Addind the First Floor Joists

With the skids firmly lagged together I added the first of the floor joists.  I am making the deck exactly 8' x 12', mainly because I don't want to cut any sheet stock I don't have to.  With this size I can use 3 4x8 sheets of pressure treated plywood. (I will be covering the pressure treated wood with untreated so the poultry cannot pick at it.)

I started with the first and last joist, and added the joist that would support the edges of two sheets of plywood.  This was to ensure the joists were accurately spaced at the seams.  After that I added the rest in between.  I screwed each joist to the skids with 2 screws into each skid.  I also screwed the crossmembers to the joists as well.

For all pressure treated wood, corrosion resistant fastener must be used. I used 2-1/2" stainless steel screws for all the joists.  At $14/lb, they were pretty spendy, but I want the coop to last a looong time.

The first joists and endcaps.  Once I verified my 3 sheets of plywood would fit, I added the remaining joists at 16" on center.