Help! Need advice on coop roof---Edit: Coop is almost finished--Chickens are installed! Now Chick

Hello All! We are building the modified Purina coop. We're also kind of winging it because neither of us have ever built anything before.

So I used a piece of 4 x 8 OSB for the floor. Since you add 2 x 4's on each side of the floor, it ended up being 8' 4" long, more or less. There will also be an overhang on the roof, so our roof is ending up around 6' x 8' 7". So I had to buy 2 4 x 8" pieces of plywood for the underlayment.

BTW, we are not using shingles, but corrugated metal that will go on top of the plywood.

My question is, we have to piece together the underlayment. Can I just use silicone to fill in where the pieces of plywood meet, so it doesn't leak?

We already sealed the plywood with some Penofin that we had on hand.

Do I HAVE to put down tar paper? I know you need that for shingles, but what about for metal roofing?

Thanks!
-Patti

BTW, by silicone I mean that grout stuff you use that comes in a big tube. I'm having a brain fart and can't remember what it's called.

Edit: CAULK, yeah, that's the stuff.

I've been googling it...one website said not to put tar paper under your metal roof, because it will stick to the metal. I also think that black tar paper will make the roof too hot.

Anyone? I'm trying to avoid a trip into town.

I don't have the silicone grout on hand, unfortunately. I do have some of that spray-in foam for insulating around doors and windows. It says it is permanent and water resistant. It's called "Great Stuff" insulating foam sealant. I don't suppose that will work? We are installing the roof right now.

Thanks!

I was also reading this thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/475181/roofing-question-using-corrugated-roof

I have a big roll of Reflectix, and I am thinking of stapling it inside the coop roof to reflect heat to keep the coop cooler in summer and warmer in winter.

I addition to Reflectix (which is thinner...basically bubble wrap with that silver stuff on both sides), I also have a bunch of insulating foam board left over from another project. I could also use that in the coop roof. I don't think the silver color would bother the chickens? I just wonder which would be better.

Oh well, I guess we'll go with the plywood without tar paper. Thanks anyway.

I just finished my roof and skipped the tar paper.I looked at the other sheds on my property and it wasn't on them.

Thanks for the reply. That's what we ended up doing, too.

I was paranoid about the seam in the plywood leaking, so we caulked it just to be safe.

I have another question now...I used some recycled OSB for the walls of the coop. However, I think I should probably cover it up with something, since OSB isn't weather resistant. Originally I had thought that I would just paint or stain the outside. But the OSB is rough and pretty ugly.

Just wondering what I should cover it with? I was thinking 1/4" plywood, but would love it if there were something cheaper.

Here are the various stages of the coop so far (and I know it's not perfect, but it's very solid!):














BTW, some of the materials we are using we got free for helping a guy tear down an old shed. So the OSB was free, and we got a bunch of 2 x 4's too, in addition to a lot of misc. wood that I can build perches, nesting boxes, etc. out of. I got a window at the Habitat for Humanity Restore. I had to buy 2 roofing panels ($30 each), but had one panel that was lying around on our property from the previous owners that almost matched. It turned out to be a PITA, because it was a little bit bent. But I got it on there!

So far I think I have spent about $270. And we are almost done. Today I finished the roof, and we dug holes and set the legs in cement. I am going to go out in a few and draw where we want openings to be and cut them out.

We are in a hurry because the chicks are getting HUGE and need to go outside asap. Some are over 6 weeks old, a few are 5 weeks and 2 are 4 weeks old. Is 4 weeks old enough to go outside? These 2 are just as big as the older ones, though, and have most of their feathers.

Thanks!
-Patti

BTW, we have 16 chicks, but 2 don't count because they are roosters and we are hoping to rehome them. The coop is 4'4" x 8'4" on the inside. Yeah, I should have cut the floor down a little smaller so I can use 4 x 8 pieces on the ouside. Oops.

I really like the linoleum we used. It was only $27 for a 4'6" x 12' piece from Home Depot. 49 cents a square foot. It has a square grid pattern which was really handy when I was cutting it to fit. We also ran it up about 3" on each wall to make it easier to clean later. I also have a good-size piece left over to line the nesting boxes with.

Sorry I didn't see your post earlier as I live in Billings too. Your decision to skip the tarpaper was fine IMO as long as you used the proper self-sealing screws for the roof tin. Your cheapest approach to finishing the exterior would be to apply a good coat of exterior primer/sealer and then a coat or two of exterior paint. I finished some OSB in Hysham that way and it was still looking good 10 years later. It was exposed to the outside but under a roof overhang. For my new coop I used exterior plywood and finished it the same way. If you wanted to go a step further you could buy sheets of T-111 exterior siding, apply that, and paint it.

It has been getting pretty cold here at nights still so I would recommend waiting until all your chicks are 7 weeks old to put out. I put mine out two days ago at 7 weeks and they still did not have some feathers under their wings. They have been doing fine but have been huddling some in the early morning next to the base of my chimney, which apparently holds a little heat. It just happened to fall within their run! I am not planning to add extra heat to the coop so if you do perhaps they would be fine at 4-5 weeks. Good luck with the rest of your build, looking good so far!

Thank you! I'll have to think about whether I want to put something on the outside or paint it...the OSB is more rough than usual since it came from an old shed. It was in pretty good shape in spite of that (or I wouldn't have used it), but it's pretty ugly! However, I don't think we are going to win any "beautiful coop" awards in any case!

Yes, I did find the self-sealing screws thankfully. It was hard to find ones that weren't too long, but a guy at Lowe's helped me with that.

I thought we might put the heat lamp out there at night until the nights are a little warmer. I don't want to rush the chicks, but we have them in a spare bedroom and I need to get them out of the house. Seriously! We made a really large brooder out of boxes, but they are getting dander everywhere. (Luckily we just moved, so weren't using that bedroom yet anyway.)

However, we still have to make the run, so it might be a couple more days. The run will be 6' chain link covered with chicken wire. We got some used chain link on Craig's List.