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Wondering how many here have a smokehouse? I'm getting ready to build mine and just looking for some layout ideas.

Are you thinking a hot or cold smoker?

The cold smoker we had on the farm was a slat wall building about 12' square. It set on a floor made of limestone slabs with a 12" chimney opening in the floor that went underground out of the house to a firebox that was on the hillside. We would tack up cheesecloth inside before hanging the brined meat inside and starting the smoke fire

When I was a kid my folks just had an old fridge with metal insides out behind the shed. It had a hot plate in it and a pan w/wood. We would just shut the door on the cord. It was air tight and the fish tasted as good as anyones.

I made a smoke out of an old freezer when I was a teen. It worked GREAT. Make sure that you take out the plastic insides etc. We used the freezer because of the metal racks in it. Also, make sure that you vent it so that it breathes well. Otherwise you end up with a lot of moisture inside the box.

I've had a Luhr Jensen Little Chief since I was about 14. I still have it and use it. Not a bad product for having 40 years worth of use.

I will have to build the smokehouse on site with what I have available. (No roads near my place) It will be built log cabin style with spruce. I have some lumber to make the door and I have just enough steel roofing for it. I want a seperate firebox slightly downhill and will run 6 inch chimney stove pipe to the smokehouse. I plan on a 8 foot tall house, 8-10 ft wide and 6 feet deep. It's going to be a cold smoker. I haven't quite figured out the layout and was looking for some good ideas or photos.

Yep, that be a cold smoker. Why so big? I built my first cold smoker in the 80's. It was about 3'W X 3'D X 5' T. I first tried hanging the product. That turned out to be a big flop as the strips ended on the floor, I then went to racks. Much more efficient and can smoke much more product. With my smoker I also used 6" pipe. I put a couple of dampers in line to help cool the smoke. I made the piping easy to take apart so I could use a stovepipe brush to clean the pipe every so often. Failure to clean the pipe will allow a build up of creosote and will eventually lead to a stack fire. Happened to me once burned like a blast furnace and took 70 lbs of prime king salmon with it. Also, the blue pipe will rust out in about 3 years. I covered all the piping to keep the rain and snow off the pipe. I had the pipe enter the bottom of the house. I had a layer of replaceable furnace filters to remove the largest particles out the smoke so the product does not get the large horrible tasting particulates on it. Biggest thing with cold smoking is keeping the smoke in the smokehouse below about 90F or so. To do this I had operational vents in the house in addition to the in line dampers. I had hard wear cloth over all openings to keep out the bugs especially the yellow jackets. The house I ended up with was about 1.5'W X 2.5'D x 3.5'H. It has 5 racks which are removable. Condensation is also a factor with cold smokers. My wood of choice, for many reasons, is alder. I like the dryer stuff because there is less condensation when smoking at cooler temps(below freezing). I enjoy this hobby, it should be fun. Good luck with your endeavor.

I always wanted to make a smokehouse. My great grandpa had one ( OLD german.) We went to the house after it not being used for 50 years and could still smell the smoke.