Shed or wood rack?

[Burnhaven]

I'll probably build a wood shed eventually but for this year trying to decide how to stack the wood without a shed. In the past I've put down pressure-treated four by fours, stacked the wood and tarped it. In our new house my wife isn't going for tarps and definitely not for scrap plywood or corrugated tin to cover the wood.

There are some pre-fabricated wood racks with their own nice looking covers, such as ShelterLogic's, but it would take several to handle the 2 cords I normally keep on the property. This one by Woodhaven supposedly holds 1/2 cord http://tinyurl.com/mv6txth The built-in tarp will eventually die and they are $199 each, but as most of you know, building a shed from scratch isn't cheap either.

Also on the unapproved list are metal carport type buildings. My daughter-in-law mentioned a pergola with plexi-glass roof but that seems like its designed more for parties and the wind might destroy such a roof.

When I get to the shed-building it will have to be simple, maybe something like this only larger:
(broken link removed to http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/pdfs/WoodShedDiagram.pdf)

 

[1970roadrunner]

To hold the wood you would need you would have to buy at least 4 of those wood rack things. I would put the $800 into the shed you want. Why spend money twice?

 

[Poindexter]

I have done some negotiating in this area with my better half.

The fast cheap solution for me would be 6 standard pallets, 40x48". Line those up so your seasoning rack is 24 feet long and 40" wide.

Next you'll need 16 cinderblocks, about $35 from Lowes-Depot

Stack your wood on there so you have two stacks, each 16" thick, 24' long and 4' tall. Two cords with an 8" air gap.

Next cover the top, with only 2-4" of extra roof hanging over the sides. Get some more splits on top of whatever sheeting you use for the roof so it doesn't blow away. I use cut to width 6mil plastic myself, I'll try for a pic.

Given your annual rainfall you may want to roof the two piles separately so you don't have a bunch of rain water collected above the air gap. For my wife the problem was the sheeting hanging over the sides of the pile looked ghetto. Better airflow on the sides lets my wood dry faster anyway, so win win for us. If you got wind driven rain this may not work for you.

.

 

[Applesister]

Ghetto?
I'm insulted
If you wanna be a complete wood snob...so much so that your wife divorces you from the sheer magnitude of your expenditure on your new shed...
Check out "The Great Camps of the Adirondacks"
The last great camp that is featured is designed by an architect named Durant. In the last few pages of the book is an octagonal shaped corn crib- woodshed constructed out of massive white pine timbers.
THAT is my idea of a woodshed.
But until that time I'm a corrugated tin roofing redneck gal.

 

[Poindexter]

Pic of new improved tentatively wife approved seasoning regime. My seasoning rack is 18 pallets long and I stack cordwood 5-6 feet high on the pallets, but you get the idea. One nice thing about a strategically located tall wood pile is my wife can sunbathe in relative privacy behind the wood pile during the summer.

Applesister, I assume a good natured tease is at work. Large sheets of plastic hanging over the sides of the stacks and flapping in the breeze is, I agree, not aesthetically pleasing. I will follow the link directly.

oh, very nice. I am sure LLBean shoots their catalogs at places like this. (broken link removed to http://curbed.com/archives/2014/07/28/jp-morgan-summer-camp-for-sale.php)

 

[Burnhaven]

Thanks for the feedback. I know some folks love to build things and many of those have a construction or cabinetry background. Also some aren't 66 years old ( ok I'm just lazy ). Anyway a decent looking shed isn't going to be free. The chicken coop my wife wants is pretty involved and I'm probably going to hire somebody to get most of that built. The person that created plans for that coop spent $1000 on materials before giving up on tracking the cost. This wood shed design looks like even I could build it but I would have to decide whether to sink the 4x4 posts in the ground or not: (broken link removed to http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/pdfs/WoodShedDiagram.pdf)

Here is a sketch of what I'm picturing for our "shed area" out behind the house. Hopefully the "stacked cord" will be hidden so a tarp on it won't be visible. The lawn tractor will go in a plastic storage shed http://tinyurl.com/orp92hu

 

[JRitz187]

I picked up 4 of these at a local Tractor Supply for a $135 and should be able to get just about the 2 cords I need out of it. A little locktite, a tie down strap across the top, and maybe some unistrut reinforcing the ends and it should be worth the $135 experiment. Looks like they are still on sale, no cover though.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/redstonetrade;-log-rack-8-ft

 

[jeffesonm]

I have made wood racks using pallets. I nail two pallets upright using cross braces (made from cut up pallets) and these hold the ends without having to stack. I cover them with lumber tarps.

Not as nice as a wood shed, but I think it looks okay and cost me just about nothing.

In the process of building a wood shed now. I plan to sink the posts maybe 16" but no concrete footings or anything. If the frost moves it around a bit, no biggie, it's a wood shed.

 

[Typ0]

How much wood is in those four stacks?

I have made wood racks using pallets. I nail two pallets upright using cross braces (made from cut up pallets) and these hold the ends without having to stack. I cover them with lumber tarps.

Not as nice as a wood shed, but I think it looks okay and cost me just about nothing.

In the process of building a wood shed now. I plan to sink the posts maybe 16" but no concrete footings or anything. If the frost moves it around a bit, no biggie, it's a wood shed.

 

[jeffesonm]

I think each is 3'x4.5'x20', or around 2 cords. The rounds stacked on either side are uglies, waiting for me to one day rent a splitter.