what to use to seal/paint plywood coop?

[sweetmama65000]

hi, all. i am trying to finish the coop part of my tractor. i used treated lumber for the framework of the pen, but bought untreated plywood for the coop. (didn't want the babies to be inside with a lot of fumes.) but now i don't know what to paint or seal the outside of the coop with. if anyone could share what they used i would appreciate it. it seems like i've been working on this tractor forever, and i'm anxious to get it finished so i can get my new babies out of the old pen. i would be grateful for any ideas. thank you!

sabrina

 

[mamading]

I just used regular exterior house paint on the outside of my coop. Once it's dry the fumes are gone. For the inside (just on the floor) I used Dutch Boy porch enamel. The reason for that is because it has latex in it and that does really well for waterproofing against all the poo and water spills. Hope that helps!

 

[sweetmama65000]

thank you. so that holds up well against the elements? my folks have been freaking me out, telling me that you can't paint plywood, it will still soak up water. i was beginning to worry that i hadn't built it right. you didn't have to put any kind of sealant on it before you painted it, did you? i'll be so darn glad when i can get the tractor rolled into the yard.

thanks again.

 

[siouxbee]

I went to home depot and bought a can of deck, fence & siding wood stain. it seals the wood, is acrylic latex. I got the solid color one (you can get it semi-transparent), since my plywood wasn't pretty. I'm still building mine, so I can't speak to longevity, but the guy at HD assured me this would extend the life of the wood by years.

for the inside floor of the coop, I'm hoping to snag some scrap linoleum/vinyl flooring to make cleaning easier.

someday my girls will be OUT OF MY LAUNDRY ROOM!!!

 

[mamading]

sweetmama65000 wrote:

you didn't have to put any kind of sealant on it before you painted it, did you?

No, I just put two coats on the plywood. It worked well.​

 

[Chickending]

I did the deck sealant too on the inside of my coop and then I probably over did it and added linoleum on top. But by my door to the run I really sealed the frame and floor with the outdoor wood deck sealant. Worked great

 

[cookinmom]

We don't have a tractor, but I was worried about the floor of our coop getting wet and rotting (we had floor problems at our old house so now I'm paranoid!). So I went a little nuts and use 2 quarts of polyurethane, which went down in 3 coats. Our henhouse is 6x6 ft. It was probably a bit of overkill.

But before the shavings were down, in the afternoon when the sun shone in, it looked like a dance floor in there!

Oh yeah, we used exterior enamel on the outside, and left the inside walls bare wood.

 

[dreamgirl]

I'm doing mine tomorrow. I got ranch paint from TSL for the exterior and I'm going to get porch/deck paint for the floor (plywood) and use two-three coats). If there's a ton left over, I might put the rest on the inside walls, otherwise, I'll use an exterior or interior/exterior paint on the inside walls (I have lots of leftovers).

 

[sweetmama65000]

thanks, everyone. my plywood isn't so pretty, either, so that's why i was hoping to put color on the coop. i hadn't thought about putting any kind of sealer on the frame of the run, since it's treated, but now i think i should probably do that, too. after the painting is done, i've only got putting up the wire, and hanging the door to the run. so only about 3 more years, and i can roll that sucker in the yard!!!

 

[silkiechicken]

Quote:
Oh, thats not over kill, want overkill? I have a 12 inch by 12 inch by 16 inch plywood incubator that has a lexan top. Total surface area is about 11 sq feet. I used a whole half a quart can of polyurethane on the thing... maybe 8 coats or so? It hardly looks like wood anymore! More like a wood colored plastic box. No humidity can atack that bugger. Even sealed in the screws.


As for my coop. I just stained it and it's been 10 years in the dirt and hasn't rotted out yet. It moves around like a tractor so it's taken some abuse over the years.