new perm ice house ideas need

[trev.357]

 this is my first posting and i live up in saskatchewan,after a year of planning and looking at this site almost daily i am about to begin construction of my first ice house. i have read every post out there it seems and i still feel like i might be missing something so here is what i plan to do and cost is a very big factor
1. 8x10x6.6 with a slant roof from 6' to 6.6' high side on the door side
2.5/8 osb floor and 4'h all along the bottom
3. 3 2x6x12 pt skids
4.steel roof panels for the roof and top 2' of the sides
5.2x2 studs and floor joists all around at 24'' centers
6. 2x5 door placed on center of the 10' side with a window
7. 6''x12'' steel  sliding vents on all sides
8.a good sunflower heater  and a black cat
9. every thing is going to be painted before putting together (white)
10. insulation and vapo plastic all around then 1/4'' wood panalling later on in the year
11. i plan on cutting round holes and using plastic pails to keep the wind out
12. outside fold down atatched counter top
13. inside fold down counter top
14. fold up chairs
15. rubber mats on the floor
now for a few questions.
i plan on myself and my 5yr old to use it mostly with sometimes up to 4 adults.
roughly how many holes should i put in it ? maybe 10 all around the edge of the house?
is this going to be really too heavy or just right?
is there anything that i should do diferently?
is there anything else that is a must have item?

[rgfixit]

Windows?
RG

[Bob_D]

8'X10' is a pretty big shanty. Plan on it being HEAVY. Are you going to use tip-ups or just jig? If you are using tipups you should have some windows like RG said. Put them at a height where you can see out when you are sitting. I would aviod OSB for flooring and go to a pressure treated plywood. IMO...OSB on a floor is just asking for trouble. I'd go with the sunflower heater...I don't think the black cat will have enough heat for that large of a space. On really cold days my buddy heater is at it's limit and my shanty is 5'X8' and fully insulated.

I'm making the skids on my shanty 6" wide this year. I have 2"x"6 on it now, but it's a pain to move on land with that skinny of a skid. They tend to dig in to the dirt rather then float on top.

One more thing you may want to add is shelves. I put them in my shanty last year and it made a huge difference in the amount of usable space in it.

Here is a link to pics on my shanty.... http://www.fishingvermont.net/Articles/Shanty_101.htm

[wisicefishinnut]

It's probably too late, but don't use osb on anything.  Espcially on the floor.  Whe it gets wet it will flake apart.  It's also heavier.  It's a little more expensive to go with plywood, but you'll be happy in the long run.

[Poorboy]

Is it necessary to use pressure treated plywood for the floor?

[billditrite]

not neccessary at all.osb is heavy agreed.not much cheaper anymore either.PT plywood is very heavy ,expensive and bad for the environment.use a regular pine or fir 1/2" CDX (cheaper grade exterior applications) paint it for protection.you can avoid it being slippery by painting one coat spreading sand or grit thin and even and then another heavy coat of paint.it will protect it for years.dont just paint the top where you walk either paint the whole bottom and edges too this will seal the floor.
on my own floor, i did use an osb (oriented strand board) however it is made by advantech whish is made with a very high density,waterproof glue and is very much water resistant in its original form.a little havier than fir plywood but not much overall  i think it will last longer. and for what its worth i have a 7 year old shack i never did anything to the 1/2" cdx  floor and it is still fine. hope this helps.

[Poorboy]

Hey Billditrite,
   Thanks for the input.  I'm a fellow Mainer (Brewer) and read your posts with interest.  I'm an electrician not a carpenter so you know I could wire it but not build it.  But necessity is the driving force here and I'm tired of freezing!  The floor is important to me because if I build a good bottom and skimp on the top to get by for this yr. then I can strip it back to the floor next summer and build a good top half.  I may have to "blue tarp" sheath it this yr. for money and time reasons.

[billditrite]

blue tarp will certainly do for this year but if you can put some 4 x 8 sheets of 1/2 " thick insulation for sheathing it will be very warm then wrap it in a tarp.

now i will put a tarp on the roof and typar backwards over the outside walls the plywood on the corners for stability

[trev.357]

this is what i learned on my first ice shack after i started this topic and now have it 99% finished
1. it got real heavy fast
2. for the time(effort) and same cost i could have went steel panels and been lighter
3. the floor got enamels paint and removable rubber flooring
4. wood is not straight at all and made it hard to build
5.osb really sucks up the paint
6. ground was not level and the door would not fit  i cut it to fit till i realize to jack up one corner and now the door fits and is 1 inch shorter on the bottom
7.the trailer i borrowed is to high and i can't get it on cause it is too heavy now i have to find away to get it to the ice
8.should of had help with putting in the insulation and vapor  and inside paneling
9 i made it 8x8 should have went 6x10 than any trailer would work

10. should have started building in summer not October took longer for the paint and all the calking to dry for additional coats, painted the trim1x4's in the kitchen in between snow storms
11. i figure it will weight about 800lbs now
12. should have made a steel skids i used 4x4 and a 2x4 on the bottom that it can be replaced not the 4x4
13. should of used thicker plywood for the floor instead of more 2x2 and thiner osb
14. i was smart and i painted all the wood flooring 4 coats before i put it together so they are well sealed (i hope)
15.the total cost is about $500 about 200 more than expected mostly from the extra paint
16. should have built it in town instead of out of town if i ran out of something i had to move on to something else and wasted time
17. i built all the walls individually  then put them up i should have done it all at once on the floor would have used less 2x2 and would have been straighter
 
    this shack had better keep me warm and dry if i ever get it to the ice . all in all i should have got help should have gone lighter should have been cheaper it has given me a head ache to try to finish before more snow comes but now after all the problems it will be all worth it i hope

[camo_fish]

trev.357 - show us some pictures of this beast of a shanty. It sounds like it will diffently stand up to the elements. You got a 4x4 ATV or snowmoblie to drag your ice shanty out on the ice for you I hope. Lets see it. 

[trev.357]

camo fish,  i can't figure out the picture posting i have read it over a few times and I'm just missing something i guess, but i do have some pics of it though going out hunting this week and finish up some of the little details and take some complete pics of it . i really want to show people my furnace/stove set up. and no i don't have a atv or sled just have my truck and chains

[camo_fish]

you got a free account with www.photobucket.com first.
import them onto there site, if you can't down size them they, it will do it automaticly...but I would get my size as close at 100k as possible, there software goes to 250k and they are much slower to display...then cut and paste the bottom of the three links they provide you into your post...not to hard...can't wait to see it...wow wood stove, great...hope you have a good 4x4 truck.  good luck and stay on top 

[billditrite]

yup simple...firtst you must host the pic on a site like photobucket.com then copy the url,click on "insertr image" in your reply and paste the urk between the bracket.hope this helps