Wood Shed Advice

[ChuckTSI]

I put 10 inches of stone down and I still get weeds, best solution I found is to spray weed killer in the spring.

If you didn't put landscape fabric down before placing the stone, you will most likely still get more weeds than if you did. ever watch a plant push through paved driveway? It's amazing.

 

[weatherguy]

If you didn't put landscape fabric down before placing the stone, you will most likely still get more weeds than if you did. ever watch a plant push through paved driveway? It's amazing.

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I've used landscape fabric and still got weeds. Some will grow on a rock, spraying seems to be the best way.

 

[BIGChrisNH]

Nice looking shed. I would say forget about keeping the stone clean as others above have said, but if you want to try I'd go for black landscaping fabric.

 

[Chas0218]

I've been meaning to build a new wood shed and managed to get good start on it this summer. It's seems simple enough, but hard to find the time to dedicate to it.

I'm regretting the direction I went as, although it's cost me almost nothing using reclaimed and salvaged materials, it's been a lot of work figuring it out as I went (I'm a lot more used to conventional structures/building methods) and I'm not certain I'll be happy with it rustic nature in the end. I just think it would have been much easier and nicer in the end to just pour a slab and build a conventional structure.

Regardless, I'm committed now and my main concern moving forward is what I will do with the floor. As it was built in a bit of a hollow that portions of my yard slope to, I build up the base a foot or so with clear stone to facilitate drainage. I DON'T want to pile wood on a raw stone base though and am not sure what to do with it.


I have access to hardwood pallets and had considered that with plywood over top (I have a stack of reclaimed pressure treated plywood) but I'm concerned about critters making themselves at home in the space that would create. I've also thought about laying the plywood on 2x4 sleepers on their side to minimize the space underneath it, but I think I'll still have the same problem. I've considered just laying the plywood on the stone? One thing I've considered is adding crushed stone/GA over top of the clear stone to add a more compacted/less permeable layer? Clear stone is a pain to drive on, walk, etc as it stays "loose".

Whatever I do, I'll probably keep 1/3 or so of the shed with a raw stone base as I will just be parking my wood trailer there (and misc storage).


I'll be finishing the walls with 1x10 rough cut pine. I haven't decided yet how much of a gap I'll leave between them (considering only a 1/4" and whatever it opens up to after the wood dries out) and/or if I'll do battens to cover the gaps (probably not). The front openings will be roll up steel barrel doors to keep the weather out in the winter but they will spent the drying season open. I plan on putting two 3'x8' flip up doors on the back wall to let the air run through the shed during the drying season as well.


I will actually putting in another lien of poles about 6-8' off the back and extend the roof line to give me extra storage/misc parking space, but I'm thinking that will have to wait until next year now.

Tin will hopefully be showing up this week for the roof.

I appreciate any advice on the floor....

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Looks good. Did you put any plastic under the gravel? If not I would be inclined to put some down then pallets on top the moisture will make its way into bottom layers of wood and the pallets. Eventually the pallets will rot leaving behind nails, really the only down side to using pallets. Also around the edges add about 2 feet of hardware cloth along the bottom from your bottom board into the ground. This will help keep critters from digging out your stone and making homes. You doing metal on the sides? If you are make sure you get the rat guards to keep them mice from getting in on the raised edge of the seam, I think they also call it J channel or something similar.

 

[MissMac]

There's a member here that I jokingly refer to as the clean rock guy, anytime he's messing with his stacks he lays a tarp down to catch the debris.

i can't deny that i too had tarps down when i was processing my wood earlier this summer - killed the weeds in my driveway, and saved about 3 full garbage cans of chainsaw shavings from being pressed into the stones forever, not to mention all the #@!* bark that falls off the Pj...

 

[Longknife]

Well, it's more or less finished for this year. I'm still waiting on a friend to come over and help me install the roll up doors. The fascia on the side doesn't look finished at the back end as I've decide Id'm going to put in another line of poles next year to hold another beam to extend the rafters out some more. I won't enclose that extension of the roof, just something to park trailers, etc. under. Also kind of why I only finished the back side in PT plywood and not the rough cut pine (plus the fact I put two 3x8 horizontal doors in that I will open during the warmer months to help get the breeze through the wood). No one ever really sees the backside anyway, especially once the foliage grows back in. I may do battens over the spaces between the boards, but probably not.


Waiting to get the doors in before I actually put most of this year's wood in to. It's sitting on covered hay wagons, so no rush. I id put a few cord in. I decide on laying out a few old tarps (like the ones in the openings) on the stone before putting the hardwood pallets down. Not really the long term model, but I'm think now that I got the building up and it doesn't look half bad, it wouldn't cost that much to throw down 3 inches or so of cement. We'll see.


Also hoping to a cedar log on an angle at the center of each section acting as faux supports for the front roof section. That may be a next year thing too if the snow covers up my cedar log pile to the point I don't feel like digging through it too badly.

 

[Sodbuster]

Well, it's more or less finished for this year. I'm still waiting on a friend to come over and help me install the roll up doors. The fascia on the side doesn't look finished at the back end as I've decide Id'm going to put in another line of poles next year to hold another beam to extend the rafters out some more. I won't enclose that extension of the roof, just something to park trailers, etc. under. Also kind of why I only finished the back side in PT plywood and not the rough cut pine (plus the fact I put two 3x8 horizontal doors in that I will open during the warmer months to help get the breeze through the wood). No one ever really sees the backside anyway, especially once the foliage grows back in. I may do battens over the spaces between the boards, but probably not.


Waiting to get the doors in before I actually put most of this year's wood in to. It's sitting on covered hay wagons, so no rush. I id put a few cord in. I decide on laying out a few old tarps (like the ones in the openings) on the stone before putting the hardwood pallets down. Not really the long term model, but I'm think now that I got the building up and it doesn't look half bad, it wouldn't cost that much to throw down 3 inches or so of cement. We'll see.


Also hoping to a cedar log on an angle at the center of each section acting as faux supports for the front roof section. That may be a next year thing too if the snow covers up my cedar log pile to the point I don't feel like digging through it too badly.

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I'd leave those roll up doors open 99% of the time maybe only close them for inclement weather. I have a two stall detached garage with a concrete floor, that I used to store wood in, ran into a huge mold problem, firewood needs to breath and is always off putting moisture.

 

[Longknife]

I'd leave those roll up doors open 99% of the time maybe only close them for inclement weather. I have a two stall detached garage with a concrete floor, that I used to store wood in, ran into a huge mold problem, firewood needs to breath and is always off putting moisture.

I imagine they be mostly open, but given that the walls should breath half-decent, and the two large openings I put on the backside, I'm hoping Ican keep them closed if the visual isn't to my liking (it's basically right beside my house as you pull in).

You can see the back openings here. They will swing up into the underside of the rafters once their extended.

 

[Sodbuster]

Those back doors are a smart idea, just wanted to offer my experience, in hopes others wouldn't suffer the same problem as me.

 

[Longknife]

Those back doors are a smart idea, just wanted to offer my experience, in hopes others wouldn't suffer the same problem as me.

It is something I will be keeping my eye on for sure. Part of the motivation to build this was to handle the wood less and get enough in there that it has 2 summers to season. I'm not convinced an oak or maple will season in there in 2 seasons though and I'm kind of resigned that I'll still have wood drying in piles and on hay wagons out in the wind and sun before moving it in. We'll see.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

It is something I will be keeping my eye on for sure. Part of the motivation to build this was to handle the wood less and get enough in there that it has 2 summers to season. I'm not convinced an oak or maple will season in there in 2 seasons though and I'm kind of resigned that I'll still have wood drying in piles and on hay wagons out in the wind and sun before moving it in. We'll see.

Your going to be fine. If your shed is oriented properly and you get your summer winds through there they will dry.. my splits are 18in in lenth. I have multiple rows and havent had any issues seasoning in my shed, so much so i now have 3.. .. 90% of my wood is oak.. your in good shape

 

[EODMSgt]

I've been using this shed for about eight years and just put the bottom layer of wood right on the 3/4 stone. I did put the black landscaping paper down and have about 10 inches of stone for the base. I get one or two weeds in the spring at the front but otherwise I have never had an issue and can throw the bottom layer right in the stove with no issues. Once a bay has been emptied, I use a leaf blower to get rid of debris.

I went with this roof style instead of the usual saltbox so I can access the wood from both the front and the back. That really cuts down on having to rotate stacks at the end of the burning season.

 

[EODMSgt]

How are you guys unloading this type of shed with a roughly square footprint? It seems that the driest wood (curing longest) will be at the back of the shed, rather than the front. You want first-in, first-out, right? Do you rotate front-to-back, or are you unloading an entire winter's worth of wood each year? My stacks are two-rows wide out in the open and I write the date I filled it in marker so I know which stack is the oldest when it's time to bring in wood.

I guess it depends on how your shed is built. I built mine so I could access it from the front and the back so I wouldn't have to rotate stacks at the end of the season. If a bay still has wood in it at the end of the season. I just remember (or mark) where the seasoned wood ends and fill the bay up again with green wood. I can then access the seasoned wood from the opposite side.

 

[Longknife]

Got it closed in with the doors for the winter. I definitely like having the option of closing it up tight in the winter and the roll ups don't take up much space. They were new,old stock and I had too improvise some hardware, but not bad for $200. A few coats of tremclad in the spring should make them match.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Got it closed in with the doors for the winter. I definitely like having the option of closing it up tight in the winter and the roll ups don't take up much space. They were new,old stock and I had too improvise some hardware, but not bad for $200. A few coats of tremclad in the spring should make them match.

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Looks good you should be proud..

 

[Simonkenton]

Got it closed in with the doors for the winter. I definitely like having the option of closing it up tight in the winter and the roll ups don't take up much space. They were new,old stock and I had too improvise some hardware, but not bad for $200. A few coats of tremclad in the spring should make them match.

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This shed needs to be up off the ground, so that wind can blow beneath the wood floor and dry the place out.

Too late for this advice. Maybe someone else will learn.

 

[Longknife]

Looks good you should be proud..

Thanks.

I'm pretty critical of some of the mistakes I made and as said previously, I probably would have gone another route, but I'm fairly happy with the end result that was cobbled together from (mostly) reclaimed and spare materials.

 

[Longknife]

This shed needs to be up off the ground, so that wind can blow beneath the wood floor and dry the place out.

Too late for this advice. Maybe someone else will learn.

I doesn't have a wood floor and I'm not certain I would ever build a shed that would need have an elevated floor system. It might be "optimal" from a wood drying perspective, but there's too many drawbacks from my perspective.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Thanks.

I'm pretty critical of some of the mistakes I made and as said previously, I probably would have gone another route, but I'm fairly happy with the end result that was cobbled together from (mostly) reclaimed and spare materials.

Im with you on the part of .. i could have done this different or i wish i would have built it that way. Eventually I will redo my sheds. I had to move one last year.. which took a beating... to position the green house my son wanted. My neighbor just finished his and i had him over a number of times and showed him what i would do different, and helped with the design of his. This is how we learn.. do it.. improve on it the next time.. your first one is a success

 

[Simonkenton]

Here is my woodshed. What is difficult about framing in a floor? No harder than framing the walls.
Ground is moist so you need a vapor barrier or your wood will pick up moisture from the earth.

My woodshed has a 1 1/2 inch thick wooden floor. Moisture evaporates from the wood and goes in to the air of the woodshed, and is then absorbed into the floor and evaporates through the floor.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

This shed needs to be up off the ground, so that wind can blow beneath the wood floor and dry the place out.

Too late for this advice. Maybe someone else will learn.

This shed dose not need to be elevated his shed will be completely open with the doors both front and back there will be no drying issues in the shed whatsoever

 

[MAD MARK]

Who the hell wants steps carrying wood.

Some places cant be avoided (basements) but this isn't one of them.

 

[MissMac]

Got it closed in with the doors for the winter. I definitely like having the option of closing it up tight in the winter and the roll ups don't take up much space. They were new,old stock and I had too improvise some hardware, but not bad for $200. A few coats of tremclad in the spring should make them match.

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That is a good looking shed right there. Well done!

 

[Longknife]

View attachment 236109

Here is my woodshed. What is difficult about framing in a floor? No harder than framing the walls.
Ground is moist so you need a vapor barrier or your wood will pick up moisture from the earth.

My woodshed has a 1 1/2 inch thick wooden floor. Moisture evaporates from the wood and goes in to the air of the woodshed, and is then absorbed into the floor and evaporates through the floor.

How difficult is it to frame a floor? In my circumstances, far more trouble than it's worth. I have approx. 12' x 22' feet of floor space which would require a significant investment in both lumber(for the beams, joists and decking), and time and effort to then build it. In the end, what do I gain? Aside from time and money, I would actually lose a lot of the utility of the shed as far as ease of use for wood and the ability to easily use it for things other than wood storage (I currently have my dump trailer and wood splitter parked in there until such time I build the extension and/or I require all the space for wood). I currently have over a foot of clear stone between the wood and the earth, plus the pallets which will aid in air flow. I have tarps under the pallets, but they are more to keep the stone clean than a moisture barrier. I'm fairly certain that I will pour cement next summer since (as suggested by someone earlier), I essentially have it ready to pour cement with a base a forms. A 3" pour of self-mixed cement will not be that costly.

 

[wooduser]

From reading this thread I'd say that ALL of you guys deserve to be awarded the Paul Bunyan Medal for heroic woodsmanship! Lots of terrific ideas, all of which seem to involve a lot of WORK!