Built a woodshed

[Soundchasm]

My BIL is a good guy with carpentry skills, so he was willing to help me. I did two things with him - 1. widened a gate to 7' to I could back my truck close, 2. help me put this 8x12 structure together. 6" tall in the back, and 7' in the front. With all the slopes on the property, it's not visible from the road, and my neighbor is a burner.

Checked all the photos on the shed thread. Started sketching and realized I knew not one thing about building. Tons of reading later I think I'm starting to get it. Will use six pallets on bricks for the floor. Was smart enough to account for the footprint of the pierblocks and still get the inside dimension of 8x12 (so much for the roof overhang, though...).

After all my planning and helping build it, I realized the irony is that if you're smart enough to built it, you don't need no stinkin' plans.

I gave myself extra credit for getting 2x6x16 boards and 12' Galvalume sections home safely in a 6' truck bed. We had to score and split one of those roof sections longways and that was a thrill. Wood is all pressure treated.

As I look at it, I realize there's one thing I NEVER want to see again - it's EMPTY! Still contemplating sides. Will hold 3 cords at 4' high, and stuffed ought to be 4.5 cords. Two days and change was not too bad. And it's solid.

Thanks for all the help whether you knew you were giving it or not.

 

[Woody Stover]

6" tall in the back, and 7' in the front.....Still contemplating sides.....stuffed ought to be 4.5 cords.

That might be a little cramped in the back. Seriously, great job! Looks like you had to dig the front piers in a bit to get it level. I've thought of pallets for sides....a compromise between keeping the weather out while still letting some air move through. How much do you burn per season?

I've been getting away without a shed since snow isn't a major issue, but my SIL has one and it's great. Now my other SIL is putting one up, too. I'm thinking about what I might be able to do over here...just wouldn't seem right for them to have a better wood setup than me. Good siting spots are limited so I'm weighing a couple of options....

 

[SKIN052]

I have privacy lattice on the sides of mine. Keeps most weather out but air still flows through. Nice work!!

 

[firefighterjake]

An empty wood shed is a very sad thing ... on the other hand a full wood shed brings with it happiness and contentment and security.

 

[Charlie2]

First class!

 

[Timnus]

Nice work, looks very solid. I am wondering if the wind might pick it up though. Maybe you can anchor it to the ground with some T-posts or to the fence behind it. What do others think?

 

[smokedragon]

I have two 8x12 wood sheds that I built in the fall, and it is a joy to see one full.

Good luck, cause now the fun begins

 

[Woody Stover]

Nice work, looks very solid. I am wondering if the wind might pick it up though. Maybe you can anchor it to the ground with some T-posts or to the fence behind it. What do others think?

Depending on where the heavy winds come from, it may be shielded by trees that would break up the wind. And with the sides, the only place the wind could get under it is from the front....

Tons of reading later I think I'm starting to get it.

Heck, I think I'm learning a couple things just looking at the pics. I'm thinking of building mine out of dead Sassafras logs so it will be a little more 'rustic' since nothing will be square.

 

[Soundchasm]

Nice work, looks very solid. I am wondering if the wind might pick it up though. Maybe you can anchor it to the ground with some T-posts or to the fence behind it. What do others think?

I had asked some questions previously, and the most plausible thought I got was that if the wind was strong enough to take the roof, what it was anchored with was not going to make any difference. We do get serious winds here. Downed trees are a part of how I got into burning. Couldn't reconcile paying for firewood delivered and paying to have a tree taken away.

If you look through the back of the shed you'll see a really old red structure. I realize the elevation is not the same, but the slope is. Its construction is much lighter and it has walls, but it's survived for 30-40 years(?). I'm going to "WAG" that the fence plus being loaded with wood will make it much less aerodynamic.

Maybe the wood may season some day, but that lumber was heavy. You'd have gotten a kick out of my truck squatting on the way home with it.

This past winter I stopped measuring my consumption at 7 cords, and I think I was just shy of 8.

 

[Soundchasm]

That might be a little cramped in the back. Seriously, great job! Looks like you had to dig the front piers in a bit to get it level. I've thought of pallets for sides....a compromise between keeping the weather out while still letting some air move through. How much do you burn per season?

I've been getting away without a shed since snow isn't a major issue, but my SIL has one and it's great. Now my other SIL is putting one up, too. I'm thinking about what I might be able to do over here...just wouldn't seem right for them to have a better wood setup than me. Good siting spots are limited so I'm weighing a couple of options....

Hah! Take your time until you see the defects in their designs, and specifically upgrade your plans to address them. Subtle, and *permanently* better.

 

[BoiledOver]

Looking good! Coupla questions. Did it excede $800 bucks? Will it be considered for more property tax? I would definitely like to have one of those but do not want to raise property taxes anymore than what they are.

 

[bobdog2o02]

(broken image removed)

hurricane straps were engineered because with a strong enough wind the roof itself will turn into a wing. this is on houses with wall..... You shed has no walls and an open bottom. On a long enough time line i'd bet the top comes off...... If it was mine i would install straps AND find a way of ancoring it down.

Maybe the wood may season some day, but that lumber was heavy. You'd have gotten a kick out of my truck squatting on the way home with it.

Mobile homes are heavy too

Mobile homes are heavy but they still get picked up, its all just relative to the wind you get.

 

[Soundchasm]

Depending on where the heavy winds come from, it may be shielded by trees that would break up the wind. And with the sides, the only place the wind could get under it is from the front....
Heck, I think I'm learning a couple things just looking at the pics. I'm thinking of building mine out of dead Sassafras logs so it will be a little more 'rustic' since nothing will be square.

As a buddy once said when we modded old motorcycles, if you change it, you're your own test pilot. I made some design decisions and time will tell if I get away with it. I wish I knew more about code and engineering, but I took my best guess and one set of experienced eyes went along with it. The shed almost looks weird because it's the only thing level and plumb on that landscape. I'll start to ponder retrofitting for really high winds.

I'll call the lumber at $250+ and the roof at $225. Had to buy 2x4x12s for braces, but I'll build them them into another wood rack for the carport. The reason for the pierblocks is it's a temporary structure. The township has no regs for that. Permanent structures >100 SQ-FT seems to be where things get complicated.

 

[Charlie2]

About the pier blocks. I was told there are new findings that report our latest pressure treated post only last 6-7 years in the ground. So if they are encased in concrete do they last? I guess you have to pour a pier and use a strap? Anyway, this is some serious news for all the folks that have built structures in the last 6-7 years.

 

[Woody Stover]

Take your time until you see the defects in their designs, and specifically upgrade your plans to address them. Subtle, and *permanently* better.

Contractors constructed theirs out of 3" square tubing and metal roofing. They are having some canvas sheets made up that they can roll up or down to keep the weather out. I'm thinking that a shed built with Sass log posts will fit better with our more primitive house. I may use the canvas wall idea, though. Hadn't thought of the tax angle, I'll have to check into that.

 

[Soundchasm]

I was able to fit some hurricane straps to every joist. And I had an idea to keep the wood from squirting out the sides that accidentally anchored the shed to the ground. Btw, it's getting full. Right or wrong, I'm stuffing it to the top. It's cherry, ash and silver maple and I split small, because I can't get to the three year goal. I haven't managed to get to the one-year goal since my wood usage seems to double every year - 1, 2, 4, 8 cords. I'll have 6.5 cords split soon and it's blowing my mind. I have to fill the equivalent of the front row.

Also have a fence row storage that should hold 1.5 cords, but I've got to get the wood to fill that with. And I have pallets for round storage. I've been splitting the ugliest, tetrahedron-ish shaped chunks just to clean up everything and get a fresh start.

I figure I've got time left this year to dream up some sides.

 

[Woody Stover]

Right or wrong, I'm stuffing it to the top

I don't think that shed is going anywhere...

my wood usage seems to double every year - 1, 2, 4, 8 cords.

 

[bobdog2o02]

Lookin good

 

[D8Chumley]

Those metal fence posts are a biotch to get out if they have the spade piece at the bottom. Definitely an improvement on keeping it where its at.

 

[smokedragon]

Those metal fence posts are a biotch to get out if they have the spade piece at the bottom.

Hook a chain around them, then hook your tractor boom pole to the chain.......they come right up

Mobile homes are heavy but they still get picked up, its all just relative to the wind you get.

Absolutely right. If there is an exposed area for wind to get under something, it will get picked up (no matter how heavy).

 

[D8Chumley]

Hook a chain around them, then hook your tractor boom pole to the chain.......they come right up

Yes they do, if theres something available to do that. Sometimes we have to put them where a machine can't get to for the orange fence, like in a wood line around parts of the job. Straps usually work better

 

[bobdog2o02]

I've had luck with a chain & small hydraulic floor jack to get these out.

 

[Soundchasm]

I put two in in a recent situation to keep a section from rolling down the hill. Got the section cut up, and had to dig the first stake out.

I've got an old wire fence on one property edge, and it's in terrible shape. Some day I'll start a thread for ideas on how to remove all that corruption, because it looks like a serious accident waiting to happen. Tetanus would be the best possible outcome...

 

[smokedragon]

Yes they do, if theres something available to do that. Sometimes we have to put them where a machine can't get to for the orange fence, like in a wood line around parts of the job. Straps usually work better

I know what you mean there.......and they are a pain when the only way you have to get them up is wiggle back and forth and then grunt skyward.

I've had luck with a chain & small hydraulic floor jack to get these out.

I have had luck with a pry bar, some 2x4's and rope......make a lever. Still if it hasn't rained lately and the post has been there for a while, it is tough.

 

[D8Chumley]

^^^ Exactly!