The New Sugarshack

[Bucket Head]

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Hi Guys,

Now that we have some time to spare with the season over, here are some shots of our new shack that I wanted to share. I never boiled a drop of sap under a roof until this year, and it was nice! The building was started in Aug. of '12 but I lost my job shortly after that so it was'nt usable for last spring. Its 24'x 40', ten foot walls, with a loft. We finally got it so we could boil in it this year. (Too bad the season was'nt a great one.) I also upgraded evaporators. I went up to a 30"x 10' and stretched my arch. We got that in the building and the hoods installed just in time. We put a lot of thought into its design and everything worked pretty good. I thought a lot about what I would have for a shack if I had a shack while I was outside boiling all those years! I'm already looking forward to year number two with the "new" set-up! Hope everyone has a better season next year!

Steve

[maplerookie]

Steve your "shack" is awesome. Have you got a finishing kitchen in your setup?. I hope to build a shack as well some day. Maybe not on the scale you have. It appears you are set for years to come. Again Great build.

[wnybassman]

Very nice!!

Next year will 9hopefully) be my first year inside as well. 16 years of doing it outside is enough!! Bought the rig already, just need the building. I am looking to build a 10x16 mainly because that is what the land dictates. I don't have too many flat spots on my property.

[Ausable]

Steve - It is a Sugar shack of rare beauty. I can tell a lot of thought went into building it. Now that I'm in my 70's - I could not imagine boiling outside in the wind, rain and snow. Although - I did it for many years. I'm sure You will put it through many years of good use. Very nice job. ---Mike---

[maple flats]

Wow Steve, That looks great! I should have built one that size too. Now I'm torn between adding an addition 12 x 30, off the side of mine, or moving across the driveway and build a 24x36 or maybe even a 24x40 like yours. I am however leaning towards the addition, making it my kitchen, with an RO room and bathroom at one end. I was planning that for this years maple proceeds, but alas, it will now need to wait another year.
Dave

[maplerookie]

Very nice!!

Next year will 9hopefully) be my first year inside as well. 16 years of doing it outside is enough!! Bought the rig already, just need the building. I am looking to build a 10x16 mainly because that is what the land dictates. I don't have too many flat spots on my property. One hour with a dozer. It is amazing how flat a hillside can be carved out. I too am amazed and envious of the build.

[Bucket Head]

Thanks for the compliments guy's. No, we don't have a kitchen in there, but we built it with enough room to "expand" in the future. The gravel pad was made large enough to allow for a lean-to type addition on the left side if we should ever need more room. Right now we use that area for parking the truck with the tank on it.

We did a few things different when it came to building it. I wanted the loft for storage, but more importantly I wanted to be able to open the cupola doors and stack cover by hand- with no ropes and pulleys, and no big ladders. I hate heights! I have a short step ladder up there so I can actuate the stack cover and the doors have prop rods with notches in them that I fabricated. I just did'nt want to chance ropes/cables and pulleys failing and not being able to open or close anything when needed. I also went with doors that hinge at the top for two reasons. I wanted the closed position to be the "default" position. We have wind up here- the rain falls at a severe angle and snow goes horrizontally- so I did'nt want a door to be open due to a rope failure and we have an attic full! And having the door upwards keeps the rain out while boiling. I've been in sugarshacks that had the doors on the roof when open, and when the rain was wind driven we got rained on while talking inside the building! I did'nt want that.

All you guys thinking about building a shack- my only advice would be, "do it". We should have done it a long time ago. Spend some time on it, spend some extra money on it even though its hard to swallow at the time, and you'll be really glad you did it that way once its built.

Steve

[Clarkfield Farms]

Wow, Steve, that's terrific. I wish I'd stopped over to visit. Too bad the season wasn't better. I was working up in the lower field when you guys came by the other day to pull buckets, were you able to use the sap in the tank? I wish the flow had been better to make it worth your while. And, no offense, but calling that a "shack" is just plain wrong, lol!

[Bucket Head]

Hi Tim,

You can still stop in for a visit- we don't charge for "shack" tours. Well, not yet anyway. Come soon before the policy changes, lol. No, we did'nt take that sap. The heat was'nt too kind to that sap! Mother Nature is a tough business partner. Oh well, maybe next year will be better.

Steve

[mantispid]

How much did building that set you back?

[Bucket Head]

More than I thought it would, but thats how every project goes. About twenty grand- and thats from the site work excavating to opening the door and turning the lights and water on. Quite a bit went into the digging portion. There is an oversized pad there for expansion later. It sets 300 feet from the house so it took some digging getting there with the water and electricity. Drains that go to daylight are another hundred feet out the rear of the building. And theres about a hundred feet of driveway going to it from the main driveway.

Like I said earlier, it really pays off later doing things the way you want them the first time. It costs more doing it, or redoing it later and/or the second time. If your contemplating building a sugarhouse, really think about where you want to be, or think you might be in the future when planning your building. And as many folks on here will tell you, there is no such thing as a sugarhouse thats too big.

Steve

[maple flats]

I've said it before, When building, plan how much you think you will ever want, and then double it. In the end you will have half enough. I've said this many times, but alas, I only added 50%, now I need to about triple it.
Steve, that had to be a huge change, from boiling outside then moving into a 24 x 40' castle!

[Bucket Head]

Hi Dave,

I can't get used to being inside. Therefore I am looking for a forty foot arch with an extra long flue pan. That way I can still stand outside and fire it. I really missed getting soaked and having my hat blown off my head repeatedly. And reading a hydrometer with wet eyeglasses is fun...

Seriously, A "huge change" is right. With the exception of two days, every day we boiled the wind was just cranking here. And two times it poured. Both my father and I said, "wow, we used to boil in that?!". We should have built something years ago. But as they say, hindsight is always 20/20!

Steve

[mantispid]

More than I thought it would, but thats how every project goes. About twenty grand- and thats from the site work excavating to opening the door and turning the lights and water on. Quite a bit went into the digging portion. There is an oversized pad there for expansion later. It sets 300 feet from the house so it took some digging getting there with the water and electricity. Drains that go to daylight are another hundred feet out the rear of the building. And theres about a hundred feet of driveway going to it from the main driveway.

Like I said earlier, it really pays off later doing things the way you want them the first time. It costs more doing it, or redoing it later and/or the second time. If your contemplating building a sugarhouse, really think about where you want to be, or think you might be in the future when planning your building. And as many folks on here will tell you, there is no such thing as a sugarhouse thats too big.

Steve

I'm guessing you did most of the work yourself and that amount was mostly in materials, renting equipment, etc.? If that was with hired labor, then I think I might not be getting such a deal on my 24x32x14' sugarhouse project that doesn't even have water or power!

[Bucket Head]

First, I have to make a correction on the overall cost. After some thought and a little unofficial math, we're approaching twenty two grand all together. And again, thats from the first lump of dirt bulldozed to unlocking the door and walking in. A contractor did most of the work but my father and I helped out when we could. We helped set the poles, helped a little with the framing of it and my father and I did the boards and battons on the walls. The holes for the poles, cement in the bottom of them, roof, cupola, gable ends, smoke stack and doors were done by the contractor. I helped a buddy run the electric lines out to it but he did the rest of it. I rented a ditch witch for that trench. The excavator did the pad, driveway, water and drain line.

I could'nt tell you which one of us is getting a deal or not. I've never done a project like this start to finish before. I have nothing to compare it to. I know folks who have put up similar size buildings and some did it for less and some were quite a bit more. Its all about what you want and what your willing to pay for, or not pay for and do yourself. There are all sorts of variables with projects like these. For comparison, maybe some others on here will chime in with what they paid for their sugarhouse, or small barn, or a multi-stall garage/workshop, etc. I would have liked to have paid less for the building, who would'nt have, but I'm very happy with the building.

Steve

[SevenCreeksSap]

Sugar Barn - spelled B-A-R-N not S-H-A-C-K.

Beautiful, try not to fill it up with everything else you own like we all tend to do.