Back Yard Shed

[Farbin Kaiber]

Yeah, but if you were a real thug, you'd use a Bic lighter. Scribe + Lighter = Gangster Multi-tool

[george graves]

Yea, well, my gang has budget cutbacks this year, essay.

[george graves]

I'm using these for the footings. I picked them up free off of craigslist. I think they are actually retaining wall blocks. But some of them have a nice slot in the center. Not sure what that's about - but looked like a perfect place to fit a pressure treated 4x4.


Just needed a little help.


Of course the ground isn't level. That would be too easy. And of course there are 10,000 rocks per square inch. Of course.


Getting there. I'm warn out.

[mrsleeve]

I assume you are gonna fill and pour some concrete around those to hold them in place right????

[george graves]

Wasn't planning on it. There will be about 1000 lbs of lumber on top of them to make sure they don't blow away - but that's not what you were getting at, was it? Talk to me goose! (PS - frost is not a problem here. And that hole looks a lot deeper than it is - it's 3" deep. Not 10" or something.)

Oh, and what do you think is an OK amount to be off on each footing? 1/4" in height?

[MasukBMW]

Those blocks are Bond Beam CMU's. Used to carry a bond beam (obviously) in a full CMU wall, usually at the top or middle of the wall. Will work fine.

For a chicken coupe, 1/4" is fine, dont kill your self but get it as close as possible.

[mrsleeve]

Wasn't planning on it. There will be about 1000 lbs of lumber on top of them to make sure they don't blow away - but that's not what you were getting at, was it? Talk to me goose! (PS - frost is not a problem here. And that hole looks a lot deeper than it is - it's 3" deep. Not 10" or something.)

Oh, and what do you think is an OK amount to be off on each footing? 1/4" in height?

Well my primary worry would have been frost, but the biggest thing other than that, is uneven settlement under each of those blocks.

Yes your not talking about tons of weight here, but you have them turned on edge and in the event you get a bunch of rain, coupled with the fact that you didnt put a good compacted sand/gravel base under them will equal some settlement that will only get worse as the years go on. Yeah the native ground is hard, but you having the blocks on edge will sink. If you fill them in and around them with concrete you will lower the ground pressure by increasing the surface area transferring load to the ground, at each footing and thus lessen the chance of uneven settlement.

yeah with in a 1/8 bubble (about 3/8inch over 8 feet) would be ok but really try and get it to less than that if you can. Take the block and slam it down a few times that can get you closer some times.

Oh if you decide to put a few bags of cement around them, knock a 3-4 (inch or so) holes on each side in the block so you can tie the inside fill to the outside support concrete. Now so long as you fill above those holes you wont lose any strength of the block it self.

[george graves]

Yea. I hear what you are saying. But at the end of the day, this is going to be light structure compared to anything in normal constructions.

I know some of you guys would like to see me dig down 20 feet and put in caissons - not happening. Considering there are many, many household decks and patios that last a good long time with only the smallest of concrete pads sitting on the ground, I think I'll be fine. There will be a total of 6 cinder blocks FYI.

As far as adding gravel. I thought about when I ordered the lumber. But if you could see this soil, it amazing. It's the edge of an old lake short or something. It's 90% rock/gravel. Swinging the shovel as hard as I can, I can only get 1/2" into it. Gravel would be a good ideal elsewhere - I do agree.

Just try and keep in mind this is for chickens. Not humans. Chickens. It just has to sit there and look pretty. What I'm already doing is over kill compared to most chicken coops.

I do appreciate the advice.

[george graves]

Oh. I should add. The house that it's at, is a 100 year old house. It's the original building. Original foundation. Use to be a school house. It's in some historial database and all that stuff.

What's this house sitting on for a foundation? Rock. It's a 100 year old rock foundation - no concrete, no nothing. Just rock. So I think my little chicken coop will be just fine. ;)

[mrsleeve]

Yea. I hear what you are saying. But at the end of the day, this is going to be light structure compared to anything in normal constructions.

I know some of you guys would like to see me dig down 20 feet and put in caissons - not happening. Considering there are many, many household decks and patios that last a good long time with only the smallest of concrete pads sitting on the ground, I think I'll be fine. There will be a total of 6 cinder blocks FYI.

As far as adding gravel. I thought about when I ordered the lumber. But if you could see this soil, it amazing. It's the edge of an old lake short or something. It's 90% rock/gravel. Swinging the shovel as hard as I can, I can only get 1/2" into it. Gravel would be a good ideal elsewhere - I do agree.

Just try and keep in mind this is for chickens. Not humans. Chickens. It just has to sit there and look pretty. What I'm already doing is over kill compared to most chicken coops.

I do appreciate the advice.

I can appreciate where you are coming form, been there many times my self. Where good enough is just that good enough, and there is such a thing as over kill.

Yes you are correct you will prolly be just fine with how you are set up, and with out being right there to see just how the conditions are, all I can do is make general assumptions from my own experiences. You will have a fine chicken residence when you are done for sure

[george graves]

9 concrete blocks in all. Really steady. It took some work to get everything level front to back and side to side.

It's all level. The 2x4's on top are just set there to check level. It makes it look all wonky I know - it's not. It's balls on - woot! Next I'm ready to build up the base - I do need to make sure it's square too.







One thing I know I'm going to suck at is toe nailing. I always grab too much or too little of the board. Or I end up moving the board 3 inches before i can finally sink a nail. Oh well.

Getting the foundation ready was a ton of work. My physical therapist would be proud.

[fannman]

a helpful hint on toe nailing. start a nail on each side and hit back and fourth between the two and you should'nt have a problem nailing. the foundation looks great. keep up the work!

[george graves]

My little Ryobi just can't cut it. I use it for electronics - it's nice cause it's got a really sensitive clutch, and I can zip a screw into plastic and it works great. But when it come to real work - it's a joke. Oh well - I've got a corded nice drill.


Here's the rest of the lumber. The OSB looks great.






I think I'll grab a few hand full of longer zinc coated nails.


So here's what ended up working very well for me. I could never get those blocks on the ground perfect - so the blocks and the 4x4's are eyeballed. Then I floated the box you see(I 'm using 2x6 just to make it look nicer - the rest of the floor is 2x4's) on top of it using some scrap 2x4 to hold it. At first nothing is tying the outside box to the 4x4's. This allowed me to square the box and not worry about the placement of the 4x4. I was able to measure from corner to corner and get it spot on - just with a few taps of the hammer. Then tied the box to the 4-by's and added 2x4 stringers. Worked like a charm. And I was able to nail the 2x4's in first from the end - and that helped with my toe nailing.

I also made the box so that when I go to install the outside ply that it will fit better. I'm really happy so far. Feels rock solid - I had fun swinging a hammer today.

[Kershaw]

looking good.

[fannman]

what are the dimensions of the floor?