How to Build a Firewood Storage Shed in One Day

Intro: How to Build a Firewood Storage Shed in One Day

This project came about as my firewood was stored about 25 metres from the house in a very unorganized pile in a shed. I wanted to have somewhere close to the house I could nicely stack the firewood and easily restock the house even when it was raining, and I live in Ireland so quite often.

I thought I would take this opportunity to create an instructable so that others can build their own. The whole build is easily scalable to meet your needs. This gave me the second idea to create a youtube channel to document my various projects. I hope the guide and video are helpful.

STEP 1: Build the Base

This firewood storage shed will hold quite a bit of weight so we need a strong base.

Supplies:

• 4"x1"
• 5 x 50mm Screws
• Drill
• Mitre Saw

1. Start by cutting your 4"x1" into the following:
2. 45" x 6 Pieces (Base sides (front/back) and top)
3. 18" x 5 Pieces (Base sides and internal supports)
4. Lay out two of the 45" lengths and space the five 18" lengths evenly between them
5. Predrill and then screw the 2 long sides into the five 18" boards

STEP 2: Add Supports

Next we will be building the corner supports that will connect the base to the roof. Check each piece is level when screwing in.

Supplies:

• 4"x1"
• 4 x 40mm Screws
• Level
• Drill
• Miter Saw

1. Start by cutting your 4"x1" into the following:
2. 62" x 2 Pieces
3. 51.75" x 2 Pieces
4. 51.25" x 2 Pieces
5. 64.25" x 2 Pieces
6. Take the 62" boards and screw them to the sides at the front
7. Take the 51.75" boards and screw them to the sides at the back
8. Take the 51.25" boards and screw them to the back (lining up with pieces from step 3)
9. Take the 64.25" boards and screw them to the front (lining up with pieces from step 2)

STEP 3: Build the Roof Frame

Next we will tackle the frame of the roof.

Supplies:

• 4"x1"
• Plywood/OSB
• 4 x 40mm Screws
• Drill
• Miter Saw

1. Start by cutting your 4"x1" into the following:
2. 29" point to point with a 30° angle in the same direction both ends x 2 Pieces
3. 25.5" with a 30° angle in the same direction both ends x 3 Pieces
4. 47.5" x 2 Pieces
5. 64.25" x 2 Pieces
6. Take the 29" boards and screw them to the sides
7. The front should be flush, the back should overhang (as shown in the picture)
8. Take the 47.5" boards and screw them to the front and back at the top
9. Take the 25.5" boards and screw them, evenly spaced, between the boards from step 2
10. Take the whole build and lean it onto the plywood (shown in pictures)
11. Mark the outline onto the ply and cut it to this size
12. Screw the ply onto the top of the frame

STEP 4: Weatherproof the Roof

If your weather is anything like the Irish weather then it rains a lot and you should weatherproof the roof. This is easy to do with some roof felt.

Supplies:

• Roof Felt
• 20mm Felt Nails
• Hammer
• Trimming Knife

1. Roll out your felt and lean the whole build onto it so the roof is flat down on the felt (shown in the picture)
2. You will want to mark around the roof adding 3-4" all around for overlap
3. Cut the felt along the marked lines with your trimimng knife
4. Stand the build back up and put the felt on top, evenly spaced all around
5. Hammer the felt nails in to secure the felt onto the roof

STEP 5: Add Sides and a Back

Next we should add some protection to the sides and the back whilst also allowing some gaps for air flow

Supplies:

• 4"x1" (including 2 small offcuts for spacers)
• 4 x 40mm Screws
• Drill
• Miter Saw

1. Start by cutting your 4"x1" into the following:
2. 46" x 7 Pieces
3. 23" x x 14 Pieces
4. Take one 46" board and screw to the back at the top
5. Take one 23" board and screw to the side at the top
6. Line this up with the back board from the previous step
7. Take 2 of your 4"x1" offcuts and use these as spacers
8. Take the next 46" board and screw to the back, spaced down with the two 4"x1" offcuts as shown in the picture
9. Take the next 23" board and screw to the side, lining up with the back board, spaced down with the two 4"x1" offcuts
10. Continue steps 5 and 6 until all back boards are used
11. Take the remaining 23" boards and screw onto the other side, lining up with the back boards and spaced with the offcuts

STEP 6: Fill It Up

Congratulations you have completed the build of your new firewood storage shed. Now you can move it to it's final location (maybe with help as it is heavy) and fill it up with firewood. NOTE: When choosing the location consider the drainage behind the firewood store, if up against the building then ensure proper drainage or a location that slopes away from the building.

Thanks for taking the time to look at my instructable, if the video was helpful please consider liking and subscribing, here is my channel - Whitehorn Studio Woodworking

Comments

[marijusk]

Great and simple storage. I planned build, my wood from home over 70m. In winter( about -15C or more) always need wood.

[briankayepaint]

Fun looking projects but I would recommend having your roof slope away from your building otherwise you're going to end up with mold peeling paint mildew possibly even Moss and other Decay issues

[razself]

Hi Brian, thanks for the tip, I have it feeding into the kitchen drainage but a couple of people have mentioned similar issues could arise so I have decided next time its empty I will move it to be safe. If interested in future projects like this please subscribe to my new channel.

[charlessenf-gm]

You could simply add a gutter and downspout to move the water to the front ...

[charlessenf-gm]

Nice job. Great video presentation. Thanks for sharing. Erin go Bragh

[SandroM11]

Nice design but sadly that will just give you wet firewood, rain sadly don't fall vertical downwards, the wind will blow all the rain on the wood and make it soaking wet, not great for woodburning

[charlessenf-gm]

It is a nice design and a well done video Instructable.

I made ours out of salvaged 84" x 40" pallets strung together using 2x6x12' PT up on concrete blocks laid over plastic tarps. The rest of it, vertical supports out of 1x4x6' and the roof 'rafters' out of 1x2 shorts with plastic feed bags (layer one) and Cheap blue traps (layer two) pretty much open on four sides to the weather. The wood gets wet and dries back out. The thing is probably twenty feet long and four or five years old. Our only heat is from burning wood so, if it hadn't worked, we'd have been S.O.L.

Next time, try asking if he's oriented his little crib to avoid blowing rain - he just may have been as bright as you!

[razself]

Sorry but your comment is not very accurate, I have had the storage shed in place for months, through torrential rain/wind and the wood is still dry. Why? Because of the direction it is faced, rain/wind goes from the back to front meaning even random gusts in the opposite direction are not enough to get the firewood wet.

[SandroM11]

In your design you are only saying it rains downwards, the spacing In the side slats are too wide hence rain will pass is, and the front will get rain because sadly rain isn't only left or right or straight down, rain does pour against house faces and that where your wood is exposed at, so my comment is perfectly valid

[razself]

I will stand by the actual proof that this has been in place for months, with rain nearly every day and none of the wood inside it is wet which makes me question your reasoning. If your comments were correct then these type of firewood storage sheds would not exist anywhere.

[chrisehlers2x]

Great discussion here. The arguments show me the design works for some conditions but may not work for every situation. I personally think it will work for me in the upper midwest of the United States. We only burn firewood in the winter so rain is generally not a problem. For the unusual case of rain during winter season, it is only the top layer of firewood that is damp.

[SandroM11]

I live in Bristol and when it rains it pours, and i see a few houses with this design and guess what the wood is soaking wet, because this design has no over hang to protect the rain from front angle, which you should of done but hey if you are butt hurting so much from me pointing out a design flaw that's your problem.

[jeanneambro]

Last night my sons and I were talking about building a small storage rack to keep wood near my fire pit and I saw this in my email. I can't wait to build it! I plan to put it behind my greenhouse because the fire pit is on a paver pad right next to it. And to protect the wood from the elements I have some clear acrylic sheets just lying around that I will use. Thx.

[razself]

Thanks for the comment, sounds like a great garden you have and it would be a great project to do with your sons, let me know how you get on building it and if there is anything helpful to add to the guide

[jimhorton2022how]

tip: using rope to secure the sides instead of nails is a lot harder and a bit more expensive but if you use the right knots it should work nicely.