I drew this up on Sketchup and we are going to build it in our garage in preparation for spring
It is going to be 8 feet long and 4 feet wide. the 8 nesting boxes will be accessible from either side of the coop they are 1 foot by 1 foot square with dividers. I will add roost's inside and out and will probably have to fully enclose the outside area due to lots of neighbor cats I hear fighting at night.
We are going to start this today and will post pics as we go
01/01/2014 - Today we went to the big box store and purchased all the framing lumber for this project.
I used a program that i found for free on the internet called cutlist... it allowed me to punch in my parts and gave me exactly how many pieces of lumber to buy so I did not waste any money. ( That is the first program i found and used I am sure there are many programs out there that will do the same thing )
To frame up the entire coop with floor, Trusses, Gables and walls you will need the following.
• 4-5 Lbs of framing nails/screws
3" or 2.5" Deck screws 75 to 85 per lb
or you can use nails
10d or 8d nails 75 to 100 per lb
I used 3" Deck Screws because I appropriated a 5 Lbs box of them from another job so they cost me nothing. but for the sake of expensing it out, 5 Lbs would have cost 28 dollars at the big box store.
The equivalent 5 Lbs of Galvanized nails would cost about 14 dollars at the big box store.
• 2lbs of 1-5/8 Screws or 4d nails
• 35 qty 2x3x96 studs @ $1.92 each ($67.20)
• 5 qty 2x4x96 Pressure Treated Lumber @ 5.67 each at big box store. ($28.35)
• 1 qty sheet of 3/8 Plywood 15 dollars at the big box store. ($15.00)
So far my Total cost is $110.55 and I have all the fasteners and lumber to frame up the entire project
I am in the Northwest part of the US and prices for wood are considerably higher here.
I went to the big box store website and told it I was in Missouri and my price for the same 2x4 pressure treated lumber was only $3.88 each... so shop around if you have nearby city's. and it does not hurt to ask for a discount at the register.
I took the kids with me and had them help me pick out the straight boards..
we then came home and I made the sub floor portion.
measured drawing if you want is here
Here we are laying out the subfloor and then attaching the plywood sheet to the top of it and then drawing lines so we could sink screws in.
Then we framed the End Walls, (measured drawing is here )
Both ends will have a door to access inside and a smaller chicken sized door built into it that we can close or open as we see fit.
Here is today's progress so far. The floor is done and the end walls are framed.
Tomorrow we plan to frame the side walls and build some of the trusses for the roof. also I need to figure out a cut list for the nesting boxes.
01/02/2014 - Today we framed up one of the two 8' long walls. also my nesting boxes cut list is done
01/03/2014 - Today we framed the last 8' wall and started on the trusses.
01/04/2014 - Today we went to the big box store and purchased all the siding and also the plywood to build the nesting boxes and I had to buy a pound of screws since I ran out of 1" screws and will probably need some for the siding as well.
while we were out and about we stopped at one of those Recycle stores where you can find used building materials, and appliances windows and doors... all kinds of stuff..
we scored a couple of windows they are the dual pane storm windows for 15 dollars and we found some roof vents for 1 dollar each.
$30.00 for windows and $2.00 for Vents
2 more 2x3x96 studs to frame in the windows we scored $3.98
1lb of scews $9.37 (what a ripoff)
10 Rafter Ties (hurricane straps) @ .847 each $8.47
3 4x8 sheets of 15/32 plywood @ 16.87 each $50.61
4 4x8 sheets of 3/8 siding @ 18.24 each $72.96
all that plus the 110.55 I spent last time I went to the store brings my grand total spent so far to $287.94
boy that seems expensive for some chickens but the kids are having fun and you cant put a price on bonding with your kids.
anyhow here is the progress pics of the day.
this is the new window and the extra studs to hold it in place
and here is the clamped up view of the structure with the winodws in.
its not screwed together, we just stood everything up and clamped it together so we could see the progress
01/05/2014 - Today we removed the rafters from the trusses as suggested. we put siding up on one of the 8' long walls. I then rough cut the openings with a jig saw and finally used a router to flush cut the openings.
here is the result.. its looking good
I will probably start building the nesting boxes tonight or tomorrow night after work.
Oh and I have to draw up a tiered roost to fit one of the 4' walls. probably just use the same 2x3 lumber that I built the structure out of.
the kids want to order chickens already...
01/07/2014 - Cut all the various parts for the nesting boxes yesterday and assembled them today. they are just over 4' long and divided into 4 1 foot boxes its hard telling in the photo but the inside picture you can see 3 dividers for a total of four boxes.
here is a concept drawing of my Interior showing the chicken ladders - some walkways and the tiered roost. I am going to put the ladders and the roost on hinges with hooks in the ceiling so we can stow them up for easy cleanout of the entire coop
and a birds eye view - (hens eye view ?)
what I am hoping is they utilize the ladders to gain access to the walkway and then walk to the nesting boxes and or the roost
01/19/2014 - This weekend we found some 13" wheels for 15 dollars each. so we decided its time to add skids and an axle to the coop. we found 2 pressure treated 4x6x8' for 9 dollars each. ( should have been $16 each but I am not complaining ) and bolted them to the underside of the coop - prior to putting them in we drilled a 5/8 hole in each one and bolted a threaded rod to the lumber.
while we were at the big box store picked up two sheets of 7/16 OSB sheating (@ 9.50 each.) for the roof and had them rip it to my needed dimensions.
we also bought a gallon of redwood stain at walmart for under 9 dollars and a gallon of white exterior paint for 12 dollars.
this weekend we spent 88 dollars bringing our grand total so far to $375.94 (man it adds up fast)
in addition to the skids and the axles, we also finished up all the siding and installed the roof sheathing and the vents we found in the recycle store. we also built and installed the gable ends.
It is going to be 8 feet long and 4 feet wide. the 8 nesting boxes will be accessible from either side of the coop they are 1 foot by 1 foot square with dividers. I will add roost's inside and out and will probably have to fully enclose the outside area due to lots of neighbor cats I hear fighting at night.
We are going to start this today and will post pics as we go
01/01/2014 - Today we went to the big box store and purchased all the framing lumber for this project.
I used a program that i found for free on the internet called cutlist... it allowed me to punch in my parts and gave me exactly how many pieces of lumber to buy so I did not waste any money. ( That is the first program i found and used I am sure there are many programs out there that will do the same thing )
To frame up the entire coop with floor, Trusses, Gables and walls you will need the following.
• 4-5 Lbs of framing nails/screws
3" or 2.5" Deck screws 75 to 85 per lb
or you can use nails
10d or 8d nails 75 to 100 per lb
I used 3" Deck Screws because I appropriated a 5 Lbs box of them from another job so they cost me nothing. but for the sake of expensing it out, 5 Lbs would have cost 28 dollars at the big box store.
The equivalent 5 Lbs of Galvanized nails would cost about 14 dollars at the big box store.
• 2lbs of 1-5/8 Screws or 4d nails
• 35 qty 2x3x96 studs @ $1.92 each ($67.20)
• 5 qty 2x4x96 Pressure Treated Lumber @ 5.67 each at big box store. ($28.35)
• 1 qty sheet of 3/8 Plywood 15 dollars at the big box store. ($15.00)
So far my Total cost is $110.55 and I have all the fasteners and lumber to frame up the entire project
I am in the Northwest part of the US and prices for wood are considerably higher here.
I went to the big box store website and told it I was in Missouri and my price for the same 2x4 pressure treated lumber was only $3.88 each... so shop around if you have nearby city's. and it does not hurt to ask for a discount at the register.
I took the kids with me and had them help me pick out the straight boards..
we then came home and I made the sub floor portion.
measured drawing if you want is here
Here we are laying out the subfloor and then attaching the plywood sheet to the top of it and then drawing lines so we could sink screws in.
Then we framed the End Walls, (measured drawing is here )
Both ends will have a door to access inside and a smaller chicken sized door built into it that we can close or open as we see fit.
Here is today's progress so far. The floor is done and the end walls are framed.
Tomorrow we plan to frame the side walls and build some of the trusses for the roof. also I need to figure out a cut list for the nesting boxes.
01/02/2014 - Today we framed up one of the two 8' long walls. also my nesting boxes cut list is done
01/03/2014 - Today we framed the last 8' wall and started on the trusses.
01/04/2014 - Today we went to the big box store and purchased all the siding and also the plywood to build the nesting boxes and I had to buy a pound of screws since I ran out of 1" screws and will probably need some for the siding as well.
while we were out and about we stopped at one of those Recycle stores where you can find used building materials, and appliances windows and doors... all kinds of stuff..
we scored a couple of windows they are the dual pane storm windows for 15 dollars and we found some roof vents for 1 dollar each.
$30.00 for windows and $2.00 for Vents
2 more 2x3x96 studs to frame in the windows we scored $3.98
1lb of scews $9.37 (what a ripoff)
10 Rafter Ties (hurricane straps) @ .847 each $8.47
3 4x8 sheets of 15/32 plywood @ 16.87 each $50.61
4 4x8 sheets of 3/8 siding @ 18.24 each $72.96
all that plus the 110.55 I spent last time I went to the store brings my grand total spent so far to $287.94
boy that seems expensive for some chickens but the kids are having fun and you cant put a price on bonding with your kids.
anyhow here is the progress pics of the day.
this is the new window and the extra studs to hold it in place
and here is the clamped up view of the structure with the winodws in.
its not screwed together, we just stood everything up and clamped it together so we could see the progress
01/05/2014 - Today we removed the rafters from the trusses as suggested. we put siding up on one of the 8' long walls. I then rough cut the openings with a jig saw and finally used a router to flush cut the openings.
here is the result.. its looking good
I will probably start building the nesting boxes tonight or tomorrow night after work.
Oh and I have to draw up a tiered roost to fit one of the 4' walls. probably just use the same 2x3 lumber that I built the structure out of.
the kids want to order chickens already...
01/07/2014 - Cut all the various parts for the nesting boxes yesterday and assembled them today. they are just over 4' long and divided into 4 1 foot boxes its hard telling in the photo but the inside picture you can see 3 dividers for a total of four boxes.
here is a concept drawing of my Interior showing the chicken ladders - some walkways and the tiered roost. I am going to put the ladders and the roost on hinges with hooks in the ceiling so we can stow them up for easy cleanout of the entire coop
and a birds eye view - (hens eye view ?)
what I am hoping is they utilize the ladders to gain access to the walkway and then walk to the nesting boxes and or the roost
01/19/2014 - This weekend we found some 13" wheels for 15 dollars each. so we decided its time to add skids and an axle to the coop. we found 2 pressure treated 4x6x8' for 9 dollars each. ( should have been $16 each but I am not complaining ) and bolted them to the underside of the coop - prior to putting them in we drilled a 5/8 hole in each one and bolted a threaded rod to the lumber.
while we were at the big box store picked up two sheets of 7/16 OSB sheating (@ 9.50 each.) for the roof and had them rip it to my needed dimensions.
we also bought a gallon of redwood stain at walmart for under 9 dollars and a gallon of white exterior paint for 12 dollars.
this weekend we spent 88 dollars bringing our grand total so far to $375.94 (man it adds up fast)
in addition to the skids and the axles, we also finished up all the siding and installed the roof sheathing and the vents we found in the recycle store. we also built and installed the gable ends.
