Driven Posts

[JayColli]

'Afternoon All,

I'm seeking the advice of more seasoned builders as I'd sooner learn from your follies than my own!

I intend to build a 10'x12' raised coop for my chooks this spring and am wondering if anyone has had issues with building a walk-in structure on driven posts in an area where the frostline is approximately 3' below grade? The picture below shows a top-down view of how I plan to space the 5"-6" diameter pressure-treated posts and how I intend to run the joists between them to create the floor structure.

• Posts will be spaced 4' north-south and 3'4" east-west.
• East-west joists will be spaced approximately 1'3".

The bottom of the floor joists are going to be leveled from a set point at 2' above grade at the highest point of the build so I'll have at least 2' of space underneath the whole coop to use as part of their run area. Most of the posts won't make it any deeper than 2'6"' - 3'6" deep before hitting rocks and since I'll need at least 2'4" above grade to build on I may only be able to sink some posts in 2' where the ground slopes away.

SO! My question is... will this probably stand the test of time for maybe 5 years or will it end up subsiding and pulling apart? I don't want to do anything permanent on the site quite yet as I don't know if it'll be the best place for the coop and pouring concrete is expensive as many of you know - I have to work within our household's financial means; especially on extra-curriculars like this!

 

[eggbert420]

You could save $$$ and time by building the floor on skids.

 

[JayColli]

You could save $$$ and time by building the floor on skids.

Meaning directly on the ground? I agree this would be faster and cheaper but the ground is quite uneven and I'm honestly a bit concerned about rats/mice as they're an awful nuisance in the barn, and that's on a slab.

 

[moetrout]

What about something like this. It's a base/foundation for 4x4 posts:

 

[beela]

We built our coop on those, and the biggest problem we had with them was enclosing the undercoop. Because they are wider at the bottom, we had to do a little creative engineering to frame out the bottom. But, it worked and I'm happy with the stability of our coop. You could also look at fence post spikes if you want a straight drop for your coop legs. We've used them in 2 different fences inside of our yard and I will definitely be using them whenever we rebuild our run.

 

[eggbert420]

Meaning directly on the ground? I agree this would be faster and cheaper but the ground is quite uneven and I'm honestly a bit concerned about rats/mice as they're an awful nuisance in the barn, and that's on a slab.

it could still be on post just less of them or on blocks similar to a storage barn . It could easily be moved anywhere you want it.

 

[eggbert420]