foundation for coop?

[saysfaa]

I put mine on concrete blocks....

That is beautiful

 

[linguini]

I put mine on concrete blocks. It was a lot of work. But the location was very uneven and I think the wood would last longer being off the wet ground. Also more difficult for predators to dig under.

That's an awesome set up!

We didn't dig into the ground (no big muscles!) so we took an easy way out just put the concrete blocks on the ground (and buried the hardware mesh under the blocks). It was quite a jigsaw puzzle to figure out what sizes and how many cinder blocks to buy, what orientation to fit them together. It all ended up ok, not perfect, but works. My main concern was the rain and snow, the prefab coop was of poor quality, it wouldn't last at all if we just left it sitting on the ground.
We also wrap the bottom of the coop with hardware cloth.

The hardest part was to move the assembled coop and put on top of the blocks. The whole coop was heavy and flimsy - we used two 2x2 bars to lift up the coop and moved it. We also didn't cement the blocks together, they were all just sitting in a square - probably not a proper way to do it. I did put a few blocks in the center of the square so the bottom of the coop won't fall. The blocks in the center, under the coop, allow me to step into the coop if I need to. I was afraid if we sneezed in the middle of the moving process, the coop would break!

 

[CreveChris]

I put mine on concrete blocks. It was a lot of work. But the location was very uneven and I think the wood would last longer being off the wet ground. Also more difficult for predators to dig under.

So lovely! I used cinderblocks, too, with caps and joined with mortar.

 

[saysfaa]

Setting the cement blocks on the ground wouldn't stay straight and stable in my climate on my sandy/mixed soil because of frost heave. But with a small enough coop, it might not be too hard to redo it in the spring. The bigger issue is doors often don't open or else don't shut through the winter. My parents' well house and pole barn have this issue.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Setting the cement blocks on the ground wouldn't stay straight and stable in my climate on my sandy/mixed soil because of frost heave. But with a small enough coop, it might not be too hard to redo it in the spring. The bigger issue is doors often don't open or else don't shut through the winter. My parents' well house and pole barn have this issue.

Pole barns should NOT get out of square doors and windows due to frost heave... unless... the footers weren't deep enough.

at which point, there's simply no fixing it. Sorry to hear that.

 

[saysfaa]

The main building stays true; it's the attached side room that has cement block half walls that has the door that has the problem every winter. Actually, after I thought about it ... it is the cement slab outside the door that heaves. I think they poured that themselves and had the building and side room professionally built so it probably has a deep enough foundation. Since the door opens out, it wedges to a stop when its about a third to a half of the way open.

 

[Salacker]

Great looking setup! How far deep did you bury them?

Thanks! Depending on what was needed to keep the block level any where from 4" to 12". I surrounded the back and sides with wooden pallets to prevent digging. It is still a work in progress. I added a 32'x 32' run in the front of the coop. It is still evolving. I can get a lot of wooden pallets for free so it prevents digging and is a lot easier than burying wire.

 

[Salacker]

That is really cute!

Thank you.

That's an awesome set up!

We didn't dig into the ground (no big muscles!) so we took an easy way out just put the concrete blocks on the ground (and buried the hardware mesh under the blocks). It was quite a jigsaw puzzle to figure out what sizes and how many cinder blocks to buy, what orientation to fit them together. It all ended up ok, not perfect, but works. My main concern was the rain and snow, the prefab coop was of poor quality, it wouldn't last at all if we just left it sitting on the ground.
We also wrap the bottom of the coop with hardware cloth.

The hardest part was to move the assembled coop and put on top of the blocks. The whole coop was heavy and flimsy - we use two 2x2 bars to lift up the coop and move it. We also didn't cement the blocks together, they were all just sitting in a square - probably not a proper way to do it. I did put a few blocks in the center of the square so the bottom of the coop won't fall. The blocks in the center, under the coop, allow me to step into the coop if I need to. I was afraid if we sneezed in the middle of the moving process, the coop would break!

Nice!

 

[Salacker]

That is beautiful

Thank you!