need advice on using a covering for plywood floor of coop

[TipihlowLadies]

If you have a concrete floor, the epoxy paint would be the way to go. Buuuuut, a wood framed building, coop in this case, expands and contracts with the weather. And I would bet a few bucks, that over a period of time, the epoxy would crack up and fail over a wood surface. Go with something flexible, like the roofcoat, (Stuff that was made to go over wood) and forget about your floor.
Jack

If you don't think concrete expands and contracts you have another think coming wood is not man maid it actualy moves less. Wood is poures and it will stick.!

 

[TipihlowLadies]

We used an Elastomeric Roof Coating seal our floor and use the deep litter method. Nothing sticks to the floor and it's very easy to clean out.





You will spend a small fortune on garage floor epoxy. We looked at it, and most of the ones out there are meant to be used on concrete, not wood. The stuff you can put on wood was way too pricey for my blood. That's why we opted for the roof coating. It is waterproof, is non-toxic and deals well with the fecal matter. It's also slightly fibrous, so even if they kick all the litter out of the way, there's no risk of a slick surface causing leg problems. The photo above shows while we were doing it. We've been using it for a while, now, and it's been wonderful.




If you notice, in the center of the floor of this coop, they managed to get the litter away from the floor. When I went in to clean it up, it brushed right up with the rake-broom I was using. The coop's changed a bit as they've grown and has "real" roosts in it and all, now; but, that floor has been easy to keep clean. I'm continuing to use it in the rest of our build out.


Also, keep an eye on your chicken behaviour. If you have six large fowl in a 4x4 coop, they may feel crowded.

Elast-o-merick is what is used to fix mobil home roofs and it cracks and every year you do it over . Around water buckets where it can be damp and hold moister it will come loose.

 

[TipihlowLadies]

How much does the Garage Floor Epoxy go for??

Epoxy is not cheap but in my 30 year as a contractor doing Comercial and Residentcial construction if offen found cheap means I will be doing it again and again no thanks one and done.

 

[Kilsharion]

Elast-o-merick is what is used to fix mobil home roofs and it cracks and every year you do it over . Around water buckets where it can be damp and hold moister it will come loose.

That's not what I have. I have a flexible, waterproof sealer. It works wonderfully everywhere we've used it. I suppose it's a difference in product line or something

edited to add: I asked my husband what it is that we used. It was a white siliconized elastomeric roof coating. He stressed siliconized. I dunno, I just go with what he says on stuff like that since he's never done me wrong. He said, "We got the 1000. The 750 might as well go in the trash." So...um...I am far from an expert on these things. Just have what my current experience shows and husband says.

 

[JackE]

If you don't think concrete expands and contracts you have another think coming wood is not man maid it actualy moves less. Wood is poures and it will stick.!

I never said anything about concrete expanding and contracting. I'm sure it does. But when I say the rubberized roof coat is the best, I'm not just talking about a theory of mine. I use it in my coop. Like I said, it has been in there over 3yrs, through all kinds of weather and temp extremes. From lows of 10F(And sometimes below that) to over 100F. It has gotten wet from rain blowing in, and spilled water founts. When I clean out the coop, the roofcoat looks the same as the day I put it in there. There is NO cracking or splitting or separating from the floor. I don't care how it performs on a roof. Maybe it does crack or fail in some way. Maybe it really can't stand up to being exposed directly to sun. Maybe it was improperly applied to begin with. But on a coop floor, under a layer or shavings or sand (Yes, I have both) it just plain works. It isn't a cheap floor treatment like vinyl or linoleum, but it beats the cost, and it's much easier to use than epoxy, no mixing needed.
Jack

 

[TipihlowLadies]

I never said anything about concrete expanding and contracting. I'm sure it does. But when I say the rubberized roof coat is the best, I'm not just talking about a theory of mine. I use it in my coop. Like I said, it has been in there over 3yrs, through all kinds of weather and temp extremes. From lows of 10F(And sometimes below that) to over 100F. It has gotten wet from rain blowing in, and spilled water founts. When I clean out the coop, the roofcoat looks the same as the day I put it in there. There is NO cracking or splitting or separating from the floor. I don't care how it performs on a roof. Maybe it does crack or fail in some way. Maybe it really can't stand up to being exposed directly to sun. Maybe it was improperly applied to begin with. But on a coop floor, under a layer or shavings or sand (Yes, I have both) it just plain works. It isn't a cheap floor treatment like vinyl or linoleum, but it beats the cost, and it's much easier to use than epoxy, no mixing needed.
Jack

The sun may break it down but I think it's our drastic weather changes Oklahoma . Yesterday 79 today 26 freezing rain. I've done two with epoxy no brop. so far keep my fingers crossed.

 

[outdoorgal]

We're planning on adding linoleum to ours this summer when we clean it out. Right now it's just bare wood which makes it difficult to clean.

 

[Cinny]

Lineoleum definitely....but don't do the squares, we did thinking we got a great deal.....1/2 of them came up over the winter.

 

[cstronks]

Heat in the coop - since the floor question has been answered a few time - we don't heat our coop.
We live at 8,500 in the Colorado Mountains and do get some cold weather

We insulate the coop and only have a heater under the water to keep it from freezing.
This is only for full grown chickens - the little ones do have a brooder heat lamp.
One big difference is the amount of sunshine, we have lots and know that is an exception.

Our thoughts (told my someone older and wiser than we are) if you have the chickens dependent and heat and you lose power, you lose chickens.
Our girls have no problems and love to go play in the snow....

What breed of chicken do you have? Providing that they are cold hardy, you shouldn't need heat. The insulation should really help to keep some of the heat in. I wouldn't let the inside of the coop get below freezing though, even if the chickens are cold hardy...but thats just me.

 

[cstronks]

We scored some linoleum on freecycle today! That settles that for us! Free rules. lol

Free is the way to go...half of my coop is built with leftover wood from a few projects my friends did...nobody knows once you paint it!