Building fur shed do's and don'ts

Hey all, I am building a new bigger fur shed this year. I will be moving into a 24'x32' shed and out of my 8x10 room. I would like pointers on things to do and not do. I plan to have a lot of outlet plug ins, cold water at least and if the budget allows hot water also, skinning machine, washing machine, fleshing and drying area and a dried fur storage area. The shed will have 10 foot walls, 1 walk in door, and 1 10x12 garage door. How would you guys set up your shed and am I missing anything in particular that I should add?

Don't close the ceiling in. You may want more height than 10' if your planning a vertical skinning machine.

That's the size of my fur shed. A double man door is handy sometimes for off season projects.
Keep skun'n, flesh'n, boarding in small area. Save taking steps (walking) when processing fur.
Have table(s) within reach to lay knives, fur tools, rags and such in this area. This will save time in the fur shed and a little more time gained sleeping. You don't need alot of room skun'n and flesh'n.

i went from a 1 car garage to a 3 car garage and find other than storage i don't use anymore room now than i did then.

How do you guys store your dried furs. That was the biggest problem I had in my old room was that I hung dried furs on hangers and it took up way too much space for me to move around.

Need a separate area for the dried fur.

For your hot water, look at a hot water lobster for it. That way you don't have a tank to worry about.

10 foot ceiling helps that.

Floor drain for easier clean up. Windows to let in some light or to see how cold it is outside while your working. Ceiling fan for circulation.

cement floor tapered to a drain to hose everything down for clean-up. Best thing I did in my shed.

Lots of lighting.

LED lights.

Dehumidifier.

I would close In the ceiling It will be easier to heat and your lighting will improve. And you can always box out an area in the ceiling for your vertical Skinner.

dont forget a SKINNER

I’ve got 11 1/2 ‘ ceiling and it’s fine for everything but coyotes, I have to re hook . If I had to do it over I would go horizontal for all skinning.

Take pictures when your done, we all benefit by seeing what others have done .
Good luck !

Get a deep sink that a 5 gallon bucket will fit in. Windows are nice but I worry about theft, I always wanted to put windows up high below the roof over hang that way I could leave them open in the warmer months and you would need a ladder to get in them

Once I get started I plan to start a post with all the progress definitely taking all advice though.

Would it be ok to store fur in the attic or storage space above?

For a couple months if it’ll be bug and mouse free

And cool.

If you ever seen fur stored in an attic over the summer you wont do it.

An other option instead of a floor drain is a corner or wall drain. Slope the floor to that low point and install a section of PVC pipe at that point in the wall, with a portion of the pipe just below floor line, and cap it outside. When cleaning the floor just go outside and remove the cap so when you hose or mop everything the water drains to the pipe and out the building. Reinstall the cap to keep mice and other crawlies out.
Floor drains over time aren't as much fun to clean out though a snake does an OK job. A drain at the wall is a really short run to the outside and easy peasy to keep clean.
Jim

Mop and hose down? LOL
I have put up a lot of fur in my shed and never ever washed the floor.

I have a old chunk of carpet under the Skinner and when it gets bad I just put It In the trash or burn It.And replace with another chunk. I have a metal tray under my fleshing beam and just dump It when It gets full. The shop stays pretty clean for the most part.

sawdust and wood shaving man here.

Cardboard can be had for free anywhere. We go through so many boxes at work we have a box baler. The bales are free to anyone that wants em. They weigh about a hundred pounds though

I put in LED lighting and put heavy plastic sheets mounted with stainless screws and washers behind my skinning machine and I put rubber cattle mats on the floor under it. Then a carpet remnant and cardboard over that. I had 3 inches of spray foam insulation put in on the walls and roof after I wired it and then OSB on the walls. When it was 83 the other day it was 68 in there. I had 2 6 foot baseboard heaters on one digital thermostat and it worked great to keep it right where I wanted it. I think you could heat it with a match. I put a ceiling fan on each side to move air when drying fur. I put reflective film on the windows so the sun doesn't make it hot in the summer. Very happy with the setup.

Nice setup flipper

Not storing for long just during season. I don't keep my furshed heated during the season only when I'm putting up fur.

Try glassboard, glass steel or fiberglas reinforced panels around skinning/ fleshing area. This is what restaurants use and it gives you a moisture/grease impervious wall that’s easily cleaned at ~$38 per 4x8 sheet Used to be called milk house board when farmers used to milk.

Awesome shed Flipper. Thanks for the advice on the floor drains. I have 4x8 stall mats I plan to use around my skinning machine and fleshing area. Plus in front of the work benches where I board furs. I'll look into the ceiling fans as I never thought about that I've just used oscillating fans in my small room in the past.

Here is the way I did my fleshing beams to save space. I just put cardboard down and use borax to keep it from stinking during the season. I have a 5 gallon bucket with a kitchen trash bag in it to throw fat and paper towels in as skinning and fleshing. I have a long narrow table covered with thick plastic I skin otter and beaver on it and not the machine. The magnetic tool strips are nice for knives and tools you need to grab when your gloves are all greasy. I am glad I had the height to do my fleshing machine like I did and was glad I put the power plug for it up at the top when I wired the place.

Very nice set up. i would be ashamed to show any pictures of my shed.
Flipper 56 I'm putting you In for the Good house keeping award. LOL

here is my set up for fleshing

here is i store fur during season

All In the running for the good house keeping awards. LOL

my shed only looks that way in the off season during season looks like a trap supply shop blew up

No doubt!
I got a remnant roll of plastic coated paper (think freezer paper but lots heavier, almost like poster board) from a friend who works at the local paper mill a few years ago. four foot wide (I think actually almost 4 1/2) and I just pull off a couple strips of it and put it on the floor under the fleshing beam. I have a fleshing beam attached to a hinge on a workbench in a little shop with a wood floor, so I can staple the paper down if I want but it is stiff enough I don't usually bother. When not in use I can pull the pin on the hinge on the bracing leg, and fold it up against the bench out of the way. Come summertime I pull the pin on the hinge at the base of the beam (attached to the base of a bench leg) and take the entire beam and put it up in the rafters out of the way until next fur season.
Built a room in the back of the big shop a couple years ago where I do everything else instead of being crowded in the little one with fleshing beam, two freezers and everything else (mostly nonfur related) that is in it. 12x20 main room that is totally insulated, white painted walls, 4x8 table on casters so it can be moved and two twenty foot 1/2" pipes hanging from the ceiling down one side two hand pelts taken off the stretchers until after nose and ears are hard. 6x12 room attached that is also insulated and just has a curtain door to the main room where I hang the fully dried skins. Beavers are just stacked on cardboard. Electric 220 wall heater, I used wood heat for a lot of years but I like being able to dry at a set temperature without monitoring the fire constantly. I always used on oscillating fan, I can oscillate it, point it directly at a hide I want to dry faster, or point it away from hides I don't want to overdry while I am gone, but still get some air circulation. More versatile than a ceiling fan IMO, besides I would undoubtedly be not paying attention and removing hides from a stretcher or turning them I would stick either the hide or the stretcher into the ceiling fan!

Oh yeah, the fleshing shed isn't heated, so I don't have to worry about getting rid of the fleshing scraps all the time like I would if I was fleshing in the room where I have heat for drying hides. They can just set in the bucket and until it is full and I have to dump it.

to hang pelts taken off the stretchers! Not "two hand"! Aargh!

To get some of.my skins like rats.and mink out of the way I have a rack that stretchers hang and are raised up out of the way by a pully and ropes.

Will someone post the link for 'Fur Shed Tips & Tricks' for asutcliffe ?
I can't fine it.

Is this it? https://trapperman.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/6304222/1

i coulda played hockey in my shop after puttin up 60 beaver the first week of April.

Thanks rendezvous. That's it.

Thank you rendezvous and Hern. I am going through that post and taking several notes. My grandfather has a saying about building projects. "Take all the advice you can get then do what you dang well please" I'm changing a lot of my original plans based off the advice I've received on here. It's great to see everyone's ingenuity when it comes to getting the most out of a certain amount of space.

Another name around here for the fiberglass reinforced plastic sheets is just FRP. It is nice to work with so long as you use the correct trowel, adhesive, and roller. Then it gives a really nice finish that unless speared through it will probably outlast you. They make a few trim pieces that are helpful. Now that I have some experience using it, I plan to replace some areas that have inferior material on the walls.

Another advantage to using the white fiberglass sheets along with LED lights is no shadows. You will have no problem with things being too dark to see properly.

X2

Great suggested combo for LED lighting and FRP panels. I searched and it seemed that Sams Club had the best overall value of LED lights comparing quality and price of other lights. I have a few as a test to put up and try.

FRP requires no nail heads or staples sticking up. Check your work. Maybe nobody said this - the FRP panels are only for the cover surface. It requires a backing board. Plywood, paneling, or something else flat and smooth. Prepare for it to possibly creep down. Have diagonal braces ready and use them. Apply adhesive exactly as directed. Roll thoroughly.

This is a very important consideration - whatever size building that you plan and estimate is already too small. Take your size and double it, then start planning again.

I am eager to watch your progress because I also have something on the drawing board.

Best wishes!

Flipper that is one awesome fur shed.
Jim

I realize the added expense might make it non-feasable but what about plumbing? A big sink always seems to come in handy and if you have a drain, how about an old washing machine to clean up some of those muddy critters?

One thing I see missing In every fur shed Is the lack of any girly calendars. I have at least a Sports Illustrated swim suit calendar In my shop.

I once posted a flintlock build-along on a different forum and forgot I had my snap-on calendar on the wall behind my bench. Not sure of the guys were paying attention to my build or the calendar.

Sports Illistrated calendar, the only sport worth watching in my opinion.