A British garden shed usually sits on a few paving slabs or a timber bearer frame, and nobody thinks much about it. In Bendigo, the shed people actually want is often a steel building the size of a small barn, and it needs a properly designed concrete slab. This piece covers what that slab involves on Goldfields ground, and which approvals and checks come before the concrete truck.
Why the shed is bigger here
Regional Victorian blocks tend to be larger than suburban plots in the UK, and the shed does a lot of work. It holds the caravan, the boat, the ute (the Australian pickup), a workshop and whatever does not fit in the house. Kit sheds of 6 by 9 metres or larger are common, with roller doors high enough for a vehicle to drive in.
That changes the base completely. A paving-slab footing is fine for a lawnmower and some pots. A floor that carries a car, a loaded trailer and a steel portal frame resisting wind needs reinforced concrete, footings sized by an engineer, and ground that has been checked first.
Goldfields ground: old workings, fill and clay
Bendigo was built on gold mining, and the legacy is still in the ground. Parts of the city and surrounding areas sit over or near historic shafts, shallow workings and mullock (waste rock) heaps that were later levelled. Some blocks also carry uncontrolled fill from earlier building, and many areas have clay soils that swell when wet and shrink in dry summers.
None of that means a shed cannot be built. It means the slab design should follow a site classification, the soil rating used under the Australian standard for residential slabs and footings. A stable sandy or rocky site is treated very differently from a reactive clay site or one classed as a “problem” site because of fill or old workings. If a soil test shows soft spots or disturbed ground, the footings may need to go deeper, or be designed as piers down to natural ground.
It is worth asking the council or a local geotechnical firm whether the block is in an area with known mine workings before committing to a layout. Moving the shed a few metres is far cheaper than bridging over a void.
What the slab itself looks like
The shed supplier normally provides engineering drawings with the kit, and those drawings specify the slab. Typical features are:
| Element | What it does | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Slab thickness | Carries floor loads; thicker where vehicles or machinery park | That the drawn thickness suits how you will actually use the floor |
| Edge beams | Thickened perimeter that stiffens the slab and carries wall loads | Depth and reinforcement match the site classification |
| Pier or pad footings | Anchor the portal frame columns against uplift and settlement | Size and hold-down bolts as per the engineer, not “near enough” |
| Reinforcement mesh | Controls cracking | Mesh sits on bar chairs, not on the ground |
| Vapour barrier | Limits moisture rising through the slab | Laid unbroken and lapped at joins |
Ask whether the drawings were prepared for your site classification or for a generic one. A standard design may assume better ground than a Bendigo clay block offers. Falls away from the doors and a proper finish at the roller-door threshold stop rainwater running inside during the occasional heavy downpour.
For anything beyond a small garden shed, it is sensible to read through what established local trades say about soil, footings and permits, and many owners start with Bendigo concreters who regularly pour slabs on Goldfields ground and know which streets have reputations for awkward soil.
Permits in Victoria
In Victoria, a building permit is issued by a registered building surveyor, either at the council or in private practice. Small outbuildings below certain size and height limits can be exempt, but a large steel shed generally is not. The thresholds are set in the state building regulations and include floor area, height and distance from boundaries, so check the current figures with the council or a building surveyor rather than relying on a neighbour’s memory.
Separately, a planning permit may be needed if the block has a heritage overlay, which is common in older parts of Bendigo, or other overlays covering vegetation, flooding or bushfire. A shed in a heritage area can be refused or conditioned on colour, height and position. The planning check is the one British arrivals tend to miss, because the building permit feels like the main event.
Termites and the slab edge
Subterranean termites are active across much of Victoria, Bendigo included. A steel-framed shed is less exposed than a timber house, but termites happily eat stored timber, cardboard and anything wooden inside. If the shed is attached to the house, or has timber framing or linings, termite management may be required under the building rules and is wise either way.
Practical points: keep the slab edge exposed so termite trails can be seen, do not bank soil or garden beds up against it, and ask the concreter about physical barriers or treated zones around penetrations such as pipes. Your building surveyor will confirm whether a formal termite management system is part of the permit.
Questions readers ask
Can I lay the shed slab myself?
Owner-builders can do some work in Victoria, but large slabs are unforgiving and the permit still needs inspections. Most people pay a concreter for the pour even if they assemble the kit themselves.
How long should the slab cure before the shed goes up?
Concrete gains strength over weeks, not days. Follow the engineer’s or concreter’s advice, and avoid heavy vehicles on the floor until they say it is ready.
Do I need a soil test for a shed?
For a large shed with engineered footings, the building surveyor will usually expect a site classification. On Goldfields ground it is worth having even if nobody insists.