How to fit posts to base and to postcrete or not

[Spetznaaz]

Hello,

We purchased a second hand coop which i now am attempting to build a raised base for. The coop is about 4ft x 4ft x 4ft and very very heavy. Does anyone here know which is the best way to connect the posts to the base to raise it, method 1 where the force would be held by 4 screws from the sides or method 2 where the force would be directly down onto the 3" x 2" frame resting on top of the 10cm x 10cm posts. I was thinking maybe adding 2 diagonal support beams to each post as well.

1:

2:

3: (the base for context)

The other question is - Should i postcrete (not sure what you guys call it in the U.S but it's concrete specifically for fence posts) the posts into the ground or not? I was planning to originally but then i noticed no one else seems to do it. My reasoning for doing it was the coop will never blow over in the wind and to prevent it sinking into the ground and becoming uneven. I'd much rather not though. If not i was thinking about putting a concrete block under each leg and securing with L brackets.

Thank you!

 

[casportpony]

Will you be using pressure treated posts?

 

[Spetznaaz]

Will you be using pressure treated posts?

Yes the posts are pressure treated. I've heard there are two types though, one for above ground use and one for in ground use. The guy at the wood place didn't seem to know what i was on about but did say they would be suitable for in ground use.

 

[mowin]

I'd sink the post a couple feet, or below frost level if you're in a cold climate, and use pea stone to pack it in. Water will drain and evaporate much faster. Concrete holds moisture for long periods. Here in the US, there are two types of PT lumber, above and below ground.

Sink the posts, build your frame at the desired height around the posts. Add a couple joist in the middle and place the coop on top of that.

 

[Spetznaaz]

I'd sink the post a couple feet, or below frost level if you're in a cold climate, and use pea stone to pack it in. Water will drain and evaporate much faster. Concrete holds moisture for long periods. Here in the US, there are two types of PT lumber, above and below ground.

Sink the posts, build your frame at the desired height around the posts. Add a couple joist in the middle and place the coop on top of that.

Thank you for the advice, i'll do that with the posts.

I'm not sure if it was clear from the photo but basically the OSB and then the much thinner darker wood joists/frame was the original base of the coop, which we purchased from a guy who had it up on concrete blocks at each corner. I then built my frame/joists on top of that and plan to attach the posts. Would you say attaching them like in the first picture would be best?

 

[mowin]

Thank you for the advice, i'll do that with the posts.

I'm not sure if it was clear from the photo but basically the OSB and then the much thinner darker wood joists/frame was the original base of the coop, which we purchased from a guy who had it up on concrete blocks at each corner. I then built my frame/joists on top of that and plan to attach the posts. Would you say attaching them like in the first picture would be best?

Oh ok. It's upside down..
Yes, that's how I would attach them. If the coop is very heavy, I'd drill pilot holes and use galvanized bolts. I'm sure construction screws would be ok, but the shear strength of bolts is much better. I like over built better than adequately built, lol.

 

[linguini]

Being not handy to build anything or to dig holes, we raised our coop base using cinderblocks. Our base is about 4ftx 5ft. I used cinderblocks with different width but same hight to build a base to hold up the coop to keep the coop from getting wet. We also wrapped the bottom of the coop with hardware cloth and wrapped the cinderblock base with hardware cloth apron around the entire base for predator proof.