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I’ve been toying with the idea of building a sugar shack for quite some time. But I keep finding it difficult to justify since it is really only in use for between four and six weeks out of the year. So what else do people here are use them for? Thank you!
Unfortunately mine gets used to store non maple equipment which I hate! I would like to close the doors when done with the season and open again next January! I just need to build another building for the other items! Yea it doesnt seam right just to use it for 4 months. I do use a portion of it for the honey projects. I also use the kitchen portion through out the year for making value added maple products too.
You wont regret having a building to make syrup in! I really like having a fairly well equipped sugarhouse.
Regards,
Chris
My 12x16 sugar house is also our garden shed....I keep all of our tools, wheelbarrow, gardening supplies. The shack sits on a full cement block foundation which serves as a part root cellar and part storage. I have a shed roof off one side which I use to store wood and hang my deer hunting clothes so they don't get wet and can air out. On the other side I have a tractor shed...I keep my tractor there in the summer and my snowmobile there in the winter. All kinds of storage for tractor chains, 3 point lift arms, pto shafts, etc. And in the shed itself I have a half loft with pull down attic stairs. This is where I keep all of my deer hunting gear, treestands, and clothes during the season. From mid-October through Dec. 31st I get changed into and out of my hunting clothes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kamina
Making the most of the structure and designing it with multiple uses will justify the expense.
Thank you for the ideas!
I’ve done some thinking based on both of your replies. Thanks for taking the time to respond. I have a new 12x16 shed I built a couple years ago for lawn equipment. If I simply add a cupola and vent the heck out of it, it will work well. I’ll just need to figure out where to store the stuff that’s already in it for a month and a half during the season.
The floor is wood, but that should be easily solved for by fire brick or pouring a small section of concrete over the existing floor. I’ll post pictures if/when I can make time this summer.
Thank you again.
We will be using ours for making maple and birch syrup. We also make spruce tip, raspberry, blueberry, chamomile and sarsaparilla syrups. We forage off our land to make all sorts of jams and jellies too. We make all this for farmers markets and do 2/week and sell 10-12 cases per week. We live in a 400 sqft house so the sugar shack will be a welcomed building when it's finished.
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About the only other thing mine does is house the 4 wheeler the rest of the year. We have done some pressure canning in there too to keep the steam out of the kitchen, but not every year.
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Currently have a 12x16 "sugar shed" but it is 100% for syrup considering I have a 2x6 evaporator and RO and keep 2 totes in the corner for concentrate and permeate, no extra space. When I build the "real" sugar house I'm planning on a full commercial kitchen space for value added maple products and other farm products we may want to get into. We could do processed products from the meat we sell. (Poultry, lamb, beef, pork)
I use mine primarily as a sugar house but do have a heated 10x12 RO room that is large enough to use as a workshop for small projects in the winter. It's also where I retail my syrup so it does get used year round for sales and canning. It was easy to justify the expense, my wife simply refused to sell product on Maple Weekend if she had to do it outside. Besides I have a lot of expensive equipment in there and it's nice to be able to keep it separated from other tools and such and keep it locked up.
We will be using ours as a temporary pottery studio to run my fiancé's kiln this summer. We're hoping to build another building next year that will become her full time/year round pottery studio. Hopefully we can mill all the lumber this year and pour the slab, and then build next year. I need more hours in a day!
I have toyed with the idea that the future sugar shack could double as a steam room.
Mine is 12x16 and after season I put evaporator onto heavy duty casters and move it to run along back wall. I store my ranger suv plus shovels and other tools until it’s sugaring time again!
Our shack is Maple
Only Maple
and Nothing but Maple
so help me sap.
We are in the process of finishing ours but included stainless tables, refrigerators and a stove for canning and sausage making.
we built a log sugar shack two years ago (trapezoid footprint: 30'x20'x32'-4"x8', more on that in a future post) and from the beginning we planned a separation wall with the smaller area just for boiling and the larger area (about 20'x16') a social/gathering space and clubhouse for the kids, four bunks, kitchen table, sink, small wood stove in corner for year round use, etc. The youngest (15) thinks he's gonna live in there 'til he's out of high school; told him he better start cutting firewood now :lol:
In the fall I open the cupola and hang dry beans and herbs in the shack to dry.
I am not allowed to use the sugarhouse for any non-agricultural use. It was "permitted" as a sugarhouse in accordance with the town zoning laws and would need to be re-permitted for a barn if I want to use it for a non-ag purpose which would also mean that I'd be taxed for the structure. In Vermont, a sugarhouse doesn't require an actual permit but only a notice to the local municipality with a sketch and location showing it meets property line setback requirements.
There is a spring fed creek that runs right by our sugarshack and everyone that visits ask if we make moonshine in the summer. lol
My sugarhouse used to end up with a 4x4 ATV, and lots of tools in the off season, now I have a shop where those all go. My shop is now 14x28', I plan to add another 12'x 32' on one side for more storage room, shelves, room for my 4 wd tractor with cab and a blacksmith shop. That will just be a stone floor in front and stone dust well packed in the blacksmith shop. I will be a hobby blacksmith for fun and personal needs only. Being a farm and on ag assessment I can use my building for whatever legal use I want, thus no moonshine or pot production. In fact even if legalized I will not do pot.
My sugarhouse has a breezeway between the evaporator room and the woodshed. In the summer months we open the double doors at either end to keep a good air flow through the firewood. This makes a perfect drying place for garlic,onions, beans, and herbs. All that stuff is gone long before sugaring season starts up again.
I have heard they work good for moonshine.
Can not confirm that on here though.