Advice needed on coop out of sandbox/playhouse

[ChixMama]

Since may daughter no longer uses all of her swingset/playhouse we're planning on building the coop out of the sandbox area & having the run between it and the garden. I've been reading like crazy & trying to come up with a design, but I'm very open to suggestions. The picture below is what the area looks like. I've got the gravel dug up in order to move the whole thing down about 3 feet to make a bigger run. The sandbox area is 57"x 57" and 47" height. We'll have a flat roof since it's under the playhouse portion (wish my daughter was ready to give that part up!) and plan on having the nestbox protrude on the outside to make it roomier inside.
Any advice and/or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[teach1rusl]

Well...it would certainly give you incentive to keep the coop clean! I was trying to figure out where your nest boxes would extend from...the area where the hand swing thing is??? So is the garden over where the little white fence is? And that's where the run would extend out to? I'm not sure what you'd have to do to the roof of the coop/floor of the playhouse. I'm guessing it's plank boards rather than a solid board there? If so, you'd have to address that of course, else you'd have water dripping down inside the coop. And where would you place an access door big enough to get in there to clean? If the ladder just leans where it is, and is removable, then it could go on that side. But if you have to use tools to remove it, then that would be very inconvenient.
The main posts are already there, so that's a plus... Very interesting idea...

 

[ChixMama]

I'm thinking the nestbox could extend under the ladder side so the eggs would be easy to get to.
The side next to the swing set could have some sort of window (with shutters) for light/ventilation.
The area under the slide could have some sort of larged hinged area to open up to the roost/poop bar for daily cleaning.
The side next to the garden will have their door (garden has white lattice/geen chicken wire to keep bunnies out). Maybe this side will need to be hinged as well for cleaning purposes.
The run will be at least 7' wide x 10' long (maybe longer back to the fence once we measure & keep it 25' from the neighbor's house).

Yes, the playhouse floor (coop ceiling) is currently plankboards so we'll have to create a waterproof roof without using too much of a pitch so we don't lose any more area than we have to....that's where my brain kind of goes..hmmmmmmm.

My husband is pretty handy & we have a lot of old fence wood that he uses to make cooler boxes and birdhouses, so we'll probably use that to create a rustic, Texas-themed coop. I just want to make sure we cover all the bases before we begin.

Thanks!

 

[clarkestep]

Wow, if you daughter doesn't use the swing part, that would make for a perfect triangle shaped run area. All you would need would be a few more posts to support the wire. For the roof you may be able to get a linoleum scrap, nail it down around the edges and then put a pretty face board around it to make it look nice and cover the edges. It would help keep probably most/all the rain out. If you do it, do it when it is cold outside so the linoleum has shrunk before you nail down. If you do it when it is hot outside, it will stretch and then when it gets cold it will shrink and then rip at the nails.

 

[willheveland]

Quote:
Take the swing part off, shorten the legs on the fort to about 2-3ft tall, enclose the top and wrap the bottom in chickenwire. Run a chicken ladder up through the bottom. Your eggs and cleaning can be done at chest level. good luck Will
ps-that looks like a fun project.

 

[ChixMama]

She still uses the swings so no dice there...but I'm really hoping she gives me the ok on the playhouse/slide part since she really doesn't use that part much anymore. Clarkestep, I like the linoleum idea...just picked up a sample from Home Depot thinking about the floor (and maybe the walls since it's pretty cheap...hose it down). Will, in a couple more years she'll probably let me do that, but for now I can only dream. Thanks!