Sugar shack floor

[DMF]

My wife told me this is the last year we boil outside! I have been thinking about building a sugar shack since last year anyway and have actually had some logs from our woodlot milled with that in mind. My question though concerns the floor. We live on the side of a mountain which makes it great for gravity feeding sap but is lousy for most everything else, but especially for building.

My plan calls for a 14' x 16' building with a 4' porch on the front which the roof line from the shack will continue over. I could easily build it on sonotubes with a wood deck floor but seeing how much ash/coals come out of the arch now I'm concerned about fire and being able to clean it. A cement floor means a ton more work and money. I'll need to dig into the hillside, put in footings, concrete blocks, drainage etc.

What are your thoughts or solutions you've found for your sugar shack floors?

[Sugarmaker]

Concrete has its advantages. That would be my first choice. Disadvantage is it has to be put in right or it may heaveI have seen one wood floor sugarhouse with the 4 x 8 sheets of aluminum antiskid plate put down for protection.
Regards,
Chris

[Ghs57]

I am also considering a new floor. While my shack sits on a concrete foundation, my current floor is crushed stone, which I would not recommend.

I'm leaning toward pouring a concrete floor. I know it will cost more, but for me I think it's the best choice. In your case though a wood framed floor would work fine. There are plenty of ways to protect the wood structure, and would in fact be required by the building code. For example, a wood stove installation in a wood frame residence has to have specified clearances to combustible surfaces, and sit on a non-combustible surface.

Whether wood or concrete, a solid, level, easy to clean floor is a must.

[johnpma]

They make fire retardant plywood that you could lay down......

https://www.chicagoflameproof.com/fire-retardant-plywood/

[bstewar]

I would have preferred to lay concrete down but had slope and cost issues. I did advantech plywood floor. Under the arch/firebox I put 3x5 durarock, 2500 degree fabric (5 layers) and 2" pavers. The durarock extends 3' out in front of the fire door to catch embers that may pop out. I have heard alot of people doing less on a wood floor with no issues.

[DMF]

I would have preferred to lay concrete down but had slope and cost issues. I did advantech plywood floor. Under the arch/firebox I put 3x5 durarock, 2500 degree fabric (5 layers) and 2" pavers. The durarock extends 3' out in front of the fire door to catch embers that may pop out. I have heard alot of people doing less on a wood floor with no issues.

Do you have any photos you can share? Thanks!

[bstewar]

Sure. I can grab some more pics if you want. [/ATTACH]15811

[sugarwoodacres]

When i used to boil on a deck I would put down 2 layers of durock like what goes under tile and the fire brick on top of that . This may work if you had to build a deck floor
.

[claystroup]

I am getting costs right now on building either a 12 x 16 or 14 x 18 shack this summer and the costs for concrete are through the roof. I can do a wood foundation using all treated material with 2 x 8 floor joists for about $1000 less than concrete. On a $4000-4500 budget job thats a 20-25% premium for a concrete floor in a building I am going to use 4 to 6 weeks a year. My 2 x 5 Mason arch has a seperate ash cleanout pan that sits about 10" off the ground so heat is not a factor just ashes that fall so I think a sheet of Durarock under that area of the arch would be sufficent. Thoughts?

[johnpma]

1/2" Cement Board, made a frame around the perimeter of the cement board and filled in with red brick I had laying around. We then swept fine sand into the voids to solidify, and tie it all together. Last night for kicks i checked the temp of the bricks during a hard boil with the blower cranking and it was 79 degrees

[mspina14]

Great idea!

Very nicely done.

Mark

[mspina14]

Here's a photo of the metal diamond plate I put over my wood plank floor:

15824

My evaporator is a Mason 2x4. Never had a problem.

Mark

[DMF]

Great ideas guys; thanks!

[DaveB]

I have a 12x16 sugarhouse for my 2x6 and it seems like the right size. I have a wood floor but the evaporator is support by cement blocks. I kind of built the sugarhouse around it. I dug down several feet where the arch would go and filled that with sand and placed the blocks on top of that so that they would not shift. So the area under the fire box is actually open and not on wood.

I keep an eye on any sparks but I usually pour sap in an area in front of the evaporator after the first firing and any stray embers and then again at the end of the day. I have not had an issue in 10 years.

[Tappy Sap Master]

My shack is a 12x14 for my 2x6. My shack does sit on sono tubes but I placed 6 extra tubes & footings just to support the evaporator floor.The slab is 2 1/2" thick reinforced with #5 rebar.15845[/ATTAC[ATTACH=CONFIG]158461584715848H]

[DMF]

Tappy - Have you experienced any cracks in your slab?

[backyard sugaring]

I boiled for years on 3/4 stone in my Sugarshack. Pouring a concrete floor with strategically placed drains with a nice slope toward the garage door was the best addition I ever did in my Sugarshack. We are able to hose down whenever we want. It is nice wheeling around drums easily. I think it will be more money, but less upkeep. Just my 2 cents. Lee

[Tappy Sap Master]

No cracks as of yet!

[lords sugaring]

DMF what did you end up going with for your floor ?? I was looking into wood and crushed stone floors also. I ended up deciding with a 6" slab with drains 12 x 16. Total cost estimate between materials and tools is roughly 1100 bucks if you can work with concrete

[minehart gap]

Has anyone tried a suspended concrete floor? Basically place your sonotubes to below frost on heave footings up to the elevation of what will be the bottom of the concrete slab then support metal decking for a form under the concrete. The same as parking garages only scaled down. It would take a lot of rebar tying everything together and probably 8” thick concrete but I would think that it would be better than burning the sugar shack down. Downside would be extra cost and I would want someone to help that has a lot of concrete experience, or an engineer to figure the size and placement of the rebar. Sort of like Tappy did only for the entire floor.