Starting a coop build, it is my first build and first chickens so feedback is very welcome

[saysfaa]

Roof is nearly done.
It did not go well.

The main problem was the facia boards are so narrow that most every nail missed them at least once. The drip edge made it harder to judge the distance. And the edge being so flexible didn't help either. We went through more than triple the amount of roof caulk it should have taken. That didn't cost much in dollars but was very expensive in time and irritation. Especially since the roof is so small, it was nearly all edges.

I got pretty good at stacking cement blocks and chunks of wood to get the pole the right height to support the facia board where the next nail went in. I pretty much had to move it for each and every nail along sides and ends.

The ridge vent was easy but the installation video I linked to a couple of posts ago is wrong... it is much easier to nail both sides as you go rather than all of one side, then all of the other side. It could be because the roof is so small or possibly because we didn't cut through the shingles and decking to make the opening. Because we had the roof decking installed two inches below the peak, the gap was precisely straight. The top of the shingles was also very precise (my help is very detail oriented and has a very good eye for distances and straightness.

We bought four ridge vent sections. We really needed about three and a third or half in order for the vent to end in from the ends like the installation directions said. The original plan was to ignore the installation directions about cutting the roof decking and run the vent out past the gable ends to the edge of the roof. Mostly because I wasn't very clear about what the shed builder should do so we had a gap all the way to the ends. And partly because I wanted to err on the side of more ventilation.

We used three sections of ridge vent. We didn't think we could get the ends nailed down securely with all the issues with the ends.

The roof is weather tight now. It still needs the ridge cap put on for cosmetic reasons and to protect the rigid plastic ridge vent from the sun.

I also plan to improve the facias (reinforce, patch, ect.).

Lol, the pictures show a bit of the sparkly silver paint we used on all the wooden edges that we can't get to with the roof in the way. It will be a different color after we paint -probably a medium, plain gray. The sparkles don't show on such a cloudy day but were occasionally a little distracting.

 

[saysfaa]

Oh, and the first occupants have started moving in... they were quite distracting too...

 

[saysfaa]

I finished filling and packing the sand, setting the retaining walls (curbs?) added roofing tar to the tops of the cement blocks that will be under the skids. It should keep moisture from wicking up to the skids.

The builder came and placed the shed. He fixed the floor; thankfully it doesn't need to be thicker. The floor joists are 12" apart, so it will support pretty much anything that might be put into it. He screwed pieces of another 2x4 beside the nearest joists to the two places with the mist bounce. The rest of the places with give, he screwed down. Evidently, the move loosened the nails that held the floor down.

He sympathized with the too narrow facia boards; he will talk to his partner about using thicker ones. They get very few shingle roofs with eaves so it hasn't been a problem.

 

[3KillerBs]

I finished filling and packing the sand, setting the retaining walls (curbs?) added roofing tar to the tops of the cement blocks that will be under the skids. It should keep moisture from wicking up to the skids.

The builder came and placed the shed. He fixed the floor; thankfully it doesn't need to be thicker. The floor joists are 12" apart, so it will support pretty much anything that might be put into it. He screwed pieces of another 2x4 beside the nearest joists to the two places with the mist bounce. The rest of the places with give, he screwed down. Evidently, the move loosened the nails that held the floor down.

He sympathized with the too narrow facia boards; he will talk to his partner about using thicker ones. They get very few shingle roofs with eaves so it hasn't been a problem.

Lovely!

I have always liked board and batten.

Can't wait to see the conversion pictures!

 

[aart]

He sympathized with the too narrow facia boards; he will talk to his partner about using thicker ones. They get very few shingle roofs with eaves so it hasn't been a problem.

Fascia boards should be attached to the rafter ends, not the roof sheathing.
Is there soffit venting space between rafters, top wall, and roof sheathing?

 

[saysfaa]

Fascia boards should be attached to the rafter ends, not the roof sheathing.
Is there soffit venting space between rafters, top wall, and roof sheathing?

The fascia boards are attached to the rafter ends. We nailed the tar paper, drip edge, and the edge of the shingles to the top of the facia board. I'm not sure if that is how it is usually done but the edges of the roof deck didn't hold the nails very well. And the roof decking ended at the end of the rafters (not the outside edge of the fascia board); we didn't want that much distance from the first nails and edges of the tar paper and of the shingles even if it held well. The standard drip edge wasn't wide enough to nail into the sheathing and still leave a gap between the vertical edge and the fascia board.

Yes, the soffits are open between each rafter. They will get hardware cloth.

 

[aart]

The fascia boards are attached to the rafter ends

Really, because in several of your pics it clearly shows a rather large gap between rafter ends and fascia.

Yes, the soffits are open between each rafter. They will get hardware cloth.

That's good!

 

[saysfaa]

Really, because in several of your pics it clearly shows a rather large gap between rafter ends and fascia.


That's good!

Those pictures are of the gaps between the fascia boards and the barge boards. When I posted that, I wasn't over being annoyed about the poor workmanship of the roof.

I took a couple more pictures. These are both pictures of the middle of the wall. Hm, I guess I was wrong about the roof decking. Isn't it OSB instead of plywood? And it goes over the fascia at least a little.

 

[BleuSaphir]

I’m loving the progress!

 

[MarkButcher]

That all sounds well thought out, but i think maybe a little to complicated in the basics. I'm doubtful that your build is going to be so air tight as to building in wintertime ventilation a concern, and with the wintertime temps you mentioned, the chickens and structure is probably goung to be a self servicing heat generator that will work to you and the chickens advantage, during the winter, and you won't want to lose that with with additional "ventillation" other then your chicken door and maybe some occasional open man door air outs on nicer days. Including building in the options of optional open/close summertime ventilation in your intial design seems like super forethought.
There's much said about "so many square feet per chicken", but my flock of 16 generally bunch up against each other at night on the roosts, and spend the entirety of the day outside; with the hens sharing the nesting boxes on a ratio of abot 3 or 4 hens per box for laying, rotating in and out as they see fit.
I like the idea of splitting the hen house with one side dedicated to feed and such, that's kinda what i did in my 8x10 chicken house, but i might have wished I'd gone with your 10x12 design.
I do have a 8x10 covered porch on the face of my chicken house, which lets me keep a bale or 2 of hay out there for their coop, and a couple lidded barrels for feed.
Hope you've laid out some daytime free ranging space for them, and an automatic chicken coop door (those are fantastic in their functionality!!!).