Amish Built Sugar House

[concord maple]

Does anyone know of any Amish or someone else that builds sugarhouses in the western NY area? I'm looking for a 10' X 12' or 12' X 12' with a working cupola.

[Clan Delaney]

Any reason why you want an Amish contractor? Do they just do really good work?

[3rdgen.maple]

Clan cheap quality. The Amish around me and there are quite a few do great work. They are always looking for work and tell me just pay them what I can afford and they are happy. Thinking about letting them reside the sugarhouse this summer.

[Scott Prindle]

I would second the motion about having the Amish build one for you. I was weighing my options a year ago about what to do about a new sugarhouse. I ended up having an Amish crew make a 12 x 16 for me for $1,800 !!!!. That included a cupola and extra windows. Hopefully the attached photo appears okay.

The quality was excellent and the entire building is solid larch, so it should last longer than I do.

I am in Central New York, so a 3 hour haul for something that large might not be an option.

I can coordinate a deal with the builder if you are interested.

Scott

[heus]

Scott,
Was this a building with a wooden floor built on skids? I have a 10x12 that I was originally going to use, but decided the sidewalls were too short (6 foot).

[Scott Prindle]

Heus,

Yes it has a wooden floor and is on skids. I put a series of cement blocks under the skids so they aren't in direct contact with the soil.

The side walls are 6 foot as well, but I did not have any problems with the height. I don't have a steam hood, so it may have been an advantage lessening the fog and condensation before it hit the cupola. If you are considering a steam-away, 6 foot probably wouldn't be tall enough. A steamhood/preheater would probably fit okay though.

I have a 2 x 6 Leader Patriot in the shed. I put down 3 layers of cement tile backer board, then a single layer of patio blocks along the sides and back topped with 1/2 firebricks. I left the area under the doors open for draft. It really ripped, I was running between 35 and 40 GPH.

The only problem with the 6 foot sides and all the "stuff" under the arch was getting the feed tank high enough. I did not have much head, only a couple of inches, but it did not cause any flow restrictions.

Scott

[Scott Prindle]

I finally got the photos reduced to where I could attach them to a message.

Here is an interior and exterior shot of the shed.

I like it !!!.

[heus]

Scott, Very nice setup. I have some questions:
1.What is the distance from the back of the evaporator to the wall?
2.Do you have a problem with the shed moving due to the frost?
Thanks

[Scott Prindle]

Heus,

The guy who built it did not follow my "blueprints" exactly. The coupola is back about a foot more than I wanted it. So there is only about 12 inches between the stack and the back wall. So to be safe I screwed a sheet of the cement tile backer board to the wall. I could hold my hand on the cement board while boiling (it was hot though), so it wasn't a fire hazard. I think I would want ceramic blanket back there plus the cement board if I had a forced air arch.

The plus side of having the evaporator set farther to the back is that I have more room up front !!.

I did not have any problems with frost shifting the building. I leveled it in the fall before setting up the evaporator, then checked it again after putting all the weight in the shed. This spring it was still level. I think the key was that I did not do any site preparation prior to setting the shed there. So not having soil settling from dozer work probably helped.

[heus]

I went and ordered a 10x16 amish built shed yesterday. I wanted a 12x16 but that wide requires a special permit to haul it down the road. I have a 10x12 from the same guy but I am going to use that for a chicken coop. I was convinced the headroom would be too little but your pictures have shown that it could be a good setup. I have a 2x6 Phaneuf that will be going in it.