It's time to get the design finalized

[VTnewguy]

Mike, it looks amazing! You must be pretty pumped for the upcoming season. I can only imagine the cost of getting this off the ground.

[Pdiamond]

Mike that looks like a really neat operation you are building. Do you really have snow on the ground already???

[DrTimPerkins]

Nice looking place Mike. Well thought out. Best of luck in the upcoming season.

[maple flats]

I think the dates showing on your pictures must be misleading or you work at super speed and during a snow storm. The pics show a time span of about 3 hrs, in that time you got an amazing amount of construction done.

[VT_K9]

Nate,

This past season we held the sap the same number of days we did with the RO AND 2x6. It was not worth the setup and clean up for 300 or so gallons with the RO.

This next year I hope we have the extra 6-800 taps so we can run the RO and put the system to work. Then as time goes one we can expand or tighten up the woods we have now as we update the lines.

Thanks,

Mike

[VT_K9]

The pics were taken over a period of months. We started emptying the old sugarhouse at the end of 2018 in hopes to tear it down and build a usable building for 2019. My Dad is retired and I work three jobs (1 full-time and 2 part-time). Its too early for snow here and to fast for even the roof structure to be put up in hours. I had to find the time to sit down with all the updates and build a photo progression.

The planning was hours over many days throughout several months for almost as many years. The nice part about taking a little longer allowed for more thorough research at several points. Such as the insulating forms, the second level for storage, and conduit to the evaporator for the oil and electric. Then the 4” schedule 40 with wide sweep elbow running from the RO room to about 15’ away from the building for a future water line if we add a well.

I wish there was one or two additional conduits for easier electrical runs (easier and shorter). I wish the gable over hangs were built into the truss design (didn’t think about or see it until after the trusses were up). Otherwise like everyone else and everyone warns... just a little larger. Not much, just about 4 feet (for easy construction math) larger in both directions (definitely longer in the garage area).

Otherwise it is large enough for most any reasonable expansion a one-two person operation would enjoy running. It is now large enough to pay the taxes, annual cost of sugaring, and payback/put away for the larger equipment.

A lot is owed to the other members here and Sugarmakers locally for the good ideas.

Mike

[maple flats]

While my sugarhouse is small and nothing fancy, I did think to make trusses with a 3' overhang. That area under the overhang on one side is my final staging area for firewood to finish drying, I'd need to do some excavating and remove 2 trees to use the other side for wood storage. Just 1 side 24' long, stacked an average of 6-6.5' high, except in front of the 2 windows works well. The sugarhouse is my avitar.

[VT_K9]

Maple Flats your sugarhouse looks nice. Our old one was of very traditional design with wood storage on either side under the eaves. We knocked those walls out years ago to get more room.

We took down two maples to make room for the new sugarhouse. One was almost at the end of it's life and the other was not very large so we did not have a huge loss. We took the bottom 18' to the saw mill to make tap hole lumber. The new one has 2' over hang to help keep water splash away from the lower portion of the exterior wall. We are planning on 18" to 24" on the gable ends. I think if we stayed with wood we would store the wood on pallets and bring it in with pallet forks.