2,500 to $6,500, with overlays, siting variations or easement work adding more. Read the detail on our Casey permits page.
3. Earthworks and access.
Record assumed cut depth, spoil quantity, imported sub-base, compaction and machinery access. Require unit rates for extra tonnes or cubic metres. A vague $2,000 provisional sum on a sloping rear site provides almost no price protection.
4. Slab and footings.
The quote should reference an engineering drawing, concrete strength, slab and beam dimensions, reinforcement, pump, finish, joints, curing and equipment thickening. Confirm whether aprons and the roller-door threshold are included. A 6m x 6m engineered slab can represent roughly $6,500 to $10,000 of the project.
5. Structural frame.
Ask for the engineering design reference, steel member schedule, corrosion protection and hold-down system. “Engineered to AS 1170” is not a member list. The site-specific design should account for local wind actions under AS/NZS 1170.2, building geometry, openings and exposure, with the structural steel design documented by the responsible engineer.
6. Cladding and rainwater goods.
Specify genuine Colorbond colour and coating, profile, base metal thickness where relevant, flashings, fastener class, gutters and downpipes. If BlueScope and Colorbond materials matter, ask for product identification and the applicable manufacturer warranty documents at handover. Similar colour names do not prove the same product.
7. Doors, windows and ventilation.
List door clear openings, manual or motor operation, remotes, wind locks where engineered, personnel door hardware, windows, vermin sealing and ventilation. A motorised roller door can differ by $1,000 or more from a basic manual inclusion. Door tracks and motors also affect clear space inside.
8. Drainage and plumbing.
Downpipes ending beside the slab are not completed stormwater. State the pipe route, pits, legal connection, licensed plumbing work and reinstatement. Depending on distance and access, a residential connection can add roughly $1,500 to $5,000.
9. Electrical and fit-out.
List switchboard capacity, trenching, sub-board, circuits, outlets, lighting, certificates, insulation and lining. A useful workshop electrical package can be $2,500 to $8,000 depending on distance, supply and equipment. A single light and one power point are not a workshop electrical scope.
10. Completion and handover.
Require rubbish removal, touch-ups, keys and remotes, compliance certificates, engineering records, warranties and the permit close-out document. For a permitted Class 10a building this will commonly include a Certificate of Final Inspection. Hold the final payment until the contracted stage is complete and required inspections have passed.
Learn the three labels that change the final bill.
A fixed inclusion has a defined scope and price. A provisional sum is an estimate for work whose final cost is not yet known. An exclusion is your problem to arrange and coordinate. Prime cost items are allowances for selected products not yet finally specified. None of these labels is automatically wrong, but an avoidable unknown should be investigated before signing rather than hidden in a low allowance.
Good provisional sums state quantity and rate. For example, “allow 20 tonnes spoil export, extra at $95 per tonne” is useful. “Earthworks provisional $2,000” is not. Ask what information would convert the allowance to fixed price and whether it can be obtained for $500 now instead of risking a $5,000 variation later.
Keep about 10% of the project value available outside the contract for genuine unknowns and owner changes. On a $40,000 build that is $4,000. Contingency is not a blank cheque for omitted drainage, permit fees or access conditions that were visible when quoting.
Contract, deposit and Home Warranty checks.
Most domestic building work over $10,000 requires a major domestic building contract and a registered builder for work requiring that registration. Check the exact practitioner name and registration in the Building and Plumbing Commission register. The contracting entity, permit builder and insurance notice should align. Do not rely on a logo or a registration number copied into a brochure.
Victorian deposit limits are generally 10% for a contract below $20,000 and 5% for a contract of $20,000 or more. Payments then follow completed stages under the contract. Do not pay ahead for steel, slab or erection merely because a supplier wants cash flow. Before a progress payment, verify that the stage is complete, matches the plans and has passed any inspection required at that point.
For eligible domestic building contracts signed from 1 July 2026 and valued above $20,000, Victoria’s Home Warranty scheme applies. The builder arranges cover and the BPC sends a notice of cover. It can provide up to $400,000 total assistance, subject to eligibility, limits and exclusions, for incomplete, defective or non-compliant work where the scheme conditions are met. Contracts and DBI certificates from before 1 July 2026 stay under the earlier arrangements.
Insurance is a backstop, not a quality shortcut. Still check design, payment stages, builder registration, exclusions and handover documents. Our explanation of shed kits versus full build shows how responsibility changes when the owner separately hires the slab, erector, plumber and electrician.
Pause before signing if you see any of these.
- A large deposit requested before the contract and insurance steps are complete.
- No matching legal entity, practitioner registration or physical contact details.
- One-line “supply and install” scope with no slab, engineering or drainage detail.
- A wind rating quoted before the address, terrain, shielding and openings are known.
- Permit work called optional for a garage clearly larger than 10 square metres.
- All earthworks fixed at a tiny allowance despite slope, fill or restricted access.
- No clear opening sizes for doors and no model or warranty for motors.
- Final payment due before inspection, defects, certificates and site clean-up.
A good quote is not necessarily the longest document, but it lets another competent builder identify exactly what must be delivered. If you cannot tell whether GST, concrete pumping, downpipe connection or permit fees are included, the document is not ready to accept.
Shed quote questions answered.
Ask for one number that reaches handover.
Our written quote separates site work, slab, engineering, permits, steel, openings, drainage and optional fit-out so you can compare the same finished result.