Drying shed

[Crusarius]

Now that my mill is mostly finished I have a large pile of logs that need milling. I never thought I would end up with such a pile but it happened. I really have no place to stack the cut lumber so I am putting off milling the logs till I do.

I live in Upstate NY. Snow area. I started thinking best bang for the buck for a drying shed would be one of those steel carports you see all over the place. Looks like an 18x21x6 can be had delivered and setup for around $1300.

Anybody have any experience with these structures? Since it will end up being placed in an area I need to clear a bunch of pines from I am curious how it will handle snow and the occasional tree branch bouncing off of it.

I also wonder if I should go with the roof steel horizontal of vertical. I know vertical is better but that does add cost.

I also wonder about getting a larger one, spray foaming the inside and calling it a shop area until I can build the real shop. Then this would become cold storage.

Any help be greatly appreciated.

[WV Sawmiller]

   I'm a firm believer in using what I have before buying something new so I built my shed from my practice wood. I used locust poles off my property for uprights and just squared the nailing surfaces on my mill. I found an old barn in an adjacent county being torn down and bought used tin off it. Results - a 14'X62' barn for about $500. Of course they are never big enough so I added shelves and went vertical as much as possible.


 This shot is before the shelves were added. Each bay now has a shelf about 6' above ground. Each bay is a little over 12' wide X 18' long and 12'-16' tall from rear to front.

  JMHO on build or buy. Good luck.

[Crusarius]

Thanks WV that is a really nice looking shed. Unfortunately the majority of stuff I have is Black walnut. Prefer not to use that to build a shed

I also have red oak and hickory in the pile. Think all of those woods are to nice to use for the shed. 

One of the big benefits I just thought of for the steel carport is ability to relocate it when my complex starts to take shape.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Good points. I agree I would not use my walnut for a shed. I don't know how much sawing you have done but I recommend new sawyers practice on cheap logs first before cutting their high value stuff but somewhere along the way you just have to take the plunge. In my case if I want to make a new type cut I often go cut a buckeye and use if for practice since they are of the least value to me and readily available.

    Since you have other uses for the metal building afterwards in your case it may work fine. When done you can convert it to a super fancy project like the one David Poston has been posting for his mantel and slab storage. Good luck.

[Crusarius]

I have already cut a bunch of pine aspen and cherry was the nicest. So I think I may be ready to tackle the big high dollar ones. But we will see the first time I put one of those monsters on the mill.

[WV Sawmiller]

   I am sure you will do great but I still bet you feel the butterflies the first time you put the blade in the wood. The bad (Good?) thing is I think we all still feel that every time we go to saw a special log. Its even worse when you are sawing for someone else and you really don't want to mess up the cut on their log. 

[Crusarius]

I think I am more nervous about the hickory cause I love it so much and know I don't have enough for what I want to do. And the horror stories on this forum scare me.

[moodnacreek]

I think I am more nervous about the hickory cause I love it so much and know I don't have enough for what I want to do. And the horror stories on this forum scare me.

You like hickory? Good luck with that stuff. It is worse than hard maple and even more attractive to powder post beadles . A kiln and an education in addition to a drying shed for hickory. Whatever you build, make it high. I use portable roof panels set with a fork lift but a big shed is much better.

[Glenn1]

I would agree with moodnacreek about the added height.  I have a metal carport used just for the purpose that you mentioned.  It is 24' x 30' and it is 12' tall.  
I can get two stacks wide and 3 stacks from front to pack.  Each stack holds approximately 2300bf.  Now I wish I had room for one more of them.

[btulloh]

It adds very little expense to make those taller unless you're putting metal on the sides.  I nevere heard anybody wish their shed was lower.  Or smaller .

[YellowHammer]

I have a metal prefab carport style drying shed, about 20 feet wide, 32 feet long, 12 feet tall.  Open all side, horizontal metal roofing, and I love it.  Zero maintannce, zero effort.  
I pointed to where I wanted it on the concrete, the guys came in the morning and were done and gone when I came home from work that afternoon.

I'm doing 2 stacks wide, 5 stacks deep.  It holds a pretty decent amount of wood. 

WV, your place look great.

[thecfarm]

One of my friends has a carport,with the steel roofing going the wrong way. ;D  He just cleans the snow off with a roof rake. He has had it for years.

[YellowHammer]

Good point. :D
No snow here in the sunny south. ;D

[Crusarius]

I was thinking about putting a slight slope towards the back to offset the horizontal ribs. As long as it got warm enough during the day or enough sun it would drain off the back side. So I would hope snow buildup wouldn't be a problem. but since i have to clean the roof off all the time whats more more roof to clean?

[alan gage]

I had one put up for the same purpose this spring. Originally wanted to build with my own lumber but it's pretty much all hardwood around here. Priced buying framing lumber and the cost difference just didn't work out, especially when you factor in the time it would take me to get it put up as opposed to having a crew put up the carport in half a day.

I think my total cost was about $6000 for a 24x40 with 12' walls. I went with a vertical roof as we get plenty of snow here. Also upgraded to 12 gauge steel framing, longer braces, and extra column supports, all of which added money. Jumping from 20' to 24' wide was a pretty big price increase as well but I figured at 24' wide I can put a 12' pack next to an 8' pack whereas with only 20' wide I'd be more limited.

The 12' height means I can stack vertically for more capacity as well as easily drive the tractor in the building. 12' walls also gave me enough height to frame a 12' wide shed roof off one side (will do the other side at a later date) and still have plenty of height at the eave to drive the skid loader under.

Like you I also like the idea of being able to move it later if I decide I want it located somewhere else.

I can tell you that it's filling up fast and I've hardly begun sawing yet!

Alan

[Crusarius]

Alan is your building just a roof or did you opt for walls to? I keep thinking about just roof or roof and side walls. then the air flow would have to go lengthwise through the building making the air flow across the packs instead of hitting the end grain.

I don't know why I always make things more challenging than they need to be. Sometimes I overthink a lot of things but at the end of the day I am rarely disappointed in the purchase.

[alan gage]

I went with no walls at all. I'd be afraid that with side walls there would be too many times you'd get no airflow at all due to wind direction.

I completely understand overthinking things. I do it all the time and it's frustrating to see other people just make a decision seemingly off the cuff that might take me months of agonizing and planning. Even this carport took me a long time to decide if I was going to build or buy. I was originally going to do a shorter, narrower, and lower carport but the more I thought about it the bigger it got.

I got my building from tri-state carports. No complaints so far. They have price sheets online to help with planning.

Alan

[Crusarius]

bummer the blue zone does not reach to NY. oh well. thanks for the info. I was wondering if the 8' side walls was going to lend itself to being a problem. I figured I will use tractor forks to load and unload it so I shouldn't need much height as long as I can get the tractor in and out.

Not sure I would want to be stacking more than 8' tall anyhow.

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

It is suggested that the roof have at least a 4' overhang from the edge of the lumber...more overhang for higher roofs...to reduce rain wetting and sun damage to the lumber.  Rain gutters and downspouts are suggested as well.  The individual stacks should be separated about 24" edge to edge from each other; maybe 3 to 5 stacks wide.

End walls are not needed, except that they can provide excellent resistance to end racking of the building, especially when it's a large building.  Metal wire cables can be used instead.

About half the sheds have posts or poles in the four corners and across the face as needed.  They are called pole sheds.  The other half use posts in the center with roof joists sticking out, front and back.  These supports look something like the letter "T" and so these sheds are called T-sheds.

WHEN SHED DRYING OAK, it is possible that there may be too much air flow, so plastic mesh curtains are used- - Shade-Dri. They are hung like a shower curtain and are pulled shut when the RH is under 60% RH, AND OR it is windy when the wood is at higher MCs, and also when raining.  They are tied open when lower MCs are reached.

For wood species that can be dried quickly without quality loss, the shed can have fans.  Sometimes a row of fans runs down the center, but more often, one of the long walls has all the fans.  In this latter case, the fans suck air through the piles.  Are flow is quite high...higher than most kilns.  Fans are run under 90% RH.  The lumber should be about 5' or more from the fans in order to achieve fairly uniform flow.  See more details in DRYING HARDWOOD LUMBER.

[Crusarius]

Thanks Gene. that will definitely help influence my decision. Right now my primary species I have is Black walnut, Hickory, and red oak. I really keep thinking a shed with gable ends open and perpendicular stacks is going to be the optimum setup. I do not get much breeze where I live because of the trees but the breeze I get is usually steady and from the same direction.

By having the sides closed that will take care of the need for the 4' overhang and gutters.

[alan gage]

bummer the blue zone does not reach to NY. oh well. thanks for the info. I was wondering if the 8' side walls was going to lend itself to being a problem. I figured I will use tractor forks to load and unload it so I shouldn't need much height as long as I can get the tractor in and out.

Not sure I would want to be stacking more than 8' tall anyhow.

This place gives prices online as well and lets you pick and choose lots of options. It was pretty close to what I ended up getting. Carports Metal Carport Kits Garage Kits Metal Building RV Car Ports
My worry about an 8' wall would be future uses. Maybe you decide you do want to stack higher than 8'. Maybe you get a bigger tractor that will no longer fit. Maybe you quit milling wood and want to use the building for some other purpose. I also like that extra height gives you the option of adding a wide shed roof to the sides. If I recall building higher didn't cost much extra...well....maybe it did. Going to 12' is what prompted me to upgrade to 12 gauge steel and extra braces.
Alan

[Crusarius]

can always set it on a stem wall if I need more height. But I like the leanto idea.

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

The closed ends do not need gutters and overhang, but the two open sides still do.

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

Only the end walls can be closed in.  The long sides are left open, but may have mesh curtains that can be pulled closed at high MCs to prevent too rapid drying.

[alan gage]

Took a couple pictures of my carport/drying shed:









It's 40x24x12' high. The lean-to is 12' wide plus 3' of overhang. I framed the lean-to so there are three openings on the side. One opening is 14' and the other two are 12'. This will make it easy to put more stacks of lumber in there if I ever want. Or vehicles or other equipment. For now the plan is to use it as a place to keep the mill out of the weather when not in use. I closed off the north side of the lean-to to block the wind and give me a place where I can build a small closet to keep some tools locked up and out of the weather.

Alan

[Crusarius]

12' high looks really tall but the leanto idea is nice.

Thanks for the pics alan. that is really helpful.

[alan gage]

12' high looks really tall but the leanto idea is nice.

Thanks for the pics alan. that is really helpful.

I agree 12' might be higher than needed but I knew I wanted to build a wide (12') lean-to off either side and once you start working backwards from 8' head room under the header you quickly realize you need 12' walls for that. Even then I knocked the lean-to roof pitch back to 2/12.
Alan

[Crusarius]

I should do something soon. I just got another 26' of walnut 22" diameter. My pile is now starting to take over my driveway. I really need to learn how to safely drop trees so I can get a spot cleared for the drying shed and get it built.

[petefrom bearswamp]

Interesting thread Keith.
Good luck with your project.
12' high will be very difficult to rake snow off of the roof.
My brother used to sell these and had a demo model next to his car repair shop.
Was there for years but about 6-8 years ago came a big snowstorm, shed turned onto scrap overnight before he got there in the morning.
My shed is a pole building 32x36, 10' side walls concrete floor closed all sides, sliding doors on the ends 16' wide and much too small, but I don't use it for drying lumber, just drying my live edge slabs, storing hardwood lumber dried outside covered  and as a garage for my tractor and boat in the winter.
I have about $4,000 in it as I used volunteer (my son and a friend) labor.
Purchased the concrete floor, trusses and metal roofing, the rest I sawed out of Hemlock, the poles from utility poles.
roof is 6/12 pitch, no snow problems so far.

[btulloh]

Roofing is where all the money goes in these things.  I can saw your own poles and rafters and purlins but I haven't figured out a way to make my own metal roofing.  Shakes and shingles take a lot of time and effort.  

Now people are selling reclaimed bar tin for more than new stuff costs.  An enterprising fellow would scout up some rusty tin and sell it and then buy some new roofing.  Time and money to recover barn tin though, you really need a sky lift or something.

[Crusarius]

I need to live in an area that is actually willing to pay for stuff.

As much as I want to do my own business and make some money I live in an area where everyone wants something for nothing. already had a bunch of ppl want me to come saw their wood, leave it with them and walk away. Nice try ppl. 

Other ppl have offered shares but only 10-20%, I am sure those ppl will hand pick the good stuff and leave the rest for me. 

It is hard to beat $1300 delivered and setup for an 18x21. Just the sawing alone could be that much let alone finding the logs and cutting them. I am still searching for the right option but this thread has definitely gave me some things to think about. Thanks everyone, keep it coming.

[alan gage]

Two things reminded me to come back to this thread:

Went to an auction that was billed as having some rough sawn lumber and ended up hauling back about 5000 board feet. That, along with lumber I already had sawn, empty pallets, and some misc stuff did a good job at filling up my building.  I stacked vertically what I could and am probably up 10', maybe a little less, at the highest spot. My 12' sidewalls might be higher than really needed but it's nice having some extra height up there when moving those stacks and, as I said before, it allows for a taller/wider lean-to off the sides.

I had good intentions of keeping everything neat, orderly, and uniform but then I started sawing some odd sized random stuff that doesn't stack well with my lumber pallets and soon enough I started running out of room because I can't stack that stuff high. It happens fast. Don't skimp on size.

The other thing was a small tornado or very strong straight line winds that came through town a few weeks ago. My edge of town appears to have been ground zero with many large uprooted trees and multiple buildings loosing their roofs. Directly across the street from me a large roof was torn off a building and dropped onto the neighbors garage and tractors. Made a heck of a mess. I was a bit worried about my wimpy building but it seemed to weather the storm just fine though there might be a slight arc to the vertical poles on the west side now. Having open sides probably helped as did a small hill and line of trees offering some protection. I was impressed it took no damage and am very happy I upgraded to 12 gauge steel, longer braces and trusses, and 4 extra support posts.

Been adding gravel base for a lean-to on the opposite side but rain has hampered operations. Will probably need to wait until spring to finish it.

Alan

[Crusarius]

Thanks for coming back Alan. I had a friend of mine give me some steel roofing material and a 12x20 frame. Right now I am having a very hard time finding a place for it but at least I have something. I am starting to think I want to go taller. the framework I have is just tall enough for the tractor to drive in the center. if I am not centered I will hit the top. I will probably put it up on something to get another 12" of top clearance.

[RAYGYVER]

  I'm a firm believer in using what I have before buying something new so I built my shed from my practice wood. I used locust poles off my property for uprights and just squared the nailing surfaces on my mill. I found an old barn in an adjacent county being torn down and bought used tin off it. Results - a 14'X62' barn for about $500. Of course they are never big enough so I added shelves and went vertical as much as possible.


 This shot is before the shelves were added. Each bay now has a shelf about 6' above ground. Each bay is a little over 12' wide X 18' long and 12'-16' tall from rear to front.

 JMHO on build or buy. Good luck.

Thats a purty shed ya got there...  I might have to copy that design...or do it similar. 

[Crusarius]

I almost forgot about this thread. Friend of mine gave me some framework for a 12x20x8 and a bunch of steel roofing. of course the longest steel is 16' so I can't runt it lengthwise without seaming it.

Oh well. can't argue for no charge. I may just throw a tarp over the frame for the winter and call it good. then do the rest come spring.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Here is the last shelf I added to my shed. You can see several other shelves I had already added. I had to add another support in the middle to nail knee braces to. You can see walnut stacked on the very end, another shelf at 90 degrees to that one just like the one at the end of this short one with cherry slabs on it. I have shelves all along all back sides and short shelved like this one on all the partition walls. All are pretty much full and I still need way more space. 


 I added another outlet to the locust upright and the small outside shelf is for the planner or making bench legs. See vice on the upright to hold legs while I use my tenon cutter.


 I put some uprights in to make bins I use to store 2' & 3' stickers and an assortment of bench legs with tenons already cut on them for ready use. I put in another shelf just like this on the back side but did not build bins for it

[Crusarius]

ooooh I love the sticker storage. I just had to find a place to put all my stickers out of the way so I had room in the shop to paint the mill.

[busenitzcww]

Lots of good info here! Just thinking about building a new shed/lean to as my current shed needs to be turned into dry storage..... never ending problem. 
I'm wondering if it matters which way your shed is laid out E/W versus N/S seams like if you could get the predominant wind direction in line with your stickers it would help dry time? Maybe it's not that big of deal?