how big is your sugar shack

[jemsklein]

hello every one i was thinking of building a sugar shack this year and was wondering what size should it be i have a 2x10 foot evaporator its going to be in the bush there is no hydro so we are going to have a genorator but how high high should the roof be what pitch suold the roof be shingal or steel sorry for being a pain thank you

[maplecrest]

the first thing you need to think about is how many taps down the road. dont do what i did and build too small. and do not forget floor drains

[jemsklein]

well right now im at 250 taps with potential to do 3000

[maplecrest]

well you better sit down and design your evap room, canning area, drum storage r/o room. sap storage. the list goes on. and you will answer your own question. think later not now

[tapper]

I have built many buildings over the years for many different uses and no one ever said their building was too big. Build the largest that you can afford but construct it in a manner that it can easily be added onto. Even if you put yourself in a little hole for it now you sure wont regret it.

[H. Walker]

And don't forget enough covered storage for wood!!!

There is nothing like dry wood!!

[maplecrest]

my sugar house is 20 by 40, with 12 foot walls. in that space is my 6 x 14 evap with steam stacks , canning space, r/o room, furnace, and room to store 20 full drums max, and a work bench. off that i build a storage room that is 10 by 40 for empty drum storage and supplies, and empty jugs and cans. my tank and vac room is seperate and is 20 by 30 that has sap tanks , consentrate tanks and permeate tank along with the oil tank, vac system and air compresser for washing tubing.

[Jim Brown]

The typicial answer to the question of "HOW BIG IS YOUR SUGAR HOUSE?" is
NOT BIG ENOUGHT!

Jim

[HHM-07]

your roof should be boarded solid with steel on top of it , otherwise you will need a raincoat.

ick @ hobby hill maples

[HHM-07]

your roof should be boarded up solid then steel on top of that, otherwise you will need raingear when you boil.

Dick @ Hobby Hill Maples
2x4 leader woodfired
170 taps on line

[HHM-07]

sorry i pushed the wrong buttons looks like it went out twice, i am a sugar maker not a coumputer expert

Dick

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

My sugarhouse is 24x48 with a 2x8 evaporator. Sounds like overkill but better too much than not enough. I also have an attached 8' woodshed making the total roof length 58' with overhangs on each end. I am going to add a 10x12 kitch on one end and a 14x12 bedroom and bath bedside it which will eat up 12' of one end. On the other end, I store my tractor and Yamaha atv and have a 9x12 garage door. The front walk thru door is 48" wide and was a special order steel door, but this gives plenty of room to move things in or out if I needed.

I added sofitt to it this year from the rough cut lumber and it is completely finished on the outside this year. I also landscaped and finished the ground around it and I have a nice yard type setup. I have also had aprox 300 tons of fill dumped on the upper end above the landscaped area and this has turned into enough for another parking for aprox 2 cars area upwind of the normal wind direct so I can advoid ash on my car while boiling and give more parking for guest.

I have added some pics on the website link below for my photobucket if anyone is interested since the landscaping is finished 2 years later. I built a 24x48 building because it was an easy size and I could get 24' 4/12 trusses for $ 37 @ at the time which was $ 15 less than a 5/12 truss. (and yes 4/12 trusses work just fine for where I am especially with enamel coat galvalloy roofing the snow slides right off) Don't sound like a lot, but figure 29 trusses and it adds up fast. Also, with it being that size, you basically have no lumber waste at all as nothing is odd size. I have 24" cinderblock walls and 8' wood walls on top of that for 10' total. The cinderblock keeps any water off of the wood. I have plenty of room for guest, rooom to eat if I wanted to feed some and more. Can't have too much room as I plan to use it for a place to "camp out" with the kids in a couple of years when they get a little bigger and I get it finished. I have also closed in the end of the woodshed also leaving only the 2 small ends open.

[Brent]

I got you beat. My sugar house is about 6000 miles x 4000 miles.
Lots of real fresh air. See the pictures on the link in my signature below.
The back porch.

BUT if I get my new evap I'll be going first class, to the end of the pool pump house that is about 17' x 11', and I'll be sharing that with the pool pump and filter.

[jemsklein]

WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER
that is a nice sugar shack how long did it take you to build it or did you hire a person to do it. me and my dad a planing to saw up some lumber and build are at the bottom of are bush so that all the main lines will run right in to it we are planning on having a room with tanks in it that is not heated and i was thinking of a garage door for the tractor. is it true you need to have a roof coverd in solid wood then metal over it to stop the steam from dripping down. but for the size i was thinking 16x25 feet with 12 foot high walls and a 5:12 or 6:12 pitch roof. and there is now power so i have a generator and there is no running water but there is a sping like 50 feet away im wondering if i should use that for cleaning water. and i also have these big windows in are basment that are 4x6 feet and i was wondering i should use those for light cause WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER doas not have many big windows thank you

[gmcooper]

40X60 is a good start then leave room to add on in all directions! LOL

What ever size fits your budget is usually as big as anyone ends up with. Just be sure you do not build yourself into a a corner with no practical room to expand later.

To avoid conensation most any of the rigid foam insulation sheets will work. I used just 1" blue styrofoam between rafters with no problems for 15 years. Foil covered Celotex might be sealed a little better.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Thanks and yes I only have 2 small windows. My sugarhouse is on a 1 lane asphalt road and the windows are kept small with bolted wood doors on the backside to discourage someone from breaking in. \

As far as boards. I think my roof sheeting boards are on 16" or 24" inch centers, I can't remember and no you do not need a solid board roof underneath the metal roofing unless you are boiling with too small of a coupla and no hood. Any halfway decent coupla or proper steam hood will take care of the condensation. Now when it is raining outside or something weird, I get some drips, but very few.

As far as building it, it took a long time. I was able to build and set the walls in a couple of days with myself and 1 other person and put the trusses and sheeting on the next day which was Saturday with 2 others helping.

A 24x48 is so easy to build due to the dimensions and the trusses are not so big you can't handle them, especially 4/12 pitch trusses.

[Sugarmaker]

jemsklein,
Sugarhouse Size:
Well the evaporator room is pretty standard at 16 x 24 for our 3 x 10 evaporator. Then added 24 x 10 shed roof for the wood storage. Then added a 14 x 26 room with loft on the back for sap storage above and kitchen below. All these additions were on paper prior to building anything. I designed it as a sugarhouse that could be converted to a 2 bay garage and work shop if I get tired of this maple hobby.
I was out there tonight looking for more room to put all the stuff. So you will always seem find stuff to fill the space you build.:)
Take a look at some of the pictures. We used shingles. 8:12 pitch, I think I would use steel if I built another? This was a nice project and took several seasons to complete. Yes cement floors and floor drains.

Good luck with the plans!

Chris

[jemsklein]

Sugarmaker you got a nice sugar house to. it looks like you are to far in to your hoppy to stop so keep it up

[cncaboose]

James, My shack is 20x20 for our 3x8 evaporator on a concrete pad with floor drain, plus 10x20 woodshed across the end off the pad. It has enough room to park my 29 hp tractor inside for the non-sugaring months of the year, which during sugaring, when the tractor is getting full time use, gives us lots of room to operate. I have no access to the power grid, so set up a small solar rig to give us juice for lights and running a 1/6 hp submersible pump to fill my feed tank. 2 fifteen watt panels and a voltage regulator from Northern tool, 2 new 6 V golf car batteries from a local golf car dealer, and a 1500 watt power inverter off eBay got the whole thing set up for less than $400. Just plug in a shop light, or what ever else and you're good to go. Worked great last season until the very end when after several dark days we ran the batteries down and had to switch the inverter to the tractor battery for power. No generator noise either. We used the inverter hooked to the tractor for power to build the sugarhouse too. Ian

[jemsklein]

cncaboose
that would be some cool sugar chack with the solar on it

[Sugarmaker]

jems,
Thanks. I'm going to keep at it till I make lots of money??? is that possible:) Na, we have a lot of fun, Wish my dad was here to see it(:

Chris

[jemsklein]

well i was down were we are goinig to put the sugar shack and i got enough room to make a 30x60 sugar shack but i only need 20x40 and that is even to big but it gives me room to grow