A few weeks ago we made some major upgrades to our run! Here is a picture of what we started with...
We built the new run from mostly 2x4 and 2x6. The run measures 18ftx 12ft x 8ft(h)
We started by building the walls of the run first. This made it easier to assemble.
All joints were pocket hole drilled for extra strength. We opted for 19 gauge black pvc coated hardware cloth for better visibility into the run. ( this was sold out everywhere, but I finally found it on Carolina Coops website! It was delivered and took about 2 weeks to arrive.) We ordered the metal roof from Lowe’s. The great thing about Lowes is- they cut the roof to your specific dimensions. Since this was our first time working with metal roofing, we didn’t take into account the overlap of each panel so we were slightly short on material. We were able to order another panel which solved our problem, but if you opt for metal roofing, make sure to over estimate the dimensions to account for overlap and overhang.
We were able to use all the extra scrapes of 2x4 to close the gaps between each truss. This saved us time from having to put hardware cloth near the roof.
the girls really enjoy the decor inside their coop. We also added a 18x 24 inch window in the coop for better airflow in the summer months.
If you have any questions for suggestions, I would love to hear your feedback!
Update: cost came to around $1500 for the run upgrade.
We built the new run from mostly 2x4 and 2x6. The run measures 18ftx 12ft x 8ft(h)
We started by building the walls of the run first. This made it easier to assemble.
All joints were pocket hole drilled for extra strength. We opted for 19 gauge black pvc coated hardware cloth for better visibility into the run. ( this was sold out everywhere, but I finally found it on Carolina Coops website! It was delivered and took about 2 weeks to arrive.) We ordered the metal roof from Lowe’s. The great thing about Lowes is- they cut the roof to your specific dimensions. Since this was our first time working with metal roofing, we didn’t take into account the overlap of each panel so we were slightly short on material. We were able to order another panel which solved our problem, but if you opt for metal roofing, make sure to over estimate the dimensions to account for overlap and overhang.
We were able to use all the extra scrapes of 2x4 to close the gaps between each truss. This saved us time from having to put hardware cloth near the roof.
the girls really enjoy the decor inside their coop. We also added a 18x 24 inch window in the coop for better airflow in the summer months.
If you have any questions for suggestions, I would love to hear your feedback!
Update: cost came to around $1500 for the run upgrade.