New woodshed concept

[Ashful]

I've been toying with an idea I've had no time to act on, but I think this winter the time may come. I've been watching most folks here talk about stacking wood outdoors for two years or more, then moving it into their wood shed the year before they burn it. I understand the advantage of this, as that second move helps to shake out the leaves and dirt, and any critters that are living in the pile, as well as re-orient the wood to help dry any spots that were not getting air in the original pile. However, I wonder if there's a better way.

I'm imagining a system of shed roofs covering all of my stacks, constructed in long rows of 32 or 40 feet x 4 feet wide, supported on posts driven into the ground on 8' spacings. Under these roofs I could continue to stack my wood on pallets, as I have been.

The wood will be covered on top by the roofs, but open on the sides for drying. It can be stacked there when split, and not touched again until I move it up to the porch in the fall of the year I burn it. No moving from outdoor stacks, to shed for one year, and then finally to the porch. Also, no big shed or ugly outdoor stacks to look at, as these could be tastefully done with raised seam metal roofing in attractive stained timberframe structures.

Thoughts? Improvements? Criticism?

 

[gzecc]

Could definetely work. You could put them on hinges to fold up and out of the way when re or unloading. Its a lot of work, but should save work in the long run.

 

[basod]

I've contemplated the same idea.
I'd rather go 12' on centers for the posts and build 3 bays.
Figure that way I could stack ~6' tall and have ~ 2.5cords per bay.
Each bay gets to season 3yrs and then refill

 

[jebatty]

Great idea, so good I have been doing this for more than 20 years. Goal is handling or re-handling wood as little as possible. Keep at it.

 

[WhitePine]

I built something similar once, but not for firewood storage. It was a covered outdoor work area in Florida.

Start your design by finding a source of roof panels. Determine what lengths and widths are available and the required overlap for those you are considering. With that information in hand, you can determine a roof footprint. You will want it to overlap the support poles to some degree on all sides, but especially at the front. Don't forget to allow for the slope in your calculations. Once you have done that, you can design the support structure.

Roof panels are available in standard lengths and can be cut to order, but that usually isn't economical for small jobs. 8 foot is a common standard. There are others. Ondura panels available at some Lowes stores are 6' 7" and are what I used on my Florida project.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_12747-1115-158_0__?productId=3010607&Ntt=ondura&pl=1&currentURL=?Ntt=ondura&facetInfo=

I added vinyl a gutter to the front of my shelter. It didn't add much in the way of cost and allowed me to direct the rainwater away from the structure. If I build a similar firewood shed, which is something I am considering, I will include the gutter to prevent an erosion line across the front of the structure.

 

[Jack Straw]

I have built a similar wood rack. It's not the best pic, but you should be able to see it in the background.

 

[swagler85]

You would use a lot more material that way, compared to a more conventional design

 

[Ashful]

You would use a lot more material that way, compared to a more conventional design

Yep... the incremental difference in material cost is no concern, though. Time to build is my bigger concern, which is why I'm figuring on just sinking posts in holes, then packed with crushed stone as the support for the roofs, and then stacking on pallets under that roof. I like WhitePine's idea of some prefab panel, although for cosmetics, I was thinking raised seam or even cedar shake.

I like your setup Jack Straw!

Got any photos of your setup jebatty?

One additional idea I had was to make one of these many bays enclosed, for storing a log splitter and tools. I hate storing that stuff in my barn, where it eats precious space.

Thanks!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I've been toying with an idea I've had no time to act on, but I think this winter the time may come. I've been watching most folks here talk about stacking wood outdoors for two years or more, then moving it into their wood shed the year before they burn it. I understand the advantage of this, as that second move helps to shake out the leaves and dirt, and any critters that are living in the pile, as well as re-orient the wood to help dry any spots that were not getting air in the original pile. However, I wonder if there's a better way.

I'm imagining a system of shed roofs covering all of my stacks, constructed in long rows of 32 or 40 feet x 4 feet wide, supported on posts driven into the ground on 8' spacings. Under these roofs I could continue to stack my wood on pallets, as I have been.

The wood will be covered on top by the roofs, but open on the sides for drying. It can be stacked there when split, and not touched again until I move it up to the porch in the fall of the year I burn it. No moving from outdoor stacks, to shed for one year, and then finally to the porch. Also, no big shed or ugly outdoor stacks to look at, as these could be tastefully done with raised seam metal roofing in attractive stained timberframe structures.

Thoughts? Improvements? Criticism?

Joful, it is a good idea and I'm sure you will make more adjustments before building. Better to spend extra time preparing before the build than to wish you had done something different after it is up. Be sure too that you are okay to stack the 4' wide. We do that but for sure our wood will be in the stack for many years before burning. If you need the wood in one or even 2 years, you might want to reconsider that 4' width.

Also, the advantages you listed have absolutely nothing to do with why we dry our wood outdoors. And as far as shaking the dirt and leaves out, it won't matter a whole lot. Shoot, after splitting and while stacking, I shake the crap off the wood. Then when moving to the barn, I shake the crap out of the wood. Then it gets moved to the porch and finally the stove. There is still stuff on the wood when we put it into the stove and there is also usually a little mess that has to be cleaned where we laid the wood on the heart while loading the stove. Anyway, your idea is basically good.

 

[bogydave]

Did mine with similar idea. (wood port)
3 each, 16' sections, (48' long wood shed)
8' wide so I get 5 rows of 17" splits
Each section is a years supply (6+ cord each section)

I expanded the idea. Now have 1 year of outside seasoned wood ready to go & fill the section emptied thru burn season.
1 year outside & 2 years in the shed. Almost got ahead enough to have all sections full come Aug 2013.

Needing 5-1/2 to 7 cords per year depending n the winter & be 2 years ahead, a 4' wide shed for me would be several hundred feet long.
The 4-1/2 feet tall X 70' long double rows is enough for just about 1 years burn season.

Would be nice to have a roof over the 70' double row seasoning stacks too
Something like you are planning.