Choice of light weight mobile coop siding material?

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THLG

THLG

In the Brooder
5 Years
May 31, 2014
16
2
24
NO ONE here, that I have been able to find, seems to be discussing weight concerns, or their choice of material for cladding/siding on such a rig that will see winter? (Sorry “Arkansas”, that’s not really winter, LOL ;)

I live in mid-Michigan. What do y’all think would be my best choice?

Thanks for you input!

I’ve got some great 25-year-old pressure treated fence boards. (1 x 6’s)
So far, I’ve just been ripping them into 1 x 1’s for framing.
Now, I love free, gorgeous, and durable. I was planning to build the whole thing using these boards.
However, building a tractor (run and coop), I am concerned about the weight, and am reluctant to use this dense lumber (beautifully weathered as it may be) as cladding/siding.

The planned coop: 3' x 4'; 18" at the roof-line, and 36" at the peak; with doors and windows, pull out floor, PVC food & water, yada-yada….
See
THLG's coop progress​
.
 
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OK. It's been 8 days now. I'm getting close to answering this for myself.

I like the challenge of free, so I was thinking I need to find someone throwing out old basement wall paneling and foam drop-ceiling tiles.

The idea being, to frame with 1x1s that I rip myself from old pressure treated fence planks (which I have), fill it in with foam blocks cut from the ceiling tiles for insulation, clad with 1/8th to 3/16ths inch wall paneling (inside & out), and cover it with enough paint or deck sealer to keep it water tight.

To bad I'm not likely to find "lock tight" paint (what you seal concrete basements with) on the oops rack.

Oh yeah... and take lots of pics along the way to share. ;o)
 
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I've seen a lot of folks on BYC use corrugated metal or polycarbonate roofing for siding. From what I've read on here, for cold weather, just making sure there is no draft blowing over the roosting chickens should be good down to 0 degrees F for most full-size breeds. No external heat needed, no insulation...just adequate ventilation (preferably above the roosting chickens) to keep humidity levels below the point of frostbite.

Our coop is a Pawhut extra large stationary chinese-made coop/run kit that we jury-rigged into a tractor. Weight was a key consideration (being a tractor) so I threw away the original stupid-heavy wood/asphalt roof panels and replaced with smoke colored polycarbonate. That stuff is light and STRONG. Failing that, I'd just go with some super-thin 5mm plywood for the sides of the coop assuming you were up off the ground at least a couple feet. Lightweight and strong enough to keep critters out that won't be able to easily stretch/reach the elevated coop. If the coop is to be on/near ground-level, I'd certainly want more than 5mm between my girls and sharp teeth.
 
THLG said:
OK. It's been 8 days now. I'm getting close to answering this for myself.

I like the challenge of free, so I was thinking I need to find someone throwing out old basement wall paneling and foam drop-ceiling tiles.

The idea being, to frame with 1x1s that I rip myself from old pressure treated fence planks (which I have), fill it in with foam blocks cut from the ceiling tiles for insulation, clad with 1/8th to 3/16ths inch wall paneling (inside & out), and cover it with enough paint or deck sealer to keep it water tight.

To bad I'm not likely to find "lock tight" paint (what you seal concrete basements with) on the oops rack.

Oh yeah... and take lots of pics along the way to share. ;o)
Click to expand...
Did you try it? I saw a listing for free drop ceiling tiles and had the same idea to use them as insulation in a new coop. Haven't found much on BYC about anyone else's experience. The only other post I found was here mentioning the coop uses the tiles as insulation saying they're fine but not great. So, I'm still wondering whether it's worth the effort, even though the tiles would be free.

Thanks!
 

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