Ondura roofing for coops

[Wise Woman]

I have noticed that some of you have used Ondura roofing on your coops and I am wondering how you like it? It looks easy to work with. I have to soon decide on a roofing material for my new coop and goat house. This looks like it could be used to make some simple shelters to keep snow off the ground for the goats in the winter time as well and they said on their website it could be installed over framing. I would like to know how you like it and if it is holding up well and if there are any issues with it that I should be aware of. It seems reasonably priced at Lowe's and comes in lots of colors. Do you think it would be good for rain water harvesting? Can you attach rain spouting to it? I will need to have rain spouting on my coop even if I am not collecting rain water, but I do plan to collect it. If it works out well I will re-roof my sheds with it so everything matches.

 

[patandchickens]

I have not dealt with it myself but it seems like every time someone mentions it on this forum, a host of people rise up to say they've had bad experiences with it being heavy for what it is and not lasting long.

I dont' know what your concerns with rainwater harvesting are, if they are biological then it has the same risks as any other kind of roofing, if they are chemical then there are probably slightly safer choices but people DO collect and drink rainwater off Ondura so it is not like it will kill yer chickens dead or anything.

You don't attach the gutters and downspout to the roofing, you attach them to the framing that HOLDS UP the roof (specifically, the fascia board) so that is not involved in deciding what kind of roofing to use.

Whatever roofing panels you decide to use, please please GET THE MANUFACTURER'S INSTALLATION PAMPHLET (from the store where you bought your roofing, or online) and FOLLOW ALL DIRECTIONS EXACTLY. I can't tell you how many panel-type roofs I see on BYC that are radically wrongly supported or with inappropriately-big unsupported overhangs at edges or attached wrong, and that tends to make your roof fly off when you get storm winds. You gotta do it the way it's designed for, which means needing to FIND OUT the way it's designed to be installed

Personally I think you can't beat metal roofing for the price/durability combo, although if you are in a very hot summer area it can be a bit of a problem (esp. ifyou do not insulate under it).

Good luck, ahve fun,

Pat

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

That stuff is cheap for a reason. It would probably be OK for a small shed or outbuilding. I would never think about putting it on a large barn or any house. If you don't mind replacing the roofing every 4 to 5 yrs, go for it. That about the length of time it takes for the finish to start coming off and any penetrations to start leaking(including fasteners).

Another note, you cannot get on this stuff in the hot summertime. It will collapse under your weight due to softening from the heat. I've done repairs where we had to wait until late in the evening and cool the roof down with water. Then we had to lay 2"pvc in the little valleys with a piece of plywood across them and crawl on that to get to where we needed to service. A total PITA.

Good Luck!

 

[line-rat]

I have it on my 4x8 coop. I like it . I plan on using it on my next coop. The main reason i used it is because the top of my coop is at head level. It won't cut my head open if i bump into it.

 

[teach1rusl]

It's what we used on our bantam coop run because it was reasonably priced and convenient/fast. It's worked for us, and was very easy to work with/install. I wish they'd sold the nails in smaller boxes, because our run is small, so we have a TON of the colored nails left over...

 

[Wise Woman]

Thanks for the opinions. I appreciate it. We are looking for longevity and do not want to have to re-do anything on the coop for a very long time. This is our 5th and LAST coop and we will be taking our time building it so it is done right. We were set to go with asphalt shingles when I spotted this stuff and wondered how people that used it liked it. I think we will stick to the asphalt for now. As for rain water harvesting, we won't be drinking the rain water, nor will the animals, but we will be using it on our raspberries and fruit trees, so I was just curious if it was better or worse than asphalt. From what I have read, metal is the best for rain water harvesting, but I don't know if my husband will be able to put on a metal roof. I have to stay within the parameters of his skills and he doesn't want to hire anyone to work on a chicken coop.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Uh, putting on metal panels is no different than putting on Ondura AFAIK (have never actually used Ondura, but metal is put on almost exactly the same way as corrugated fiberglass or pvc or polycarbonate panels). You predrill the holes, you put the fasteners in. That's it. With attention to details as per mfr's instructions of course.

You could perfectly well do it yourself, I am sure your husband cna too

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

I had them on my run initially. But they are really heavy and you need to put a proper framework under them or they sag and collect leaves and water. And unfortunately, mine drained all the rain water into my run. So they had to go. I now have the corrugated panels and LOVE them. I have half metal for shade and half clear plastic so they get some sun.

 

[Lah425]

I realize this is an old thread, but hoping to get answers. I am thinking about using Ondura as the bottom couple of feet of my chicken pens, with a foot of it buried below ground to keep critters from digging in. We have opossums, raccoons, skunks, armadillos, foxes, coyotes, and most recently, a dang cougar. I am thinking about framing corrugated metal or this Ondura along the bottom, cattle panels above that (with chicken wire or wire mesh along it), and roofed in chicken wire. Now, this is just for the pens/runs. The coop will be at one end of the pens and fully roofed, of course. Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[imnukensc]

FWIW, an earlier post in this thread said you predrill holes for metal roofing. No, you don't. Screws for attaching metal roofing are self tapping.