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Shed Design Plan Building a Firewood Shed

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Don_Koenig]Don Koenig
Sheds come in all sizes and shapes and are built for many varied purposes. An often overlooked shed design plan is for building a firewood shed. I want to address that oversight right now.
Firewood, no matter whether you cut it yourself or buy it from a supplier, is a costly investment either in terms of labor or cold hard cash. It is important to keep your firewood dry and ready to go because if your wood gets wet it doesnt burn efficiently and youll get a great deal of smoke and steam produced as the fire burns. If you live in a climate where there is a lot of rain and snow then building a firewood shed may just be the answer to the problem of keeping your firewood dry and ready for use no matter what the conditions might be.
As with any shed design, the location of your shed is of paramount importance and should not be taken lightly. You want to put the shed in an area where the ground drains well, is preferably higher than low points on your property and is likely to have more natural protection from rain and snowfall than other points in your yard. It should also be built close to the house so that in times of heavy rain or snow or when the temperature is blisteringly cold, you dont have so far to walk to collect firewood for burning. I like to build a firewood shed using one outside wall of the house as the back wall of my shed.
A simple roof, on that has a rather steep slant to it will assure that rain and snow easily slides off the roof and is directed away from the dry firewood being stored inside.
I also like to build the shed with an open front in order to make access to the wood easy for both initial storage and for retrieval when needed.
Thats why most firewood sheds are built with only three sides. In addition to the access issue, the open front allows for air circulation which contributes to keeping the firewood completely dry. It is important to keep the open front facing away from the prevailing direction of the wind in your area. In the Northern Hemisphere that means that the front of the shed should face south.
In order to further protect your firewood from moisture, the floor of the shed should slant slightly toward the open front and you should line the floor with a strong plastic sheeting material.
Of course, most firewood sheds are actually quite small. As you stack wood in the shed, if you only stack a single row of cut firewood, your shed needs to be no more than 3 to 4 feet wide. This width will provide adequate protection from rain and snow. They dont have to be too tall either. If you are storing a cord of wood, then about 4 feet high and 6 feet long will be sufficient.
It should go without saying but, as with any construction project, obtaining the best shed design plan is crucial to the success of your project. Having the right plans will assure that your project proceeds without a hitch.
Don Koenig has been a professional carpenter and woodworker for over 25 years. He offers tips and ideas for building sheds an other woodworking projects at [http://www.designsforsheds.com]Designs for Sheds. Right now he is offering a free gift of a 24 page basic shed plan for a [http://www.designsforsheds.com/shed-design-plan]12 x 8 Shed. Why not visit his site and see what all the fuss is about.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Shed-Design-Plan:-Building-a-Firewood-Shed&id=6687156] Shed Design Plan: Building a Firewood Shed