Wood Shed Design

[VTHC]

I'm reconsidering my wood shed design...
As it stands now i have a 8x10' footprint shed coming off the side of my garage with an open front. It sort of looks like an Adirondack Lean-to, with the back wall consisting of the garage wall and a straight shed roof sloping towards the open front (open soffits between rafter tails) . Ideally i would have left the side walls open, but the wife vetoed that design.

Currently I am stacking my wood East/West in relation to the front opening (so all the end grain is facing you when you look in the opening). To maximize seasoning would it be prudent for me to cut vents on the side walls (like soffit vents) to get more wind/air circulating through my stacks? Or would it be better to stack the wood North/South with a little bit of space between each row (with or without vents on the sidewalls). I normally season my wood stacked in the open (field near where we cut/split) and then haul/stack it in the shed in the fall, but wouldn't mind getting a little more seasoned.

Would the added venting be worth the effort? Or would existing shed with different stacking configuration be better (for next season)?

Thanks for the input!

 

[zzr7ky]

Hi -

I'm in a similar situation, but use one side of my Garage. I like more verting. I find with Ash, Cherry or Silver maple it slows drying moving it inside to early.

On the other hand Oak takes so long to season I don't think I would move it up to the house until it's dry. Once it it's not getting any wetter.

I'd lean toward venting at the top and bottom of the walls.

ATB,
Mike

 

[skyline]

Besides doing my own testing, I have been checking this site for a while looking for best shed designs to minimize dry time.
Even though most say it has been beaten to death, I haven't found the much as far as best principals and good plan designs.
It would be nice if all the best ideas were summarized into a sticky as I'm sure many would appreciate it.

In any case, from what I have found, my suggestions are to maximize air flow in any way you can, from open walls, (maybe 2 of 3 in your case), vents, to ceiling fans to a solar powered fan, anything to help get the air moving. Ideally you want the air to flow through your stacks. The same principal as kilns, only instead of controlled drying with high RH to prevent cracking and checking, you want to do it as fast as you can, the more cracks the better!
If your shed roof has decent slope, you can put vents at the top to get convection going even when it's still no matter the season. Being next to the garage should add plenty of heat for convection, it doesn't take much.

Also minimize water input in the area. Most everyone mentions getting your wood off the ground (pallets, blocks, etc.) but few mention putting down a vapor barrier (plastic sheeting) just like in a house crawl space.
Anything you can do to lower the RH makes a big difference. Make sure any gutters and downspouts aren't adding water close by.

For my sidewall, I'm using an old trampoline cover. It appears solid black and looks ok, blocks the wind blown rain/snow but lets the air come in. If I can't find some more free dead trampoline covers on Craigs list,
I'll use road cloth/fabric for my next shed. It's a lot tougher than any tarp and breaths.

Instead of a moisture meter I have a kitchen scale (weighs in grams) that I'm using to weigh pieces from my piles. I find it very accurate and much more consistent than a moisture meter and it tells me how much and how quickly my wood is losing moisture.
For example, it's winter here and wet and the RH is high. I split a fresh cut round of fir yesterday and weighed it. After 24 hrs it
went from 4.631g to 4.499g (a loss of 2.85% moisture in 24 hours, that is with a fan on the pile) I still have to collect the data from another piece of the same round away from the fan. I'll pass it on if you're interested.

I would appreciate hearing any other ideas as well.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I'm reconsidering my wood shed design...
As it stands now i have a 8x10' footprint shed coming off the side of my garage with an open front. It sort of looks like an Adirondack Lean-to, with the back wall consisting of the garage wall and a straight shed roof sloping towards the open front (open soffits between rafter tails) . Ideally i would have left the side walls open, but the wife vetoed that design.

Currently I am stacking my wood East/West in relation to the front opening (so all the end grain is facing you when you look in the opening). To maximize seasoning would it be prudent for me to cut vents on the side walls (like soffit vents) to get more wind/air circulating through my stacks? Or would it be better to stack the wood North/South with a little bit of space between each row (with or without vents on the sidewalls). I normally season my wood stacked in the open (field near where we cut/split) and then haul/stack it in the shed in the fall, but wouldn't mind getting a little more seasoned.

Would the added venting be worth the effort? Or would existing shed with different stacking configuration be better (for next season)?

Thanks for the input!

IMO, no.

Is your wood not drying to your satisfaction?

 

[FLINT]

I think you are golden. I have the exact same situation as you - woodshed lean-to on the end of my shop. and like you i split and stack it the year before and leave it outside drying stacked between trees for about a year and then move it into the shed during a nice long dry week in the fall so i know its good and dry.

i think by the time it gets into the shed its pretty much as dry as it needs to be, and as long as your wood isn't green, its not going to mold in the shed and it will probably continue to dry some even without tons of air flow.

i've had no problem anyways, and i live in a super damp mountain hollow.

 

[savageactor7]

Ideally i would have left the side walls open, but the wife vetoed that design.
hummm I dunno...the whole idea is to let the air freely circulate around the wood. Also having the back and side opened will make wood rotation/loading/unloading a lot easier too. You have to have another sit down and decide whether she wants a storage shed or a wood shed.

 

[SolarAndWood]

hummm I dunno...the whole idea is to let the air freely circulate around the wood. Also having the back and side opened will make wood rotation/loading/unloading a lot easier too.

I'm in complete agreement with that thinking.

 

[dolmen]

I read most of all these type of posts and I'm seeing that there are very different needs depending on where you are. Having said that, firewood needs to be dry, so for me being in a wet climate I need my firewood to dry / season and not get rained on. A nice airy shed, slatted sides and an iron roof would be great ... I have a row of game fowl fly pens that might get called into use if the need arises.

Last winter I left my split timber out side the sheds, within throwing distance, and as I walked by the piles all summer I threw the best of the dried wood into the sheds, worked great ... but this year I plan to split and build on pallets, cover the tops to shed the rains and move into the woodshed in the Autumn/ Fall.

Each of us will find what works for us, but thanks to this forum I've found ways that are better than I used to have ... I still need a few bits and bobs, money is holding me back, but drying the wood is crucial and having enough for the whole season equally so.

Cheers

;-)

 

[Tony H]

What about side walls of slated lumber or lattice panels ? To keep out critters you could staple up 1/4 wire mesh we used this setup with lattice to skirt around our deck and it worked great and looks nice.

 

[Dune]

I was wondering if you could notch the sidewall studs at an angle so you could install claboards with a big space between them, but from a distance it would llok solid. I actualy thought of this as a way to stop rain from entering while still having good airflow.

 

[chachdave]

I built mine against garage too. I went 4 feet by 20. It holds the same amount of wood as 8x10. I have 3 rows of 8feet in between the 3 rows going to garage wall. I also left a 4 inch gap between woodshed roof and garage wall for airflow. I have red oak that was split last march that is burning without any sizzle. I have burned the 2 front rows and working on the 2nd rows. Every split is well seasoned I have pulled splits out of the 3rd row and they are just as dry as the front row splits.

Here are some pics from framing to finish. Hope it helps. Ill never go back to tarps.

 

[bogydave]

IMHO the gold standard of wood sheds
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/47926/

Check with your insurance & fire/building codes before building one hooked to your house.
It's OK in Alaska but my insurance Co said they may "up" my rate due to fire hazard issues.
Some area fire codes are restrictive & may void fire insurance claims.
Prudent to : Call the fire marshall & get their take.
They love this stuff, justifies their job & they get to meet folks in their area.

 

[VTHC]

Ideally i would have left the side walls open, but the wife vetoed that design.
hummm I dunno...the whole idea is to let the air freely circulate around the wood. Also having the back and side opened will make wood rotation/loading/unloading a lot easier too. You have to have another sit down and decide whether she wants a storage shed or a wood shed.

I'm in agreement with you Savage... and if we lived out in the country more, we would have a better set-up. Unfortunately, we are in-town with a small city lot. We are trying to balance the fact that we are wood burners and want an aesthetic back yard in order to maximize the space (swing-set for the little one, etc.). The set-up has worked fairly well, but I will admit it could be better - as you mentioned with rotation/loading/unloading. I cut/split/season my wood off site on my buddy's farm, and then haul it to my house in the fall after a nice dry spell. Usually my wood inventory is depleted enough where rotation isn't much of a problem (sometimes i have to re-stack maybe 1/4-1/2 cord).
I haven't had any issues with mold or critters... so maybe I will just leave well enough alone for the time being. If i come across some cheap venting options I will install it this summer when the shed is empty.