Rustic Pallet Coop Addition
Late August 2010. As winter approaches, the girls are going to need more room in bad weather. I've decided to add on to my inherited coop, which came with the property. It's old and ugly, but has served the girls ok so far. I'm no carpenter, but am not letting that stop me from creating more indoor chicken real estate for when it gets nasty out. This will be a low-cost/recycled build. So far, all I have accomplished is cutting down a tree that was, in fact, much larger than it looked
. (Just a reminder that cutting down trees is dangerous. If you've never done it before, get help. I could have been really hurt, but got lucky). Anyway, you can still see the stump, and my chainsaw blade needs to be sharpened.
The addition will be taller than the original, to allow me to stand up inside. The two coops will butt up against each other, and be connected by a low 'doorway' that can be closed if necessary. For supplies, I've got some old windows, wooden pallets, 4x4 posts,4 sheets of 4x8 OSB, and a friend is giving me her old fence that is in good shape. Should make for a very interesting and 'rustic' structure.
It's been very slow going, but some progress has been made. The floor was finally finished yesterday---YEA!!! Gotta start somewhere, right? If I half knew what I was doing, it might not take so long, but I'm making up and learning techniques as I go, with occasional help from my wonderful dad.November 6, 2010.
Working with the pallets was not as easy as I had imagined, but now that I am more farmiliar with them, it might go faster. Still, I have to wonder if traditional construction might not be easier (if more expensive). My build will ultimately be a hybrid of both pallets and typical 2x4 framing. I highly recommend that if you do use pallets, try to get ones that are square, and all the same size; it reduces the need to cut them to fit, which takes a lot more time and effort. And this late in the season, I need to get done pretty quickly. Anyway, here is what I've accomplished this weekend.
1. Floor joists in place. Had to add an extra one to accomodate an errant osb edge.
2. Milestone: The floor is finally done!
3. 'Technique' for joining pallets.
4. Bottom row of pallets are finally in.
5. Framing for back wall and door are in
6. Oops. Framed right across the doorway joining the two coops!
OUCH! This is what I get for working alone.
Yup. That's it so far.Sorry.
Late August 2010. As winter approaches, the girls are going to need more room in bad weather. I've decided to add on to my inherited coop, which came with the property. It's old and ugly, but has served the girls ok so far. I'm no carpenter, but am not letting that stop me from creating more indoor chicken real estate for when it gets nasty out. This will be a low-cost/recycled build. So far, all I have accomplished is cutting down a tree that was, in fact, much larger than it looked
The addition will be taller than the original, to allow me to stand up inside. The two coops will butt up against each other, and be connected by a low 'doorway' that can be closed if necessary. For supplies, I've got some old windows, wooden pallets, 4x4 posts,4 sheets of 4x8 OSB, and a friend is giving me her old fence that is in good shape. Should make for a very interesting and 'rustic' structure.
It's been very slow going, but some progress has been made. The floor was finally finished yesterday---YEA!!! Gotta start somewhere, right? If I half knew what I was doing, it might not take so long, but I'm making up and learning techniques as I go, with occasional help from my wonderful dad.November 6, 2010.
Working with the pallets was not as easy as I had imagined, but now that I am more farmiliar with them, it might go faster. Still, I have to wonder if traditional construction might not be easier (if more expensive). My build will ultimately be a hybrid of both pallets and typical 2x4 framing. I highly recommend that if you do use pallets, try to get ones that are square, and all the same size; it reduces the need to cut them to fit, which takes a lot more time and effort. And this late in the season, I need to get done pretty quickly. Anyway, here is what I've accomplished this weekend.
1. Floor joists in place. Had to add an extra one to accomodate an errant osb edge.
2. Milestone: The floor is finally done!
3. 'Technique' for joining pallets.
4. Bottom row of pallets are finally in.
5. Framing for back wall and door are in
6. Oops. Framed right across the doorway joining the two coops!
OUCH! This is what I get for working alone.
Yup. That's it so far.Sorry.
