Hi All, My last run for my guinea fowl coop came down in an ice storm last year, so I decided to totally revise the whole run to be less problematic. I am building the run off of an existing 8x16’ elevated cattle panel coop. I made a drawing of the current plan. Post holes are already dug and 1/2 of the posts are in, installed in cement. The post holes are shallower (18-24” with 8 ft 4x4” PT posts, spaces 8’ apart) than Ideal, and two holes are over rocks so really shallow. I am figuring that all of these shallow holes won’t be a problem because it will all be supported with triple cross braces between posts plus cross supports in an additional direction. I plan to cover this run on hardware cloth, and might later put tin panels over the hardware cloth.
The supports for the covered portion is the part I’d love input on. I’ve tried to make a drawing on the posts and cross supports, looking down from an aerial view. Posts are squares and 2x4 supports are lines. Cross supports are planned to be PT 2x4s. Lumber is pricey now, so I don’t want to use more than needed… Using the attached design, each 2x4 would span just under 7 feet. Is this supportive enough or so I need to add blocking between each support?
I could use 4’ hardware cloth as six 13.5’ strips using this design. I’ve tried to look through charts of acceptable span length, and that 7’ length seems acceptable, but maybe not with PT wood? Does anyone with a little more engineering experience have thoughts on the sturdiness of this plan and of using PT wood? Thanks!
The supports for the covered portion is the part I’d love input on. I’ve tried to make a drawing on the posts and cross supports, looking down from an aerial view. Posts are squares and 2x4 supports are lines. Cross supports are planned to be PT 2x4s. Lumber is pricey now, so I don’t want to use more than needed… Using the attached design, each 2x4 would span just under 7 feet. Is this supportive enough or so I need to add blocking between each support?
I could use 4’ hardware cloth as six 13.5’ strips using this design. I’ve tried to look through charts of acceptable span length, and that 7’ length seems acceptable, but maybe not with PT wood? Does anyone with a little more engineering experience have thoughts on the sturdiness of this plan and of using PT wood? Thanks!
