Best Shed for Very Wet Humid Climate

[JulesinAK]

I live in Southeast Alaska and am looking to build a wood shed. Currently, wood is stored under tarps and that is just not working. Wood is still wet and even frozen through in some cases. We bring wood into the garage to stack and dry but even with a fan on it it takes forever. I have seen some really nice examples of sheds on here but am wondering what will work best in our situation? Should it have wall or slats for walls so air can get through> Thanks! Jules

 

[Poindexter]

I went to a Forest Service presentation at UAF a few years ago, one of the slides was a wood shed on Kodiak. It had widely spaced wood slats (horizontal) up the out side, and another layer of widely spaced slats up the inside. Looking at it from the side you couldn't see through it. It was supposed to stop wind driven rain but allow good air flow. Does that help?

 

[weatherguy]

Your climate has some similarities with the PNW, check out Highbeams shed, if he sees this maybe he'll post a pic of his shed.

 

[JulesinAK]

Thanks for the replies. We were thinking slats. I will look for Highbeams shed.

Jules

 

[AlbergSteve]

I'm in PNW and this has worked great. Two foot over hangs help a lot and we don't get much driven rain.

 

[Woody Stover]

What species do you burn?

 

[Woody Stover]

I wonder if enough summer sun beats down in AK for @Simonkenton's "wooden wood kiln" to work?

Wood Shed that couldn't anymore

After another year of heavy snow my shed just couldn't stand anymore. Likely a cord still inside yet to retrieve. Well, on the bright side now I can justify a nice carport to replace it.

www.hearth.com

 

[MissMac]

I live in NW Ontario - not quite as humid as the west coast perhaps, but my shed is in a shady spot surrounded by veg. I used a rough cut 1x6 to space between my wall boards, and left the top of the sides open for increased air flow across the top of the stacks. I still have a bit of an issue with blowing snow and driving rain getting in a bit, but i use tarps to cover up the open face during winter, which helps. The spacing between the boards is small enough to keep driving rain out but still let air flow in. Please post pics of what you design! I agree with @AlbergSteve that a good wide overhang will likely be beneficial for you.

 

[Highbeam]

I also concluded that top covered stacks were not good enough and built a shed 2 years ago. Deep Overhangs, wide gaps, and something on the ground. mine holds about 11 cords.

 

[JulesinAK]

Thanks again for all of the info. Deep overhand and sides seem to be the way to go for us. We do not get enough overhead sun to really dry anything out. We burn hemlock and spruce mainly. We will be sure to allow for airflow at the top as well. Great ideas here and I really appreciate hearing from everyone!
Jules

 

[mar13]

I also concluded that top covered stacks were not good enough and built a shed 2 years ago. Deep Overhangs, wide gaps, and something on the ground. mine holds about 11 cords.

@Highbeam, how far are your overhangs? Also the heights of your roof at front and back? I suppose the higher the roof, the more overhang needed.

 

[mar13]

I'm in PNW and this has worked great. Two foot over hangs help a lot and we don't get much driven rain.
View attachment 258498

@AlbergSteve, when you designed your shed, how did you secure the posts? It looks to me like you have based them in the concrete deck blocks, but how did you secure the blocks or the vertical beams to the blocks?

Thanks, as I'm still scheming on my own shed. I've picked highbeams and ashful's brains so far.

 

[Ashful]

Slim pickin’s, here.

 

[Highbeam]

@Highbeam, how far are your overhangs? Also the heights of your roof at front and back? I suppose the higher the roof, the more overhang needed.

Overhangs are 18” on the sides and back but I think I went 24” on top, my house has 24” overhangs but 18” looked much better on the woodshed.

The interior ceiling height is just over 6’ at the lowest but honestly I made sure that I could walk under the very lowest part of the bottom overhang outside of the shed without bonking my head. That sets the bottom elevation.

The roofing says you can go down to 3:12 pitch, my house is4:12 and the shed is somewhere in between. I don’t stack wood from a ladder so more interior height is wasted.

We get some strong winds up here near the gaps in the cascade mountain range so no amount of overhang will stop all sideways rain but this shed seems to stop most of it.

oh, the dimensions are 10x20 only because buildings under 200 sf don’t need any permits. I would have liked to go about 20% bigger just because we can go through more than half of this shed on a bad winter.

 

[AlbergSteve]

@AlbergSteve, when you designed your shed, how did you secure the posts? It looks to me like you have based them in the concrete deck blocks, but how did you secure the blocks or the vertical beams to the blocks?

Thanks, as I'm still scheming on my own shed. I've picked highbeams and ashful's brains so far.

I've built the shed in a farily sheltered area and just placed the posts on pier blocks, relying on the "friction" of a full bay to keep it anchored. Really, it should be on a foundation, or at least piers on small buried footings. You could also build in floors attached to the post, and as long as you have some wood in the shed, it would help keep it anchored. Two foot overhangs, foot of slope front to back, about eight feet at the front - you can't stack wood comfortably over eight feet. I use metal roofing on all our outbuilding projects, it works out to about the same price as shingles and 1/2 sheathing and is way more durable.

 

[Diabel]

I like the idea of @AlbergSteve roof design. I am just not sure about the snow load. Where he is located, he likely gets mostly rain. The place i want to build my shed is in a snow microcosm, it gets around 5-6ft of snow in a season.

 

[JulesinAK]

Great questions and info. Thanks all!
Jules

 

[EODMSgt]

While not as humid as some parts of the country, we do see our fair share here in NH. As others have said, open slats for airflow and good overhang is recommended. Although I prefer a saltbox-style roof, I went with a gable roof so I can access the back of the shed as well. Rotating wood at the end of the season is a PITA so having access to the front and back sides allows you to not have to rotate seasoned wood at the end of the season (when filling the shed back up). I only wish I had more of an overhang due to rain/snowmelt splashback to the lower rows.