Storage inside pole barn

[spitfire]

Hi all,

I had a wood stove installed at the beginning of January with advice thanks to this site and it seems like our wood usage each winter will be 3-4 cords.

I would like to redo the storage area in my pole barn to take advantage of vertical space so I don’t end up taking over the entire barn. I have looked through various threads about wood sheds but I haven’t seen a storage area built inside an existing structure.

I am attaching a diagram and a couple of pictures of what I am thinking of doing. Each bay will be 8.66’ long, 8’ deep, and I am debating height.

I will be setting three posts (designated x). I am planning on a concrete base with a sonotube (the barn is in a wet area) with posts bolted to the concrete. The posts will be tied together along the top with a header and then in between the header and the ground I will be running lumber parallel to the header to support the firewood.

Questions:

1. Is it okay to tie the posts into the barn header (it is 11’ tall) or should I run a new one?

2. Should I use 4x4 or 6x6 posts, bearing in mind the posts won’t have to support any vertical loading.

3. For the lumber running below the header to hold the sides of the firewood, are furring strips good enough or do I need 2x4?

4. How high should I stack the firewood? 8’ or 10’? I don’t mind using a ladder to reach it as I bring 2 face cords at a time into my attached garage. So I won’t be constantly going up and down a ladder.

 

[BigJ273]

Will this wood be dry already?

 

[GENECOP]

No problem using the existing header, you can even come under it and run a front and back scab up the sides of the header..
4x4 is fine, NG on the firing strips, def 2x4..
I wouldn’t even go 8’ high, that load shifts and comes down it’s a bad day for whoever it falls on.
you could design some removable safety rails to go up higher...

 

[velvetfoot]

I store 4 cords in 2 rows 8' high along a wall in my garage. I put plywood on the walls and to divide it up, I have several 2x6's attached with a rope on top and placed in slots formed by pieces of lumber anchored to the floor.

Can get wood in my stocking feet, if there's not too much water on the floor.

 

[spitfire]

Wood will be partially/fully seasoned. I have an abundance of standing dead trees and fallen trees that I use for firewood. I know many people don’t like to season wood inside a structure but it works for me - I have put 10 cords in the barn over the past three years and even the stuff which has only been in there since summer 2020 is already properly seasoned.

I was questioning the use of furring strips, but if I use 2x4 instead that makes me more comfortable with using 4x4 posts instead of 6x6.

Sounds good as far as using the existing header and scabbing it. I like the idea of a removable safety rail system for the front (where I will be accessing the wood from).

Velvetfoot, do you have a picture of your setup?

 

[Bad LP]

When I designed and had built our detached garage there was a 3rd bay running across the back wall that was 12X24 and it was built for my boat. Well that boat came and went and the new boat was not going to fit so it became a tractor bay but it had a lot of wasted space above with a 14foot door.
At the 10 foot elevation across the rear wall I built a 12X8 mezzanine to take an advantage of the space above I wasn't using. This has worked out great for off season storage and will provide a great spot for my upright air compressor in the not too distant future. The 2X12 framing is all tied into the 2X6 studs with TimberLocs and Simpson brackets. It's not going anywhere in my life time.

I stack my wood in another garage designed just for the purpose about 7 feet tall. I can't imagine stacking it any taller. Safety being one reason and reaching it another.

 

[Wood1Dennis]

I stack about 4 cords of dry wood in my basement. I stack 4 3/4 or so rows, 7' high. I'm not sure how long those rows are, but I think it is about 10'. As long as it is stacked well, I have not had any problem with the stacks shifting or falling. I would think you could do something similar in your outbuilding. In the picture the horizontal boards are rough sawn 1" thick pine. The top of them are 1' apart each, 7 boards, 7' to the top of the piles. The vertical pieces are 2x4 on 2' centers. The back of the pile is built the same.

 

[JimBear]

Hi all,

I had a wood stove installed at the beginning of January with advice thanks to this site and it seems like our wood usage each winter will be 3-4 cords.

I would like to redo the storage area in my pole barn to take advantage of vertical space so I don’t end up taking over the entire barn. I have looked through various threads about wood sheds but I haven’t seen a storage area built inside an existing structure.

I am attaching a diagram and a couple of pictures of what I am thinking of doing. Each bay will be 8.66’ long, 8’ deep, and I am debating height.

I will be setting three posts (designated x). I am planning on a concrete base with a sonotube (the barn is in a wet area) with posts bolted to the concrete. The posts will be tied together along the top with a header and then in between the header and the ground I will be running lumber parallel to the header to support the firewood.

Questions:

1. Is it okay to tie the posts into the barn header (it is 11’ tall) or should I run a new one?

2. Should I use 4x4 or 6x6 posts, bearing in mind the posts won’t have to support any vertical loading.

3. For the lumber running below the header to hold the sides of the firewood, are furring strips good enough or do I need 2x4?

4. How high should I stack the firewood? 8’ or 10’? I don’t mind using a ladder to reach it as I bring 2 face cords at a time into my attached garage. So I won’t be constantly going up and down a ladder.

View attachment 275313 View attachment 275314 View attachment 275315 View attachment 275316 View attachment 275317

I will try to share some photos of my setup inside the shed I am using, she’s type & construction look similar. I think I shared them in a thread on this forum, if I can find the thread I will share the link.

 

[JimBear]

Hi all,

I had a wood stove installed at the beginning of January with advice thanks to this site and it seems like our wood usage each winter will be 3-4 cords.

I would like to redo the storage area in my pole barn to take advantage of vertical space so I don’t end up taking over the entire barn. I have looked through various threads about wood sheds but I haven’t seen a storage area built inside an existing structure.

I am attaching a diagram and a couple of pictures of what I am thinking of doing. Each bay will be 8.66’ long, 8’ deep, and I am debating height.

I will be setting three posts (designated x). I am planning on a concrete base with a sonotube (the barn is in a wet area) with posts bolted to the concrete. The posts will be tied together along the top with a header and then in between the header and the ground I will be running lumber parallel to the header to support the firewood.

Questions:

1. Is it okay to tie the posts into the barn header (it is 11’ tall) or should I run a new one?

2. Should I use 4x4 or 6x6 posts, bearing in mind the posts won’t have to support any vertical loading.

3. For the lumber running below the header to hold the sides of the firewood, are furring strips good enough or do I need 2x4?

4. How high should I stack the firewood? 8’ or 10’? I don’t mind using a ladder to reach it as I bring 2 face cords at a time into my attached garage. So I won’t be constantly going up and down a ladder.

View attachment 275313 View attachment 275314 View attachment 275315 View attachment 275316 View attachment 275317

Here are the photos of what I did :






I just used steel posts & cattle panels on the righthand side, I stacked about 8’ high on the left hand side against the pallets. I will have to measure to see how deep it is. I had between 3-1/2 to 4 cord in there when I was done. The corner seemed to take up less & worked out best for me with the shed being open on east side & doors in the middle of the north & south sides.

 

[spitfire]

Thank you to everyone who responded. I will be taking these suggestions into account when I put my storage up this summer.

I have decided to go stack 7’-8’ tall originally but build the framework in such a way I can go up to 10’ at a later time. I’ll post pictures of the final setup over the summer.

 

[Highbeam]

7’ is all you want. Any higher and you’ll be climbing a ladder to load and unload the stacks. A million ladder trips. Not fun.

 

[Tar12]

I bring my wood to the house with my truck and all of my wood is stacked 8 ft tall...it is perfect...no ladder needed...I back up to it and it puts it chest high...

 

[Bad LP]

I bring my wood to the house with my truck and all of my wood is stacked 8 ft tall...it is perfect...no ladder needed...I back up to it and it puts it chest high...

How do you get it down to burn?

 

[Highbeam]

I suppose it matters slightly if you are tall and have long arms! Let me revise to say, only stack it as high as possible from the ground without using a ladder for loading or unloading.

It’s really fast and easy to deal with stacks chest high and lower.

 

[velvetfoot]

Velvetfoot, do you have a picture of your setup?

I only had to use the rope restraint on the 2x6's at the garage door opening. The others are cleated in at the floor and ceiling. I have three bays, partly for stability and partly so that I could refill an entire bay and get some fresh wood in there. Of course, I never write myself a note or anything, so when it comes time to drawing down the wood, I forget which is the oldest stuff. This year, I'll remember the note!

 

[Tar12]

How do you get it down to burn?

I get in the back of my truck...I am able to back straight up to my stacks.. it makes it very easy...I stack and unstack it in this manner..I am 6 ft tall so I actually have to bend over just a tad on a 8ft stack...once I get to my front porch with the tailgate down my tailgate is at porch level and I step right off onto the porch...I could not make it any easier..I have no height limits but chose 8 ft as it works very well for my situation and there is no fear of wood shifting or falling over...the 2 structures on the ends of my barn are constructed of treated 4x6s and 2x6s ...the base plates are bolted into the concrete slab using stainless steel red head type anchors...its not going anywhere...I over killed everything on building them...not doing it again my lifetime..

 

[MR. GLO]

I get in the back of my truck...I am able to back straight up to my stacks.. it makes it very easy...I stack and unstack it in this manner..I am 6 ft tall so I actually have to bend over just a tad on a 8ft stack...once I get to my front porch with the tailgate down my tailgate is at porch level and I step right off onto the porch...I could not make it any easier..I have no height limits but chose 8 ft as it works very well for my situation and there is no fear of wood shifting or falling over...the 2 structures on the ends of my barn are constructed of treated 4x6s and 2x6s ...the base plates are bolted into the concrete slab using stainless steel red head type anchors...its not going anywhere...I over killed everything on building them...not doing it again my lifetime..

Very nice...How many cords does it hold? How much was the materials to build?

 

[Tar12]

Very nice...How many cords does it hold? How much was the materials to build?

The one pictured above holds 6 cord...


This one on the opposite end of the barn holds 12 cord and I was able to make it wide enough to back the truck all the way in...I will have to get back with you on the cost...I did not keep track of it.

 

[jetsam]

I was thinking about building some wood storage this year, but it turns out that a cruddy SPF 2x4-8 is like six bucks now.

SO it will be cheaper to get a chainsaw mill set up than to buy dimensional lumber. Probably need a new big saw for that. I am tremendously pleased.