We are using an ancient wooden grainery as our hen house. We want to place a second floor in it so that I can brood chicks up there. The building is 12 feet by 12 feet. We will be using OSB boards as the floor surface but need some advice on the rest. Should we use 2×4s or 2×6s? How far appart should they be spaced? And do we need to place in weight bearing posts or fraiming from one floor to the other? Thank you
It will have to hold my weight plus the weight of hay and chickens. If the lumber is just placed length wise with no support from below will it still hold?
The osb board is only temporary. This is a quick project (chicks were not expected to come so soon) Will be replaced with better materials when time permits. All wood used will be sealed properly. I need to know how to support the floor so I dont fall.
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I personaly would not place any type of flooring in a chicken coop or breeding pens(brooders)…Osb will fall apart in no time in these conditions as far as just about any wood flooring will be nothing but distress…Chicken poop breed lice and mites, and even dirt floored chicken coops need raked and sanitized daily at ata minimum twice a week..the moisture from the poop will rot the flooring away in no time at all..and if not cleaned properly..it qwill be a breeding ground for lice and mites if not cleaned..the moisture from all of this will soon rot the wood away…Now if a person took some heavy mil plastic(6 mil minimum) underneath the brooding pens where they could roll it up a couple times a week and take outside and clean and sanitize..this would work if careful..but even then..I would stay completely away from any osb or flaked or particle board type material..it wont last long..I would get (if you must have wood flooring) a excellent exterior grade 3/4 inch thick plywood..and seal with a excellent clear sealer..both sides, and especially on the raw edges and apply untill it is literally dripping off of it..let it dry outside for a couple of days..then install it..if these pens are not cleaned properly, you will end up breeding alot of vermin…I was raised on a farm adn in our coops and brooding pens..we had to rake the poop up daily to prevent vermin infestation
I believe you should use 2by4’s you can lay them 16 inches apart, make sure the board lands in the middle of the 2by4 just make the floor as strong as you can and do your best Excellent Luck
I’m not a structural engineer, but I reckon this 12′ span is going to require 2×12 lumber, 24″ on center. This might not be exactly right, but it’s going to be close. If you use 2×6’s, you’re going to need a support beam in the middle (6′ span). I reckon 2×4’s should only support a 4′ span.