- Oct 3, 2007
- 1,539
Now that I've got something like eight cords scattered in various parts of the yard, it's time to build a serious wood shed. Some of you may remember this one that served me well for three winters:
![[Hearth.com] New wood shed planned...](/talk/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi25.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fc68%2FBadfish740%2FNew004.jpg&hash=57099f146ff81fdca7ea5c0c24b98cfe "[Hearth.com] New wood shed planned...")
However, it started to fall apart after that, but I learned a few things:
1. Woodsheds don't need floors beyond gravel and pallets set directly on top. The weight of the wood turned my pallet floor into a topsy-turvy mess by the second year.
2. Pallets really aren't a great long term construction material.
3. In my town, accessory structures that are less than 100SF don't need any permits or approvals, and can be set back as little as 5' off of the property line.
Thus, I came up with this design:
![[Hearth.com] New wood shed planned...](/talk/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi25.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fc68%2FBadfish740%2FWoodshed_zpsd574ed07.jpg&hash=dc44b944c0438340f69b2c7c314aca61 "[Hearth.com] New wood shed planned...")
I wanted to come up with the most simple, cheap, sturdy design I could that would be within the 100SF limitation. The plan is to sink four 6 x 6 x 10 posts in the ground about 36" deep with 12" x 12" concrete pavers sitting on a 4" layer of gravel serving as footings. After that, two plywood box beams will be constructed to span 15'-9" between the front and rear posts so as to have a clear span. For some reason I can't seem to link to the PDF I found from the APA on construction and span tables, but I was able to attach the PDF here. In the document I was able to find a 12" deep beam constructed of 1/2" plywood webs and four 2 x 4 x 16 flanges (two top, two bottom) that will span 16' and carry 212lbs/ft. Snow load for my area is 30lbs/psf (I figured on 35 to be safe), so with a dead load of 10lbs/psf, + snow load of 35lbs/psf + the weight of the beam at 9lbs/psf, my beams will each see a total load of 201lbs/psf. Here's a great link on beam and header sizing and the calculations (not that complicated really) required to figure all of this out:
http://bct.eco.umass.edu/publications/by-title/calculating-loads-on-headers-and-beams/
This may seem like a lot of work for a building that merely needs to shelter wood from rain and snow, but my thinking is this. I don't have a large piece of property, so I'd rather build something that's not going to sag, settle, etc...after a few years like my other one did. This one should stay visually pleasing to the eye for years to come. Not sure when I'll start on it, but I figured I'd throw the idea out there in case anyone else is so inclined.
However, it started to fall apart after that, but I learned a few things:
1. Woodsheds don't need floors beyond gravel and pallets set directly on top. The weight of the wood turned my pallet floor into a topsy-turvy mess by the second year.
2. Pallets really aren't a great long term construction material.
3. In my town, accessory structures that are less than 100SF don't need any permits or approvals, and can be set back as little as 5' off of the property line.
Thus, I came up with this design:
I wanted to come up with the most simple, cheap, sturdy design I could that would be within the 100SF limitation. The plan is to sink four 6 x 6 x 10 posts in the ground about 36" deep with 12" x 12" concrete pavers sitting on a 4" layer of gravel serving as footings. After that, two plywood box beams will be constructed to span 15'-9" between the front and rear posts so as to have a clear span. For some reason I can't seem to link to the PDF I found from the APA on construction and span tables, but I was able to attach the PDF here. In the document I was able to find a 12" deep beam constructed of 1/2" plywood webs and four 2 x 4 x 16 flanges (two top, two bottom) that will span 16' and carry 212lbs/ft. Snow load for my area is 30lbs/psf (I figured on 35 to be safe), so with a dead load of 10lbs/psf, + snow load of 35lbs/psf + the weight of the beam at 9lbs/psf, my beams will each see a total load of 201lbs/psf. Here's a great link on beam and header sizing and the calculations (not that complicated really) required to figure all of this out:
http://bct.eco.umass.edu/publications/by-title/calculating-loads-on-headers-and-beams/
This may seem like a lot of work for a building that merely needs to shelter wood from rain and snow, but my thinking is this. I don't have a large piece of property, so I'd rather build something that's not going to sag, settle, etc...after a few years like my other one did. This one should stay visually pleasing to the eye for years to come. Not sure when I'll start on it, but I figured I'd throw the idea out there in case anyone else is so inclined.
