Wood shed defect?

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RORY12553

Minister of Fire
Dec 12, 2011
510
Southern NY
My wood shed is open on the front and back with a slopping roof going towards the back of the shed. It holds a cord per bay and has 4 bays. Issue is that the bottom wood pallets are basically rotten and the wood on the bottom of the rack is wetter than the stuff on top and the middle. Need to extend the roof out more or make it a flatter roof? I will try to get pictures.
 
Sounds like water is dripping off the roof and splashing. Easiest solution would be a cheap drain gutter. If you wanted to get fancy a rain barrel to capture the water for the lawn or garden
 
If you dont see any leaks I would go with what Seige says. When I stack on pallets I put a layer of stone down, just 2-3 inches and put bricks or pavers under the pallets to keep them off the ground, that way they dont rot as fast. When I build a shed this spring Im going to put a pallet floor and put stone and bricks down, I may put a gutter system too or overhang the roof a foot in front and back.
 
also, make sure the pallets you are using are oak. A lot of pallets are made from poplar and that stuff will not last in a damp environment. You are getting water nonetheless, I'd consider what seige said and look into a spouting system for it.
 
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My wood shed is open on the front and back with a slopping roof going towards the back of the shed. It holds a cord per bay and has 4 bays. Issue is that the bottom wood pallets are basically rotten and the wood on the bottom of the rack is wetter than the stuff on top and the middle. Need to extend the roof out more or make it a flatter roof? I will try to get pictures.
Rory if you can post some pics it might help us understand better plus we love pics :)

Ray
 
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I've found that when I stack pallets on the ground they wick up the moisture from the ground along with my bottom rows of wood. Almost all my stacking now is done at cinder block height because of this.
 
It is so wet at my place I have to keep my wood at least 10" off the ground to keep it dry.
 
Where my outside stacks are located the soil is crap and loaded with sand so it has very good drainage so no issue with water. If you get puddling it would probably be a good idea to create a gravel base to keep the pallets and bottom wood drier..

Ray
 
I use dead pines as rails to keep the wood off the ground, when they rot I replace with more found in the wood lot.

If thye're available to you, they work grat.
 
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