The

PHOTOS SUPPLIED BY AUTHOR

Practical Art of
Repurposing Bartered, gifted, and salvaged resources
make a garden shed to be proud of.

By Tom Barchacky

I n the spring of 2006 my wife and

I decided to build a garden shed.
After studying a few do-it-yourself
publications, we found a paperback
book—Sheds: The Do-It-Yourself
such as cedar as the main building
material.
Later that July, we were talking to
our neighbor about the project. He
owns a tree service and remarked that
One Good Find Begets Another

Once we got going, it was hard

to stop. In September my sister and
brother-in-law said they had a num-
Guide for Backyard Builders—by he was cutting down a bunch of cedar ber of old salvaged barn beams that
David and Jeanie Stiles that included trees the next day. He said I could have I could have as a Christmas present.
a design in which the walls were built them in exchange for a few hours of The 8 X 8 beams could be used for
of 4"-long logs that were stacked like my labor. all of the vertical posts as well as for
cordwood and mortared together. It was at this point that I started the horizontal beams that tie the posts
It said that the technique, known as down the path of acquiring used build- together. Shortly thereafter, my wife
stackwood, or cordwood masonry ing materials and repurposing them at happened to find a pile of discarded
construction, typically uses softwoods a fraction of their cost new. lumber at the curb of a home where

BACKHOME MAGAZINE SEPT/OCT 2009 45

 rural roadside ditch along with a sign With Richard’s guidance I drew up
The Art of Repurposing that said “Free.” the plans as required by our local zon-
s-ORE X 10s, given to us by my ing office. The plans ended up being
brother-in-law, who also found a dis- fairly well detailed, which encouraged
they’d torn out a wooden deck. The carded deck. the building inspector to request very
horizontal decking was shot, but the 2 s X 5 landscaping timbers, found few alterations. He was fine with the
X 10 joists were in perfect condition. in the local landfill and used to build post-and-beam construction and all
I removed the screws and nails and a hoisting derrick. aspects of using mortared cordwood
ripped them lengthwise to produce 2 s 7INDOWS FOR THE REAR AND SIDE for wall infill. The fact that we planned
X 6s for the roof trusses and 2 X 4s for walls, found on the curb. a concrete floor also helped in his
the interior divider wall. s! FOOTLADDERDISCARDEDATTHE approval.
And so it went. We began to drive curb. We’d decided against a simple dirt
different routes as we went to work s(INGESDOORKNOBSLATCHESANDA floor from the start, but were consid-
and ran errands to increase our chances sink, all recycled from the local rehab ering a wood floor over sleepers until
of new finds. Our efforts did not go store. I became uneasy with the thought of
unrewarded—here’s a short list of the s,AMINATECOUNTERTOPSFORTHEPOT rotting wood and a ready-made critter
other stuff we found or were given: ting area, purchased at a local seconds habitat under our feet. I’d never worked
s!LARGEFRONTWINDOWFOUNDATA outlet. with concrete before, so I asked a
neighbor’s curb while we were visiting s &URRING STRIPS FOR WINDOWS AND friend and his wife to show us how to
family in another city. doors, found in “giveaway box” at a DOIT)BOUGHTASMALL CUBIC FOOT
s !N ENTRY DOOR GIVEN TO US BY local cabinet shop. mixer, and it still ended up taking me
Mary’s former boss. I cut the arch and s X 4 X 8s, salvaged from a dis- two months to finish the floor, though
hole for the glass. carded deck. I lost ten pounds in the process. I then
s!SIDEDOORFOUNDSTANDINGINA sX 12" sections of concrete used asked another friend to show me how
as a floor for outside to lay concrete blocks around the floor
storage, found at the perimeter to support the first course
curb. of logs. This would prevent rainwater
s  TONS OF USED from splashing onto the lowest logs
brick, recovered from and eventually rotting them.
the landfill.
In March of 2007 Timber Framing, Sort Of
my brother-in-law
went online to learn All the old barn beams had to be
more about cordwood power-washed to remove decades of
construction and dirt and manure. Some of the beams
found the Web page, were worn on the sides where cows
www.daycreek.com/ had rubbed against them while be-
flatau, of cordwood ing milked. To keep the beams from
builder Richard Flatau deteriorating, I applied a penetrating
in northern Wisconsin. preservative and then a clear UV
I ended up buying one sealant. The vertical posts are held in
of his books and later position with 1/2" X 18" rebar inserted
called him with a few 12" into the bottom of the post. The
questions. My wife remaining 6" of rebar protrudes into
and I then visited him the 8"-deep cavity of the cement
and his wife, Becky, block, and the cavity is then filled with
at an open house that cement.
they held later in the This layout offers a very clean look.
year. The horizontal beams are attached
to each other at the corners with lap
Beams and roof trusses joints, which I cut with a chain saw. An
were hoisted into place electric chain saw works best because
with the assistance it runs slowly, vibrates less, and allows
of a 19'-tall derrick a more precise cut. I placed a mirror on
constructed from a the opposite side of the beam so that
come-along and an I could see where I was cutting on the
A-frame on a rolling back side as well as on the front side.
platform. The beams were bolted to each other

46 www.BACKHOMEMAGAZINE.COM
and to the vertical posts with counter-
sunk 1/2" X 8" lag screws, which helps
maintain a rustic appearance.
To erect the beams and the roof
trusses, I built a 19'-tall derrick so I
could lift the 200-pound beams when
no one was available to help. The der-
rick cost about $60, which was for the
come-along, casters, and hardware. I
got the wood free at the landfill.
I built the roof trusses at a 9/12
pitch, which keeps snow mass from
piling up too high. A lower snow load
meant that bracing wasn’t required on
the inside of the trusses, which allows
for a wide open loft with considerable
storage. The shed is 16' X 16' with an
18' joist at the bottom of the truss to
allow for a 12" overhang along the
front and rear walls. To make this joist,
I had to overlap two 10' 2 X 6s and bolt
them together. I then ran a support
wall down the center of the shed with
two 2 X 4 plates at the top to support other side as the logs are laid into the A stop board placed on the outside of
the spliced sections. The loft is almost mortar bed. post-and-beam frame makes it easy to
6' high along the ridgeline, which al- 7E FOLLOWED 2ICHARDS     maintain a flush finish; in addition it acts
lowed me to install a set of loft doors (sand-sawdust-portland cement-hy- as a form for the exterior mortar joints.
in the gable. I plan to extend a 4 X 4 drated lime) recipe for mortar, and it
about 2' out past the doors and hang a worked perfectly. The mortar consist-
pulley from it to help lift heavier items ency was thick enough to allow us to of our purpose was to repurpose, and
into the loft. mortar an arch above the door without time is an asset as valuable as money.
By the end of 2007 we had the main using permanent boards underneath to What I saved on new purchases and
frame members up as well as cedar hold the mortar in place. This meant other people’s labor essentially bought
shakes on the front side of the roof. that the underside of the logs could be me a cement mixer, a power washer,
The roof was finished in April of 2008. exposed and not completely covered and an electric chain saw that, like the
Another brother-in-law helped me cut with mortar, yielding a more attractive shed, will be used for many years to
notches to fit the 6 X 6 crossbeams in look. I soaked and bent a 1/4"-thick come.
the walls to hold up the windows, at furring strip and nailed it to the top of
which point we were able to begin the the door to hold the logs in place until Richard Flatau’s newest book, Cord-
electrical work. the mortar set. To hold up the other end wood Construction: A Log End View
of the 8" logs and keep them level, I (2009) is available for $22 plus $2
“Formed” Cordwood nailed a second bent strip to the 8" X 8" shipping and handling in the U.S.
vertical posts that framed the door. ($4 to Canada) online at www.day-
In August 2008 we began laying We finished the shed this summer, creek.com/flatau. Also available for
and mortaring the cedar logs for the culminating four summers of work on $15 plus $2 shipping and handling is
walls, with help from family and the project. In retrospect I could have his latest full-color book, Cordwood
friends. Instead of using a mason’s line hired people to pour the concrete and Cabin: Best Practices, which details
to keep the walls straight, we used long have it done in less than a week, but the building of the Cordwood Educa-
boards screwed to the vertical support it would have cost four times as much tion Center in Merrill, Wisconsin.
posts to keep the back side of the logs and I wouldn’t have lost those ten The Flataus are teaching a hands-on
perfectly flush as we laid the mortar. pounds. I also could have chosen to use cordwood workshop near Asheville,
Using the board is much faster than new materials for the frame and saved North Carolina, October 10–12,
using a mason’s line because we didn’t myself months of work in cleaning and 2009. For information on the work-
have to check to see if the log was lined preparing the barn beams and pulling shop go to www.daycreek.com, or
up with the string. As long as the log out screws and nails to ready the deck for further questions contact Richard
was pressed up against the board we boards for ripping, thus doubling the Flatau at W4837 Schulz Spur Dr.,
knew it was straight. The board also yield. Merrill, WI 54452; 715-212-2870, or
keeps the mortar from falling out the But I’ve reminded myself that part [email protected].

BACKHOME MAGAZINE SEPT/OCT 2009 47