When I built my new coop I wanted it to be tall enough so I could easily walk in. You should also check out the winter waterer threads. Lots of good ideas there. I have food and water under my poop boards and it works fine. My roosts are only 4-6 inches above the poop boards but I can easily remove the roost bars for cleaning.. I have pictures on my profile that show this set up. Keep in mind that I have bantams not large fowl LF.