Any Advice on building an Ice Shack??

[Master Baiter 1]

Just wondering with all of the ice fishermen on this site if anyone has any designs for ice shacks? or advice, or what types of heaters to use? or what is essential to have in a hut....etc...etc I want to learn from others mistakes so that I don't make to many when I build this thing lol. Looking at 12'x10' or 10'x8' with a couple of bunks, a wood stove, rattle reels on the walls, a small outhouse/portable, table, to use propane or not for lights?, and other types of power other than a generator? TV/Satt? I basically want a small home away from home!

And how much does Garry (I think) charge out at Lac to leave it there year round? Will he pull it out for ya as well? oh and where abouts is he on Lac?

Thanks

Mike

Any other advice would be helpful, as I haven't Ice fished since I was about 8yrs old......lol

[Snowball 75]

Check out this site.

http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=14565.0

Regards,

Snowball

[tbayboy 0]

Just wondering with all of the ice fishermen on this site if anyone has any designs for ice shacks? or advice, or what types of heaters to use? or what is essential to have in a hut....etc...etc I want to learn from others mistakes so that I don't make to many when I build this thing lol. Looking at 12'x10' or 10'x8' with a couple of bunks, a wood stove, rattle reels on the walls, a small outhouse/portable, table, to use propane or not for lights?, and other types of power other than a generator? TV/Satt? I basically want a small home away from home!

And how much does Garry (I think) charge out at Lac to leave it there year round? Will he pull it out for ya as well? oh and where abouts is he on Lac?

Thanks

Mike

Any other advice would be helpful, as I haven't Ice fished since I was about 8yrs old......lol

skis.......the wider the better....windows....lots of them, make sure they're insulated or they'll frost up.....2x4 walls minimum, if its an overnighter id rather it be heavier and be warmer. wood heat i found to be the best..messy but if you keep up on it you can keep it clean cause the last thing we want is a messy ice surface when we leave.propane tanks tend to freeze up on the extreme days.His name is Gary McCourt(sawmill bay) dont know how much he charges, probably somewhere around 200?

[Some Old Guy 968]

What about those light weight aluminium studs they use for dry wall? Would that work for strength and ligtness?

Roger

[tbayboy 0]

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What about those light weight aluminium studs they use for dry wall? Would that work for strength and ligtness?

Roger

have heard about guys using em, havent seen results yet...dont see a problem if all horizontal supports are on and fully insulated with rigid insulation for added rigitity.thinkin about it myself cause my icehuts are usually pretty big(10x16) and any weight savings without comprimising r value are welcome.

[Some Old Guy 968]

I have heard of them being used also but I just don't understand how they would incorperate into the trusses. Or is a type of header used.....

Roger

[Bear 77]

I have heard of them being used also but I just don't understand how they would incorperate into the trusses. Or is a type of header used.....

Roger

Have seen the metal studs used, lots of savings in weight, but they also draw the cold of you dont insulate properly. They can also be used as the floor plate and header, the same as a regular 2 x 4. The screw together, plenty of strength.

I am contemplating using them in mine, although a buddy has a castle on LOW that is 10 x 16 all built with insulated aluminum panels R20 in the walls and R40 in the roof and floor. Heat it with a match. Really nice.

When I get mine built, I'll have an open house, come on up. Cocktails and deer sausage.....

Bear

[Guest Fezz]

Just a little note about the windows. A common mistake is to place them too high up on the walls. You want to make sure that you will be able to see the ice surface fairly close to the shack from a seated position.

Fezz

[Snowball 75]

There is a good article here on using steel studs:

http://www.rd.com/content/openContent.do?contentId=18110

Regards,

Snowball

[Snowball 75]

Heat Loss

Steel conducts heat over 300 times faster than wood. When steel studs are placed 16 in. on-center the insulating value of the wall is only 40 percent of the insulation material's nominal R-value. For example, putting an R-19 batt between steel studs gives you a wall that's only about R-7.6. Rigid insulation on the outside of a wall can cover the "thermal bridge" by adding it's stated R-value over the whole wall. So, the same wall with one inch of polyisocyanurate board (R-7.2) would be R-14.8.

Even the fasteners become a heat loss issue. The impact of fasteners was revealed in a recent study by Dow, makers of Styrofoam? rigid insulation. They reported that screws attached to steel studs reduced the insulating value of the foam sheathing by 39 percent.

Thermal bridging across a wall is bad enough, but imagine what happens in attics. Metal roof trusses extend like radiator fins from the interior gypsum to the exposed attic. There's no easy fix for this problem.

While rapid heat loss dramatically increases the energy use of such a building, occupants will be more alarmed by condensation problems. Cool interior surfaces allow water vapor to condense. These moist surfaces tend to attract dust and grow mildew. Since the coldest surface is usually over studs, the result could be called the "striped wall syndrome."

Found the above while reading up on steel studs. Aside from the heat loss think about the possible Mildew problem. The full article can be found here:

http://oikos.com/esb/30/steelframe.html

Regards,

Snowball

[Master Baiter 1]

Thanks guys!! Looks like 2x4s and a wood stove is the way to go for HEAT!!! Any ideas or suggestions for the inside? Should I use the good old Pink insulation or the Blue Styrofoam ? Thinkin about a fish door with a bucket under it outside so I can freeze em without gettin cold..... at night. Anything I might not be thinking of please feel free to add to the post, I'VE NEVER BUILT ONE BEFORE??

Thanks again guys

Mike

[Guest Dave]

Im currently in the process of building my first ice shack as well with a couple of buddys. We are using the steel studs just so that its a little lighter to pull out there. To late now anyway its half done but its pretty small only 8 by 12 and full of insulation so it should keep heated pretty good. The way we started out making it was by making it so the windows wouldnt open but heard from a lot of people who have shacks that it would be the best idea if you can get some air flow sometimes, we will see how it goes anyway got one more wall and the roof to do.

[tracker 61]

Hi Mike: I have built quite a few shacks in the last few years and true 2" wood studs with 2" blue styro is plenty enough insulation. Go 4" on the floor. First shack we built was 12' x 8', but the next few were 14' x 8'. The 2' made a big difference for room. People ask how someone can stay in such a small shack all weekend. I tell them it still has more room than an 8' camper. We have used metal siding on the outside with 24" centres with no problems. Screw and glue as much as possible. Make sure you put at least one vent up high on a wall with a window that opens on the other. This will save you from the extreme heat that a wood stove will give off and also to let out condensation. I can recall the first year when we burnt wood standing outside at 3 am in my underwear trying to cool down. Switched to oil heat after that. There is probably 150 shacks sitting at Gary's at Sawmill Bay. Might be worth it to take a trip up and look at a few for ideas. I'll be there on Saturday getting things ready. I can give you a few pointers if you wish.

[Master Baiter 1]

Hi Mike: I have built quite a few shacks in the last few years and true 2" wood studs with 2" blue styro is plenty enough insulation. Go 4" on the floor. First shack we built was 12' x 8', but the next few were 14' x 8'. The 2' made a big difference for room. People ask how someone can stay in such a small shack all weekend. I tell them it still has more room than an 8' camper. We have used metal siding on the outside with 24" centres with no problems. Screw and glue as much as possible. Make sure you put at least one vent up high on a wall with a window that opens on the other. This will save you from the extreme heat that a wood stove will give off and also to let out condensation. I can recall the first year when we burnt wood standing outside at 3 am in my underwear trying to cool down. Switched to oil heat after that. There is probably 150 shacks sitting at Gary's at Sawmill Bay. Might be worth it to take a trip up and look at a few for ideas. I'll be there on Saturday getting things ready. I can give you a few pointers if you wish.

Thanks for the advice Tracker. I would meet ya out there but I have to work Days this weekend!

Maybe some other time? As for the pointers fire away! (how much does Gary charge to store em?)

Thanks again

Mike

[crisop 65]

hey mike if you need a hand give me a shout, i've built tons of moose hunting shacks and i'm sure thier not much different

[Guest StrikeMaster]

The first year on lac we bought an 8x10 shack. It was 2"x4" walls with blue styrofoam insulation. It was a good shack except me, my dad and my brother couldn't all fit in it very comfortably so we built our own.

We built ours 8x16 with 2"x4" walls with pink insulation. It is heavy but the way I think of it, if its slushy, your going to get stuck. I dont think that a bit of less weight gives much advantage. Usually we pull it either with a truck or track truck anyways. The few times we have pulled it with quads and sleds we never had any trouble.

Someone mentioned about the skis and making them wide. I think that it pretty much a thing of the past now. People seemed to make them wide before but most guys went under 12" wide now because they follow whatever you are towing a lot better and the big wide ones go where they want.

I would also say that wood is the way to go. It is reliable and has good heat. We put a pot of water on at all times and it keeps it from getting too dry during the day. With propane your clothes never dry.

Like Tracker said, one of the best things to do is go and look at peoples shacks and ask them what they would do differently if anything.