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Small Cabin Forum / Cabin Construction / Property buildings footprint/ layout
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justincasei812
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# Posted: 25 Nov 2020 09:37
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This is more of a question out of curiosity than need. I tried to look this up on different sites with no real answer. I know there are a lot of different variations to this as well depending on your land and situation.
With that said how do you determine where to put outbuildings off your main cabin. I have never seen this before, but can you put a decent sized (main) woodshed right by your cabin so there is less travel to bring in wood daily or how far should it be from the cabin itself? Most YouTube channels I watch woodsheds and other outbuildings are a distance away from the cabin. I am sure there is a thought on infestations of critters and insects that most people think about. Other outbuilding thoughts would be the same. Storage for basic tools and I am sure a larger outbuilding would be farther away based on land/ space and needs. I live in an area where it gets cold and snow so the my thought is you would want things closer rather than farther away but I could be wrong on the thought.

Brettny
Member
# Posted: 25 Nov 2020 12:12
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Every situation is different.

In our case I built a little 4x6ft tool/generator shed on skids and brought it up to our property 2yrs ago. It's been moved 2x since and I'm sure will be moved again next year.

frankpaige
Member
# Posted: 25 Nov 2020 12:28
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Would not be in my view from windows or deck. Closer than not. Who wants to make this a workout? I put mine in another clump of Aspen so it would not be so noticeable to others.

rpe
Member
# Posted: 25 Nov 2020 13:10
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Our woodshed is only 40 ft from the back door. It serves other purposes in the warmer weather, hold a hammock and storage for life jackets and boating safety kits.

ICC
Member
# Posted: 25 Nov 2020 14:35
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When I plan virtually everything and anything here in the wildfire prone western US, I include thoughts about if it is a smart thing to do or to have, if there was a wildfire.

I would not have a woodshed very close to any structures because of that. I don't burn as much wood now as I did with the old home, but even then the big woodshed was a couple hundred feet away. There was a smaller woodbox just off the side door, closest to the point of use that held about a weeks worth of wood.

The same thought process was applied to where my other buildings are situated. They all have space between them. My gas and diesel storage is at the far end of the yard, far away from buildings and the forest. On a good day, it takes a minimum of 20 minutes to reach me from the closest fire station location, which does not include how long it might take for the volunteers to assemble.

justincasei812
Member
# Posted: 26 Nov 2020 09:55
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Thank you for the replies. I am sure all situations are different with different locations in the mix. As we all get a little older and wiser we may have done things a little different. I have a couple of face cords of wood at home that I have moved more than a few times in the past 5 years trying to find the best spot. The cabin is a bit different since it is more of a weekend place but as we spend more time there I wish I would have set things up a little more conveniently. I always wondered why woodshed in particularly were built so far from where it would be visited on a regular basis. Thanks again and Happy Thanksgiving.

Brettny
Member
# Posted: 26 Nov 2020 14:17
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At my year round home I really dont have a wood shed persay buy an area I split and stack wood. I also have a wood box large enough that it holds a weeks worth of wood next to the stove. In our car port against the garage I keep about 1 cord of wood that i tap Into when the weather is bad or I need an emergency dry arm load. I also rotate a wheel barrow load of wood in the car port. This goes into my house first. So in slow burn weeks the wood has alreaty been well covered for a week even with no shed.

ICC
Member
# Posted: 26 Nov 2020 14:22
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Quoting: Brettny
I also have a wood box large enough that it holds a weeks worth of wood next to the stove.


You don't have wood eating insects hitch a ride into the house on that wood?

rockies
Member
# Posted: 27 Nov 2020 19:41 - Edited by: rockies
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When deciding on where to place an outbuilding you should consider how the new building affects the space around it.

In the book "A Pattern Language" this is called creating a positive outdoor space. For example, rather than the building being placed "wherever" it can be placed at a 90 degree angle to the main building and then the remaining one or two edges can be filled in with a hedge, a fence or a sitting wall to create an outdoor room, or positive space.

http://caper.ws/patterns/apl106/apl106.htm

toyota_mdt_tech
Member
# Posted: 27 Nov 2020 22:06 - Edited by: toyota_mdt_tech
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Quoting: ICC
When I plan virtually everything and anything here in the wildfire prone western US, I include thoughts about if it is a smart thing to do or to have, if there was a wildfire.

I would not have a woodshed very close to any structures because of that.


BINGO!

And for the rest, sometimes the stuff just ends up where it ends up because of the site, ie level ground etc.

ICC, I am 18 miles from a volunteer firestation, but its steep grade and the trucks full of water move about 15 MPH up those hills, I know, I followed them when doing some clearing ahead of a fire in 2015

We are following a tanker, I took this picture from my RAM hauling my trailer and my good neighbor in front of me with his gear to help. So I wouldn't expect them there for an hour.
Slow and slower up the grade
Slow and slower up the grade


ICC
Member
# Posted: 28 Nov 2020 00:12 - Edited by: ICC
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Quoting: toyota_mdt_tech
sometimes the stuff just ends up where it ends up because of the site, ie level ground etc.


Yep. Sometimes buildings are just easier placed where the natural lay of the land works best. In part that is why none of my structures align to a grid.

I did have a small fire start very close to the hanger end of the yard, from a lightning strike in 2009. We were lucky on that one as the first engines showed up in 20 minutes; a FS crew that happened to be in the area in a 4WD type 6 engine. Engines from the volunteer station came later as well as fire crews from two pueblos, two from the county and two more FS engines. Almost ran out of space to park them all. It was in early fire season and we were the only fire they had to deal with that day so everyone showed up. It's nice to have cell coverage and an efficient 911 system in the county.

Brettny
Member
# Posted: 28 Nov 2020 07:58
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Quoting: ICC
You don't have wood eating insects hitch a ride into the house on that wood?


Nope. At least here the main insect that eats wood is carpenter ants. They really only go after wet wood. Any wood that I split and find ants in gets thrown into the woods or right in the stove.

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