Maximize Your Shed Height Without A Permit

When you are building a shed on your property, the height of the shed should be something that you should be particular about. That’s because there are some jurisdictions that will require you to secure a building permit before you will be able to build a shed that’s taller than the allowable no-permit height. So, how can you maximize your shed height without the need to secure a permit to build one?

In some places, the max allowable height for a shed that doesn’t require a permit is 12 feet in most places in the US and 4 meters for dual-pitched roofs, and 3 meters for any other roof in the UK. As such, you should keep your shed within those parameters so that you can maximize its height.

While the first rule in maximizing a no-permit shed’s height is to make sure that you keep it within the allowable height, you should also know that there are other ways that you can use to make sure that your shed looks higher than it is even without getting a permit. This is what we are here to discuss.

Which shed height needs a permit?

When it comes to building a shed on your property, one of the things you might want to do is to try to maximize the size of the shed not only in terms of the area it covers but also when it comes to its height. That’s because taller sheds do look nicer than shorter ones.

On top of that, you can store more things and stack different tools, supplies, and equipment on top of one another when you have a taller shed.

But one of the things you need to keep in mind when it comes to your shed is that there are limits as to how high the shed can be when you are not intending on getting a planning or building permit for it.

So, if you were to exceed the limit, that means that you would have to secure a building permit for your shed. And doing so can take time and money.

Now that we have established that sheds do indeed need a permit depending on how tall the shed is, which shed height needs a permit? Knowing this information will make it easier for you to maximize the height of your shed without having to worry about securing a permit for it.

The maximum allowable height of a no-permit shed can depend on the place you are living in because different countries and states have their own rules and regulations in relation to sheds and their allowable height.

In most places in the United States, the maximum allowable height of a shed is 12 feet. This might change depending on the state you live in but most states have a law that limits shed height to 12 feet. Anything that’s higher than 12 feet would need to be built with a permit.

Of course, the height of the shed isn’t the only thing that matters when it comes to a permit because there are also states that require different criteria to be met if you don’t want to secure a permit for your shed.

Here are some of them:

• The maximum space covered by the shed should not exceed 120 square feet.
• The shed should only be one story.
• The shed should have a base that sits on a concrete slab or soil.
• The shed must not be built in an environmentally critical area.
• There are also other states that require a shed to have a permit if it has any electrical connection.

So, even if your shed is 12 feet or less but was not able to meet all of those criteria, then you should still get a permit for it. For example, if your shed is only 10 feet tall but it has an electrical connection or power outlets, then you still have to get a permit for it.

Meanwhile, in the UK, there are different rules that need to be followed in relation to how high a shed should be without the need for you to secure a permit or planning permission to build your shed.

The shed eave should not be more than 2.5 meters or approximately 8.2 feet high. However, the overall height (including the roof) should not be higher than 4 meters or 13.1 feet if you have a dual-pitched roof and 3 meters or 9.84 feet for any other roof.

Anything that’s more than 3 meters for roofs that are not dual-pitched requires a permit. And, overall, the maximum allowable height is about 4 meters especially if your shed has a dual-pitched roof.

On top of that, there are also certain factors that need to be met for you to totally disregard the need to get planning permission for your shed:

• The shed must only be a story high.
• The shed should not have any raised platforms, verandas, or balconies.
• The shed must not cover more than half of the area around the house.
• The shed must not be touching more than 15 meters of ground.
• You shouldn’t be constructing the shed in front of the walls which form the front of the house.
• You should only be using the shed for domestic purposes.
• The shed should not be made to be used for sleeping.
• You must not keep pigeons inside the shed.
• The shed should be built closer to the house than the public road.
• The shed must not be built in an area that may impinge on a conservation area.

So, similar to the United States sheds built in the UK should also conform to these requirements even if they may not exceed 3 meters in height. As such, if the shed is only 2.5 meters but has an area that covers more than half of the area surrounding the house, that means that planning permission needs to be acquired first before you can build the shed.

From what you can see, the height of the shed is only one of the few factors that need to be considered.

So, if you want to avoid having to get a permit, you also need to look at all of the different factors and considerations that have to be met. The shed’s height shouldn’t be your only focus in this matter.

How do you maximize the shed’s height without a permit?

At this point, you should already know the maximum allowable height of a shed that requires no permit to be built. As you may have already seen, there is more than just the shed’s height when it comes to whether or not it needs a permit.

However, if the shed’s height is your focus, then let’s look at some of the ways that you can use to maximize the shed’s height without the need to acquire a permit for it:

1. If possible, keep the shed at the maximum allowable height

If you live in the US, make sure that you design a shed that’s going to hit the 12-foot mark just right. Maximize the height allowed by the law without breaking the law. This will allow you to have a more spacious shed that is within the limits of what the law allows.

However, when you are factoring in the height of the shed, always consider the base and the other necessary structures that will add a few inches to its height. Sheds are usually built on bases that will keep the shed off the ground a few inches.

That means that you need to account for the base as well when you are designing a shed that just hits the maximum allowable shed height in your state or country.

2. Use a gravel base with thinner joists.

When you are designing a shed, the base is important because it keeps the shed off the ground while helping its overall stability. We recommend that you use a gravel base that uses thinner joists or frames. The gravel base allows your shed to sit closer to the ground because of how effective gravel is at draining away excess moisture.

And when you get it right, you can use joists or a frame that doesn’t need to sit higher off the ground so long as you know that the drainage system is doing its job right and is keeping your shed off the ground.

The purpose of this technique is to allow your shed to have a few more inches of height without including the height of the base to the shed’s overall height. 

3. Use hanging hooks inside the shed

If you have already built a shed that is within the limits provided by the law, one of the ways you can maximize the space inside the shed is by using hanging hooks. That’s because hanging hooks will allow you to put more things inside the shed without necessarily making the shed taller and more spacious.

Equipment and tools that are lighter can be hung on the hanging hooks. Meanwhile, heavier objects should be placed on the ground. By using these hooks, you will be able to maximize the dead space in your shed.

4. Use storage shelves

Using storage shelves can also save you a lot of floor space because you are now maximizing the vertical space in your shed. The more vertical space you occupy, the more things you can store on the shed’s floor.

The purpose of these storage shelves or boxes is for you to use them as the storage of your different tools and equipment.

After that, simply stack the boxes on top of one another inside the shed so you can maximize the shed’s height without increasing the structure’s height.

5. Downsize

One of the many things that we often see on TV when it comes to having a more organized house is to downsize. Try to look at the different things you store in your shed and make the right decision by getting rid of the ones that you know are no longer going to be useful for you.

The earlier your throw away useless things that are only going to take up space, the easier it will be for you to do the same later on as you go along.

So, by downsizing your things, you will be able to have more shed space for the things that really matter. 

6. Organize

Organizing your things goes hand in hand with downsizing. That’s because you still need to make sure that your things are organized even after getting rid of the older and useless junk that will no longer serve a purpose in your life.

When it comes to Organizing it requires the need to know where to put certain things and to group your different tools together so that it will be easier for you to store them in the shed.

Think of this as playing a game of Tetris wherein you need to know where one thing fits so that you will be able to properly maximize all of the available space you have in your shed.

7. Save yourself the trouble. Go get the permit

If none of the above-mentioned tips worked, the last thing you should consider is to save yourself the trouble of having to try to maximize the space that your shed has just so you could store more things in it. The easiest thing that you can do now is to go and get that permit.

Now, by getting a permit, you are now allowed to have more freedom in the design of your shed. You will not only have a shed that’s higher but you can also have a shed that has another floor or comes with more amenities.

So, if you were to weigh the pros and cons between a no-permit shed and a bigger shed, you might as well spend the time and money to get a bigger shed.

That way, you will save yourself a lot of time trying to cheat your way into thinking that you have more space in your tiny shed.

What is the best height for a shed?

Now that you are thinking of building a shed that has the right height for you regardless of whether or not you are going to get a permit for it, what is the best height for a shed?

Basically, there is no best height for a shed because the best height depends on what you are going to use the shed for.

If the shed is to be used for storing hay on farming land, then you might as well have to get a bigger shed that is more than 12 feet high so that you can stack the hay on top of one another.

Meanwhile, sheds that are supposed to be used only for domestic purposes such as for storing regular residential items such as tools and equipment can be somewhere between 8 to 12 feet high. Unless you have plenty of things to store in the shed, there is no need for you to get a shed that is more than 12 feet high.

In most cases, standard shed walls are bout 8 ½ feet tall. Adding the roof would make the total height somewhere between 10 to 12 feet. But you want to make sure that you have enough headroom in the shed in case you are a bit tall.

This is why you might want to get a shed that’s closer to 12 feet in terms of its height.

However, if you are going to be getting a planning permit for your shed because you need to go against the criteria of a no-permit shed, then you might as well go for a shed that stands taller than 12 feet because you are going to get a permit for it anyway.

What is the average height of a shed?

The average height of a common shed depends on the design.

That’s because there are standard designs that some people tend to follow when they hire a shed builder to do the job for them. What the builders do is that they mostly show their designs so that the client can just easily choose a shed design that best fits their preference.

In most cases, shed builders have shed designs that are at least 8 x 8 feet. This means that the shed should be about 8 feet tall. However, some shed designs do have heights that can stretch up to 12 feet.

Most of the time, the difference in terms of standard shed heights is two feet. That means that the increments are 8, 10, and 12 feet.

So, because most of the standard shed designs max out at 12 feet high, even builders know for a fact that some people who want to build sheds on their properties no longer want to go through the lengthy process of having to secure a permit for building a shed.