Bohen Family Maple Farm: 1st Boil Journey

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You would need to make trusses out of that pipe to carry a 20 ft span. And I'm not following you on the tarp sides but if you're thinking of open sides the it could easily lift off your supports from wind, not to mention a snow load.

[OrangeAgain]

Update: The 20' X 30' pipe-frame is up. Next I will install ground anchors and decide on roof material (fire-retardant tarp or corrugated metal). I am aware of the risk of smokestack sparks landing on a tarp roof and burning a hole, I received several comments from backyard sugarers that had used tarp roofs with very little or no burning of holes. Since this is a temporary sugarhouse, my preference is a fire-retardant tarp, but haven't made a final decision.

My evaporator would be placed at the far end of the pipe-frame with the smokestack outside of the roof.

Here's pics:

https://ibb.co/g3g8WrZ
https://ibb.co/RczvQ9n
https://ibb.co/3zDd3Jr

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A big fault of mine is that I'm always over thinking things and end up spending way too much time and money making my structures overly robust. I guess it's my engineering and construction background.

But, I need to be clear- I don't think your pipe structure will hold up to wind or snow loads. Just as a gut check, I measured the pipe on my fabric garage and it was 1.69" od for a 9 ft span with frames at 5 ft oc. My fabric garage has seen 4 winters and is still standing. But, 1.5 inch tubing has over 3 times the strength of 1 inch. And the bending moment on my 9 ft span is about 60 percent less than your 20 ft for the same load.

In other words, your structure may not last long.

Ken

[Pdiamond]

It may be just the way the picture is, but it seems to me there is a lot of space between the rafter pipes on that frame. I don't know how much snow or wind you get, that area around there looks pretty open and if you have a tarp on the top and nothing on the sides a big gust may pick it up. Now that just an observation on my part, because I don't know what kind of anchors you have to hold it down. An idea did cross my mind while typing this. You could make the structure smaller by cutting into the ridge poles and placing the rafters closer together. Maybe go 16" OC.

[NoblesvilleIN]

As a point of reference, I have a 14' x 25' hoop house that I raise vegetables in during the winter (central Indiana). My frame is made of the top rail used in chain link fencing - pipe is 1-3/8" diameter bent into hoops spaced 5' apart. It is covered with 6 mil greenhouse plastic - starting 3rd winter with same plastic. It has held up well with only one small tear repaired with duct tape. What I think helps mine fend off winter winds is that the plans (from Johnny's seeds) call for rope to be criss-crossed between the hoops and over the plastic (making an X between each set of hoops). Mine is up from early October thru mid-May. I'm thinking that what you have will be strong enough, but consider putting the ropes to help your tarp resist the wind. Snow has not been an issue, I think the most snow at one time since I first put it up was about 10". It slid off the hoops and did not overweight the plastic or the pipes. Now obviously there are differences between a hoop house and a temporary sugar shack, but I think that the wind and snow concerns are similar. Good Luck.

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So I'm curious. Why don't you just build a wood-frame structure? If it were me, I'd pick a corner of your old foundation and build a three sided wood-frame shelter that could one day serve as your woodshed. One of my wood sheds is a salt-box style with widely spaced horizontal boards as spacing (for ventilation) and an open front over the short roof side. I used my own rough cut lumber except PT posts and a metal roof. I can imagine using it as a sugarshack until you do your permanent one and the original structure becomes your woodshed.

Ken

[OrangeAgain]

So I'm curious. Why don't you just build a wood-frame structure? If it were me, I'd pick a corner of your old foundation and build a three sided wood-frame shelter that could one day serve as your woodshed...

Ken; I like your idea. My original vision for my first time boil setup was to buy an evaporator and build a temporary sugarhouse for the 2023 season. This would allow me to learn what changes / improvements I needed to implement for 2024 perhaps including a wooden structure as you suggest.

[OrangeAgain]

It may be just the way the picture is, but it seems to me there is a lot of space between the rafter pipes on that frame. I don't know how much snow or wind you get, that area around there looks pretty open and if you have a tarp on the top and nothing on the sides a big gust may pick it up.

I am planning on adding some diagonal and horizontal stabilizing to the pipe-frame.

I'm thinking I don't have to add a roof or sides until just before the 2023 sugaring season when most of our Vermont winter is over. Just the pipe-frame should withstand the winter. We usually get a wet and heavy snowfall in March so I'll have to watch the weather. Once the risk of wet / heavy snowfall is over, the wind will be my biggest challenge once I install a roof and sides.

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Ken; I like your idea. My original vision for my first time boil setup was to buy an evaporator and build a temporary sugarhouse for the 2023 season. This would allow me to learn what changes / improvements I needed to implement for 2024 perhaps including a wooden structure as you suggest.

It seems to me that you're one extra year from your dream sugarhouse by building the pipe frame. I don't know how old you are, but in my case I'm trying to get to what I want to do while I still can do it!

Ken

[Pdiamond]

OrangeAgain, You have a Silverplate evaporator on order from SL. Are you planning on building your sugar shack around the evaporator once it is set up? I don't know what the size is, but once you get the grate, fan, and bricks installed it will take a tractor or loader with forks to pick it up.