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Can i screw treated pine into old railway sleepers for chicken coop?

Hi there, I have this existing old garden bed, I want to build a chicken enclosure in. We are using an old cubby house and will build a run off the cubby. How will I attach my framing to the sleepers , can I use the sleepers as the base for the walls? Or am I best to just have a bottom on my frames and build it just inside the sleepers ?

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Dave-1

Good Afternoon @Tam89

I think id be tempted to use the sleepers if they are in a resonable state (hit with a hammer hard and see if the timber is soft, if it isnt then all good)

The way you have the posts is one way you could attach them. Either drilled all the way through and bolt them (The side near the fence may be a problem tho) or use something like ZENITH M10 x 75mm Hot Dip Galvanised Hex Head Coach Screws depending on how thick your H3 posts are.

Washers are a neccasary part 🙂

I would also be tempted to get some reo, drillstraight down through your sleepers and then hammer with a sledge hammer at least 400mm into the ground so the sleeps dont have a chance to "roll"

Dave

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/50949#Comment_50949

Hi @Tam89,

How'd you go with the gate on the corner? I hope the advice I provided was helpful.

I'd tend to agree with @Dave-1 that attaching to the sleepers would be fine for a lightweight structure. However, having it supported by its own frame and bottom plate certainly wouldn't hurt. You could do a combo and have a bottom plate and then also screw the frame to the sleepers.

Ideally, you should concrete posts into the ground so you have a solid and immovable frame. I guess it comes down to how light the framing will be.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

Tam89

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/87593#Comment_87593

Hi ! I actually changed my mind and moved the cubby house, so I will now have the gate on the front! Originally I couldn’t have the cubby right over to the left but I fixed that issue, so now it’s not in the middle of the garden bed. .. thank you though, I still need to learn how I will attach the front and side walls to that silly side corner piece … would I use a bracket ? If I’m using 2x6 wood ? I’ve been doing a lot of googling, and can’t seem to just find a very simple structure I can do myself lol I’m hoping to do this myself and not have to pay someone. Here is what I have come up with today .. still trying to work it out really and doing my research ( I also don’t have a pocket hole Jig) is it possible to do this without ? Or should I get one ?

Tam89

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/50949#Comment_50949

Hi there, thank you! The sleepers are pretty sturdy in the ground, they have been there a long time, there is star pickets holding them and they are dug into the ground. It was a garden over the years. There is no sleep at the back against the fence , there is a pine board I think ?? See picture.

Dave-1

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/109344#Comment_109344

Afternoon @Tam89

Without the cubbyhouse froming up a "kind of" firm wall to help hold things it changes the construction you will need to do. Not hard but different in what you can get away with.

Spome rules that might help.

Keep the structure in straight lines. Square, rectangular type deal.

For a freestanding chicken coup I would suggest the posts go into footings. I have used stirrups for mine (2/3rds finished of course lol)

I would also suggest notching some of the joins (not hard and very satisfying to do)

With some diagonal braces from the top of posts down to the next posts bottom. (To eliminate swaying)

Here are some of my pics from my 2/3rds done job. Needs a door (I was just going to reuse a steel mesh door) and some sheets of iron over the area near the tree plus hutches. Its still standing solid as and I am glad I used concrete footings with stirrups. It freestands. The 3mm steel mesh really firms it up. 🙂

01 01-06-2015.jpg

Just an example of what you may need. If the walls cant attach to something solid then they need re-enforcing.

02 01-07-2015.jpg

The structure was made of recyled house timbers (Hardwood) into 600mm stirrup posts and concrete I think from memory. 20 bags of concrete 😲

03 01-07-2015.jpg

04 01-07-2016.jpg

It sat like this for 6 months as had storm water issues rock up.

05 01-07-2016.jpg

Finally laid my hands on some sold mesh (I almost used thinner wire as it would have been easier but I liked the solidness of it and the potential to reuse the mesh 🙂 )

06 01-07-2016.jpg

This is where I stopped as I ran out of mesh 😕 And life moved on.

07 01-07-2016.jpg

The coup "ish" as it is now. It has a sheet metal skirt around the base as well. Just needs the hole fixed and the door.

If you step through how you would "join" your timber to make it strong the coup will build itself 🙂 Making it out of H3 pine will be a lot easier. I wouldnt go for long spans between posts, maybe 1.8m max

The pics are just an example of what you may need to do for structual strength of a coup.

Dave

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/109344#Comment_109344

Hi @Tam89,

It sounds like you're making great progress on your cubby house! For the corner piece where the front and side walls meet, you’ll need to cut the ends of the horizontal timbers at an angle so they fit neatly against the corner posts. This will help the timbers "marry up" to the posts properly, ensuring a strong connection. You can use brackets to reinforce the joint, but making sure everything is cut precisely will help with the structural integrity as well.

As for the pocket hole jig, it’s not absolutely necessary, but it does make the job easier, especially when it comes to drilling holes at the right angle for secure connections. If you don't have one, you can still attach the pieces with screws or nails, but you may need to drill pilot holes manually to ensure the screws go in at the right angle. A pocket hole jig would just make the process quicker and more precise. If you're planning on doing more DIY projects like this, it could be a worthwhile tool to invest in.

Mitchell

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