Woodshed build question

[tlhfirelion]

Hey folks, I’m working to build a wood shed with leftover materials from a few summer projects. I’ve got 4 count 14’ telephone poles 2’ in the ground and was going to use 2x6x14 joists with notched supports on concrete deck piers to support it all. It would be 14’ long by 8’ out and approx 10’ high. Lag or structural screws everywhere and a metal roof. Even with multiple floor joists and deck piers, I’m concerned that’s gonna be a lot of weight. i saw in another thread someone used pavers on the ground that I’m now also considering Over some weed mat. The issue is bugs. I want it off the ground so I don’t get termites, carpenter ants and also reduce critters while also maintaining air flow. I’ve got a lot of scrap pressure treated wood to use but I don’t want it to collapse so I’m here seeking guidance. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[ozarkoak]

I just built a off the ground shed, really small though (4 foot deep and 8 feet long. Now my chickens are laying eggs under it. :\

 

[stoveliker]

I have 2*10 joists (I believe 14" on center) on deck block on 16" pavers (only under the deck block). Seems to work. A l

 

[Woodsplitter67]

one of my sheds were 4.5x 30Lx7ft high I used 4x4 post and the bottom joise 4 of them with 9/16 pressure treated deck boards as the floor. The shed is 1ft off the ground. I put my pears every 5ft and make sure you have plenty of roof overhang. I have 20" in the front. The back wall is not soild but vented and removable if necessary.. keep it off the ground and space the boards on the floor so are moves through it easily..

 

[tlhfirelion]

Thanks for the replies!

 

[Ashful]

It's a lot of weight, figure up to 5000 lb. per cord wet, but it's very well distributed. My floor "joists" are only doubled-up 2x4's, but my spans are all under 4 feet, and I have two doubles (four 2x4's) under each row of splits. Continuous piers front to back, every 4 feet.



I have four of these sheds, plus a fifth that's a little smaller.

 

[tlhfirelion]

It's a lot of weight, figure up to 5000 lb. per cord wet, but it's very well distributed. My floor "joists" are only doubled-up 2x4's, but my spans are all under 4 feet, and I have two doubles (four 2x4's) under each row of splits. Continuous piers front to back, every 4 feet.

View attachment 302425 View attachment 302426

I have four of these sheds, plus a fifth that's a little smaller.

View attachment 302427

Good grief you could park a car on that. I like overbuilt. Thanks for the post and pics. I do plan to oversupport the beams since I have so many chunks of PT 6x6’s Left over.

 

[stoveliker]

5000 lbs is a car...

My 2x10s have a longest span of 6 ft; my bays are 6x8 ft, and the 8 ft spans are supported in the middle.

Better do it right (overbuilding) the first time, so you don't end up with sagging structures after you loaded them up. (imagine having to take out the wood, redo it, and put it back - or having to look at a crooked shed for 3 years until the wood is going to be burned).

 

[shortys7777]

You could always throw the wood on pallets on the ground. They will last a long time if stayed dry and you put some crushed stone or something down. That's what I did. I used deck blocks for the posts. I do have termites in the ground but even stacking on pallets without a roof or tarp covering them, I've never seen them in my stacks. Only when I leave a split on the ground for extended periods of time.

 

[Ashful]

5000 lbs is a car...

Or even two, in much of Europe!

Just remember that what appears overbuilt today will usually look under-built after 10-20 years in weather, sitting under tens of thousands of pounds of firewood. I built these to make the joist replacement very quick and easy, as I know they'll be sagging and rotting after a few 3-year cycles of drying cordwood. Each of those racks holds over 20,000 lb. of oak, when filled with green wood.

Reminds me of the time a neighbor asked if I was worried wind could catch the roof and blow one of these over! Each rack weighs about 3000 lb. empty + whatever wood is in it at the time. They'll never be more than half empty, as I begin refilling a bay as soon as it's emptied, an each rack is broken into four bays.

If I can get 10+ years out of the floor joists, and 20+ out of the rest, I'll consider it a success.

 

[stoveliker]

Or even two, in much of Europe!

Off topic:
In fact, more than 2 times my (empty) car.

(This is what most people seem to forget here, that gas mileage mostly depends on weight... So I get 40+ mpg - WITH me in the car .)

 

[Gearhead660]

I have a somewhat similar shed and I put down gravel and used pallets to keep the wood off the ground. I have unlimited supply of pallets for free from work, helped cut down on cost.

 

[Simonkenton]

My woodshed is 8x12. The joists are 2x12s, 16 inch on center, and 8 feet long. Way over built for the housing code but there is a lot more weight in there than what you would find in any house. You will never regret over building.

 

[cahaak]

I think you are much better off putting your wood on pallets that are placed on sand / crushed rock and weed fabric. There is a huge amount of loose wood material that falls down each year and with pallets you can just pull them out to clean and put them back and restack. Kept dry, pallets will last years as noted above. My wood is stack ~7 feet high and no issue for the pallet surfaces.

 

[Ashful]

I think you are much better off putting your wood on pallets that are placed on sand / crushed rock and weed fabric. There is a huge amount of loose wood material that falls down each year and with pallets you can just pull them out to clean and put them back and restack. Kept dry, pallets will last years as noted above. My wood is stack ~7 feet high and no issue for the pallet surfaces.

I think this is a good method, for many situations. But don't assume one solution is best for all people, given variations in equipment, stock, usage, etc.