Question about location of woodshed

Yarzy said:

Well, after reading the boards and realizing I need to do something, I have decided to build a simple wood shed. My one question for everyone is, can I put this shed up against my house? My fear is the rodents, etc. problems with it being close. Is the rodent problem due to the wood being up against the house, or the wood close to the house? Is the barrier of a wood shed enough to curb that concern?

Thanks!

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A wood shed will NOT keep the critters out of the wood. Wood stacks make good safe homes for mice and such...and the closer you put prime real estate to your house, the more likely you are to have mice in your house. Will you definately get mice in the house...probably not a sure thing. Do you increase your chances of getting mice in the house...yes.

Not the best idea. Placement of a woodshed seems to be key. As close as possible for a cold winter's day and far enough as to not invite unwanted guests.

Sometimes you don't have a choice. My wood storage area is under my deck because my backyard backs into a steep ravine. I have limited space that is available for wood storage. I just make sure that there aren't any entry points where critters can get into the house. The wood is on pallets and there is a clear corrugated roof is keeping the rain off.

I haven't noticed any increased activity since storing wood close to the house. The ravine is all wooded and critters have been trying to get into the house long before the wood was stored there.

My shed is 13' from the front porch. I've found snake skin, snakes, and evidence of mice nests. Lots of chipmunk activity. Lots of spiders and skeeters seem to love it in there.
The proximity to the house is nice in the winter when all I have to do is step off the porch a few ft. to get firewood.

Yarzy said:

Yeah, that is what I was thinking as well. I would love to put it somewhere that would allow me not to get all suited up to get wood. I guess I will have to get creative on how this will all play out.

Here is a question. I know farther is best, but how far is "far enough" that I may actually have a chance of not inviting rodents into my house? Are we talking 10 feet or 100 feet?

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IMO the only thing to consider for woodshed placement convenient ingress and egress.

A few reasons I stack wood away from the house-

Fire danger
Rodents
Ants
Termites

Rodents will get into your home if they want to . . . regardless of where the woodshed is located. That said, stacks of wood and wood in a woodshed will tend to be quite attractive to these wee critters as these places tend to have many nooks and crannies which are perfect for building a nest which will be dry and out of sight of predators.

Me . . . I don't worry too much about critters . . . or bugs for that matter. My woodshed is located 20-30 feet from my back porch . . . mainly because I was able to use some existing concrete footers and it helps block out my neighbor (even though I like him). I find a few mice nests . . . but haven't noticed any uptick with mice in my home . . . of course having four cats may have something to do with that.

setting a few traps around will help lessen the number of mice.

One more thing to keep into consideration is local code! In our township the buildings are supposed to be not closer than 8' from adjacent structures. That would include a wood shed. But you could probably get away with it anyway.

Definitely the rodents and insects are the main consideration. I don't mind hauling wood to the porch every so often in winter and then we don't have to worry about insects as long as it is cold.