# Looking for help designing wood shed



## CT-Mike (Dec 13, 2008)

So I am looking to build a wood shed in the spring so that I don't have to fight tarps and the wind. I am looking to build a shed that will hold 10 cords and allow enough room for air movement. I also am thinking of having canvas tarps that can be unrolled and snapped in place on the 4 sides during really heavy rains. I am looking to have this rectangular in shape rather than square. 

Please provide input, and pics would be great.

Thanks,

Mike


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## LLigetfa (Dec 13, 2008)

My woodshed is 10' x 20' with a 4/12 gable metal roof and 9 feet inside to the collar ties.  It is a pole shed with no walls and has a concrete slab floor.

If I were to do it again:
I would not build a pole shed because the frost is jacking the poles.
I would build it with wall studs so that I can lean the wood against it and not have to cross-pile the ends of the rows.
I would build it twice as long and half as deep with a simple shed roof.
I would compartmentalize it with partition walls every 10 feet to simplify rotating and restocking of inventory.
I would raise the floor for better air flow and not build it as tall.

If I didn't have SWMBO who cares about the looks, I would just buy a double-wide metal carport shelter and erect it on a slab.  Then I'd put in partition poles to compartmentalize it.


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## Gooserider (Dec 15, 2008)

I've posted about the way I built my woodshed several times, you should be able to find it with the search...  It's minimalist design that holds about 6 cords, I would have liked a bit larger, but this fits the space I had, and more importantly used the standard sized lumber and so forth that Home Despot sells - minimal cutting and little or no waste wood left over...

The two end walls I made using stockade fence panels - 6'h x 8'w, relatively cheap, less than plywood, look decent, and are quite strong.  The sides are open with tarps I can roll down, but I only do so in the winter, as IMHO the small amount of rain I get on the wood in the summer is not a problem, and I want as much ventilation through the piles as I can...  I don't want snow on the wood that I'll be burning however so the tarps roll down in the winter to keep the snow from drifting into it.

Gooserider


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## crs7200 (Dec 15, 2008)

For $800 plus tax, you can buy a TNT Carport that is 21' x 12'.  These are NOT the cheap carports that fold up in a storm or hard wind.  They are VERY sturdy.  The man that sells them in my area has had the same one set up for over 6 years.  It has seen some MAJOR snow storms and extreme winds and it is still standing and not a mark on it.  He purposly DOES NOT clean the roof in the winter to show the strength.  Now, I wouldn't recommend that, but it is good for advertising.   I can't take credit for the idea. My buddy had one installed 3 years ago and when I saw how well it worked, I bought one.  

I know what you mean about the tarps and the snow.   My first 2 years I fought with that all winter.  Not fun at all.  This year I just go out and grab the wood and throw it in the stove.  

I enclosed mine with sides, except fot the back.  There are doors in the front and side that open to allow for air circulation while drying.  

I don't knowhow much you want to spend, but if you add up the cost of lumber and any roof supplys you have to buy, this may be a good choice for you.

Mine is 18' x 21' and here's a few pics.


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## Bubbavh (Dec 15, 2008)

Go with the metal carport if you can!  Will save you a lot of time and effort!


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## raybonz (Dec 15, 2008)

CT-Mike said:
			
		

> So I am looking to build a wood shed in the spring so that I don't have to fight tarps and the wind. I am looking to build a shed that will hold 10 cords and allow enough room for air movement. I also am thinking of having canvas tarps that can be unrolled and snapped in place on the 4 sides during really heavy rains. I am looking to have this rectangular in shape rather than square.
> 
> Please provide input, and pics would be great.
> 
> ...



Mine is posted here too just search the forums by subject or username etc..

Ray


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## Ken45 (Dec 17, 2008)

LLigetfa said:
			
		

> I would not build a pole shed because the frost is jacking the poles.



You probably didn't put the poles deep enough.  They should be below the frost line.  That's about the only way they build barns around here anymore.

But I agree with the carport idea.  I had one put up last spring.  Sure a lot quicker (1 hour and 40 minutes) and easier (installer did it) and probably less costly than any stick built approach.

Ken


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## LLigetfa (Dec 17, 2008)

Ken45 said:
			
		

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Actually, they are below the frost line.  What happens is that the poles have parallel sides and a rough-sawed texture.  The frost can grab the sides and jack it.  A common practice is to wrap the post with multiple turns of poly so that it's too slippery to grab.


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## gzecc (Dec 17, 2008)

Look for someone removing an old deck. Usually they are just splintered but structually sound. I have gotten a lot of free wood that way.


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## raybonz (Dec 17, 2008)

gzecc said:
			
		

> Look for someone removing an old deck. Usually they are just splintered but structually sound. I have gotten a lot of free wood that way.



My old deck is the base for my wood shelter.. I built the deck over 20 yrs. ago and replaced it.. Saved the old deck and put it to good use..

Ray


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## GaryS (Dec 18, 2008)

I've been leaning toward one of those carports.  Would you really need to box in the sides?  If so, I think I would just run more metal roofing down one long side and face that west.


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## Ken45 (Dec 18, 2008)

GaryS said:
			
		

> I've been leaning toward one of those carports.  Would you really need to box in the sides?  If so, I think I would just run more metal roofing down one long side and face that west.



That's all they do when they put sides (or ends) on them.

I do not have sides on mine at all.  I've debated maybe putting some plywood on the sides that can be removed during the summer, but so far I haven't done anything like that.

Ken


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## Gooserider (Dec 19, 2008)

Ken45 said:
			
		

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Remember that you are only really trying to keep the rain and snow off the top of the wood - there is NO real reason or advantage to walling in the sides.  You will get maximum drying by leaving it as open as possible, except perhaps in the winter when you might want to keep snow from blowing in on the piles.  What I do with my shed (which isn't a carport, but that doesn't really matter) is have tarps attached to the top edge of the roof, that I keep rolled up most of the year.  During snow season I unroll them and let them hang - if they blow around too much I just tie a couple of splits to the bottom.  (I use the high-grade Silver tarps from HF - more durable than the blue cheapies, and look better as well.)

The only walls or other structure that I'd put into the shed is just what I needed to hold the wood stacks up - I don't like doing the square stack approach, it seems to me like it wastes space and is hard to keep the stacks going straight up and stable for more than 4-5' - plus it takes longer to stack because you need to be fussy about it.  In my woodshed I have made end walls and a center divider and simply stack in rows, floor to ceiling between the walls and the divider - I end up w/ 10 stacks, each 18" wide, just under 8' long, between 6 and 7 feet tall, depending on the roof slope.  One of the minor downsides of a carport design is that, at least for the ones I've seen, the uprights aren't substantial enough to handle any sideloads to hold up stacks - all they are good for is holding up the roof.

What I would do is the same technique I use for my overflow stacks - drive lengths of pipe into the ground and stack my rows between them - when the rows get to be about 4' tall, or the pipes start to bow out, tie a stout rope between the pipes, as level as possible, and keep on stacking on top of the rope.  The weight of the rounds tightens the rope and holds everything together.  I now have 4 overflow stacks - w/ about 4' of pipe sticking out of the ground, each stack is about 4'6" tall at the ends, and heaps up to about 6' high in the center, by about 11' long (a function of the pallets I was using) - I'm guessing about 2/3-3/4 of a cord per stack...

Gooserider


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## fossil (Dec 19, 2008)

I kinda went over the top with mine.  It needed to look pretty nice, as it sits very close to my house, and is in full view when you drive up to the front door.  It's built off the ground, like a deck, and all the deck and siding boards have generous spacing between them for good air circulation.  The face you see in the pic is the east side.  Even with three solid rows of stacked wood in there, I can see the sun peeking through between splits in the evening as it sets.  Our weather comes generally from the west and we often have sideways blowing snow (like we did today).  This shed will hold nearly 8 cords (theoretically), more practically about 6 1/2 or so.  Space under roof for splitting or whatever.  I have a good deal more wood elsewhere on the property, most of it uncovered, for future years.  (If I'd taken a pic of the shed today, you'd see it in a winter wonderland).  Rick


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## free75degrees (Dec 19, 2008)

fossil, that's one of the nicest looking wood sheds i've ever seen.  Just seeing that will serve as inspiration on how I'll want my shed to look.


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## raybonz (Dec 19, 2008)

fossil said:
			
		

> I kinda went over the top with mine.  It needed to look pretty nice, as it sits very close to my house, and is in full view when you drive up to the front door.  It's built off the ground, like a deck, and all the deck and siding boards have generous spacing between them for good air circulation.  The face you see in the pic is the east side.  Even with three solid rows of stacked wood in there, I can see the sun peeking through between splits in the evening as it sets.  Our weather comes generally from the west and we often have sideways blowing snow (like we did today).  This shed will hold nearly 8 cords (theoretically), more practically about 6 1/2 or so.  Space under roof for splitting or whatever.  I have a good deal more wood elsewhere on the property, most of it uncovered, for future years.  (If I'd taken a pic of the shed today, you'd see it in a winter wonderland).  Rick



Great looking well built shed Rick!!

Ray


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## crs7200 (Dec 19, 2008)

GaryS said:
			
		

> I've been leaning toward one of those carports.  Would you really need to box in the sides?  If so, I think I would just run more metal roofing down one long side and face that west.



I know that you don't HAVE to keep the snow of the sides or from blowing into the wood.  

BuT  Go outside in a downpour or snowstorm, or after the snow or rain has been blown in by driving winds that we get up here in Northern NY.  

Much , much easier to open a door, walk inside where there isn't any snow, and grab some wood to put in the stove.  No snow to clear off, or wet wood from the rain.  

As far as the sides that I put on.  I almost got the sides from the company, but this was cheaper and I had the time to do it.  I was thinking about just hanging tarps for the winter, but this way, I have extra storage space for anything else I want to put in there.


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## JSJAC (Dec 20, 2008)

Here are a couple pics of my new wood shed. It is 14 feet by 20 feet and 8.5 feet high on the inside.Hope the pics worked first try.


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## raybonz (Dec 20, 2008)

crs7300 said:
			
		

> For $800 plus tax, you can buy a TNT Carport that is 21' x 12'.  These are NOT the cheap carports that fold up in a storm or hard wind.  They are VERY sturdy.  The man that sells them in my area has had the same one set up for over 6 years.  It has seen some MAJOR snow storms and extreme winds and it is still standing and not a mark on it.  He purposly DOES NOT clean the roof in the winter to show the strength.  Now, I wouldn't recommend that, but it is good for advertising.   I can't take credit for the idea. My buddy had one installed 3 years ago and when I saw how well it worked, I bought one.
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> I know what you mean about the tarps and the snow.   My first 2 years I fought with that all winter.  Not fun at all.  This year I just go out and grab the wood and throw it in the stove.
> 
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Real nice woodshed you created from a carport... I did price them online and they go for about $1000 installed around here.. Is yours certified? I noticed some are and some are not.. Lumber is very expensive and my shelter set me back about $1000 and that was built on my old deck.. 
How much did it cost you to enclose the sides?


Ray


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## crs7200 (Dec 20, 2008)

Yhe difference between certified and non- certified is 12 gauge or 14 gauge.  Not a huge difference.  Mine is not.

I had some lumber left over from an old deck also and I  used that for the framing on the front.  The rest cost me apoox,$120


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## JSJAC (Dec 20, 2008)

I will try to get the pics up again.


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## raybonz (Dec 20, 2008)

crs7300 said:
			
		

> Yhe difference between certified and non- certified is 12 gauge or 14 gauge.  Not a huge difference.  Mine is not.
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> I had some lumber left over from an old deck also and I  used that for the framing on the front.  The rest cost me apoox,$120



Hi Bart,
I'd say you got the most bang for the buck on that shelter  plus it looks good.. One more question, how did you anchor the shelter to the ground.. We can get high winds in this area and that's a concern..

Ray


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## crs7200 (Dec 21, 2008)

My shelter is anchored to the ground with 3 foot long steel rods (4 rods per side)  that are included in the price of the shelter.  You can have them use mobile home anchors but it cost more.  I don't know how much more, but more.


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## raybonz (Dec 21, 2008)

crs7300 said:
			
		

> My shelter is anchored to the ground with 3 foot long steel rods (4 rods per side)  that are included in the price of the shelter.  You can have them use mobile home anchors but it cost more.  I don't know how much more, but more.



One more question, who manufactured that shelter?

Thanx,
Ray


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## Gooserider (Dec 22, 2008)

JSJAC said:
			
		

> Here are a couple pics of my new wood shed. It is 14 feet by 20 feet and 8.5 feet high on the inside.Hope the pics worked first try.



They didn't...  Try reading the sticky at the top of every area on how to prepare pictures for uploading - it covers most of the common things that cause people to have problems....

Gooserider


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## LLigetfa (Dec 25, 2008)

If you go with the metal carport and want to close it in at times yet still be able to open it, there are several options.  If you look at how they do it on greenhouses, they just lift the skirt.  I haven't been able to find tyvek house wrap that isn't printed with some trade names on it, but if that doesn't bother you, you could use it and maybe turn it inside out.  I would drive in a bunch of T-bar fence posts just inside the vertical supports with enough of a gap between them to roll up the tyvek.  That way the tyvek is trapped between the supports and the posts when there isn't a wood stack there.  

If you choose to use plywood, run two long horizontal strips, hinged at the top so they open like awnings.  That way you can open them up a bit and still have protection from a sudden rain.  The triangular gable end top sections I would hinge on the bottom and open inward.  Doors I would put in the center of both gable ends and I'd keep a center aisle open for access and for air, stacking the wood the same direction as the ridgeline.


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## JSJAC (Dec 29, 2008)

Here is my new wood shed 14 by 20 and 7-8 feet inside .


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## raybonz (Dec 29, 2008)

JSJAC said:
			
		

> Here is my new wood shed 14 by 20 and 7-8 feet inside .



Very nice job designing and building your wood shed! It looks great! The money spent building it is offset by the aggravation of blown off and ripped tarps and wet firewood...


Ray


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## JSJAC (Dec 29, 2008)

last winter I spent sooo much time moving snow off of the wood piles. We had over 10 feet of snow. We also had a metal roof put on the house so I do not have to shovel the roof again


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## crs7200 (Dec 29, 2008)

raybonz said:
			
		

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T-N-T Carport   here's the link.   http://www.t-n-tcarports.com/


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## bsruther (Dec 30, 2008)

That is a great looking wood shed. Very nice work.


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## aandabooks (Dec 30, 2008)

8x24-8' at front sloping to 6' in the back.  10.5 cords if full to the rafters.  $353 total cost w/green steel roof.  Would have been cheaper if ashphalt roof would have been used.


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## raybonz (Dec 30, 2008)

aandabooks said:
			
		

> 8x24-8' at front sloping to 6' in the back.  10.5 cords if full to the rafters.  $353 total cost w/green steel roof.  Would have been cheaper if ashphalt roof would have been used.



Very nice shelter! Do you have any problem with sway in the wind? I did something similar and had to brace the daylights out of it to get rid of the sway.. Been holding good so far but it cost me triple what yours cost.. Maybe because my rafters are 2x8x16' ? So far I am satisfied with mine..

great job!

Ray


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## aandabooks (Dec 31, 2008)

Haven't seen any sway at all.  2x6 10' rafters with every 4th lagged to the 4x4.  Rafters are all tied together with 6 runs of 2x4s.  The posts are all 2 feet deep in concrete.  I've watched it during a couple of windstorms, the big one a few months back with wind over 70 mph, and I can't detect any movement.  When I finished it I thought that looks like a big wing just waiting to catch some wind.


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## raybonz (Jan 1, 2009)

aandabooks said:
			
		

> Haven't seen any sway at all.  2x6 10' rafters with every 4th lagged to the 4x4.  Rafters are all tied together with 6 runs of 2x4s.  The posts are all 2 feet deep in concrete.  I've watched it during a couple of windstorms, the big one a few months back with wind over 70 mph, and I can't detect any movement.  When I finished it I thought that looks like a big wing just waiting to catch some wind.



Sounds sturdy to me.. I also added hurricane ties which were inexpensive to the 2x6 rafters because of the "huge wing" look you mentioned lol.. Once you have the shelter you wonder how you ever managed your firewood before.. 

Great Job!

Ray


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## LLigetfa (Jan 1, 2009)

aandabooks said:
			
		

> $353 total cost w/green steel roof.


You should have spent a couple more bucks and built some overhang on the two sides or at least set the posts under the roof.  The wood on the end has its ass hanging out.


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## raybonz (Jan 1, 2009)

aandabooks said:
			
		

> Haven't seen any sway at all.  2x6 10' rafters with every 4th lagged to the 4x4.  Rafters are all tied together with 6 runs of 2x4s.  The posts are all 2 feet deep in concrete.  I've watched it during a couple of windstorms, the big one a few months back with wind over 70 mph, and I can't detect any movement.  When I finished it I thought that looks like a big wing just waiting to catch some wind.



Here is the link to my shelter if you haven't seen it:

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/25866/

Ray


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## LLigetfa (Jan 1, 2009)

raybonz said:
			
		

> Here is the link to my shelter...


Looks like your stacking technique was a little schizoid like mine was before I realized you need to plan ahead for stock rotation.  Now I lay it up so that I can stack the year-after-next wood without blocking access to next year's wood.  Kinda like not painting yourself into a corner.


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## raybonz (Jan 1, 2009)

LLigetfa said:
			
		

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What happened was I built the shelter with all that wood already in place.. Made the job harder to do as I had to sledge hammer some of the wood back so I could mount the posts and braces.. Would have been much easier with an empty floor! What I am doing is using the wood front to back so I can reload in the spring the opposite way.. I can access the wood from both front and back so it should work out OK.. I may close in the sides and just tarp the front and back so I get good airflow.. The location gets loads of wind front to back so it seasons reall well..

Ray


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## Gooserider (Jan 2, 2009)

What I used on my shelter, that worked great for end walls, was a pair of 6'H x 8' L stockade fence panels...  Put them up inside the other framing with the crossbeams on the outside, and they look OK, - not great but tolerable - and they give a nice solid wall that you can lean stacks against if you want, (though mine are bulging a bit w/ 5 rows against them) 

This was also about as low cost a wall as I could find, I think the panels were on the order of $35 each - slightly less than a sheet of 3/4" exterior plywood, which was my original plan....

Gooserider


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## aandabooks (Jan 2, 2009)

LLigetfa said:
			
		

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I should have sacrificed some of the 24' length from 4x4 to 4x4 and put the posts on the inside of the rafters.  The steel comes in 3' wide pieces.  24' is a perfect 8 sheets.  The steel for the roof was about half of what I put into it.  A design flaw but since I plan to add another 16 feet worth of shed to that side in the coming year I'll correct for it then.

What is now seen in the pictures is the 25' x 6' x 4' row of unsplit rounds that I still have sitting outside.  That is what the more shed will be for and so that I can have three years worth of wood at any one time under cover.


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## raybonz (Jan 2, 2009)

Gooserider said:
			
		

> What I used on my shelter, that worked great for end walls, was a pair of 6'H x 8' L stockade fence panels...  Put them up inside the other framing with the crossbeams on the outside, and they look OK, - not great but tolerable - and they give a nice solid wall that you can lean stacks against if you want, (though mine are bulging a bit w/ 5 rows against them)
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> Gooserider



I like that idea Gooserider! Not too expensive and easy to install... Thanx for the input on this.. Did you buy them at Lowes or HD? I would imagine pine would work ok for this and probably cheaper..

Ray


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## Gooserider (Jan 2, 2009)

raybonz said:
			
		

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I got them at Home Despot - where we live, it's a bit harder to get to a Slowes, otherwise I think both places carry them, and have about the same quality...  I'm pretty sure the ones I got were pine, which ever they were, they were the lower of the two price alternatives, and were not pressure treated.

Gooserider


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## ecrane99 (Jan 3, 2009)

This shelter keeps me dry when loading and holds 2 weeks of wood.


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## raybonz (Jan 3, 2009)

Nice beefy looking wood shelter you built there!

Ray


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## Der Fuirmeister (Jan 4, 2009)

I was able to get some free scrap 2 inch schedule 40 pipe which I plan to weld together similar to a good friend's wood shed I worked on years ago.  It'll have a large opening in front so I can back a trailer full of wood in (or a tractor loader bucket).  It'll be sized so that I'll have two years worth of wood (12 full cords).  6 cords on each side.  The pipe is galvanized...... no rust termites or insects.  Sloped roof joists and plywood roof sheathing with metal roofing on top (free - left over after a storm blew down my barn).  It will not blow over in anything short of a tornado (I've been through that before).  There are removeable pipes front and back which will support the wood making it easier to get at the wood from both sides.  And so I won't need to cross stack the ends.  I have enough steel sheet so I could add siding.  If I do that I'll and hang it so it's removable so it can be covered before winter.  I suppose you could put it on concrete, but I plan on a crushed limestone base (easier / cheaper).  No need to worry about frost... it will float on the stone and be held down by the wood.

The shed is planned for next year and I have all the materials.  I really liked the one my friend had.  It was very easy to work out of and I believe in the old moto.....if it works, don't fix it.

Unless another tornado comes along it should last longer than I will.........


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