Wood Shed Idea

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Typ0

Feeling the Heat
Dec 18, 2014
351
Central New York
I'm trying to figure out the most economical (ie. quickest) way to get some shelter up and want to run this by you guys see if it makes sense.

I'm going to build this:

http://www.pvcplans.com/ArchGrnHouse.pdf

only instead of it being right on the ground I'm going to bury 10 galvanized fence posts and the pvc pipe will set on top of the fence posts creating a greenhouse roof. I'm thinking 8' posts 3' in the ground. I can string 2 x 4 about 1' up making it all a unit and a run of pvc all the way around at the top of the fence posts. I'll cover it with the cheap plastic this year and see how that goes--there is a better material available for this construction:

http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/solexx-xp-per-linear-foot/polycarbonate-panels

but it's expensive.
 
8' Fence Posts 16 10 160
10' PVC 16 2 32
5 way ts 8 27 27
4 way ts 12 20 20
3 way ts 4 10 10
bags of cement 16 2 32
Straps 16 10 10
2 16' boards 2 10 20
311


I come up with $311 to build the structure at 15' x 16'. It doesn't include the covering I can put thick plastic over it. Pretty much every piece is easily replacable. I wish I could get 1/2' pipe to bury maybe I can use conduit or something. I have the arches designed to be 24" on center. That's a pretty big structure to throw a tarp over and it will be sturdy. My only fear is putting it in the wrong place!
 
I've gone with pallets on the ground (scrounged from local businesses) t-posts on the ends ($3.70 a Pop) and managed to find used metal roofing to put on top ($35 at auction) sloped to one side for drainage with a total cost of about $100. This covers about 6 cords with some metal to spare. I'll be springing for some more t-posts soon.
 
bfitz3 said:
I've gone with pallets on the ground (scrounged from local businesses) t-posts on the ends ($3.70 a Pop) and managed to find used metal roofing to put on top ($35 at auction) sloped to one side for drainage with a total cost of about $100. This covers about 6 cords with some metal to spare. I'll be springing for some more t-posts soon.
Click to expand...

I'd really like to do that off the side of my garage...but it would be below my garage roof and I'm concerned some snow is going to slip off the garage roof at some point and on the way down put too much weight on this structure...so I really have to invest a lot in making the roof right where I want it. I see you are in Michigan how does your thing hold up when there is a wet heavy pounding kinda snow? Do you have any pictures? I'm not really sure how you made the roof I guess ...
 
I pound the t-posts in the ground at the end of the pallets. Taking some care to stack the wood at a consistent height between them. I set the tin on the pile and weight it down with wood that is punky or knotty beyond belief (making staking annoying). The tin runs parallel to my stacks. The stacks are in the open, not under the eaves of a building.

Pallets, free.
T-posts, $3.70.
Tin... Even new, it's cheap when you realize it will last longer than you.

Also, the setup is flexible. If you make a structure, you won't have space after the tornado destroys your neighbor's woods.
 
How much wood do you have? Don't worry about the math. Cut. Split. Stack. Get it covered, keep it in the wind, and if possible, keep it in the sun. If you are running out of pallets, get more.

I probably have 20 pallets for my 6 cords. I stack in rows of pallets, two wide. This gives me three rows of 20" splits with about a foot between rows.
 
Typ0 said:
OK. What, roughly is the footprint of your thing? I'm thinking you are onto something here I want to understand better. I have four pallets out there now and I have to find more. How many do I need?
Click to expand...

I use three pallets for every cord. Two rows of 16 inch splits 4 feet high.

Technically I use 5 for every cord because I use pallets on the ends instead of posts.

IMG_0272.jpg
Three cord on the left has corrugated plastic/fiberglass panels on top to keep it relatively dry. They tend to blow away so there are skids on top to help stop that from happening.
IMG_0311.jpg

When I don't have a whole cord or no skids I'll use other methods.
IMG_0278.jpg
I prefer to top cover, but if I'm not using it this year it is easier not to.
 
Last edited:
That's pretty cool, my only problem with setup is that if we get a early season snow, you know what im talking about, the stuff falls, sticks, and sets up like concrete. I wouldn't want to take the chance with the pvc as load baring, but I might be discounting that thought and not realizing the benefits of working with pvc.
 
I haven't had much luck with PVC baking in the sun and maybe the temperature extremes/changes here.
Everything ( and not a lot of things) I've made has cracked and broke. Mostly in the Winter.
Does conduit have enough advantages to consider it ?
 
That is a concern of mine bill thank you for the feedback. I think the number one enemy of this greenhouse is going to be extreme cold that stuff is going to be brittle!

After this discussion I have decided not to proceed with this form of shelter at the moment. I will just be stacking piles in the yard on pallets and landscape timbers and covering them up with a tarp over the top but not down the sides.

as far as the conduit question goes if I understand you correctly no. The idea of the PVC is it's flexible and very cheap neither of which is true about steel conduit. The conduit can be bent though and that would be good.
 
Plastic pallets are the best for stacking on, if you can find some. No rot worries then. Wood ones can make for a heck of a mess once they start to rot & fall apart.
 
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