Building questions

[old fashioned]

DH is in the process of building a shed in the backyard with the intended purpose of extra storage for yard & garden tools, bikes, extra household stuff, etc including a pantry (food storage) & freezer space. The size is 12x12 and is roughly 20ft from the house/garage and gets all day sun/weather, no trees nearby to act as weather break and no windows. My concern is for the food storage & temp fluctuations throughout the year. We want to put in insulation to help moderate the inside temps, but would that be enough? The door faces north and it will also have a covered area on the southside (only a roof, no side walls for extra wood & such) that would also factor in to keep temps inside more steady.

Would these little precautions be enough to keep the inside temps fairly steady year round? I know there will still be some fluctuation from winter to summer depending on the weather, but will the food store there safely?

Our garage is on the south side of the house, nothing fancy at all. In fact it kinda looks like someone enclosed a carport & put a door on it (no insulation) and the only difference from the shed is concrete floor (shed is 1/2 in, plus 3/4 in plywood on top of 2x6 base support) and the garage does stay a few degrees warmer in the winter & cooler in the summer.

Would this be enough protection? Our greatest weather extremes have run from single digit winters to over 100 in summer. Also, do we need to have ventilation/air circulation? I realize these may be some really dumb questions to what many would consider obvious, but inquiring minds want to know

 

[moolie]

I'm further north than you, but at our old house we had a 22x24' detached single-storey garage that was fully insulated (including the double garage door), and insulation keeps in the cold as well as the heat in an outbuilding that has no heat/cooling source.

So our garage got super cold at night during the winter and took time to warm up during the day during the winter--it could be colder inside than outside even at 3pm because the insulation kept the night's cold inside. Same thing in the summer, it could heat up quite a bit in the garage during the daytime and keep the heat overnight. Based on your description, I'm thinking it will get quite hot in the summer time, and be ok during the winter but you could have issues with freezing temps inside depending on what is normal during your winters.

Kinda like an attic space really.

If your climate is anything like that of Vancouver BC (where we used to live) your food would be best stored underground (root cellar, buried box/barrel, clamp) where the temps fluctuate less than in a building where the temp is not artificially regulated.

 

[k15n1]

Temperature really matters when it comes to shelf life.

http://www.mreinfo.com/us/mre/mre-shelf-life.html

Also, I think fluctuations in temperature are a problem for canned goods.

Edit: Right, answering your question, no, I don't think insulation will be adequate. Can you add a ceiling in the shed? A ventilated cold attic type construction would probably keep it cooler in the summer. Still, a thermostatically controlled heater would be a good idea. Freezing is a problem for cans and jars!

 

[old fashioned]

If your climate is anything like that of Vancouver BC (where we used to live) your food would be best stored underground (root cellar, buried box/barrel, clamp) where the temps fluctuate less than in a building where the temp is not artificially regulated.


Being in the South end of Puget Sound, the climate is very similar to BC with roughly about 10 degrees difference normally.


fluctuations in temperature are a problem for canned goods.

That's my main concern....


Freezing is a problem for cans and jars


As well as being too hot


Thanks for the info, I may just have to leave the canned goods in the house. (schucks :/ )

 

[moolie]

Ah jars, I was thinking root veggies and squashes etc.--yup, shed no good for that.

Do you have a basement? Best place for constant temps in most climates (even mine) and it's usually not too hard to shoehorn an extra shelf unit in somewhere

 

[liz stevens]

Why not use the shed for your paper products and other supplies and make room in the house for the items that will freeze? If nothing else build storage underneath your beds. The other option would be to section off a space in the shed and super insulate that area maybe with spray foam insulation if that is available in your area, then use a small heat source for the coldest nights. Think of it as placing a large ice chest in a room or making it like a walk-in cooler. All you have to do is keep it from dropping below 32 degrees, and on the hot side stay below 80 degrees. Just a 60 watt light bulb in a small well insulated space, like a pump house, will make enough heat to keep above 32 degrees, so it doesn't take much of a heat source if it is super insulated, just depends on the size of the space. Maybe store paper products in one part of the shed and have a small 4 x 4 space lined with shelves that is the insulated vault.