quick building question

[diymirage]

hey guys, i have another odd idea, id like to run by you guys

i have a fire pit out back and id like to build a simply structure to keep my firewood dry
this will be a simple 6 or 8 uprights with a particle board roof and shingles

the idea is to use downed trees from around the property to use for the bones of the structure to keep it looking rustic and to somewhat keep cost down

so i will be using branches, maybe 7 foot long and 4-6 inches wide
(i intend to use half lap joints to from the uprights to the vertical parts, but i am open to advise)

the main question i have though is this: how do i secure this to the ground?
half of the upright will be on large flagstones, the rest will be on pavers

i thought this might be the best way BUT it would require me to square off the bottom of the uprights, not sure thats the best looking way to go

perhaps a better looking version would be this?

slice groove with a chainsaw and pin it

so, lets hear it

 

[mopar head]

Spring for 4x4s or cut your up rights to 4x4 and you should have footers so it don`t fly away. 3 sides will be better and face the back against normal wind direction.
have fun.

 

[Avispa]

sorry, i'm out, i couldn't build a birdhouse, good luck.

 

[barbee6043]

I would just pay the $ for some treated (so it does not rot) 4 x 4s borrow someone post holler diggers, (put the in the dirt 30inches so a big wind does not blow it all away) a few 2 x 4s and have some roof tin cut to length. If ya want rustic, duct tape your branches to it!!

 

[diymirage]

Spring for 4x4s or cut your up rights to 4x4 and you should have footers so it don`t fly away. 3 sides will be better and face the back against normal wind direction.
have fun.

im pretty much set where it will go, based on existing landscaping
there is somewhat of a raised plant bed surrounded by huge stones
i had always had the wood lay on those stones, and it seems like a good place for it, so im just keeping it there

I would just pay the $ for some treated (so it does not rot) 4 x 4s borrow someone post holler diggers, (put the in the dirt 30inches so a big wind does not blow it all away) a few 2 x 4s and have some roof tin cut to length. If ya want rustic, duct tape your branches to it!!

because of the land scaping, i can put them in the ground
half of em go on pavers, half on the stones

if i were building a serious structure i would go that route (thats how we did my lean too) but for this i think it is over kill

and i do think the raw wood (downed trees) would look so much better



right now, my plan is to get some L brackets and put two of em back to back (so it looks like an upside down T)
tapcon them to the pavers/stones, cut a groove in the posts and run a few lagbolts through them

 

[No name needed]

im pretty much set where it will go, based on existing landscaping
there is somewhat of a raised plant bed surrounded by huge stones
i had always had the wood lay on those stones, and it seems like a good place for it, so im just keeping it there



because of the land scaping, i can put them in the ground
half of em go on pavers, half on the stones

if i were building a serious structure i would go that route (thats how we did my lean too) but for this i think it is over kill

and i do think the raw wood (downed trees) would look so much better



right now, my plan is to get some L brackets and put two of em back to back (so it looks like an upside down T)
tapcon them to the pavers/stones, cut a groove in the posts and run a few lagbolts through them

Untreated anything. I'm thinking.
Termites, carpenter ants.

 

[AJ/FormS]

My canopy is 10 x 20 with a HD tarp roof stretched over home-made 2x2 trusses, no floor, corner posts only, sitting on small pavers, and open sides. It is heavy enough to not move even in the many many days of 35/40 mph winds, that we had this winter..
But if I was concerned, I would put an 18" to 30" ground-screw on each of the windward corners, and cable it down. Those things are amazing.

 

[barbee6043]

I've seen 60 mph winds in Mo. blow off sheds on poles 3 ft in the ground.
Use your "timber for poles?", It needs to be cedar or a wood that will not rot maybe?? But what d I know.
Like you said, for overkill.

 

[diymirage]

and...back to the drawing board

i cut 4 of the uprights, (7 foot tall) and set them in their place
got the wife out there to get her to sign of on in it and she said nope

apparently if i place it there, it messes with the "look" of the back yard

so now i will move it over several feet and put it in the "wild" section of the yard
which means dig down 3 feet and drop em in the hole

ill get some pictures up later


im still sticking with the "raw tree wood" plan
im sure the ants wont get through it in less then a decade

right now, my biggest concern is "how do i make the roof look good"
i got round uprights, and i will use raw wood as a cross beam (and perhaps as runners)
and hopefully just slap a 4x8 sheet of on there and shingle it

 

[diymirage]

This is what got 86ed

 

[AJ/FormS]

Hyup; I could see how putting a roof on a line of posts could be tough, lol.
I had actually thought of doing that too, but our Westerlies would have made short work of it.

 

[diymirage]

Hyup; I could see how putting a roof on a line of posts could be tough, lol.
I had actually thought of doing that too, but our Westerlies would have made short work of it.

im not too worried about the wind tearing it down, it is in a rather secluded area, with trees right behind it
even if it were to blow hard, it wouldnt build up enough steam to do serious damage


as for the actual roof, i intend to cut saddles in the upright so the headers can lay in there somewhat smooth (without too much of a gap) and the cut a groove in the headers somewhat like this

i will then place the roofing sheat right in there and once it comes time to shingle it, run the shingles over front of the log

 

[AJ/FormS]

that should work.

My shed is not a shed and only a hip-roof canopy (no sides), is mobile, and "temporary", so they can't forbid it nor tax it; but it still performs it's function reasonably well. And, built this way, I can put it on the property line. Any other way it would have to be no closer than 8ft an no taller than 6f at the eaves, and the eaves cannot be closer to the property line than the same 8ft.
It has a HD Tarp roof stretched over 3/12 pitched rafters and just bungy-corded it on so that if my neighbors complain, I can just unbolt the rafters and slide them forward off the property-line and restretch the tarp. rules/rules/rules! Because it is temporary, it doesn't count as part of the 4 sheds max rule/ and max of 40ft long in one place rule; so I was thinking of stretching it out a couple of hundred feet, just to piss the town off.. Of course most of the stuff I would put under there would have to also be tarped so I was thinking of getting variously colored tarps to really drive them crazy.
but, you know; what I want to do in rebellion, and what I will do in meekness are never the same, because you know; such actions have to be tempered by the "good neighbor " rule. Sometimes it sucks to be a Christian.
I painted my somewhat large 4-bedroom 1.5story house a lovely green color; not because I liked green (I don't and never have), but, to be a good neighbor. I mow the grass as opposed to bringing in my daughters sheep, you know; to be a good neighbor. I trim the hedges, for the neighbors. I don't run my Cuda after 7Pm cause the neighbors are putting their kids to bed. If I come home late at night, I sneak in the back way, and coast in and leave it in the driveway; I'll park it in the morning. I built 4 sheds,and a 6-car parking lot, and a 3-car carport, to hide and/or organize my clutter.... for the neighbors sakes. Hyup, sometimes it sucks being a Christian

 

[TheGrateRonzini]

If you are using the stand offs, they usually go on top 10-12” diameter sonotubes filled with concrete, depending on frost line, 42-48” deep. Tap-con or redhead the fastener to the concrete and build on that. I don’t like them as much as I do dry packing the hole with a bag of dry concrete, tamping the ever-loving **** around the post, continue filling with dry bags, tamping and plumbing the pier as you go. I usually cut the 4x4 after they are vertical with the circle saw. At least there is lateral support with the deep post, as opposed to the mechanical fasteners when using standoffs. Also, you can build right on top of dry packed posts immediately, no waiting for concrete to dry, or hoping your finishing skills are up to par and flat and level

 

[diymirage]

If you are using the stand offs, they usually go on top 10-12” diameter sonotubes filled with concrete, depending on frost line, 42-48” deep. Tap-con or redhead the fastener to the concrete and build on that. I don’t like them as much as I do dry packing the hole with a bag of dry concrete, tamping the ever-loving **** around the post, continue filling with dry bags, tamping and plumbing the pier as you go. I usually cut the 4x4 after they are vertical with the circle saw. At least there is lateral support with the deep post, as opposed to the mechanical fasteners when using standoffs. Also, you can build right on top of dry packed posts immediately, no waiting for concrete to dry, or hoping your finishing skills are up to par and

thanks for the advice
i probably underbuild it, but it isnt a piano im building


i simply dug down 3 feet and dropped the uprights in

im gonna add 2 more stringers to it and tomorrow im picking up a full sheet of OSB for the roof (what is on there right now, is just to keep it all sqaured)


i dont want to put the OSB up untill i have time to shingle it aswell
then i just have to build the shelving and fill her up

 

[TheGrateRonzini]

That looks good! The whole logs are pretty straight and most definitely stout. Have you used timberlok fasteners? They are basically lag bolts, but have a better load rating than the grade 5 lags, and they hold on like the dickens.

 

[RustyRatRod]

"Quick building question"

I mean really. We all know that means this sumbitch is gonna be twelveteen pages long.

 

[diymirage]

That looks good! The whole logs are pretty straight and most definitely stout. Have you used timberlok fasteners? They are basically lag bolts, but have a better load rating than the grade 5 lags, and they hold on like the dickens. View attachment 1715898312

thanks

yes, im a big fan of that style "screws"
if you look closely on the right hand back post there is a Y in there (thought that looked really cool)

the 4 main posts are connected with 12 inch nails (might even be longer, ill check tomorrow, i bought them a few years ago to connect a few rail road ties


that one side branch though, has one of those timberlocks in it
i got to redo that with a ratchet strap or something on it, to get it nice and tight

"Quick building question"

I mean really. We all know that means this sumbitch is gonna be twelveteen pages long.

yes sir, and im going to quote all of it as "research"
that oughta tighten things up

 

[diymirage]

Just got to shingle the roof and she's done