Fence framing design with Colorbond workshop beside

[raymondo]

I am erecting a 7 metre Corrugated iron fence. But I am also constructing a Colorbond workshop beside it. I want the rear wall of the shed, to be 4.5 meters of the fence. 

I'm aware of where railings  would normally go for the fence, but wondering how to modify the design, so that the top railing, doubles as the support for the shed roof. 

Is this a realistic idea. Just trying save on doubling up on walls.  Looking for ideas...

Shed backing onto the fence

It will look something like this. 

[MitchellMc]

Hi @raymondo,

My first thought on your proposed idea is that the manufacturer designs Colorbond fences to support their own weight and endure a typical life as a fence. Straying from their designed purpose would be at your own risk. Our suppliers don't even recommend adding extensions over 450mm to the top of them, so they wouldn't be able to recommend their use in this project. They are also not designed to bear the weight of your roof. The top railing of a Colorbond fence is a capping to finish the fence panel off. It doesn't have any weight-bearing characteristics.

Theoretically, if your shed is free-standing and supported by its own posts, structure and three walls, then a Colorbond fence could be used as a rear wall.

Were you going to use a manufactured Colourbond fence, or are you constructing your own out of corrugated sheeting, posts and rails? If you are building this fence yourself and you design it appropriately, I can't see why you couldn't use the fence as the back wall of your shed. That all comes down to what you're building the fence out of and how you can connect the shed to it. We'd likely need a few more details to provide specific design solutions.

If this is a property line fence, it'd be best to first discuss your plans with the council. I'd suspect building a structure that close/on the property line will have its own set of complications. 

Let me mention @TedBear, @Noyade and @JDE to see if there have any thoughts.

Mitchell

[TedBear]

I agree 100% with @MitchellMc . The proposal could have regrettable outcomes, including the council making you move it. On top that there is the  wind loading issue. They can struggle to cope with strong winds, so having an extra long wall (ie the fence) catching extra wind wouldn't help.  I seriously think that any possible benefit of using the fence as a wall would be lost by the potential pitfalls.

[raymondo]

Haven't been able to get back to you sooner.

I was remis in not making it clearer that I am building this from scratch. I am not using a prefab shed kit. Simply because I don't believe it would stand up to our southerly winds.

If anything, I would prefer to use plain old fashioned corrugated steel. 

So I'm sure there is a way of designing the back wall of the shed to be the fence. 

I live in a rural farming area, and proximity to the boundary is not a problem.  The fence is actually not on the boundary. It's a wind break fence.

Hope this clarifies my project. 

ray

[MitchellMc]

Hi @raymondo,

Thanks for clarifying that for us. Since you're constructing this shed from scratch, we'll need to know exactly what materials you will use and what the fence is made of to provide any advice. At a basic level, you're looking to transfer the shed's roof weight down into the fence posts via the top rail. Secondarily, the fence posts need to be suitable to withstand the additional stress the shed structure will put on them.

If you're not able to envisage how to integrate the fence and the shed, then I suggest it would be better to construct a self-supporting shed that is butted up against the fence. You can then connect the shed to the fence using it as the back wall, but the shed is still its own structure. You'd likely need to install four posts for the shed, one in each corner. These posts will bear the weight of the roof, not the fence.

Mitchell