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Thread: Amish Built Sugar House

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Springville, NY
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    134

    Default Amish Built Sugar House

    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.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Belchertown, MA
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    723

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

    Wood fired barrel boiler and squirrel cage forced air
    Slowly warping plexi steam hood
    shiny selfmade copper pre-heater
    Fiddy something taps
    10x12 raised platform shack
    not enough coffee
    picked a bad year to give up ice cream

    ~~Maple Sugaring~~
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  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Altmar, NY
    Posts
    3,483

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    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.
    2X6 deluxe Phanuef
    Adding 200 more every year
    27 years left of building a Hobby into a retirement time burner.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Georgetown, NY
    Posts
    9

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    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

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Ashtabula County, Ohio
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    1,792

    Default

    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).

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Georgetown, NY
    Posts
    9

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    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

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Georgetown, NY
    Posts
    9

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    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 !!!.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Ashtabula County, Ohio
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    1,792

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    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

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Georgetown, NY
    Posts
    9

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    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.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Ashtabula County, Ohio
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    1,792

    Default

    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.

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