Not my wood shed, but a shed

handirifle · Jan 19, 2017

I posted before about wanting to build a firewood storage building, of some type. I haven't gotten to that yet, still trying to clean up some part finished rojects from earlier.

This one is my pump house. It houses my water booster pump, pressure tank, and water valves that control ALL my water on the property.

The interesting part is, it was framed out of free pallets. I set PT 4x4's on a gravel base and built up from there. It has sat for months until I finally got some of the funds to start finish work.

I thought I had taken pictures of it when just framed, but I guess not. Here is one with the back side covered in siding, and the trim boards on the corners.

I have the trusses I built on it also. NOTHING is conventional on this build, so just in case you wondered

. I also framed the doorway, in this shot. Used 1x8 pine, since the pallets are about 6" thick.

So I got it almost completely sided. I have a few small trim pieces to finish up with, then when the rain stops and funds allow, I will put the roof on it.

Here is the back side.

And here is the front sided. Ready to build the door. Door opening is 35" wide, and the pressure tank is 24", so plenty of room to wrestle it out if need be. I am undecided if I will use metal or fiberglass for the roof. The door faces north, so the roof would be like a solar panel, but the ambient light from clear panels would be nice. I am afraid it would be an oven in the summer though.

You can see the tarp I covered it with. That is to protect the siding. We have some big rain storms coming in and I don't want the wood totally soaked. It gets a little wet but that is ok. I used Home Depot's "Truwood" panels. I like the wood grain look, and with the white corner trim it matches the house. It will eventually get painted to match the house as well.

All in all it came off pretty well. I am considering framing my wood storage building with pallets now. I would not use siding on them, but rather pallet boards nailed on with only about 1/2" or so between the boards, for ventilation.

I would still need to roof it somewhat conventionally.

I built my own trusses, by using 22ga sheet steel, and pneumatic staple gun. For what I am doing here they will be perfect. I probably have about 30 staples in each section, or about 60 per side.

EddieWalker · Jan 20, 2017

Very unique.

I prefer metal over fiberglass because I feel metal will last a lot longer.

tcreeley · Jan 20, 2017

Metal is good. The heat on a sunny day would be something you'd have to figure out if you use fiberglass. Make sure it has a good flow of air in there to prevent condensation.
Looks good.

handirifle · Jan 21, 2017

I am leaning towards metal, and it will be ventilated well. If you look at the siding in the 2nd pic, you see it runs up to the bottom of the truss. It does the same in the front. The metal will be screwed to purloins nailed to the top of the trusses (std setup) but the gap between the siding and the purloins will just be screened in, for ventilation. Not 100% sure how I want to screen the openings either. I will add facia boards to the roof soon, too.

Severe freezing is not a real issue MOST of the time, so I really don't need to worry about that. There have been some periods of a couple days straight of 20 deg temps, and THOSE would cause issues. But for that I have insulation on the pipes and thermostat controlled heat strips, so I should do OK. It is mainly for sun protection and appearance.

I didn't mention it, but dimensions are 5ft x 12ft x 7ft high.

handirifle · Jan 21, 2017

I should mention, the normal prevailing winds here, come from the north (open door facing side) but storms and storm winds come from the S-SW, so the lower line of the roof faces the stormy winds. This ought to help it hold together a little better for some of the 60+ MPH gusts were sometimes get with the storms. Plus the 5400 gallon tank right beside it will help too, I hope.

handirifle · Jan 21, 2017

How far apart should I space the purloin rows? The trusses are 75" long, front to back.

handirifle · Jan 21, 2017

This is a shot of the front (not by front door) of our house, for comparison, so you can see where i was going with the design. The house siding is Hardie board, but that was way too much money for this thing. I have about $200 in it so far, so that plus the roofing, that I estimate about another $150. I think I can get by with 4, 8ft panels, cut to my length. Home Depot has 8ft for $25 each, plus panel screws, and some flashing for the edges.