Why It Took Me 5 Years to Build a Lean-to

Originally Posted April 2007

Building a lean-to shouldn’t take all that long. It took me over 5 years, if you count the planning stage.

I felled the first of the cedar trees about 3 or 4 years ago. Then, working during those few hours per month when I was both freed from childcare duty and not taking care of, you know, those other more essential tasks, I slowly cut more and hauled them over to where I was going to build.

I actually broke ground (to the extent that you “break ground” to build a lean-to) only about a year ago. Then I frantically marked trees and cut them trying to get all the logs to the site before summer. When I actually started placing the logs, it went pretty quickly, and save for a few details, it was up by the Fourth of July.

So why did I dawdle? First of all, although I certainly knew what a lean-to looked like and knew the dimensions, etc., I wanted a plan to go by. It was hard to find a blueprint. I think it was hard mainly because I did not know who to ask, and a quick internet search didn’t turn up much that was helpful.

Choosing site took tme, too. And then getting the logs to the site was the hardest

Perhaps I should be ashamed that I do not own a truck. My Chevy Tracker gets me where I want to go though, and I was not going to let its limitations keep from hauling logs with it. I had plenty of old machine parts laying around, and the chassis from a defunct DR mower/trimmer served wonderfully as a makeshift log trailer.

Perhaps I should have waited another year. Cedar logs lose a lot of moisture if you season them for a year. And believe me, they are very, very heavy.

The only other tool I broke (if you don’t count a chainsaw chain or two) was my hand mallet. John Henry-esque (you know, I felt like I was dying with a hammer in my hand), I drove spike after spike into those logs. Having just read Little House on the Prairie, my sons worried I was going to pull a bone-headed move like Charles Ingalls and drop a log on my family, so they made sure the were not around as I balanced the topmost logs while trying to fasten them.

But I didn’t drop any. I strategically lowered them (quickly) to the ground while I reassessed my placement strategy. But drop them? Never.

So, that’s a picture of my lean-to up the in the left corner. I’ve couple more up above in this post. Also, a (perhaps not-as-readable-as-you-would-like) picture of the plans I used. NYS DEC standard.

I really would like to see pictures of anyone else’s self-built lean-to. I know you can buy kits, or have one built for you for six or seven grand. But I am interested in all the home grown structures that I know are out there. If I get enough images and anecdotes I will even start a new page to post them all.

Tags: building, lean-to