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thinking of building a metal curing shed [ comments are suggested ]

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Chicken

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im thinking of building a support structure out of 2*4's........and use tin roofing for the sides, and top...

and have it placed directlly in the sun.... im gonna build it the size a shipping container would be,,

and this year ill be hanging my bacca strung on wire connected to tobaccoo sticks... and i want to build a frame on the inside. to hang these sticks on/ just the way they did it in the old days..

a look inside this old bacca barn will give you a idea of what my plans are,,

..IMG_20150129_105108298.jpgIMG_20150129_105228292.jpgIMG_20150129_105303340.jpg

im thinking perhaps have it 10' tall....24' wide.....and maybe 30' long.

and fill it slap up with bacca and let the sun cure. it with heat.. and put a ventilation door on it...up top. just like the old timers did it.

..IMG_20140805_081056297.jpgIMG_20150129_170936898.jpgIMG_20150129_171006007.jpgIMG_20140805_081043641.jpg

im growing some prime cigar leaf this year.. and that i will special prime and cure. in my '' camper kiln ''

that way i can cook. one type of bacca. [ my cigg bacca ] one way//

and do another leaf differentlly [ the cigar ]

ive learned from my past priming and curing.. experiences to know that im in a tropical state.. and have had mold nail me many times, due to the high moisture content. of my area.

...so my plan is to get a jump on my past issues, and have this thing built before its time to string up the first bacca stick.

im wondering should i have a dirt floor.. which would be good if i wanted to bring the bacca into high case, and wet the dirt...

or do i want to line the floor with pallets,????

or perhaps some gravel. i got a lot of what they call 67 stone. its the type they use in septic tanks...when they do a drain fill..

any comments from someone who may be a carpenter, because if i build it im sure we'll be drinking and it'll have a lean when completed.
 

bonehead

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did you check on the price of a used shipping container. i know you can get them for pretty cheap in ct but i don't know about around you. i know they get plenty hot. my friend has one and he had to vent it. it is a strong shed thats for sure.
 

Jitterbugdude

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Chicken, I have a 16x20 metal building that I cure my tobacco in as well as store my tractors and farm implements etc. I'm considerably north of you and my metal barn gets HOT in the summer. I ended up cutting a 2x3 ft hole in the gable end to allow heat to exit. I have a solar panel on the roof so I stuck a fan in the gable end to help with the ventilation. My floor is gravel. I've never had to add water to the floor to increase humidity but I've had to fire up my propane heater on a few occasions to help dry the floor due to excessive rains.

I'd recommend only building 10 ft high if you are willing to climb up 10 feet to hang your tobacco. My barn is only 7 ft high and I can stand on the ground and hang mine. The advantage though of a 10 ft structure is you can get multiple tiers of tobacco strung up. Put wide barn doors on your building. You will need to open and close them to initially control the moisture level. My 2 doors, when open give me a 7 ft wide opening which is also nice for me to be able to drive my tractor through. I'd hold off on the gravel (unless it's free and you have free labor). A gravel floor is really nice but not needed. If you have heavy rains in Florida (and I know you do) then consider the possibility that rain will soak your dirt floor. In that case you'd want to add gravel so that you are not slushing around in mud when you are hanging your tobacco.

I do not have any windows in mine but plan to put a few in this spring.
 

Chicken

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thats good advice... i was thinking of windows.. really id like for it to be all windows. sort of a '' solar shed'' but i dont have acess to that many windows,
 

Jitterbugdude

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Keep your eye open during your travels. There's bound to be someone selling "junk" old windows for $10.00. You're building a tobacco barn, not a condo
 

DGBAMA

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Barn is gonna be too big for your planned patch.........time to make the patch bigger. lol.
 

BarG

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You won't need solar where your at as much as air circulation, heh heh. curing cigar leaf will need that. Maybe a good fan mounted up top facing out. Good luck and have a great season chiken.
 

Rickey60

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You can never have to much room. Go for it. Keep us up to date and don't forget to add pictures.
 

Gmac

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I lined the floor of my greenhouse with a thick gray tarp from Fred's. Cut the humidity dramatically, have to put a three foot kiddie pool in when I need humidity,amazing!
Gmac
 

Chicken

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well the build is still definatlly on. im gonna do it around january... let the weather cool down so i dont sweat to deaf while doing it,

ive priced the 4x4 posts ill be using as the corner and center posts, and ive aqquired some poles to try and save money where i can.

and been thinking of cutting down some cedar trees. possiblly to use for the corner posts. allthough i have thought of changing the original plan. im gonna make it more tall than long,

and the shipping container idea wont work. a small one in my area. is $2,100.00 i know i can build what i need way cheaper than that. i ran across a guy that at one time was in the construction business and the warehouse he was renting to store his excess supplies got sold and he was liquidating everything he had. so i picked up some plywood real cheap...[ i really wish that weekend i had more spending money. he had some 4'' thick insulated wood... e.t.c. ]

but after doing this years cure in my extra bedroom. it showed me just how big of a structure i need,

heres some pic's of what i did this year

..IMG_20150721_175142391.jpgIMG_20150721_175212031.jpgIMG_20150726_225319999.jpgIMG_20150726_225348111.jpgIMG_20150731_190107348.jpgIMG_20150731_190121585.jpgIMG_20150816_175331859.jpgIMG_20150816_175439457.jpgIMG_20150816_175453186.jpg

i didnt totally fill that room up. but next years grow will be a lot bigger. i only used about 3/5 th of my garden space, so im gratefull for the experiment because it showed me exactlly what i need to do and how i need to design it,

true i made some errors on my framing. which i will learn from,
 

Smokin Harley

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Keep your eye open during your travels. There's bound to be someone selling "junk" old windows for $10.00. You're building a tobacco barn, not a condo
or a window installation/remodeling company ...I'm sure they'd rather find a source to get rid of them to and save disposal fees.
 

Knucklehead

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Also building salvage stores. Or offer to tear down a couple of sheds on those farms you go to in exchange for the material. Some of those out buildings are made from hard ass heart pine from way back, including the beams.
 

Gmac

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thats good advice... i was thinking of windows.. really id like for it to be all windows. sort of a '' solar shed'' but i dont have acess to that many windows,
I was going to use sliding glass doors & had several on hand 'till the thief came along. People these days are getting rid of them and replacing with insulated french doors around here.
Gmac
 
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Smokin Harley

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I had the same idea GMAC. those old sliders are getting more and more available every day. The problem is , most of those are not a set standard size and the frames usually get completely ruined (cut out in pieces) in the removal process so when you try to assemble them as a structure,you have to do some furring out to fit.
 

Gmac

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That's what I'm talking about. My house has furred in vertical tinted panels, so does my brother & brother-in-law. Brother-in law's house has 6 inch styrofoam all over, can't even use gas logs on coldest day. electrical bill about $80. a month.

Gmac
 
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