How to Build a Roof for a Woodpile

Posts

1). Lay out a 7-foot square, marking the corners with stakes. Measure the diagonals between opposite corners; ensure that they are identical and are close to 10 feet.
2). Dig a 2-foot-deep hole at each corner, removing each stake before you dig and then using the hole digger. Hand-held hole diggers are operated by planting the pointed end and then using both hands to twist the auger to the left while pushing down on the handles. Make the holes 6 to 8 inches wide.
3). Put 4 inches of gravel in the holes. Insert 4-by-4 posts into the holes and pound the gravel down half a dozen times.
4). Mix the concrete with water in the concrete mixing barrel until it is thoroughly dampened. Add enough water to wet the mixture but not so much that it is too wet. You want the concrete to be thick, like raw hamburger mix.
5). Pour the concrete around the posts, holding them vertical and checking them in two directions with the level. If the post begins to lean, brace bricks against all four sides of the post to hold it in place. Allow the concrete to cure overnight.
6). Determine the prevailing wind direction and plan to arrange the roof so that the low end is in this direction. You want your roof to slant, so you will trim the posts to create an angle. You also do not need the roof to be very high. Trim the posts so that the low end of the roof is only a foot or so above the top of your woodpile and the high end is high enough to let you access the wood. Once you determine how high you want the front and the back of the roof to be, measure and mark those dimensions at the front of the front posts and the back of the back posts. Hold a string between the marks with the help of an assistant and draw a slanted line along the string.
7). Cut the posts along the lines you drew.

Roof

1). Cut seven studs to 93 inches long, leaving two studs uncut. Screw a 93-inch stud to the outside of the 4-by-4 side posts with two 2 1/2-inch deck screws per post. Line the stud up with the angle of the cut on the posts and center it so that it sticks out beyond the front and rear posts evenly. Repeat for the other side, ensuring that the overhang is the same on both sides.
2). Place an uncut 8-foot stud against the top end of the two 93-inch studs and insert two 2 1/2-inch deck screws per end to hold it in place. Place the second 8-foot stud against the bottom of the studs and also insert two 2 1/2-inch deck screws per end. Space out the remaining 93-inch studs between the top and bottom studs and connect them with two screws per end.
3). Lay two pieces of 4-by-8-foot plywood over the frame so that the long side runs from the top to the bottom of the roof frame. Attach the plywood to the frame using 1-inch nails every 6 inches.
4). Cut the tabs off three asphalt shingles by flipping them over, using a razor knife to deeply score the shingle, and wiggle the tab back and forth until it breaks off. Use the solid top half of the shingle to create a row along the bottom edge of the roof. Position the first shingle in the bottom left corner of the plywood and allow the solid piece of asphalt to overhang both edges by 1/2 inch. Place each of the starter row shingles snugly next to each other and then cut off the excess when you get to the right-hand side, again trimming it so that it overhangs 1/2 inch. Attach the shingles with three roofing nails per shingle inserted in the top third of the shingle.
5). Lay the second row of shingles so the bottom tabs of the shingles sit near the bottom of the half shingle of the first row. Trim the first shingle of each row to offset the seams and tab openings from row to row.
6). Lay the third and subsequent rows of shingles so that the bottom of the tabs of the shingle are just above the top of the tabs of the row of shingles below it; this prevents water from flowing through the tab slots. Continue shingling until the whole roof frame is covered.