Bryan Murphy — Rakaia

Bryan Murphy has worked with machinery all his life.

What started as a passing interest turned into serious collecting around 25 to 30 years ago, and in his later years it's become something more - “A proper hobby, the kind that gives you something to think through and keeps the grey matter going.”

For a long time, most of the collection sat in a shed in Christchurch. Bryan was making the trip up and down to check on it, day after day. Eventually the travelling wore thin, and he decided it was time to build a shed of his own - somewhere for the collection to be housed at home, in a shed worthy of its greatness.

Bryan's son had worked at Mitre 10 and recommended Alpine – “A good recommendation, as it turned out.”

From there, the whole process was simple.

"It was easy. The transition was easy. I mean, things just happened, and the consents came through. I think the council must be frightened of you because they come through pretty quick!"

This wasn't a shed built for size alone. Bryan knew exactly what it required.

 Clearspan Design.  With a collection that includes cars, trucks and tractors, Bryan needed room to move things around without obstruction. A clearspan layout meant nothing was in the way. 

 Timber Framing over Steel.  Bryan has had steel sheds before and moved away from them for a simple reason - the noise.

"The steel sheds, really, I went away from them because they [made] too much noise... the steel with the contraction and expansion of the heat, of the temperatures and that sort of thing, would drive you up the wall. This shed is quiet."

 A Build Crew That Delivered.  Bryan still talks about the day he arrived on site to horizontal southerly rain and found the Alpine crew up on the roof fixing mesh regardless.

"They worked in all sorts of weather. One day I came up here; it was an absolutely filthy day with horizontal southerly rain, and here's the two Zac's and Texas up there fixing mesh onto the roof. I couldn't believe that they were up here. They are an example that a lot of young people could go by.”

Bryan is straightforward about how he feels: The shed does everything he wants and was built by a faultless crew who worked through the worst weather to get the job done properly.

For Bryan, this was never just about storage. He has been collecting machinery for over 25 years. Every piece in his collection tells a story, so when it came time to build a shed, it wasn’t just about space. It was about protecting a legacy.

Solid, quiet, and built to last, this is a shed that finally gives his assets the protection they deserve.

"I'm very happy with the shed. It does everything I want... I'd highly recommend Alpine for any building you want to do."