Help design my wood shed

[ThomWI]

I recently moved to the Milwaukee suburbs. The house has a wood burning stove, but no where to stack wood. The previous owner kept it all in the garage, but I'd rather keep the bugs and critters out of there. I want to build a wood shed, and I want to do it right. At my last place (also Wisconsin) I burned about a cord of oak a year. I'm thinking the shed should hold about 2 cords, if not more. I have decent carpentry skills, and a large yard with plenty of options for where to locate it.

Is there a "best" design? Best practices?

How many sides should it be open on? How do you keep driving rain/snow out?

I have a large spruce where the lower 15' of limbs have died off, I'm thinking of locating it under there. I realize that will drop sap on the roof. Is there any concern about bringing pests / disease to the tree by storing my splits there?

I'm thinking about getting some plastic pallets to keep the wood off the ground. They're cheap/common enough on craigslist and I figure I'll get more life out of them than wood. Also I won't have to deal with the rot of wood pallets in subsequent years. Will pallets invite too many creatures to move in? I'm mostly concerned about skunks.

I appreciate any insight, tips, links or plans that you provide!

 

[Doc C]

I built mine to hold 5 cords, has a shed roof. Also oriented north and south to take advantage of the wind that we get from north to help the wood dry. And also to take advantage of the sun in the summer to help dry the front row faster.

My wood shed will get me almost 3 years of wood storage which is nice because I spend one spring cutting wood and then I burn it for 3 years. It's nice and dry especially the last couple rows.

If you get snow then consider that when you build and allow for enough strength that you do not have to sweep the roof off. Also being under a tree the snow will fall off the links with some force.

Mine is under a big cedar tree and I love it being there.

I used 4x4 posts in soni tubes filled with concrete buried below our frost line.

Then just built off the 4x4 which if you know carpentry you understand how to do that part. I did not use any plywood sheathing just basically skip sheeting the roof for support with 2x4s and the put the metal roof right on top of that.

Also I believe in having all the sides open for air flow. And I used wood pallets. 3 years now and they still look fine.

 

[pernox]

I don't have a shed, so won't connect on that, but the best way to keep skunks out of your yard in the first place is to use Grub-Ex. They eat the grubs, and finding none in your yard, won't want to live there. Went through it at ror last house.

 

[CheapBassTurd]

I have a roadsid-found pickup truck cap that is now repurposed as a woodshed roof.
Supported on three sides with upended pallets. Two skids deep on the sides, open front,
and some old tent material keeping the sideways rainfall out. Cost: Zero dollars, and an hour labor.

This is why they call me the Cheapster. LOL

(PS with it being pretty high at 7 feet at the roof it holds 1-2 C.)

 

[beatlefan]

I have a roadsid-found pickup truck cap that is now repurposed as a woodshed roof.
Supported on three sides with upended pallets. Two skids deep on the sides, open front,
and some old tent material keeping the sideways rainfall out. Cost: Zero dollars, and an hour labor.

This is why they call me the Cheapster. LOL

(PS with it being pretty high at 7 feet at the roof it holds 1-2 C.)

Pictures please!

 

[SeanBB]

The link below should give you some ideas. You can always scale up the plans to suit your needs.

http://myoutdoorplans.com/shed/firewood-shed-plans/

 

[Jeffm1]

Here's mine. Maybe it will give you some ideas. You can always make it smaller if you don't need it that large.

 

[Dobish]

I have a roadsid-found pickup truck cap that is now repurposed as a woodshed roof.
Supported on three sides with upended pallets. Two skids deep on the sides, open front,
and some old tent material keeping the sideways rainfall out. Cost: Zero dollars, and an hour labor.

This is why they call me the Cheapster. LOL

(PS with it being pretty high at 7 feet at the roof it holds 1-2 C.)

I really should just do this with mine. I keep moving it around, and never put it on the truck! It was leaning against my 2 straight elm trees that were property markers, but they just came down, so the topper has nowhere to lean. I was hoping to have the tree guys leave the wood, but they enjoyed their new chipper a little too much

 

[Supersurvey]

This is my completed project. It holds two cords. All pressure treated 4Wx8Lx8H with 2 plastic pallets at the bottom. Cost was about $300,00 New Jersey prices. I enjoyed the project.

 

[Poindexter]

I upgraded from pallets on bare ground to a raised floor - tall enough for the cat to get under and keep pests away- with a layer of 6mil plastic between the joists and floor sheathing, mmm 3 years ago now i guess.

When we move ill deal with pallets on bare ground for the shortest possible amount of time before i rebuild what i have.

Beware pressure treated in contact with your splits if you stove has a catalytic combustor.

 

[mrdinks]

If you think you will burn a cord a year I would go bigger than a shed that holds 2.
Some wood needs 2 or 3 years drying time. I like to have one bay that I am taking out of, one bay I am filling and a couple in between.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[begreen]

A lot of wood needs 2 years to season completely. In Wisc. I'd build larger unless you have another staging area nearby for top-covered stacks to dry. Last winter was long, cold and wet. For the first time we went through a full side of the shed and we are in a milder climate zone. The shed should ventilate very well. Make the roof with decent overhangs and the rain will not be an issue. If possible, orient the shed so that the prevailing winds can blow through the stacks.

I'm not a carpenter, but our shed has held up fine for many years now. The only change I might make is a better floor. Palettes get old after awhile. This is a 6 cord shed, 3 cords per side.

 

[firefighterjake]

Is Fossil still around . . . I still think his woodshed is the best one I've seen.

 

[beatlefan]

The link below should give you some ideas. You can always scale up the plans to suit your needs.

http://myoutdoorplans.com/shed/firewood-shed-plans/

Thanks for the link SeanBB. What a great website for the do it yourself folks.

 

[CheapBassTurd]

Not pretty but there it is. (well hidden from public view from the road)

Then, a full shot of the splitting station and storage areas. This'll go to about Christmas 2018.
With all the scrounge of last year all of this was already on site in the form of stacked rounds.

Bring on the snow !! !! !!

PS. Sad that the tarp cost more than the redneck woodshed. LOLOL

 

[ThomWI]

Thanks everyone for the input, especially SeanBB! I've decided to build the plans here

http://myoutdoorplans.com/shed/woodshed-plans/

I'm modifying them a bit to avoid the need for the external horizontal braces. I'm going to be building two and storing them side by side, without the inner walls. That gives me modularity in case I need to move them or build more in the future. I'm hoping to begin the build next weekend, I'll make sure to post pictures when done.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Thanks everyone for the input, especially SeanBB! I've decided to build the plans here

http://myoutdoorplans.com/shed/woodshed-plans/

I'm modifying them a bit to avoid the need for the external horizontal braces. I'm going to be building two and storing them side by side, without the inner walls. That gives me modularity in case I need to move them or build more in the future. I'm hoping to begin the build next weekend, I'll make sure to post pictures when done.

That shed you picked dosent hold alot. Just over a cord. If you stack it to the gills its 1.25 cord max. The floor layout is wrong, your better off making a space for air to come up , so space out the boards three to four inches. Also the roof pitch is way to much. All you need is 3 inches from front to back. I would increase the lenth and height to fit more wood and use pressure treated 4×8 sheets on the back so it can be removed in the warmer weather and speed the drying process.

 

[begreen]

Agreed, except for the plywood back. I used lattice on mine for best ventilation. Slat boards could also be used. The rear roof overhang is enough so that the wood stays dry from the prevailing wind even during our rainy winters.

 

[Tegbert]

A lot of wood needs 2 years to season completely. In Wisc. I'd build larger unless you have another staging area nearby for top-covered stacks to dry. Last winter was long, cold and wet. For the first time we went through a full side of the shed and we are in a milder climate zone. The shed should ventilate very well. Make the roof with decent overhangs and the rain will not be an issue. If possible, orient the shed so that the prevailing winds can blow through the stacks.

I'm not a carpenter, but our shed has held up fine for many years now. The only change I might make is a better floor. Palettes get old after awhile. This is a 6 cord shed, 3 cords per side.
View attachment 199243

Is that where you just store your wood and season it somewhere else? or do you also let it season in the same spot and use it when ready?


Lopi Rockport

 

[begreen]

Is that where you just store your wood and season it somewhere else? or do you also let it season in the same spot and use it when ready?

Normally I season our hardwood separately, but the wood in the shed is both seasoned and seasoning wood. Our shed stores 3 cords per bay so I have wood on one side there is hardwood that is fully seasoned and in the other, soft wood that is seasoning. We have very dry, low humidity summers typically and we burn mostly doug fir. Split doug fir will dry in 6 months given good ventilation, so that goes into the shed on the other side in Mar/April.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Is that where you just store your wood and season it somewhere else? or do you also let it season in the same spot and use it when ready?


Lopi Rockport

This shed holds a little over 6 cords. I stack it and dry it in the same shed with out having to move the wood. The back of the shed is facing north hence the plywood in the fall winter and spring. Your prevailing winds are the same as mine

 

[Tegbert]

Normally I season our hardwood separately, but the wood in the shed is both seasoned and seasoning wood. Our shed stores 3 cords per bay so I have wood on one side there is hardwood that is fully seasoned and in the other, soft wood that is seasoning. We have very dry, low humidity summers typically and we burn mostly doug fir. Split doug fir will dry in 6 months given good ventilation, so that goes into the shed on the other side in Mar/April.

That's good to know I live north of you in north snohomish county. What is the size of your shed?

This shed holds a little over 6 cords. I stack it and dry it in the same shed with out having to move the wood. The back of the shed is facing north hence the plywood in the fall winter and spring. Your prevailing winds are the same as mine
View attachment 199534

Ok I'm in the process of figuring out where I'm going to build my woodshed but wanted to avoid having a drying stack and then moving it to a woodshed just wasn't sure if wood would season properly stacked in a shed or not. Plus I really don't have the space to have a drying stack and wood storage space. What are the dimensions for yours?



Lopi Rockport

 

[Woodsplitter67]

That's good to know I live north of you in north snohomish county. What is the size of your shed?



Ok I'm in the process of figuring out where I'm going to build my woodshed but wanted to avoid having a drying stack and then moving it to a woodshed just wasn't sure if wood would season properly stacked in a shed or not. Plus I really don't have the space to have a drying stack and wood storage space. What are the dimensions for yours?



Lopi Rockport

My shed is 4.5×30×7.5
Wx L x average height
I did a thread called ...my wood shed i think back in april it shows how its built and how i dry my wood in the shed. The front of the shed is facing south (summer winds) the back has a northern exposure. I get sun on both sides over the summer which is why i take off the plywood, it speeds the drying process. In the fall i put the wood back up because the prevailing winds switch to the North and the back of the shed gets hit with a lot of rain and snow. The wood will season faster when no rain, snow hits the wood.
Look up the thread let me know what you think I hope it helps..
John

 

[begreen]

hat's good to know I live north of you in north snohomish county. What is the size of your shed?

6 cords, 3 cords per bay. It's loaded and ready for winter now.

 

[ThomWI]

Thanks for the feedback, Woodsplitter67! I raised the height to 6' and pitched the roof to 10 degrees giving it 7" of rise. I'm building two of these side-by-side. I'll also be putting in gaps between all the floor and wall boards for air movement. Should hold about 3 cords total. I'll start the build tomorrow and post pictures once there's something worth seeing