Woodshed design questions

[Bob95065]

I am getting ready to build a woodshed in my yard. We burn around 3 cords of wood a year and I would like enough space to store 2 years’ worth of wood. I was thinking about putting 6 posts in the ground in two lines of three, then connecting them with 2x6’s. I would frame out the roof on top of the 2x6’s to finish it. Somewhere on this page I saw an idea for the sides that I will try. I want to get some heavy duty traps that I will tack at the top of the wall. IN the summer I’ll roll them up and tie them and let them down in the winter. That way I’ll get air movement in the summer and when the tarps are let down they will keep the rain out in the winter. BTW I live in Northern California so I am not concerned about rain in the summer. It only rains here in the winter (usually, not last year.)



I have some questions.



I am assuming it would be best if I made the woodshed long and shallow rather than square. I want to cover 144 square feet. I can make it 24’x6’ or 12’x12’. I stack firewood 6’ high so I would have 6.75 in the woodshed if I did t that way.



Should I put the posts in concrete? Backfill with rock? What will best keep them from rotting?



Thanks!

 

[MuskokaSplitter]

I packed down the dirt...packed down gravel.....packed down screening.....the put a padio stone under each post. Which sits in a plastic foot. Ill go take a picture....

 

[UpOnTheHill]

Can you pour concrete piers in the holes and set post brackets on the tops of the piers before the concrete hardens? This would allow you to keep the posts out of direct contact with the ground and the concrete. I'm sure my construction would be different than yours as our posts/piers have to 44" in the ground here due to the frost line. We also have to build with snow-load in mind and wind shear strengths.

 

[MuskokaSplitter]

 

[svk]

If you are using pressure treated lumber I'd put them in cement casings. You won't need to worry about them rotting in your lifetime especially if they are under the roof.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

If you are using pressure treated lumber I'd put them in cement casings. You won't need to worry about them rotting in your lifetime especially if they are under the roof.

That's NOT true where I live... The post shrinks from the sides of the cement, letting ground water in, and it destroys the post....it does take a while, but lots of folks here are now replacing "cased" post.

SR

 

[user 122190]

View attachment 371039 View attachment 371040

Good Lord. An architech's wood shed with no budget limits. I was thinking (still am) of sticking some lodgepole pines into the ground and tossing some scrap metal roofing over the whole mess.

 

[rwoods]

MS, nice looking shed. Do you have it anchored to the ground in some fashion? Ron

 

[MuskokaSplitter]

Good Lord. An architech's wood shed with no budget limits. I was thinking (still am) of sticking some lodgepole pines into the ground and tossing some scrap metal roofing over the whole mess.

Well the project did put a hurting on the cheuqing account lol. Was about 1k.

I got the floor and sides free from a scrap pile down the road.

Well i built it to last hopefully a good 25 years so the cost over that time really isnt much

 

[MuskokaSplitter]

MS, nice looking shed. Do you have it anchored to the ground in some fashion? Ron

It is not anchored to the ground. Just sitting there

 

[philoshop]

The weight of the wood in it will anchor it to the ground, I would think.
As mentioned above, encasing wood in concrete is not a good idea IME. I've worked on a lot of structural failures caused by that practice. A concrete pad in the bottom of the hole below whatever frost line you have in your area will keep the structure from settling unevenly. In clay soils you can backfill the hole with stone for drainage. Pressure treated 4x4's are not normally treated or rated for direct ground contact. 4x6 or 6x6 generally are. The label on the piece will say either 40 or 60. You want 60 for direct contact. It's basically the amount of 'treatment' the wood has received.
If the posts aren't in the ground they will need to be anchored to something that is in the ground, like a concrete pier or footer, or you will likely need a floor structure to tie everything together as a structural system. One of the nice things about MS's shed in the pictures above is that you can move it pretty easily if want or need to.
I mostly build houses, so none of this has to be considered gospel for a lowly wood shed. Build it to accomplish it's intended purpose for however long you think you'll need.

 

[mainewoods]

You could always go the "thrifty" route. One canoe per cord.

 

[Bob95065]

I am trying to do this on the cheap. I need to hang on to cash for other projects.

What I want to do is put up a roof. I'll stack the firewood on pallets that I get easily. I like pouring piers with post brackets embedded in them. Will that be strong and stable enough?

 

[M.R.]

"Will that be strong and stable enough?"
.
I would believe so..

 

[Bob95065]

What about dimensions? 12x12 or 24x6?

 

[svk]

That's NOT true where I live... The post shrinks from the sides of the cement, letting ground water in, and it destroys the post....it does take a while, but lots of folks here are now replacing "cased" post.

SR

If they are set in from the dripline of the roof you won't have much moisture on them. I've got PT stuff from the early 80's on the ground in the elements and it is still solid. Sure it will rot someday but we won't be around for it.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

If they are set in from the dripline of the roof you won't have much moisture on them. I've got PT stuff from the early 80's on the ground in the elements and it is still solid. Sure it will rot someday but we won't be around for it.

Moisture get's in, in lots of ways... Condensation, splashing rain ect., it even pulls moisture out of the concrete.

Anyway, it's a poor building practice that CAN be improved on without any extra work or expense.

SR

 

[dancan]

svk , one thing to remember is that the pt lumber from the early 80's is not the pt of today .

 

[MuskokaSplitter]

Nope its not. I believe the older pt lumber contains arsenic. Was a big problem when people used them for docks. So ive been told.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

svk , one thing to remember is that the pt lumber from the early 80's is not the pt of today .

True story, and the old stuff was better!

Talk to Dr. Gene Wengert about how bad the old stuff is! That's his field of study, he told me it was FLAWED TESTING that got it banned, NOT the lumber it self. What he explained to me, made a lot of sense...

I do believe the old stuff is still available on spl. order for "some" people, like farmers could still get it. Also it's still used on water fronts, and it's treated to .80 and 1.00 for that use. You better have a pocket FULL of money, if you want the good stuff!!

SR