Coal bin idea

I have an existing shed with the interior dimensions being roughly 11'-3" x 8'-5". The entrance door is 4'-0" wide and centered on the 8'-5" wall. The interior is bare 2x4 studs on 16" center. The door opens out and swings to the left. My original idea was to have the coal bin the on the right as you walk in 2'-3" deep, 11'-3" long, and 4' high. This would hold about 2.5 tons of rice if my math is correct. The only problem would be filling it. Since I'll be going to the breaker myself and dumping the coal in my driveway and then wheel barrowing it over it to the shed, I envisioned it would be a pain.

Then I thought about making the bin at the rear of the shed. 8'-5" wide, 4'-0" deep, and 4'-0" (3.3 tons). If I built it this way and created a removable section of wall in the front/center of it, I could roll the wheelbarrow into it and dump. When it fills up a little, I make a little ramp and dump some more. It would get to a point where I wouldn't be able to dump the wheelbarrow anymore, so I would have to shovel it in or come up with another idea. I could make the bin 6" deeper and 6" taller and add more coal to it too (4.25 tons). I do need room for the lawn mower, snowblower and other essentials.

I would add plywood to the interior of the shed for the bin to strengthen the walls and also add a hinged lid that I could use as a shelf.

I know the tool rental place down the street rents "dirt conveyor's", so I was thinking about seeing if one of them would work.

Any tips or ideas?

Can you get the truck next to the shed? It would be easier to make window or smaller opening on the side of the shed as high as possible and shovel it right off the truck. Messing around inside a shed with a wheel barrow is going to be quite a hassle. Your already almost 3 feet off the ground with the truck, might as well keep it. If you have to do it the wheel barrow I'd fill 5 gallon buckets and put them in the wheel barrow to wheel them to the shed to dump in. You're not going to get a lot of coal in there anyway from the whell barrow without moving it around, you'll be able to "throw" it with the bucket.

The shed is separated from the driveway by about 30 feet. About 15 of these feet is a wood deck and the rest is a block patio, stairs, slate path. There's not even a way to drive around the deck.

Perhaps building a coal bin near the driveway big enough to hold it all (or most of it) would be a more feasible option. This is the toughest part of the design!

Wellk if get yourself 4 sheets of plywood and some 2X4's thats all you need for 3 ton bin, only need to make one cut on a single piece of plywood for the two square sides.

Hmmm... I thought living in an A-frame house was sometimes a pain the ass (lack of storage, no flat walls), but now I'm racking my brain trying to figure the easiest way to store 3+ ton of coal outside ( I need at least 5 for a year). The only level grounds on my property are the patios and the decks. There's even a huge boulder adjacent to the shed where it would be ideal to build a bin. The other side of the shed is my dog run (which is on a slope too). There is no access for a truck to where I would like to store the coal. I might just bite the bullet on it this year and hump buckets to the shed until I come up with a better idea.

You have a basement? Can you cut a trap door in one of the decks to get access to the basement wall? build a chute right into a bin in your basement. Even be able to wheel barrow it right to the trap door. -or- if its close enough a regular delivery truck will be able to chute it right in.

I've had alot of people do stuff like that, the one guy had a trap door on his front porch steps, another in the front porch etc... The giy with the front porch trap door hid it with a rug.

Richard S. wrote:You have a basement? Can you cut a trap door in one of the decks to get access to the basement wall? build a chute right into a bin in your basement. Even be able to wheel barrow it right to the trap door. -or- if its close enough a regular delivery truck will be able to chute it right in.

I've had alot of people do stuff like that, the one guy had a trap door on his front porch steps, another in the front porch etc... The giy with the front porch trap door hid it with a rug.

Excellent idea! Unfortunately the area where the I would have access to the basement via trap door under the deck is my laundry room and off the laundry room is a full bath and bedroom. Then a staircase and on the other side of that is the mechanical room where the boiler will be. Inside that room is a decent size closet that I am planning on using as a coal bin which should hold about 1.5 tons. I was thinking about creating a hatch to the outside for this bin, but even that is far away from the driveway, level ground, or even an exterior bin built in the upper driveway. The shed, however, is just up a small hill from there - about 12' or so.

I even thought about creating a bin UNDER the low deck (yikes, spiders!), but I don't think that would work out well as the bottom of the joists to the ground is only about 2 feet or so.

Well if it were me the laundry room would now be the coal bin. Moving 5 ton a coal into the basement every year is not something I'd consider doing if it could be avoided. Going to get old really quick.

I really don't see another option at this time. I still have some time to think it over.

Richard S. wrote:Well if it were me the laundry room would now be the coal bin. Moving 5 ton a coal into the basement every year is not something I'd consider doing if it could be avoided. Going to get old really quick.

I could move the woodpile outside, level off the ground best I could and build a decent size bin out there. i would still have to haul the coal inside to the boiler, but this way I would only be hauling it once!

i have my coal bin away from my house
i fill the bin with coal and i use 5 gal pails stored in the garage next to my stove
i fill about 30 pails it lasts for approx. 15 days in xtreame cold
i got the pails for free ....go to your local supermarket that has a bakery...they get icing and filling in 5 gal pails
ask the manager if he/she can save the pails for you ...all you have to do is wash the out
hope this can help you out as another alternitive

That's what I decided on doing, mikethebutcher. I'll have space in the mechanical room to store the buckets too.

I have made up my mind on the location of the bin. I plan on making it 8' long, 6' wide, and 5' high. Will hold about 6 tons of rice, but I'll only be putting 5 in it to start with. I figure it makes sense to make it a little larger and have room if needed. I'll fashion some sort of roof for it so it's not an eye sore come winter when the leaves are gone. Maybe the stain the sides or something too.

My question is the floor. I'm sure I can fine some nice hardwood pallets to use as a base and lay some exterior grade plywood on top of it. Whats the best way to construct the base of the bin? Is it OK to have the pallets resting on the ground? Perhaps some concrete blocks? Gravel?

Blocks will work fine, you'll want something to keep it off the ground. If you don't they'll eventually rot.