wood shed flooring

[j7art2]

I keep reading of people keeping wood off the ground. The wood shed I used was as a kid was just bare ground, and the one I have now is the same. Should I be changing that?

I'd prefer not to use pallets, as the ones I get are all different sizes, and my wood shed is enough to house close to 10 cords. Piecing them together to make it all 'fit' would be a nightmare. Would just stacking on tarps be sufficient? Should I not even bother?

I'm looking for something cheap if possible. Nothing fancy.

 

[firefighterjake]

Some folks with woodsheds stack the wood on well drained gravel and/or pea stone.

My woodshed has a conventional floor made out of rough cut boards and dimensional lumber.

As mentioned, other folks have gone with pallets.

 

[DougA]

I use pallets and yes, you have to cut the odd one to make everything fit but it is free and works very well. I stacked on grass, old railway ties and pallets are by far the best solution.
Make sure you use pallets with lots of slats one the top side and you will not have the problems some people do with walking on them. cl is the best way to find them.

 

[Oldman47]

If you have a well sheltered wood shed like my grandfather had when I was a kid, a dirt floor is fine. His wood shed was an annex to the back door of the house itself and was closed in on all sides. He did all of his seasoning outside away from the shed and only brought in dry splits. It will stay dry and the wood will be just fine. If you get moisture inside the wood shed you need to protect the wood from that moisture. That is where floor treatments come into play. Most of what I have seen called wood sheds were little more than a loafing shed enclosed on 3 sides and subject to the vagarities of weather. In that situation you need ground protection.

 

[English BoB]

I used pallets as a floor, however the area I use most to load and unload was prone to tripping or a foot between the slats.
Now the center part and front has a couple of old wooden sheets for a floor.

Bob

 

[BrotherBart]

The floor in mine is $103,000 worth of CSU/DSU telecom units I bought for a dollar apiece at the bankruptcy auction of a major Internet service provider. Aluminum shells ain't never gonna rust.

 

[Jags]

Simply stack on runners. Add runners when you are filling the shed - kick them out of the way when you are emptying the shed. Nothing to trip on. Keeps it elevated off of the dirt. Easy to replace if they start to go to heck.

 

[Montanalocal]

I have put down cull cedar fence boards, on both outdoor and indoor and they have been cheap, and effective.

 

[glennm]

If you use pallets why not get some extra lumber from somewhere ( like other pallets) and fill in the spaces? That would make it much easier to walk on.

 

[shoot-straight]

i had all my stacks in my shed on landscape timbers. this year, i have begun to place pallets on TOP of the timbers. will help with airflow tremendoulsy and keep bottom moisture to a minimum. easier to walk on too.

 

[xman23]

As jags said runners. I have been changing out my pallets to PVC pipe.

 

[j7art2]

What do you mean by runners? PVC is cheap enough. Could you find an example pic?

Thanks!

 

[husky345 vermont resolute]

I find skids work great and when they start to rot I replace them with new ones and burn the crap ones in my outdoor pit. I let them dry out on the top of my pile for a couple days first tho. works out great

 

[Poindexter]

Ground water is a local bugaboo. Just because I can't leave dry wood on bare ground in my zipcode doesn't mean you can't. I bet it varies within zipcode too, how far up a hill, what kinda soil.

Residence time is a consideration. Coming off two mild winters back to back I am looking for flooring that can be counted on to last for years and years and years because it looks like I am by golly gonna have some left over seasoned wood this spring.

For now I am using pallets on gravel, tarped and under my deck as my wood shed. Having the deck above has really made a difference keeping the snow off the tarps. Maybe I'll just go with RR ties on the gravel under the pallets next year, save a few bucks compared to pressure treated joists and flooring.

To the original question, at teh end of the spring melt is your wood still dry enough to burn well, or does it need to dry back out some over the summer? If it is dry enough year in and year out I would be inclined to spend that money on my boat instead.

 

[Mag Craft]

The whole point to splitting and stacking wood is getting it to dry. By stacking it off the ground it prevents the bottom part of the stack from moisture and it keeps the dirt out of the wood and helps to stop rot. You do not have to stack off the ground but after all the labor I put into gathering, cutting, splitting, and stacking I want my wood as clean and dry as I can. In the end the reward is a great burning fire that never fails because the wood is good.

 

[Jags]

What do you mean by runners? PVC is cheap enough. Could you find an example pic?

Thanks!

Just think of laying down 2x4's or whatever comes cheap/free/easy. I use 2x3 that I get from work that comes from banded together stuff.

 

[shoot-straight]

i had all my stacks in my shed on landscape timbers. this year, i have begun to place pallets on TOP of the timbers. will help with airflow tremendoulsy and keep bottom moisture to a minimum. easier to walk on too.

the need for the pallets on top the timbers was evident yesterday- the thaw made my place a swamp with standing water everywhere, including my bottom row of splits in my shed.

 

[mol1jb]

For this one it depends on where you leave and what your local DOT uses for sign posts. Here in Central IL I have a IDOT yard close enough to me. They still use a lot of 4x6 wood beams for interstate signs and such. When they break off, IDOT puts them in a junk pile in their yard. If you ask nicely, they will usually give them to you for nothing at all. Helps them get rid of their junk beams and you have a darn good base for your wood stacks.

 

[TheRambler]

Plastic pallets work really well, i see them on craigslist all the time for free or 5-10$ a piece. Depending on the type some drainage holes need to be cut/drilled in them.

 

[Applesister]

Tossed byproducts from the industrial sector of society that is free for the taking is the best deal. But not all of us had fathers who did industrial demolition construction.
I have an industrial graveyard of junk to pick thru.
My preference of late is simply gravel with runners. The runners are 2 x 6's ( dunage scrap planking)
I also splurged and purchased 12" x 12" cement pavers. Tera cotta red to match outbuildings. 1.60 each. Or 1.10.
Underlaying the pavers is poured cement but the other options would be stonedust or gravel. Also purchased.
I know my offered solution is sliding away from the free category.
I absolutely hate stepping on pallets. I use pallets in the horsebarn for storing hay. So I have pallets and I use them for wood too. But I consider them Not user friendly.
Also rodents love to nest under them.
GRAVEL

 

[j7art2]

Plastic pallets work really well, i see them on craigslist all the time for free or 5-10$ a piece. Depending on the type some drainage holes need to be cut/drilled in them.

I'd LOVE plastic pallets. I've never seen them before. I'll keep an eye out though.

 

[drz1050]

Plastic pallets are great, I have one of them.. on the lookout for more.

There's a convenience store around the corner from me, and they said I can take all the milk crates I want, so I've been expanding the pile on top of those.

Milk crates zip-tied 3 across are right about the same size as pallets, and don't have to worry about them rotting away

 

[OHutton]

I just went through this. I didn't want to play pallet tetris either. I ultimately decided to go with coarse chip gravel since it was cheap and I was in a mood to be cheap. My gravel was only $15 or $20 for the 3/4 of a yard I needed.

Other alternatives for me were:
Stall mats
Pavers/bricks
Bark (which would be no different a situation than on dirt—see Oldman's comment)

Maybe you have some of the above laying around or available locally on craigslist for cheap?

 

[j7art2]

I have tons of small red bricks, but nothing is preventing them from moving. Gravel may not be a bad idea. I think my wood shed is about 10x15 or so. Not all of my wood (none of my unseasoned pine for example) is going in there, and is going to be out in the yard where it can get direct elements all the time.

Cinderblocks may be an option, but may also be a pain. I guess the question is, is the ultimate goal of wood shed flooring to keep the wood off the ground, or to allow for air to pass under it? Pallets would in theory allow for air to pass under the rack, whereas, using solid brick for example, would not, but would keep the wood off the ground and out of any spring muck, etc.

 

[Jags]

keep the wood off the ground, or to allow for air to pass under it?

Both is optimal.