Northwoods Maple Farm

[Maple Man 85]

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Hello fellow traders figured I'd post a couple pictures of the progress on our new sugar house! Not too shabby for only starting construction five days ago. Tomorrow we should have the trusses up and hopefully have the roof on by the end of the weekend. If anyone is interested in following connect with us on Facebook @northwoodsmaplefarm.

[BAP]

Looks Great. What are the dimensions?

[MISugarDaddy]

Very impressive. Keep up the good work! Keep the pictures​ coming.
Gary

[Maple Man 85]

Looks Great. What are the dimensions?
30x45 with 14' walls

[maple flats]

I should have made one that size. Mine is 16x24 and I thought I'd never need that much, but it is very crowded for sure but I'm not sure I'll build a new one. I do have plans for an addition this year. Then for 2018 I have plans to build a storage barn upwards to 30-40' that will have a walk in cooler in one corner. I'm getting the sight ready this summer/fall, removing about 12-14 trees, digging out the stumps (I have an excavator) and then getting fill hauled in.

[Maple Man 85]

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Here's more progress on the new sugar house was able to get half the trusses on today!

[MISugarDaddy]

We also used our aerial lift to set our trusses in place. Those small units work great for doing that. That is going to be a really nice sized sugarhouse. Thanks for the progress pictures.
Gary

[Maple Man 85]

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Here's some more pictures of the progress. We are hoping today we can finish up soffit and fascia.

[Maple Man 85]

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It rained on and off all day and it wasn't raining at night so we finished putting of fascia boards around 11pm last night.

[Maple Man 85]

Here's the update from the weekend! We were able to get the soffit, fascia and roof on minus the ridge cap! Not too shabby for getting rained on all weekend:cool:16558165591656016561

[MISugarDaddy]

It's looking good. You haven't had the greatest weather for working in lately. We can appreciate the frustration ... we are in the process of replacing the shingles on all our buildings' roofs (84 square) due to defective shingles from Certainteed. Fortunately, I guess, there was a class action suit against Certainteed so we have gotten reimbursed some of our costs. We haven't been able to catch a break though in the weather with rain almost every other day. Keep up the good work and hope the weather improves for you too.
Gary

[Maple Man 85]

We wouldn't have these great stories if everything when to planned and the weather cooperated. We actually stopped counting after the 10th rain shower last Sunday while putting the roof on. It was like a big slip n slide:o

[BAP]

What's the pitch on your roof?

[Maple Man 85]

4/12 pitch

[BAP]

That's a flat roof for snow load.

[Windy Acres]

Looking good!

[mkoehler79]

That's a flat roof for snow load. We have the same pitch roof and located very near Maple Man. With the metal roof, the snow slides off very easily and has not been anywhere close to a problem. Also, the trusses on the building we put up are rated 40 p.s.f. which meets area code.

[Maple Man 85]

We have the same pitch roof and located very near Maple Man. With the metal roof, the snow slides off very easily and has not been anywhere close to a problem. Also, the trusses on the building we put up are rated 40 p.s.f. which meets area code.

We researched before we went with the 4/12 and have stamped plans by an engineer to make sure the roof was able to withstand anything a Wi weather could throw at it.

[VTnewguy]

Looks Great!

[maple flats]

We researched before we went with the 4/12 and have stamped plans by an engineer to make sure the roof was able to withstand anything a Wi weather could throw at it.
That's good, but you may not be able to add "avalanche stops" (snow guards) to help hold the snow load from sliding off. Ask your engineer if snow guards can be used before using any if you decide you don't want the snow coming off all at once.

[BAP]

I would have thought Wisconsin snow load ratings would be higher. Around here, anything less than a 5/12 pitch and 60-65# snow load would be asking for trouble.

[Maple Man 85]

That's good, but you may not be able to add "avalanche stops" (snow guards) to help hold the snow load from sliding off. Ask your engineer if snow guards can be used before using any if you decide you don't want the snow coming off all at once.

Snow guards were engineered into the plan... I'm told the trusses will handle it. I have pretty beefy trusses, I told the engineers I wanted to place a pulley system from the trusses to raise the hoods or in the future a steamaway so they were rated for a much higher load than standard trusses.

[maple flats]

Good, It's always better to plan ahead rather than trying to beef it up later. Sounds like you did well.

[Maple Man 85]

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Got some of the wainscoting between today the yesterday. Hopefully by the 4th we'll have the rest of the steel on! More pictures to follow, have a Happy Independence Day everyone!!!

[Maple Man 85]

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Spent some more time on the new sugarhouse over the holiday (okay more than some time). We were able to get the ridge cap on and the east, west and south walls sheeted off.

[Maple Man 85]

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We had some directional boring done to pump sap under the County Road directly to our new sugar house worth every cent!

[BAP]

Looks great. How many taps are you running across the road?

[Maple Man 85]

4000 taps to start with the potential for much more. We pulled 4 2'' lines for potential future capacity. Had to engineer the system to be able to run without me (I work 2nd shift). We have 3 pump stations bringing 4000 tap right to the sugarhouse with a tank sensor that we'll wire into the RO so once the tank is full we are making concentrate. Then when I get home we can run the evaporator a couple hours get some sleep and still have plenty of time to walk the woods and check for leaks later in the mornings.

[Maple Man 85]

Had a productive weekend on the new sugarhouse. Insulated two walls, put up trim around the services doors and garage door, and sheeted off a full wall.16599166001660116602

[MISugarDaddy]

Your project is really looking good. Nice to see you are finishing the inside walls like you are doing. Makes for easy cleaning if needed and makes the health inspector really happy. It isn't cheap to do it the way you are doing, but you won't regret it.
Gary

[Maple Man 85]

Your project is really looking good. Nice to see you are finishing the inside walls like you are doing. Makes for easy cleaning if needed and makes the health inspector really happy. It isn't cheap to do it the way you are doing, but you won't regret it.
Gary
Thanks Gary, We have been in touch with the inspector to make sure everything is up to their expectations (which at times has been a bit frustrating and expensive). Tomorrow We'll be taking a break from building and laying out roughly 12,000 feet of main line while the woods is somewhat dry.:o

[S.S.S]

What are you running for a evaporator?

[Maple Man 85]

What are you running for a evaporator?
A used Leader Vortex

[Maple Man 85]

It's been a few days sine I posted building update pics but we were able to get the rooms sheeted off and the kitchen done with the exception of plumbing and electrical. Also picked up a tank for permeate and pulled 12,000 feet of 3/4" 1662216623166241662516626

[Maple Man 85]

We poured a slab and were able to set the tanks in place as well as get a start on the electric and install the garage door. Things are coming along nicely but the weather is changing quickly. By mid September we should have the sugarhouse complete and begin working on tubing!16657166581665916660

[maple flats]

You're doing everything first class. When I raised my homemade trusses I made a long lift crane of sorts on the 3 point hitch of my 20 HP tractor. It worked but was far from ideal. My little 4 ton excavator (I didn't have that when I built the sugarhouse) set all of my tanks. If it didn't have a front blade I'd have never handled the 1000 gal milk tanks, those are my largest.
You're doing a great job, you should be proud of the project.

[Maple Man 85]

Thanks Dave, it's been an adventure that's for sure. In one summer I took a crash course in heavy equipment operation, general construction, electrical, plumbing, flatwork, FDA compliance, Organic certification, sales and logistics! Would have never been able to do it if I hadn't stayed at a Holiday Inn Express :lol:

We'll finish up the ceiling this weekend just in time for the roof jacks to show up and the evaporator I'll be picking up in two weeks. My biggest obstacle right now is cutting the exterior and interior tin to go around the face of the tanks and ensuring its sealed to keep weather and critters out.

[Maple Man 85]

We pushed hard this weekend to get the ceiling installed, insulated and tanks painted. All that's left is closing off the wall around the tanks and lighting. 1667016671166721667316674

[n8hutch]

Looks awesome Maple Man, just an idea on the trimming around your round bulk tanks and your siding. You could get a local sheet metal guy to make you a trim piece if you gave them the diameter and then you would only have to be close with the actual ribbed siding .also I've never seen a critter chew through spray foam. I'm building a sugar house this summer myself but mine is much more rustic. One of these days I'll post some pics.

[Maple Man 85]

I'm building a sugar house this summer myself but mine is much more rustic. One of these days I'll post some pics.
Thanks Nate! Looking forward to seeing your pics as well! What I post on trader is just a small number of the pictures taken over the summer. The majority of them are on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/northwoodsmaplefarm/ if anyone else is interested on how we designed our sugar house.

[MISugarDaddy]

Maple Man you have built a first class sugar house!!! Very nice work. You should be proud.
Gary

[Maple Man 85]

Maple Man you have built a first class sugar house!!! Very nice work. You should be proud.
Gary
Thanks Gary, if you're in the area feel free to drop me a line! I always look forward to sharing and learning from others!

[Maple Man 85]

Got a bit closer to finishing up the sugarhouse. We sheeted off across the top of the north wall, framed around the tanks, built a railing for the loft, got the feed tank in position, got electric hooked up and epoxied the floors. All that's left is to finishing sheeting off around the tanks, insulate and interior steel on the north wall and the sugarhouse is complete! 1668116682166831668416685

[MISugarDaddy]

Sounds like you will get it all closed in before Mother Nature decides to change our weather back to normal. Really nice work. If we are traveling around your area with our RV we will definitely give you a call.
Gary

[Maple Man 85]

Sounds like you will get it all closed in before Mother Nature decides to change our weather back to normal. Really nice work. If we are traveling around your area with our RV we will definitely give you a call.
Gary
Our intention is to button up the building this weekend as well as an bring the evaporator in and start assembling it while my wife finishes the womanly touches on the kitchen. We're super blessed to have friends and relatives willing to lend a hand! Without the help we would of not been nearly as far.

[Maple Man 85]

We were able to get the new/used evaporator moved and in the sugarhouse today! Monday I'll make another trip and get the hoods, float boxes and auto draw.1668916690

[Maple Man 85]

We made the push this week and finished the exterior of the sugarhouse and the inside of the utility room! We've got a few loose ends to tie up on the interior this weekend but are hoping we can start tensioning wire and putting up mainline! 16698166991670016701

[lords sugaring]

Looks great maple man. Things bigger than my house and the sugar shack I'm building put together lol. I'm curious why you chose metal over wood. I imagine it was a cost thing with a building that size.

[Maple Man 85]

Metal was purely driven from an inspection standpoint, it's easy to clean and with commercial kitchen licensing most everything had to be a washable surface. The building itself felt huge when we started but by the time we put all the equipment in it we found out it's not that big.

Looks great maple man. Things bigger than my house and the sugar shack I'm building put together lol. I'm curious why you chose metal over wood. I imagine it was a cost thing with a building that size.

[Maple Man 85]

He's the latest update on the building we insulated the north wall, sealed around the tanks and were able to do some fancy metal work on the interior to give a nice clean presentation.16712

[Maple Man 85]

If you don't have the stack covers yet garbage cans work as a temp fix... Got the stacks cut through today and are almost ready for a test boil. The blue lighting isn't mood lighting it's a bug light :lol:168121681316814

[MISugarDaddy]

Sounds like you got the outside work done just in time. Winter is about to arrive!!! REALLY NICE JOB. You and your wife are going to like that setup.
Gary

[Maple Man 85]

Thanks Gary, it was a very busy week and we're grateful it all came together. We had the USDA out Monday, Tuesday morning I got a call from the state to get our kitchen certified commercial and we frantically scrambled until 1:30am this morning for our inspection at 8am. Good news is we weren't dinged on anything and are now certified!

[MISugarDaddy]

Congratulations, that's really great news!!! Now you can relax a little I am sure. I know it is nice to get inspections like that out of the way. Good luck getting the finishing touches on the sugarhouse. Now you can spend some time in the woods before the snow gets too deep.
Gary

[Maple Man 85]

Congratulations, that's really great news!!! Now you can relax a little I am sure. I know it is nice to get inspections like that out of the way. Good luck getting the finishing touches on the sugarhouse. Now you can spend some time in the woods before the snow gets too deep.
Gary
A bit of R&R is much needed, my brother is on his way back to WI for the gun deer season/Thanksgiving so we're spending some time catching up. My wife is covering a vendor show this Saturday and we have 3 other events in December. While she's focusing on the events I'll be putting in drops and saddles. By the end of January we'll be ready to tap. We've found that being prepared is priceless and the season goes so much smoother.

[southfork]

Very nice looking project Maple Man 85, I hope you have a good year.

[Maple Man 85]

Got the steam stacks installed today, was told the covers were on a truck on their way from Vermont!1684416845

[Maple Man 85]

We have a friend that's a pilot and he took us up for aerial photos of our woods and sugarhouse. I got to fly on the return (minus the landing)!!! :o. You see the pump houses but the line don't up in pictures.16854168551685616857

[MISugarDaddy]

Very cool aerial pictures. You have a very nice looking place. Probably the only way to get pictures of the lines in the woods would be with a drone. Are you tapping the woods across the road from your place? If so, it looks like a nice wood lot to be tapping. Is it fairly level? You have come a long way this year, congratulations on your work, you and your wife should be very proud!
Gary

[Maple Man 85]

Very cool aerial pictures. You have a very nice looking place. Probably the only way to get pictures of the lines in the woods would be with a drone. Are you tapping the woods across the road from your place? If so, it looks like a nice wood lot to be tapping. Is it fairly level? You have come a long way this year, congratulations on your work, you and your wife should be very proud!
Gary
The woods across is ours, and it is very level it took a great deal of work to ensure everything flowed down hill. We also had it select cut last winter which made running line easier. My friend is very capable of flying 100 feet above tree tops but being that it was my wife's and daughters first time in a plane we didn't want to make them too nervous.

[MISugarDaddy]

I understand not wanting to make your wife and daughter uncomfortable. I am a pilot, so I know what you mean. I remember my wife's first flight with me. She had just flown on a commercial flight, so it was quite a step down to a Cessna. I can imagine the work that went into laying out your lines. You have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
Gary

[Maple Man 85]

I'm looking for some advise... I'll be seeing the rest of my smoke stack this week and am wondering how to safety install it without renting equipment.

The stack needs to be twice the length of the evaporator so 38 feet-ish. At the top of the roof jack I've got 24 feet, how does a person go about putting another 14 feet of 18" stack on without risking life and limb??? I can screw the section together on the ground and bring the whole thing up but once I'm on the roof how do you set something in place that's so tall and top heavy?

[MISugarDaddy]

I understand not wanting to rent equipment to install your stack, but renting a towable aerial lift would probably run only about $200 for the amount of time you will need it and it would be better than you or someone else getting hurt. That would allow you install it in sections rather than all in one piece which will make it easier to handle. Plus it will make it easier to install your supporting cables or whatever you are using to keep it from being blown over in the wind. Better to be safe than sorry.
Gary

[Super Sapper]

If you have forced air you do not need to go with the 2 foot rule as stack length will affect your draw. I would see what others have done with larger evaporators

[johnallin]

38' is a lot of chimney or smoke stack pipe! My thinking is that with the 24' you have to the roof jack, another section or two would be more than enough and likely suck the glove off your hand when you get it fired up... Maybe wrestle an assembled 8' long section up there, drop it on and see how that works.

[Maple Man 85]

38' is a lot of chimney or smoke stack pipe! My thinking is that with the 24' you have to the roof jack, another section or two would be more than enough and likely suck the glove off your hand when you get it fired up... Maybe wrestle an assembled 8' long section up there, drop it on and see how that works.
I thought it would be enough as well, the gentleman that had the rig prior to me had that much stack on it and it was based on Leader's recommendations. I'm tempted to try it with less... The covers are showing up tomorrow so that's the moment of truth, I may try it to see how much suck I can get.

[maple flats]

The standard rule for stack length on a wood fired rig is 2x the evaporator length, but that is for naturally aspirated. I'd suggest you just go about 4' above the roof and at least 2' higher than anything within 10', since you have blowers to create the air movement, even if that is under the 2x figure.

[Maple Man 85]

Thanks for the thoughts fellow traders! It would make sense that I wouldn't need the height due to the arch being forced air.

[Maple Man 85]

Well I muscled the smoke stack into place... It was a bit sketchy but it's up, functional, secured and definitely way above the peak. Just waiting for the last steam stack cover and roof work will be done!16877

[Maple Man 85]

We haven't posted in a while but we're making waves in the community and received a request to do an interview with our local new station. Here's the link!
http://www.wsaw.com/search?searchKeywords=Northwoods+Maple