Wood shed design

[Pete S]

We have used wood to heat for decades, and now are making some syrup. With the recent LP SCARE, I was able to talk the "Boss" into building a wood shed.

When this shed is completed, I know I will dearly miss: Iced/wet/frozen wood, re-tarping, torn and weather beaten tarps, leaking tarps causing WET wood, and my all time favorite,.............tarps frozen down so bad you have to cut them at the ground to get your wood.

That being said, I have envied so many of you seeing the photos of your wood sheds. I don't have an official "plan" but have preliminary "permission" to build about a 16' x 24' shed.

This shed will have a concrete floor as I also forgot to mention about tripping and sliding on the landscape timbers, and if you have never had a ground hog in your wood pile on dirt,..................you have never been really pissed off.

The sides are being proposed as "slatted" somewhat like a corn crib. I would utilize the re-sawn cedar poles like our shack has. (see photo)

I am planning on the front having an opening of 8' that you can back the wood rack in on the back of the tractor, and or put the loader bucket in and then load out of the weather,.....................or just fill the whole thing with wood!

My questions is: From a design perspective, how problematic is snow blowing in to a slatted wall on a structure thus filling the wood with snow?

AND if you could rebuild yours,......................what things would you think you could have done, or done better.

THANKS!

[lpakiz]

Pete S,
I have had a wood shelter for 40 years. If possible, make it accessible from all 4 sides, as you may have different kinds of wood, or wood of varying seasoning, etc. You may want to put green wood in, but you will block access to your dry wood. Maybe you have a bunch of softwood you would like to burn in fall or spring. You need to be able to get to different kinds of wood.
I have no sides on mine. Sometimes snow blows in, but 99% of the time it is not a problem. I do lean old plywood against the bottom 4 feet sometimes, but it looks unsightly. The overhang will keep the top couple feet relatively weather-proof.
If you are really determined to have sides, maybe sliding doors on double tracks, that can be slid by each other, to access different wood? Or try it without sides and stud it in later if you think you want to do that.
I think my head-room is about 6 1/2 feet. Once you have one, you will NEVER want to be without it. I should have cemented it the first year I had it, instead of pallets and runners frozen to the ground or rotting.

[Big_Eddy]

Mine is a 3 sided lean-to about 7' deep and 35' long. I have 5 "bays" each of which holds 5 rows deep or ~3 cords. Mine backs into the wind, and has a good wind break behind it. Snow blowing in is not a problem when it's full - and snow in the empty bays doesn't bother me. I use about 3 bays a year, so I don't quite have wood a year ahead, but I'm 2/3 there.

I'm convinced of the merits of a design with multiple bays or sections. I can be working on the active bay, at the same time I am refilling an empty bay. At any given time, I have "wet" bays and "dry" bays. Also - more length is better than more depth. 5 rows deep is enough - otherwise you get good dry wood stranded at the back and you're piling more wet wood in front of it.

I back my dump trailer to the bay mouth, then raise it up when stacking. The wood rolls to the tail-gate and I lift it directly onto the pile. I use a wheelbarrow to move wood to the house.

I try to mix a little poplar into every row for kindling. One year I dedicated a bay to kindling and would draw from it as well as the active bay - I prefer a little mixed in every row so there's always a few choice pieces in the wood box.

[lpakiz]

I agree with everything Eddie said. I can tell you, tho, that you never want to have to pile wood from the "end" of a row. You always need to pile from the side. You can remove wood from the end easily, tho.
Also, develop a method of ending rows with vertical pipes or 2X4 or something, perhaps anchored to the ceiling and the base in a scrap sheet of plywood or wide board with a couple cleats nailed to it , with wood piled on the plywood to anchor the bottom. I have also drilled a 1/4 inch hole in the cement and welded a short piece of 1/4 inch rod inside the end of a 3/4 or 1 inch pipe. Let it stick out an inch, at the MOST. Set the stub in the hole in the floor, and the bottom ain't going no place. Easily removed and re-installed, if you can find the hole. They stabilize the rows, as well as let you segregate wood, as we have both mentioned.

[Michael Greer]

If you're putting on a metal roof, make it a dark one...just for that little bit of free heat. It'll keep things drier. I like putting pallets down on my concrete floor to allow a little air flow under the pile.

[Scribner's Mountain Maple]

My shed is 20*20, with walls on 3 sides. I like Big Eddy's design better. Something bad about my box style is when you fill it with wet wood, the stuff in the middle doesn't get much air flow, taking much longer to dry. As most will tell you, air flow dries firewood as much or more than anything else. If you decide on walls, let in air around the rafters and under the walls. I am even considering cutting large sections of my walls off and reattaching them on hinges so I can open them up during the summer months.