I have toyed with the idea that the future sugar shack could double as a steam room.
Printable View
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.