Decking on uneven surface

bluecherry74

I have a chicken run that's no longer being used for chickens and I'm planning on repurposing it as an outdoor run for my cat. She's got arthritis and can't climb or jump as well as she used to, so I'd like a safe place for her to spend her days when the weather gets warmer.

I've been thinking of getting decking put down as it'll be a warm, comfortable surface and will double as a giant scratching pad

Problem is, the ground is very uneven from years of being scratched at by the chickens. Would it even be possible to put decking in an area like this?

The photo below is old, it was taken on the chickens' first day, so most of the gravel has been scratched into the ground and they've created a few craters. Also the run is now roofed with clear perspex which means the ground is usually very dry.

Any thoughts or advice would be very welcome.

jmBuildExt

Yes of courcse - decking would be ideal for hiding the uneven ground.
Depends whats under the gravel, but generally speaking....
Decking will sit on top of a wooden sub-frame. Sub-frame will be e.g. on piers/legs above your gravel. Height of the piers/legs are adjusted so that the decing and subframe will run level.
Just make sure whoever fits it puts a decent weed barrier down under it so you dont get weeds up through your new deck.

bluecherry74

Thanks, that makes sense. The ground under the gravel is just earth - heavy clay type soil, very firm. The rest of the garden gets quite waterlogged in the winter but with the roof over the run it stays perfectly dry.

I'll be sure to get weed fabric put down too, thanks for mentioning it.