We've been talking about and planning a sawmill shed for a couple years. The location and plans kept changing, but I finally came up with something that will work for us. Also been accumulating logs for building material until I had enough to get it done. The main building is 48" wide and 36" deep with 14.5' sidewalls. One end will be open with a 40" clear span for the mill and access. The foundation is 14" concrete piers 5' deep with wet set pro post anchors. Main posts are 6"x8" cedar and all framing lumber is doug fir. The rafters are on 4' centers. There will also be a 20'x36' lean to on one side which will be fully enclosed with an overhead door. Those rafters will be 3-1/2" x 11" doug fir also on 4' centers. 1' overhang with metal soffit and roof. No concrete yet, maybe someday in the lean-to, but I don't see it in the mill shed. Concrete is tough on my back and feet. Mill shed is large enough to go 3 pacs high for air drying.
It is a ton of work, but it's really been satisfying doing it on our own. Thanks to all on this forum and the wealth of knowledge that helped make this happen (I've still got a ways to go, but I'm going to get out of the snow). ;D
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Awesome!
All of a sudden I feel so inadequate!!! :D :D Great looking shed.
Doc
Wow! Can I move in? ;D
Nice work!
Piles five feet deep should get you below the frost line . . . in a "normal" winter. 😆
A question; was the choice of 6x8 cedar for the posts based on what you had on hand, or . . ?
The 6x8 size was based on the size of the largest anchors i could get. I wanted to go large because I'm using cedar, and there's a lot of uplift and inside pressures with one side open. Better safe than sorry
Looking good 👍
very nice!
You will like it!!
You're not playing around anymore!
The latest progress. My wife and I put up the lean-to wall and rafters this weekend. It was a lot, but the weather has really been good. Make hay while you can ;). A couple more posts to finish the super structure, some purlins, girts, rafter tails and facia board, then on to the metal roof. It's really going to be nice to be under a roof ;D.
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Great looking building. I also chose to leave the concrete out of my sawmill shed for the same reasons.
Can't wait to see the lean to on the other side. It's gonna happen sooner or later. 8)
Just thought I would post the limited progress I've made on the new shed. My goal was to have it completed by the end of the year, but life/Covid had it's own schedule.
My dad and I are close, real close, he is my best friend. We hunt, fish, work, pretty much do everything together. He is/was an extremely healthy 85 yr old with no pre-existing conditions or no meds, doesn't drink, no smoking and only a couple of minor surgery's. He still carried his class A license and very recently passed his DOT physical again for another 2yrs :o. He went deer hunting the 1st weekend of November (I was too busy and didn't go with him) and he contracted the virus. He got real sick and was admitted to the hospital on November 25th, he has been in there ever since and is still fighting for his life. I've never seen anything like it, this crap can be ugly. Anyway, with all of this, I've spent more time in the hospital than I'm sure any of us care to see, and not much time on the new shed.
With that said, I have mad some headway. Got the roof on this week, thanks to some unseasonably wonderful weather.
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Put the mill under the new roof, finally! Man, that's a nice feeling after dreaming and planning for 2+yrs.
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Even got a little B&B siding done to see how it goes. I like it.
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Be careful and safe out the everyone.
Looking good. Prayers for your Dad
Beautiful shed but i disagree on the concrete . It is low here in south ga and for years i have dealt with uneven ground and water . Last year i pored it all including my shop. I don't saw full time and don't have a blower yet. I saw for 2 days put the bucket on my skid steer and in 15 minutes it is gone. The best part is stacking , it is so much better on concrete than on the ground.
I hope your dad recovers! that is terrible. As far as the building, it is awesome! are you going to do the board and bat all the way to the ground? I like to do steel on the last 3 feet to prevent the splash off the ground from getting stained on the board and batten siding.
That's a fine looking mill shed !
Looking at your work on that, I'd say your best friend taught you well.
So sad to hear about your Dad.
Here's hoping he pulls through and lives to tell the tale.
I like it!! Great looking mill shed 8)
Prayers for your dad's quick recovery
@boonesyard (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=39257)
What a nice looking shed and very sad news on your Dad. I'm sure you shed will finish up well.
Best wishes and good thoughts for your Father. Yes Covid is deadly..vaccines can't come fast enough.
Your Dad seems like someone that led life fully. That's the best route and great inspiration.
Thanks all for the kind words. I share any progress with him via pictures, he gets a kick out of that.
My first thought was to put 3-4' of metal sheeting wainscoat on the bottom and then the B&B from there up. The thing that stopped me was $$$. I got all of the cedar for 0$, so that's what we'll do. I know it's not the best for it on the bottom where it gets splashed on, but the price was right. This spring when it warms up, I'll spray a clear coat on it. I'm not in to that kind of maintenance every few years, but we'll make it work.
Any recommendations for a cedar clear coat or sealer would be appreciated? I know it'll take a fair amount due to the rough sawn nature of it, but it sure looks nice.
You know it is not going to be big enough. :D Looks real good.
My very best to your dad. My 90 y/o mom was just released Christmas Day after 5-6 in the hospital for C-19. She and my 450+ lb brother both seem to have recovered from it in spite of their ages and health risks.
Quote from: WV Sawmiller on January 07, 2021, 12:49:06 PM
You know it is not going to be big enough. :D Looks real good.
My very best to your dad. My 90 y/o mom was just released Christmas Day after 5-6 in the hospital for C-19. She and my 450+ lb brother both seem to have recovered from it in spite of their ages and health risks.
I could put a cover over an acre and it wouldn't be big enough whiteflag_smiley. I've got an old barn on the place (only original building left) that is beyond repair. I'd REALLY like to take it down and put up 60 x 100 cold storage in it's place, but that's a whole different animal. This year we're going to have to do something for climate controlled kiln dried lumber storage,,,,,, what have I gotten myself in to :o. Lovin every minute of it!
I'm glad to hear your mom and brother came out of it. It's weird stuff
Quote from: slider on January 06, 2021, 05:04:12 PM
Beautiful shed but i disagree on the concrete . It is low here in south ga and for years i have dealt with uneven ground and water . Last year i pored it all including my shop. I don't saw full time and don't have a blower yet. I saw for 2 days put the bucket on my skid steer and in 15 minutes it is gone. The best part is stacking , it is so much better on concrete than on the ground.
Absolutely. Anybody that's making excuses to not put concrete in or out of their building is making excuses. It comes down to cost. Yes it's expensive. The upside is absolutely incredible. Ask anybody with a concrete floor in their shop. If your going to go heavy on the floor you can go thicker on the concrete in the middle like 6"or 8" and towards the walls 4" where your not going to have as much weight. A power troweled floor is extremely nice but more expensive
Absolutely the concrete comes down to cost. I know all about it, my other company is municipal water and wastewater treatment construction and our bread and butter is heavy structural concrete (we place 2,000+ cy yds/yr.) and process mechanical. Some day there may be concrete in it, but there is no question that walking back and forth and around the mill on class 5 is easier on my back than on concrete all day.
Awesome shed you're building here. I sure hope your dad gets well and comes back to work on it with you. I sure would like to have something like this, but then I'd need to include my woodworking shop with it as well. I don't think you can do better than Sikkens Cetol for your stain, but its mighty expensive. Might be cheaper to put up the metal.
After a bit of consternation, I've decided to go with steel wainscoat on the bottom 4' of the walls. The input here on the forum is excellent and after coming this far with the project, it makes sense to have the steel on the bottom. Just ordered it and it's about 3 weeks out.
Thanks for sharing this build, it is truly inspirational! More positive thoughts from the last frontier for your Dad, if anyone can pull through C-19 he sounds like he can. Here's to putting that chapter behind him!
Quote from: boonesyard on January 08, 2021, 10:55:21 AMAfter a bit of consternation . . .
From time to time, I've found that a bit of "construction consternation" is helpful.
Good move, you won't regret the wait.
Just a quick update on the shed progress. The metal wainscoat was absolutely the way to go.
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I also decided to put a concrete floor in the lean-to before closing in the walls, a lot easier to finish around the posts now. We're going to enclose and insulate this part of the building and use it for dried lumber/slab storage/display. It's coming together slow, but sure.
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Looks good. Smart move on the concrete
Thought I'd update on the mill shed. It has certainly taken me a lot longer than I had anticipated, but it's taken on a life of its own as we've been working on it.
We're not done with all of the siding, but we're closer. I like the whole gable side of the mill shed open, but have been thinking about a way to be able to close it for inclement weather when I want. I'm thinking about have a custom grain tarp, type system with tracks on each side and rolling the tarp up when not needed, and down to keep the weather out. I'm currently building carriage style swing-out doors for the lean-to.
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Inside of the first door. They'll be insulated, also made from WRC.
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We're finishing the inside of the climate controlled lean-to (kiln dried lumber/slab storage and display) with pine shiplap. I've never done and shiplap before, but really like the way it's turning out. We don't have a molder so making the shiplap meant handling the boards more than I'd like, but we had the logs, and looks better than just sheeting with plywood.
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Looks like you're taking advantage of the warm temps.
Nice work, and that shiplap will be a beautiful showcase for what you can produce.
By Thursday, I see where the weather guessers have us back into seasonal normals. Bet you'll be glad when you can throw some heat into that side of the building!
Wow, does that look great!
Slow but sure.
The shiplap is turning out better than expected.
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Finished up the carriage doors, sure is nice to have that hole closed up. My wife really likes them.
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This last weekend we installed most of you pipe supports and got all of the large kiln dried slabs out of our shop and to our new slab library :). Sure is nice to have it organized and out of the way in the wood shop. I've got floor space I haven't seen in 2 years. We've got some insulating to finish up this week, more shiplap to put up and some lumber racks to build. Havin fun!
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Thanks very much for documenting and sharing this inspirational build. Also best wishes for your Dad's recovery.
Dad is completely recovered, we think he's in better shape now than before, miraculous. He helps us around the mill, shovels sawdust, cleans blades, and is headed out to the sawmill shed now to work on insulation. He can't stand sitting still, he goes dancing twice a week.
He went from talking about bringing in Hospice while in the hospital, to an incredible turn around overnight this time last year. The local newspaper did an article on him, he's an inspiration to a lot of people around here. I'm lucky to have him with me.
He likes being around our place so much, my wife and I have decided to add on a 960 SF living quarters to the shop this year, with dad moving in by the end of this year. He still wants his independence, but is really looking forward to this move. Sooo, I'll be biting off another big building project this year, and I'm still working on the sawmill shed :o. Somebody stop me!
Quote from: boonesyard on January 11, 2022, 12:21:37 PM
Sooo, I'll be biting off another big building project this year, and I'm still working on the sawmill shed :o. Somebody stop me!
Won't be me. I love big projects. Keep'em coming. My big projects keep my mind busy.
hugs, Brandi
One bite at a time. Finally got the front b&b done on the mill shed, just a little dab of facia left on one side. When I get back to working on the shed, I'll move to the back side b&b, it's going to take a lot. Should have it all wrapped up before the snow flies,,,,,, again. This November it'll be 2 years since I started this project, WAY longer than I would have liked but we'll get it.
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On dad's new digs front, we decided to to not add on to the shop/do it ourselves. This side sawmill business has us hoppin, which is good, so better to concentrate on lumber production and let somebody else take care of dad's new home. We contracted a local log cabin builder that builds small cabins off-site, rolls them in and puts them together, done. Should be here sometime in September. Next week we'll put the foundation, sewer and water in. Once the cabin is here, I'll put in the flooring, inside trim and build the cabinets. He's excited
It will all get done.
I built a Women Cave for the wife. Well still not done. ::)
We had a veggie business at the time.
I had many customers that told me they could build that in 2 weeks. ::)
I told them get a hammer and give me a hand. ;D
None never helped. :D
That looks really nice 👍
Nice sawmill shed.
Phew, calling it a 'shed' isn't doing it justice.
And your Papa raised a good son, too.
Looks great, my plans pale in comparison.
Thanks for the compliments. When I finish the edger rebuild, which should be today or tomorrow, and move it in to the mill shed it'll be full. I knew it wouldn't be big enough when we built it, but I didn't think I'd outgrow it in a couple years. We need more covered space :D. A pretty fair business mind, good log supply, long hours, hard work and a lot of good relationships is paying off, not much of a secret sauce.