Question for people who use the resin sheds for coops

All winter, I have been researching and plotting and planning and designing my dream coop. I drew up plans and have been planning how to budget for this. I had it all worked out in my head, on paper and in the yard. Then yesterday my husband comes in and says he wants to just buy one of those resin sheds at Lowes or HD and use that. I don't want to do that. It isn't the look I wanted and it isn't how I envisioned my new dream coop.

But I might have to go with that, like it or not. It won't be as cute or quaint as I want, but if I have to have one, I am sure it will need to be altered. How the heck do you attach things to the plastic walls? If you have to cut out a pop door for instance, how can you frame it out? How can you attach hardware cloth to any vents you make? I feel like I have to now start all over again if he insists on going this route. Any help would be most appreciated.

You can fasten things easily with self taping screws especially if they have a attached frame like a flap style doggy door. On the positive side, it will be easier to scrub and hose down the walls in your coop with plastic walls rather than wood or plywood walls and stuff doesn't stick as well

Easy to attach things to the plastic walls--self-tapping screws, like previously mentioned, epoxy cement, duct tape, etc. Just head over to a hardware store, tell them what you are trying to accomplish and they'll point you to the right supplies.

Don't knock the resin--it really is super easy to keep clean. I blast my coop with a garden hose every week and never worry about wood rot, mold, mites.

Good luck.

Thanks. I am not knocking the resin, it just isn't what I had my heart set on having. I have windows from a vintage mountain cabin and pine tongue and groove stashed to build my coop. I had a totally different vision of what I wanted as a coop. Now that it is time to get started on it, DH decided he just doesn't want to be bothered building something and is looking for the easy way out. So since I can't afford to hire a carpenter, I will have to do what he wants. Plus the sheds he is looking at will cost about twice what it will to build the coop I want. And I can't do it payday by payday like I had planned. I will have to save all summer and won't have my new coop until fall. I guess I am just disappointed. We will see how it works out. Maybe I can try to build it myself.

Who died and made him Boss?

Well, sometimes it is easier to do what he wants than to argue with him. I once waited a year for him to hang a shelf on a brick wall in our dining room. In the end it took 10 minutes for him to do it. I don't know why he is like this, but he is. I am seriously considering doing it myself if he won't. I think one of the guys at my work would help me a little bit if I got stuck. I have done so much research on this now that I think I might be able to build it myself. But in the end, it is more important that our chickens get a new house, so we will see how it plays out.
Hopefully, he will see the light and do it my way! I just want to be prepared in case we end up with the resin shed.

You're right a resin shed is lacking a certain charm that a stick built coop might have.
Look at my page for pictures of mine.
I went with it because I was in a hurry to get something for the chickens to live in. And I got it steeply discounted, because it was the last of the floor displays.

Built into the inside of the shed are moldings that hold shelf brackets. If you can, buy extras brackets. I went back the following year to get more and the design had changed.

I originally was going to frame out the pop door, just never got around to it. The plan was 1x1 covering the cut edges, with it being framed both inside and out. Sandwiching everything together with carriage bolts/nuts.

I attach to the shed by drilling holes and using carriage bolts with large washers.

I'm looking for a stained glass window to install on the side, so I can see it from the house. If your vintage windows are not too heavy you can still use them.

I didn't add any extra ventilation cause I'm in, well, Seattle. And it's in a shady area.

Hope it works out for you,

Imp

I would suggest you offer to do alot of the work along side him or for him to show you how to do things to get it started. There might be a young teenage kid nearby who could help for some spending money. You could probably work on a lot of it by yourself, too, and hubby could help when you need a hand with the big things. There are tons of shed-building books at Lowe's and Home Depot to learn how to build something simple, and you can always make it more complex later. Huby might get excited about it when he see's you working on it.

Quote:

Wise Woman, why don't you find someone to help you build a coop? Maybe a teenager who is handy with tools, or a retiree looking for something to do. Or heck, get one of your girlfriends to help. It really wouldn't be all that difficult. There are lots of good plans on building coops on the web and some basic hand tools and maybe a borrowed circular saw would be all that you would need. Don't be intimidated; it will be a good learning experience and if it's not perfect the chickens won't complain.

Good luck.