Help building my first ice shack

[esoxrocks]

Hi all,

After moving back to NBay I decided it was time to try building my own permanent ice shack. I've had one in the past that was a refurbished shed my buddy's dad made, and have spent lots of time in my dads ice shack, but nothing like your own.

I'm struggling with 2 things:

1. Weight
2. How to put the skis on

The idea started out simple enough. 8x8x8 with a sloped roof. Used 2x3s to frame and 1/4 inch plywood for siding, but after putting everything up, I'm sure this thing is still over 400 pounds. I'm not even sure how I would go about calculating how much it is.

My question is, how much is too much weight?

The second part of my dilemma is that I'm putting skis on after it's built - ya ya, silly, I know. I didn't want to put them on unless they had the puckboard on them, and now that I have some they're ready to get installed. My issue is that the floor is also framed with 2x3s, and am wondering if I can install the skis to the outside frame of the floor, or will this cause sagging in the middle? Furthermore, if I put it more in the middle, then where exactly should it go, and would 2x4s vertically oriented be enough for the skis, or should I opt for 4x4s. Another issue is that the steel brackets I used are slight larger than the 2x3s.

Appreciate the support! See pictures attached for more info.

[esoxrocks]

This is the floor. I'm wondering if I might be able to fasted vertical 2x4s as the skis directly underneath the far left and right supports, or if that will create too much sag.

[Fisherman]

I would put the skis perpendicular to the floor joists and probably add one in the middle to prevent sagging otherwise you might end up with an ice trampoline.

[esoxrocks]

LOL! Think it can just be another joist or do you think it needs to be a ski? Think it's alright if I put the skis at the very edge?

[Fisherman]

Well if you don't want a middle ski, then yes for sure, add another one or two joists, an 8 foot span might be spongy. Lay a sheet of your floor across the middle and get a couple of buddies to stand in the middle and wiggle.

[Wallyman]

If you add a middle ski and it freezes in, you might have a hard time to free up your shack.

[Hunterman]

You could technically get a weight for the materials to calculate overall weight. I’d say though watch out for being too light as that wind can be a bugger!!!
Some extra joists might be wise. I don’t think I’d have done the floor with 2x3’s on that span but jack it up on the edges and give it a good heavy walk through.
Agreed to avoid middle ski incase it freezes in.

[Whynot]

Never built a hut but I have a chicken coop bought off kijiji that is 8x8 and the floor is framed with 2x4 spaced 24" OC with 1/2' sheeting and at 220lb it feels like I am walking on a trampoline. 2x3 at 16OC, I would think to be comparable or possibly worse (the jump from 2x3 to 2x4 is an exponential increase in strength). As guys have said, I'd put it up on something and test. You probably own't fall through, but certainly some sag over time and deflection under load.

You could add strength by how you build inside. My bro-in-law's hut has built in benches down both sides, those could be tied in to the floor frame and add some rigidity.

As for weight? 400lbs doesn't seem like too much to move with a machine. Basically a ski-bob with two adults. As for weight on ice, if you blocked with 6x6 pads on each corner the weight not eh ice is 4psi unloaded, so should be safe at the point ATVs can travel according to early morning google-based math. Not gonna dead lift it out of a hole, but still in the range of a lever to lift.

If there is an engineer on here they'll likely chime in and correct the math assumptions They usually can't help themselves

Good luck - look like a fun project!

[esoxrocks]

Hey all, thanks for the great help and feedback. As I am not a carpenter but a life-long hardwater angler, this has always been a dream of mine, and I'm learning lots and hoping sometime in the future I can help others in similar boats (er... huts).

Couple points:

1. I'm not so worried about weight. After some research and discussion with my chum who will be towing it out, the weight shouldn't matter too much unless there is a huge amount of snow on the ice. Some shacks out there on the lake must weigh a couple tons..

2. I'm not adding a 3rd ski, but I am going to lift it onto some cinderblocks and add 2 rows of braces running perpendicular to the floor trusses. I worry the 3 center 2x3 are not going to be strong enough to support the weight inside the shack, and the force of towing.

3. While lifted, I'm going to grind away the excess metal poking out from the oversized brackets I used, then I'll add the skis underneath where it'll sit flush. I'm also making the skis out of 2 2x6 lengths, instead of just one per ski for added support and strength.

Wish me luck!

[Fisherman]

Wishing you luck and a healthy tip. When you block your hut up, put pieces of 1 inch styrofoam between the ice and bottom of the blocks, it will keep the blocks from melting and freezing into the ice. Cheers.

[Bobby L]

Hey there,

imo you're well below an unmanageable weight. My hut is 8x12 frame with 2x3, all insulated including the roof and floor. It's finished with 3/8 ply outside and 1/4 ply inside. My 550 Polaris Voyager pulls it with ease. In bad conditions you should always have a buddy with a second wip.

Cheers