No more the humble shed

Early this year long established company AllGal Garages changed its name, to reflect the changing types of structures it is supplying to an increasingly diverse customer base from Victoria to North Queensland.

The shed – in various forms from garage to barn to basic weekender –  is changing in character and undergoing a surge of popularity, thanks to innovators such as the newly named AllGal Residential + Rural.

The company offers a wide range of designs, generally clad in roofing and walling profiles from BlueScope Lysaght and with steel framing produced at a manufacturing centre at Tomago in the NSW Hunter Valley.

Over the years it has introduced styles such as the mansard roof barn which have been popular with customers and soon copied by competitors.

Now company general manager Mark Travis has identified a new niche product which is appealing to so-called “tree changers” and others wanting to erect something a little different for occasional accommodation on their hobby farm or weekend bolthole.

“We’ve used Lysaght Building Products since we were established in 1990,” Mark Travis said. “The strength, light weight and low maintenance requirements of claddings such as LYSAGHT CUSTOM ORB® and LYSAGHT TRIMDEK®  were the initial attraction, especially when garages and basic sheds were our most popular products.

“Now we’re entering new territory, with customers looking for something just a little bit better than a box, even if it is a well engineered and very durable box.

“Our designers introduced sprung curved CUSTOM ORB® roof designs to take us further away from the boxy look and they have been very well received. We are getting enquiries from all over Australia. The roofs are just as easy to clad as a pitched roof, they are light in weight and durability just isn’t an issue.”

Customers attracted to the designs have suggested their own variations. In the last year the company has also seen an increase in demand for elevated and two storey designs, instead of the traditional slab on ground formula.

“We’ve tried to innovate and our designers certainly like to be challenged,” Mark Travis said. “Our experience has been that every time we produce a new design and put it on our website (www.allgal.com.au) a customer will request the same thing  or come up with something even more interesting.

“That’s not a problem for us because of the flexibility of factory manufacture of major components combined with fixing on site for the CUSTOM ORB® cladding.

“Lightweight roofing and walling is a bonus when you are building something which may have to be transported hundreds of kilometres.

“Owners also like the option of a building where the cladding sheets can be fixed vertically or horizontally just to provide a little more variety. We haven’t yet had a request to fix it on the diagonal, but I’m sure that will come.”  

BlueScope Lysaght’s Cardiff branch has supplied  AllGal Residential + Rural with CUSTOM ORB® and TRIMDEK®  cladding as well as rainwater goods and flashing used on the majority of the nearly 6,000 structures it has built over the years.

“It is an arrangement which gives us flexibility because BlueScope Lysaght has branches all over the country,” Mark Travis explained.

“If we are delivering fabricated frames to a property at Mount Tamborine in the Gold Coast hinterland then we can order through Cardiff, but have the cladding we need delivered from  Brisbane for instance.“

AllGal Residential + Rural recently found its reputation for innovation and efficient use of steel cladding put to use in another area outside its normal field when it designed and constructed four large curved awnings at schools in the Newcastle region.

“The awnings are just the latest examples of what can be achieved when you use a classic profile such as CUSTOM ORB® and curve it over an engineered frame,” Mark Travis said. “It’s the same principle we are using for some of our accommodation units.

The curved cladding for the awnings was fixed to LYSAGHT TOPSPAN® 120 light gauge purlins, which were in turn fixed to CEE purlins specially curved by BlueScope Lysaght to AllGal specifications.  

BlueScope Lysaght is a leading supplier of steel building products, with a product range including roofing and walling, rainwater goods, fences, home improvements, structural sections and house framing. It exclusively uses premium steel products such as COLORBOND® steel, ZINCALUME® steel and GALVASPAN® steel.

For further information on these products call your local BlueScope Lysaght branch or 1800 641 417.

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LYSAGHT®, CUSTOM ORB® TRIMDEK®, ZINCALUME®, COLORBOND® and BlueScope® are registered trademarks of BlueScope Steel Limited, ABN 16 000 011 058.

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Captions:

Allgal 1 –  Sprung curved CUSTOM ORB® roof designs are taking AllGal Residential + Rural further away from the boxy look for sheds and occasional accomodation.

Allgal 2 – One of the curved awnings which incorporate C purlins specially curved by BlueScope Lysaght.