I built the base of my woodshed with pressure treated 2X4"s sitting on two 4X4"s skids . My original intention with the walls was to use pallets. I planned to got 7' tall on the front end and 6' on the low end. This would still give me around 1.25 cord. The base is 6'X4'. After putting this down in the area and leveling it, I now realize I will not get three sheds the same size. Now that I'll only be able to build two in the area I am thinking about taking the boards off of the pallets and screw them to 2X4"s 24" on center. All around I will match the spacing of the pallets with the pallets boards. Just not use the base wood of the pallets. My second shed will be similar. Only difference will be that I'm going to make it 8' long by 6' wide. 7' tall in the front and 6' tall in the back. I'd put in three 4X4" skids to support it. The total yield would be roughly 2.43 cords using 8' long, 6' wide and 6.5' height. Both racks will form an L shape. By leaving the gaps with the pallet boards, I should get good seasoning due to winter winds/sun and summer sun/heat. My stacks in the backyard are going to be all ballets. One pallet as the base and another for the back. I'll have 8-12 of these setup side by side running against the back of my property. If I go 12, I should get 9 cords of wood assuming 3/4 of a cord per pallet. That will remain to be seen. I hurt my back working with my son picking up those large rounds. After 4 weeks of taking it easy, my back is fine. I continue to have a shooting pain down both of my legs from time to time. That happens when I get up or if I move the wrong way. Setting up an appointment with Physical Therapy to work on fixing that problem. Right now I have to rely on my son to lift the heavier stuff. We have another 2 cord of smaller logs to cut before we are done for the fall. This past weekend I filled the shed on our door step that gives me just shy of a cord. And I have about another 1 cord of 2 year seasoned and .5 cord of 1 year. Plus 1 cord of split this year and 2 more to buck and split. That should fill the front sheds. Before you go on about the moisture level, I bought 2 tons of Envi-8 blocks to burn again this year. Next year might need to be 3 ton to allow for the wood in the racks to season. Beyond that, I'll be ordering a load of logs (don't have enough room for a full truckload of logs and it's better if you have a tractor work with those sizes. Rather smaller loads, 275 for 3 cord of logs.) to process in the spring. Now that I am no longer coaching softball, I'll have more free time to work on processing as soon as I get them. Jason from RI
I’d love to see a pick or two of the early stages of your shed build! Not a lot of Ocean State hoarders here…you’re representing your small yet mighty state!
I can do that. The base is in place and ready for the flooring. I did 12" on center to help carry the weight. Today after work I'll take some pics. As for RI being a mighty state.... I flown all over the globe for work, and I must say that RI by far is the one of the nicest places to live. We live near the ocean on the south shore, which keeps our winters a bit warmer reducing snow, and a bit cooler in the summer. If you are into boating, there are tons of places to sail or motor including Narragansett Bay. Newport and Block Island are absolute treasures for boating. There is a great deal of culture here, and love that I can get to Boston in 2 hours for major sports. I can be skiing in NH or Vermont within 3 hours. Getting to Maine and it's vibrant coast line only takes 4 hours. What RI does not have is only a short distance away. Now the downside, the politics here are one sided. If you don't mind a state that is far left, then it's good. Taxes here run in the top 5 highest. Corruption is a very real thing in this state. Overall cost of living is crazy. Cost of living Index is 117.2 - 42nd worst. 39th in Grocery, 39th in Housing, 47th in utilities (electric just did a major jump here), 37th in transportation(major lack of mass transit) and 49th worst in misc. They nickel and dime you everywhere you turn. A vast majority of the people in RI work for the state or our of state. My company is out of Ma, and every year I have to file for Ma (get a little) back and then pay a substantial amount for RI. If I didn't buy my parents house when I got out of the Navy in 97, I'd not be able to afford to live in my town. Not to mention that there are very few services here. No paid fire department, no trash pickup, natural gas only covers about 40% of the town (all of that is in town). Price of oil per gallon went from $4.29/gallon three weeks ago to $5.59. I do love this state. I just wish the cost of living was lower. As I approach retirement, I'll be looking to move to a lower cost of living state.
I lived on URI campus as a toddler when my dad was in grad school, and then Narragansett until I was 7yo. Del’s lemonade, straight off the truck driving through my neighborhood, remains an all-time food experience. I love Rhode Island. (I spent 20 of the next 23yrs of my life in Mass…so not far.) At the next New England FHC GTG, in the RI vs CT tug o’ war, I’ll be on your side pulling my heart out. We’ll drag ‘em all through the mud!
