As my mother said, a tornado could take out the house, but the coop would still be standing. We made the coop almost exactly to spec with a few minor modifications:
We placed the door on the side so we could add a run and keep cleaning a bit easier.
We couldn’t find a window that small for a cheap price so we went bigger.
We widened the access door to almost full width for easier maneuvering.
We added two overlapping trays for easier clean out.
We built it in pieces since we had to transport it in the back of a truck from my dad’s shop to our house.
We insulated the roof to keep it cooler in the summer (which partially helps).
All dimensions, other than the window and the door, are the same as the original design.
Absolutely love this coop and it was the perfect size for my 4 girls. I've looked at what seems to be hundreds of different photos and designs, I went with this one!
I've been collecting lots of skids over several weeks to save myself some money. Times like this I believe we could all save a little money here and there, this definitely being one of them. I did however go to home Depot and bought 14 pieces of 2x3x8 since they were a Buck cheaper then 2x4s. Didn't think it would be an issue.
With buying the 2x3s I didn't want the 2x4s from the skids I had collected to throw things off so as I built the first 3 walls using 2x4s I used a table saw to cut them down to the same as a 2x3. Worked perfect even though it was a little extra work. I used the 2x3s for the 4' cuts on the top and bottom plates of the walls as the 2x4s from the skids were too short. The forth wall, roof support and roof itself I built using the remaining 2x3s.. this part went fast! I did a few of my own modifications on the roof as I didn't have enough wood, I measured everything and added up the numbers with the wood I had left and made it work! Ive been working about 4 hours a day for the past 3 days tinkering on this and this is what I've done so far. ( also entertained 4 kids while building ) They all get to take turns helping build as well. ?