Putting up a Shelterlogic canoe shed.

[bark-eater]

I've got a 10x20 Shelterlogic shed on the way, that I intend to use as a canoe shed. I got tired of watching my nicer boats disintegrate in the elements and doing all my work in the driveway. I ordered a shed with a 15 year pvc skin, green with a white panel in the roof, for light and less solar gain.

So far the plan is a to build it on a PT skid frame, set on a 4" gravel pad to keep it above the water and I'm going to pour 4 concreate anchors on the corners to keep it from blowing away. To control moisture I'll put down sacrificial tarps on the floor for now, put in gable vents and some sort of fan. There's power 4 feet from the back of the shed so I'll have lights strung.

Its 10' high so I figure I can still work in it with 2 or 3 boats hanging from the frame. When I'm not working on something I want to have a couple boats ready to go all year, so if the weathers right I can pull a rigged boat out of the shed on a dolly and walk the 1/4 mile down to the landing and go.

I'm hoping to have it up with in the month and getting some boat work done before summer hits.... So any suggestions for putting one of these things up? Am I missing anything? Thanks, Woody

 

[billconner]

What sort of climate?

 

[bark-eater]

Mid-Atlantic, Eastern Shore. Kinda wet. I've got a bunch of gunnels to replace since I moved here.

 

[scoutergriz]

I've never used one for canoe storage, but have used several of them for other things (including building a canoe). They are very rain and sun resistant, but not so much for blowing snow or wind because the fabric stops a couple of inches above the ground. I've always just used 2' pieces of rebar driven on about 60 degrees at EVERY anchor point, with 2 in the corners driven 90 degrees apart. The fabric needs to be drum tight to prevent lifting and strain from the wind snapping at it. It also helps with wear along the ridge points from friction. If it comes with a bar to weigh down one door USE it and tie it down firmly otherwise one good gust of wind can rip the zippers right out of the fabric.

 

[bark-eater]

Good points about the doors. I can put grommets on the bottom corners of the doors and clip them down with carabiners to the frame.

 

[Cheeseandbeans]

I have had a tractor in one for a few years. No issues other than one year we had rain after a heavy snow and then a freeze up. I had to chip a huge ice chunk out of the roof that was sagging. Keep it tight and your eye on it occasionally- should be fine.

Bob

 

[bark-eater]

Apparently there's a learning curve to ordering gravel and translating between yards and weight. And some drivers have the knack and some don't. Now I've got an extra 4 tons to to put elsewhere with a shovel.

 

[yknpdlr]

Be careful if you are in snow country. This past season we had a combination of a couple of layers of ice with a lower thick layer that stuck fast to structures all season, they heavy snow between ice layers and more snow on top. Several of those fabric sttructures as well as old wood barns and garages have collapsed around here recently. Even in normal years when snow does slide off as it should, it accumulates high on the ground layering up along the sides and stresses the fabric walls inward. Hanging canoes or anything else with any weight from the structure inside will only make collapse more likely.

 

[Guest]

Apparently there's a learning curve to ordering gravel and translating between yards and weight. And some drivers have the knack and some don't. Now I've got an extra 4 tons to to put elsewhere with with a shovel.

I feel your (four) tons of fun pain.

Our driveway is 440 feet long. CR-6 crusher run, and we have a large dump truck load tailgated on one section of another almost every year. Our usual stone guy is a pro at tailgating that crusher run, spread up some section of the driveway, with just a small initial pile where he starts.

One year he wasn’t available, and I ordered CR-6 from another company. When the dump truck arrived I asked to driver to “Start it here, and tailgate it up the driveway as far as it will stretch”.

To which she replied “I’m not very good at that”. Thinking she was just being modest I said “Eh, I’m sure it will be fine”.

She was, in fact “not very good”. It wasn’t “fine”. She opened the gate a bit and popped the clutch with a jerk, depositing half the load in a giant pile. A giant pile that blocked the driveway. Not only that, it was a crapty load of CR-6; too much stone and not enough “dust”, so it didn’t pack down and hold together worth a dang.

Days of work with a shovel. I’ve got blisters on me fingers.

 

[Boatman53]

Yes snow load can be a problem. I have to knock off the snow after every storm. My tent gets lots of sun but still the snow doesn’t shed. I push up from the inside with the handle of the snow shovel till it slides off. You might try a layer or two of duct tape over all the bolts at the ridge before you put the tarp on. That is where mine has worn through and leaks. I also use a length of conduit pipe at the bottom of the door and a simple rope system to ‘roll up’ the door when both zippers are opened.
Jim

 

[bark-eater]

Well I ended up shoveling 3-4 tons to the side, and spreading the rest out for a level pad from 4" to 9" over 24' . Crusher run may have been more appropriate, but the idea of setting up a level strong back won over the idea of working on a car in there. Big shocker yesterday as lumber prices have more than doubled from when I priced the skid frame materials 6 months ago. I think I'm going to hold off on rebuilding the deck this summer....

 

[bark-eater]

Getting there.

 

[bark-eater]

Well bad things happen, and tools were dropped and lay for a year. I'm starting to dig out and decided that I would need a shed to de-rust and refinish the unbuilt metal frame among other delayed projects. I have a second purpose for the 16 footers so I left them long. Gives my shanty a bit of Viking flair...

 

[bark-eater]

 

[dougd]

If you are still going with the logic shelter, maybe I missed something, I had one and some left over paneling which I slid between the frame and the skin on the roof area which helped a lot with snow loads. Also as mentioned I would use a shovel to push up on the roof area to get the snow to slide off and as someone else mentioned I used rebar to secure the points to the ground and bent them over to keep them in place. I had 4 canoes on racks in it for two years before I got tired of it and sold it. I did have a very stubborn porky who wanted to live in it and would frequently usher him/her out with a push broom.

I had to do a little searching but did find a write up of setting it up:

The Shelter From Hell

I have been wondering how I am going to store my canoes for the winter as I need to work on a few of them. In the past I have stowed them o...

scooter-bangortoportland.blogspot.com

dougd

 

[bark-eater]

I still have the parts to the shed, but the frame lost some paint and gained some rust. I'm going to build a 4x8' tank and soak the frame in oxcylic acid to remove the rust, touch up the paint and then coat the insides of the tubes with linseed oil. I also have a couple extra parts to fabricate so that I can use the frame to support a couple boats overhead. The temporary structure is going to get reconfigured as a campfire lean-to facing my granite curbstone fire place. All I gotta to do is live long enough....