Ideas for woodshed floor welcome

[Poindexter]

What I have is a 16x20 deck off the second floor of my home, and permission from the wife to store our seasoned cord wood under it. No time left to build a "shed" under there this year, but I have a flat pad about 11x20 with 4" of gravel on it. Bottom of the deck joists are about 10 vertical feet off the gravel pad.

Last year I was out in the driveway getting my boots stuck in between pallet boards and snow down my collar off the tarps. So I am free of the tarps this year, I can expect an inch or two of snow accumulation under the deck with 2-3 feet out in the driveway and yard. That's a plus.

Thinking about flooring. The quickest thing to do would be lay pallets on the gravel, load my wood and go with it. I think there is enough room under there (I have seven seasoned cords to go under the deck) that I could lean empty pallets on one of the deck posts and mostly walk on gravel without having to walk on pallets.

Ultimately I would like to lay down railroad ties, perpendicular 2x6 joists and then either PT3/4" plywood or 5/4 x 5 inch #2 PT deck floor boards.

I can't think of an intermediate flooring system to use this winter, except maybe bringing in the RR ties to get the pallets up off the gravel.

Ideas? With such a small amount of snow on top of the piles are pallets really not that bad a floor option? Pallet floors suck when there is a foot or more of snow on top of the tarps.

Thanks.

 

[bmblank]

If it's gravel you could just stack on top of that.

 

[bigbarf48]

I'd just throw some pallets down. That'll be easiest

 

[Shawn Curry]

Sounds like you already have about the best plan. Might be too late this year for anything permanent, so I'd deal with the pallets in the meantime.

 

[blades]

Plastic pallets

 

[BSH1F]

(broken image removed)
Here's my wood table i built under my deck, i made it high enough that i could easily reach the back top and bottom peices. So when it's cold as ice, I'm not bending over (looks like about a cord of wood but it's only 3 feet high to the top)
As far as cover goes, i have an extended roof over my deck above, but it leaks and your deck should be pitched away from your house a little bit for run off, just staple 6 mil plastic from home depot and leave ends hang a little for drip edge. That should work fine if you secure the plastic good enough for a cheap easy overhead cover.

 

[Applesister]

I admit Im confused but it sounds like alot of space is going toward timbers and pallets. Why dont you save your back and money and time and just stack directly on the gravel?
Gravel is my best friend. And I hate walking on pallets. I stack hay on pallets in the horse barn and they are a PITA.

 

[mustash29]

I have 34 feet of 2nd floor deck. The south end is 10x10, the north end is 12x14. The middle is 8x10, because the staircase is in this area. I put up to 4 cord under there. There is a sliding door into the rec room where the stove is.

It used to be sand under there. Every trip out to get wood meant I drug sand in on my feet. Cleaning up the wood debris was pretty easy, lawn rake & a shovel.

I attached joist hangers to the house foundation. Using 2x6's, I ran one west to the first deck post, ran more south to the next post, etc, essentially making a 3 sided box. The foundation was the 4th side of the box. This is filled with 3/4 gravel. Now my delima was to keep the gravel "clean". I lay pallets down, but cover them with 3/8" plywood. Leaves and critters seem to live under the pallets now. Clean up is simple, sweep the debris off the plywood. No twisted ankles and no broken pallet boards. The pallets & plywood are 5 or 6 years old and still in good shape. I keep the deck shoveled, but anything that drips through can make bad ice on the plywood underneath.

Tarps keep the rain & snow off. I have about 20 pieces of 3/8" transport chain for tarp weights. They are attached to the trarps with metal shower curtian hooks.

 

[aansorge]

Stack on gravel.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

All I have in my woodshed is drainage rock, the wood sits directly on the rock. Any built up flooring wood just take up space and give mice and other critters a place to make a home.

 

[captjack]

I like the pallet floors - they work great - they are readily available and when they get busted up you just throw down another !