Mews DEsign

[eelriver]

Question for the group: Do you have a wood floor in your mews and if so, what do you use as bedding? Reason I ask is that I had planned on gravel as bedding on top of bare earth, but the slope of the site is such that I had to put the mews on concrete tubes, the back of the mews is almost at ground level, but the front is 16-18" above ground level. That kind of slope would require a lot of gravel and loam to raise level to the hieght of the sill so I am contemplating putting in a wood subfloor with some sort of drainage in place. I'm not sure if I'd still use the gravel on top of the floor due to weight considerations. I'd be interested in hearing how others have solved the problem. Shavings seem like a poor choice on top of wood for drainage and fungal reasons. Thanks for your thoughts.
Jim

[Master Yarak]

I had to build on ground that was uneven. I trenched out several feet and placed treated 4 x 8s length wise till I had a level frame.
Yarak

[kurt]

Wood floor, porch paint then interlocking rubber play mats. Have been using the same mats for two years and they show very little wear. A big plus is you can pull them out to power wash them. Kurt

[eelriver]

I'm probably over noodling this raised floor issue, but I came across a great design idea that I'm thinking of using. Planks are run perpendicular to the joists, but not fitted tightly on edge to allow water to drain-perhaps an 1/8 ' gap is maintained on edge. This is covered by screen small enough to prevent my 1/2" pea gravel from falling through. This would allow mutes to be washed out of the gravel to drain through the slats-the gravel can then be raked as needed. I saw this design somewhere on the web-seems pretty efficient and easy. . If the joists are pressure treated but covered with the wood planks and gravel I'd think the preservative would not come back to hurt the bird.
Any naysayers please chime in

[dirthawker]

I quit using the rock for the floor because it kept dulling my birds tallons I now use carpet you can get all you want from the guys that do carpet for free when they take it out of a house to replace it. I just replace it every 3 mounths or so with a new piece

[HawkingRage]

i had an uneven ground sorce too. i had a friend with a bobcat come and level it.i used gravel on the bottom. then on top of the gravel i have 1/8 inch thick plastic sheets, two of them covering the floor. the floor can be drained well and the plastic is easy to sweep every other day and easy to power wash later. if you are teathering your bird in the mews (board up your windows please) then the two sheets allow a place for your birds perch to be mounted into the gravel. i have 8 inches of gravel on the floor. under that is quarter inch wire mesh tacked to the bottom frame of the mews. on top of that is chain link fencing just for that extra protection. fortunatly my ground is hard as concrete so hopefully ill never need that protection.