New Coop Floor

[dsbailey70]

Well 39 bags of Quikrete, and most of a Monday, and I got the new floor poured for my coop; 9.5' long x 5.5' wide x 6" thick. It'll hold the permanent coop, which is sitting behind it right now. That coop is being used for isolating my Silkie right now, until he's well. The EE and BR are temporarily living in the portable coop (on the right). They all still get to free range, I just let the Silkie out by itself.

 

[thomasboyle]

Very nice! At 6" thick, you could also park your car on it!

 

[dsbailey70]

Thanks! I almost waited too long to try and cut the drain grooves in it. They look like slashes on the slab. The coop will actually sit on a 'frame' of 4x4's. If water happens to get inside the coop, hopefully the drain grooves will help the water run out under the 4x4's...

 

[aart]

Do those 'grooves' go all the way thru the concrete?

 

[dsbailey70]

I haven't measured them, but they're about 12" long, and maybe 1/4" deep (1/2" at most). That should hopefully help any water to run out, under the 4x4's .

 

[aart]

Unless the grooves are all the way through the slab to a gravel base below the slab, or go out to the edge of the slab and are sufficiently sloped, they will only hold any water that gets into them.

Looks like the area is covered, so unless a bucket of water spills inside the coop/run, it's probably not an issue.

Hopefully the area is covered, as those little prefab coops rarely have waterproof roofs.

Hate to sound like the voice of doom, but I see what I see, am trained to look for things that might go wrong and am only trying to help.

 

[dsbailey70]

The grooves are long enough to reach out past the outer edges of the 4x4's. Although I didn't measure the grade, the slab is on a distinguishable slope. Yea I wasn't thrilled about the final construction quality on the prefab, but I don't have the time right now to build something. The roof pieces appear to be tar shingled, which I supplemented with premium grade outdoor silicone. The description also called the wood 'glazed pine', which wasn't glazed, or pine...lol. Appeared and smelled like cedar. Prior to assembly, I bought a gallon can of Olympic's best clear wood sealer, and treated everything. I also added the hasps and carabiners you see. At some point I'll have to build them a better coop, but this should do for now. There is a roof overhang over the coop, along with a rain gutter. In the event of a lot of wind/rain, I also drop that blue tarp, and stake it out in the yard (makes a large covered area). That pretty much keeps everything dry except for ground saturation

 

[aart]

The grooves are long enough to reach out past the outer edges of the 4x4's. Although I didn't measure the grade, the slab is on a distinguishable slope. Yea I wasn't thrilled about the final construction quality on the prefab, but I don't have the time right now to build something. The roof pieces appear to be tar shingled, which I supplemented with premium grade outdoor silicone. The description also called the wood 'glazed pine', which wasn't glazed, or pine...lol. Appeared and smelled like cedar. Prior to assembly, I bought a gallon can of Olympic's best clear wood sealer, and treated everything. I also added the hasps and carabiners you see. At some point I'll have to build them a better coop, but this should do for now. There is a roof overhang over the coop, along with a rain gutter. In the event of a lot of wind/rain, I also drop that blue tarp, and stake it out in the yard (makes a large covered area). That pretty much keeps everything dry except for ground saturation

Sounds like you've got it covered....haha...figuratively and literally.
Once that slab is sufficiently cured, and before you install the coop on it, pour a bucket of water on it and see how things flow.
Does the bottom of the coop/run have mesh...and it will sit on top of 4x4's on top of slab??

 

[dsbailey70]

Yea the coop will sit on top of the 4x4's on the slab, to allow for a thick layer of pine shavings. No hardware cloth on the bottom of the coop (I don't really have burrowing predators to worry about here).

 

[scot123]

That is a nice floor. I wish I was that hardworking.