I have my first wheelhouse and have a few questions for you seasoned wheelhouse users. When you place your house down on the ice, should the house be placed directly on the ice or should it be blocked up? If it is blocked up, which is better, 2X4 or 4X4 wood? Or is there a better method out there that I should be looking at?
We do 4×4 on the 4 corners, make sure you have a good spud bar to get them free, kicking them usually just hurts a lot. I also like that it leaves some room between the shack and the ice too, you do have to bank the shack in extra good.
Block it up with two 2×4’s stacked. What this does for you is prevent the freeze down. The bottom one will freeze to the ice for sure and sometimes freeze to the house also. With two stacked they are sure to seperate and making breaking loose a snap. Plus you are up a touch higher if a little bit of flooding occurs later on.
It depends if you are going to leave it on the ice or take it home when you are done?
I never block mine up when I’m out for the weekend. Bank it up with snow and you are good to go. I’ve never had a freeze in.
If you plan on leaving it on the lake you do need to block it up as described above..
If you are fishing for an afternoon/evening you could get away without blocking, but if it will sit on the ice for longer definitely block!
Like Jonny said, 2×4’s will suffice, but as the season goes on my shack will have several blocks under it. My shack stays from December thru the end of February in one spot.
Last year was the worst, heavy snows and major weight on the ice, especially from the snow banks all around the house. I showed up to the house expecting a water problem, drilled a hole and I had to block the house up another 12″ with whatever I could find…2×4, 4×4, even chunks of 6×8’s. Water flooded the entire area and I spent the next couple hours running back and forth getting supplies. Never did fish that night. 
I had to let it freeze overnight, returned the next day and re-banked the house.
Then at very late ice I return to chisel out and retrieve all the wood. 
My wife thinks I’m crazy, but it’s worth it regardless of all the work involved. 
I remember you telling me about that blocking festival you had. Yuck.
Agree 100% on picking up the blocks later. I filled up my Otter ATV trailer last spring with crud I picked up on my lake, and a lot of it was blocks.
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I never block mine up when I’m out for the weekend. Bank it up with snow and you are good to go. I’ve never had a freeze in.
Thats why I carry one of these in a 15 ton version and a six foot handle in my plow truck. Bigger lakes like Red, Winni, Mille Lacs, LOW can drift and sink a house in a matter of hours, lots of freeze ins.
Thanks for all the replies. Looks like I will be blocking it up with 2X4’s if I am going to leave it for any length of time. How long it stays in one spot will depend on fish movement. If they stay put for awhile, then so will I.
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