Sawmill Shed Design

[highway]

. Hi all, Happy New Year.

I am in the process of thinking about a band mill for farm use. It would be a stationary mill and I want to pour a concrete pad. I am thinking about a mill capable of sawing 16' logs and wondered if a structure of 12' x 24 would be adequate? I want to have a clear span on the open side and would most likely have to use steel for that. It would be a simple shed roof style with a 10' front wall and 8' rear wall.

Do you have any suggestions? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Ed

[gspren]

 If you will use a tractor with a FEL to lower logs onto the mill that might not be high enough.

[highway]

I was planning to use a tractor, what would you recommend for height? 12' on the front and 10' to the rear?

[fishpharmer]

Happy New Year and welcome to forestryforum Highway! 8)

You have come to the right place for sawmill information, good questions.  So far, sounds like a good plan. Some more information might help us give answers.

Do you have a tractor with a front end loader to move logs onto a mill? 

If not, there are other possibilities.  Logrite, a company that sponsors this forum manufactures some neat log moving gadgets.  One of their cant hooks needs to be near the top of your list. 

Have you decided on what specific model mill you want?

Look forward to hearing more about your plans. :new_year:

[fishpharmer]

We posted about the same time.

What is the max height of your loader?  Having a shed higher than that "max" height by a foot or so would lessen the chance of hitting sawmill shed roof.  Although if your careful it may not be necessary.

[highway]

Thanks for the replies, my tractor is only 30hp, I may need to skid the logs to a bunk arrangement with the horses or the tractor, then roll them on to the mill.

I am considering the WM LT 15, Norwood 26 lumberlight and the Timberking 1220 mills.

I am not looking for high production and will use the mill basically for farm projects and barn repairs. Maybe do a little milling on the side for some extra cash. I would like to pour the pad, install the mill then build the shed with the lumber that I saw.

Are there any engineers out there that could recommend the steel size needed for that 24' span sitting on 6x6 posts?

Ed

[Magicman]

Since I have no shed, I can offer no advice, but I can say hello and Welcome to the Forestry Forum.  We have many sawyers set up permanent, so you will have plenty of experienced folks offering suggestions.   

[Jim_Rogers]

Are there any engineers out there that could recommend the steel size needed for that 24' span sitting on 6x6 posts?

Ed

Ed:
Do you know the snow load for your area?
I just did some research on snow loads in NH and it varies quite a bit based on actual location and actual elevation.
You may need to do a little digging at the building inspectors office to find out. If you want to talk to him or not.
Once you know the snow load then we can start to figure out the size of timbers and I can talk to a local steel shop owner, I know, and see what he says you'll need.

Jim Rogers

[highway]

Jim,

Thank you for the help. I do not know the snow load for our region. I am located at 1,500 feet in the Manadnock Region of NH.

I live a in a very rural small town with little help from the government, and I like it that way.  ;D

Here is a link to some pictures of a machine shed i built thi Spring. I want to do the same design but with a clear span in the front.

OFFSITE PHOTOS NOT ALLOWED PHOTOS MUST BE IN A FORESTRY FORUM GALLEY

Ed

[Jim_Rogers]

Ed:
I just looked up your town in my charts.

It says it's 95 lbs per sqft for snow load at 1700 ft.
If you are at 1500 ft then we subtract 2.1 lbs per hundred feet or 4.2 lbs making it 90.8 rounding up to 91 would make easier math.

Are you thinking of a standard gable roof or a shed roof with the high side being the opening where you'd have the 24' long piece of steel to hold up the roof?

Jim Rogers

[WDH]

Make it bigger if you can afford it so that you have space to stack some lumber.

[thecfarm]

Welcome to the forum. If you go see Ross,Woodmizer, stop in,I'm on the other end of town. That cement is nice. Listen to WDH,he knows. If money is tight the pad could be made smaller, make it bigger enough for the mill. But the pad for the whole building is the way to do it.

[tcsmpsi]

This is the original shed I built (lumber from the mill, primarily) at, 20' W X 40" L.  I chose a wood floor (I don't like working on concrete).  The floored area is 12' W.  And a ramp for if the mill needs to travel. 



 

This is pretty much as it is today, with another 10' wide addition the length of the 40', and a woodshop, and other helpful additions.   That is a 20' opening to the mill. Whatever you may be limited to building at first, build it with the thought of being able to easily add on to.  I still have lots to add to mine.  The legs of the mill are bolted the floor.



 

[Tim L]

I like it.

[highway]

Thanks for all the info guys, Jim, I was olanning a shed roof design with the opening on the high side of the roof. I may be able to get away with a 20' opening for the mill then add more length to it late as suggested here. But the addition could be timber only, no steel reqd.

Great looking building Tim. What kind of mill is that?

Ed

[thurlow]

Don't have any pictures of mine and snow is not a problem, but I HIGHLY recommend a cantilevered design;  no posties in the way on the working side.

[drobertson]

Highway, I went through some pics to get these for you to look at. These are from a friends mill down the road. I worked for him earlier last year on getting his mill up and going. My shed is a bit more covered with some access slide doors, but for a fluid flow, this system works good, I hope you can figure out the design,   

  

  

  

  Keeping the edger close is handy, it is just past the slab rack,

   You can see the flow for the different ties and cants at the end, there are two slab racks, one for the slabs, the other for the edged flitches.

   Having the slab rack close enables the stacker to take off the slabs then edge the boards as they come off the mill. Not a bad system, and can be modified for whatever is needed.     david

[thecfarm]

I have been thinking of doing the same thing. I would have to park my tractor and load a log on and check how high I would need it. Knowing me if I needed 10 feet I should make it 14.  :  I thought about a removable post in the middle too,I mean where I would bring the logs into,to help out on that 20 foot span.

[paul case]

Welcome to the FF.
We have a lot of folks with neat sawsheds on here. Look here.
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,56866.0.html

PC

[drobertson]

Not sure How I missed these sheds, but some dandy's for sure,  thanks, for the reminder!

[highway]

Thanks for the replies, my tractor is only 30hp, I may need to skid the logs to a bunk arrangement with the horses or the tractor, then roll them on to the mill.

I am considering the WM LT 15, Norwood 26 lumberlight and the Timberking 1220 mills.

I am not looking for high production and will use the mill basically for farm projects and barn repairs. Maybe do a little milling on the side for some extra cash. I would like to pour the pad, install the mill then build the shed with the lumber that I saw.

Are there any engineers out there that could recommend the steel size needed for that 24' span sitting on 6x6 posts?

Ed

Found this post from a while ago, boy did my plans sure change from when I wrote this  8)

Ed

[red]

Some good sawmill shed designs 

I especially like tcsmpsi with the wooden floor