What's up hoarders! I apologize if this topic has been done to death but I'm pondering a woodshed on an unused piece of my property and I'd like to get a sense of what works and what doesn't. I've got a pretty decent setup now using pallets and tarps but I think the project would be a fun one and make the property a little neater. I've never had a woodshed before so my ignorance will be on full display here. I'm thinking that you'd have to think about air flow, wood access etc. I've seen many different styles of sheds so I just wanted to get your take on what works (or doesn't) for you. Thanks in advance for your help!
Build three times larger than you think you need, run electric for night time loading or unloading. Built tall enough for headroom after you toss pallets on the floor ( this one got me)
I was going to suggest twice as big as needed, but ^this^ will work too. Have a center isle, and the wood for one year on one side, and the second year on the other. Or a front and back entry, where you pull from of one end one year, and from the other the next. Tall enough to not need to bend your head down.
Some built in bays to section off the woodshed. That adds stability, so you can stack and unstack one section at a time without a wood avalanche. My shed doesn't have dividers, so I use iron fish tank stands, filled with splits.
holds enough for two years + when full. will probably leave center open next time so I have a place to keep tractor undercover or install another carport.
Hey guys, pictures, pictures... doesn't exist without pictures. Here is my old shed in progress. Nothing fancy but tall enough and will have light and needs to be stretched to about 5 times the size.It's only 12x10. We had a bunch of scrap wood for floors and walls and scrap metal to keep blowing rain out (still working on that). The back has a 4 ' overhand so i can stack wood there too and it will stay open to the wind. Inside is divided into 2 parts left side is all oak and other hardwoods 2 rows , center isle for kindling boxes and right center more hardwood. The other side the same in reverse only it's pine and erc. Have fun!
Make it two-sided if you have the room. That way you can pull up to either side and you only have to reach the center instead of climbing in. My stacks are 5'4" wide. Four rows of 16" long splits works perfect. I would make it in 4 sections that fit one years worth of wood each.
You can see one of mine in my avatar to the left. It's 8' deep x 16' long and holds 6 cords stacked full. So what I would do differently is build two of these, facing each other, with about a 4-6' covered aisle between them and my outdoor wood boiler at the end of the aisle, door facing inwards. So I would have this years' wood on the left, next year's wood on the right, and a clear dry space in the middle to store equipment and load the boiler. Lighting would be essential. So roughly a 16 x 16 shed would be the minimum, 20x20 would be better. My other shed is 16x16 with a gable roof, but it is just a few locust posts holding up a metal roof and it is too far away from everything to run electric or PEX lines for the OWB. I am probably going to do as I describe, next summer, because my current OWB is a "temporary" installation until I can afford to move some things around a bit. The back two feet are on the slab of my old boiler, one foot is on a rock and the other foot is on dirt. Plus my lines to the garage are exposed for the last 15 feet. A concrete slab would be perfect but I will probably just sink posts, put the OWB on concrete blocks, and use wood chips as my base with pallets on top (as I do now). It works.
If I had a tractor with forks, I'd build it so I could just drive pallet/bin/whatever of wood right into it. Larger overhangs, mostly in the back. Bigger too. Mine is 16'W X 10' deep and I'd like it to hold 2 years of wood, but it doesn't at our current usage. Mine is right in front of the house, and I installed a motion light on the gable so I can see what I'm doing when I go out in the dark to grab wood. Gooder.
This is mine. Hold's about 4-1/2 cord. I built it sized for "my" average winters burn. If I had to do over, I would have doubled it's size, It's 8'D x 16'L x (7'H, inside head room). The last pic is loading for the coming winter last year.
Cantilever roof Posts down middle Nothing to get in the way of loading/unloading or stacking into shed right off splitter. Hang drop shade curtains to shed rain/snow
I totally agree with the center isle. Make sure it's wide enough and high enough. If you have a tractor or might get one in the future, that's what I would change. I would have my center isle at least 12' wide and 10' high
Greg has a nice idea as his really is an overhang. I’m guessing its his garage but his pile is crazy. Manages to get it filled no problem.
