Need help to decide shed location

[Johnny]

Hi, all.

I just installed a new wood insert and tried few times this month and think I will need a lot of wood to keep my stove hot for this winter. I couldn't get good answers for some questions I have so far and I think you guys can help me....

I am planning to build a shed(2 singe rows with 24ft long) or a hoop house for my woods and currently have 2 location.

A. 20ft from house on front/side yard. It has decent wind flow.

B. 30ft from house on side/back yard. This is in the woods and doesn't have a lot of sun/wind.

My property doesn't have enough backyard to build a shed.

Problem with A is that since it's in front yard, it can be an eyesore to some (even though the house is on the cul-de-sac)

Problem with B is it's in the woods and does not have very leveled access... I envision hauling lots of wood with garden wagon will be a bit hard. (it is possible, though)

What would you recommend? A or B.... (maybe both?)

 

[Applesister]

Definitely the front side, no questions about it. You just might have to spend extra on the structure and landscaping.
Or be diligent about the appearance of the stacks.
Perhaps do your processing in back and only stack your best out front. I have front side stacks and my only problem is people seeing it from the road.

 

[firefighterjake]

Best answer: if there is a significant other, ask him/her their opinion.

I know my wife (who is most definitely NOT about looks) always prefers stuff be out back of the house rather than in front since she hates thinks looking cluttered and messy . . . which is why my woodshed and other sheds are out back.

I wouldn't worry too much about the shade and lack of wind . . . woodsheds are generally not used to season wood, but rather to keep wood from getting wet, snowed on, etc. once the wood is seasoned.

 

[Johnny]

Thank you, both. =)

 

[Soundchasm]

Zoning laws in my neighborhood prevent sheds and fences in front yards. You might be in a similar situation.

 

[PDXpyro]

I think of sheds as being completely distinct from where the wood is seasoned, and see them as the final storage and access place for dry wood before it hits the coals -- and therefore the siting of a shed has little to do with wind or sun exposure. Easy for me to say, since I have nothing that really fits the proper "shed" description, other than a densely-stacked one-cord pile of finished wood under a crude plywood shelter.

Having said that, many others may regard sheds as a part of the seasoning process, and certainly they can be. Wish I were as creative and productive (and space-rich) as some of you who have been much more ambitious and industrious.

 

[muncybob]

I'm with PDX...my wood is seasoned before hitting the shed. Ours is "out back" and just so happens to have full southern exposure.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Lots of people stack firewood against their fence, in fact I was doing this for a while before I built my woodshed. Problem was the fence that I was stacking it against was very short and dilapidated. So I talked to the neighbor about building a new fence and incorporated my woodshed into the fence, which in essence just meant building a roof covering off the side of the new fence.
This is the final result.
Two rows deep, shed holds 5 cords, with one extra section reserved for storage and access to my bomb shelter.

If you have zoning laws that prohibit building a shed along the fence line they can be circumnavigated if you do it properly. For instance, to circumnavigate building a shed on your property line you proceed like this. First you legally build as tall a fence as you can, then you stack wood against the fence, then cover your wood with some sort of "removable" roof structures that you "temporarily" fasten to the fence and put up some "temporary" support posts to hold up the lower portion of the roof structure. Then you go have a beer and quietly snicker to yourself because you now have a woodshed that circumnavigates your local building codes.