Foundation help

[AprilsZoo]

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This coop has proven to be a rock star when it comes to sturdiness. Half a tree fell on it during Iowa's famous derecho wind storm last summer. It dented the roof a bit, but the coop held up fine.

One issue I did discover is that if you live in very flat, very windy northern Iowa, it is possible (like during the derecho) for the wind to cause the coop to tip toward the heavy side with the nest boxes. I suspect this won't happen for 99 percent of the people who buy one
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To prevent that from ever happening again, I lined the "lighter" side with a row of concrete stepping stones underneath the roosts inside. And, I added some broken concrete sidewalk pieces left over from a friend's reconstruction project and set those on the frame under the OverEZ to balance out the weight.

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Rather than take up interior space with cement blocks or other weighted things, you can use braided wire and turnbuckles to rig guy-wires from the coop to the ground.

Drive “tie-outs” (like they use for dogs... it’s a spiral spike that twists 12-24“ into the ground, and CANNOT be pulled straight out again) into the ground 3-6 feet away from the base of the coop, on the side that would be facing up if the wind rolled it over on you again.... place large eye bolts in the corners near the top of the wall, and run a length of wire with a turnbuckle from the eyebolt to the tie outs. The turnbuckle makes it easier to adjust the length of the wire so its nice and taut.

Once it’s rigged, your coop will never blow over in that direction again. If you get winds that could come from more than one direction, you will need to rig it to account for both wind directions.

I use construction flagging tape (sort of like plastic “ribbon”) in neon pink to tie onto the wires so they are easily visible, otherwise Queen Klutz (me ) would be walking into/ tripping over them constantly...

To highlight how strongly the method I outlined will brace something.... I was able to right 2 fence posts that had tipped nearly 30° off vertical. It worked so well, I managed to avoid replacing a 24‘ section of 9 ft high fence for nearly a year... it held up against sustained winds ~25-30mph & gusts 60+ mph, and stayed up under a moderate snow load.
I later used the method to ”stake down” a Harbor freight green house on all 4 corners, but for that, I put the tie outs only 12” from the corners...

 

[Callender Girl]

Sigh. Your approach sounds more practical and overall better. I was in panic mode and used what I could find in a hurry. Sure, I've had WEEKS to improve on my solution and haven't done so.

Although you call yourself Queen Klutz, you sound more like a Smart Cookie to me.