Almost Complete! Building 12x20 coop! Update post # 41

[gardendufus]

So glad I found this thread, as you seem to be doing about the same thing I am. I am 63 YO woman about to build her first coop by herself and after nearly a month of reading books and threads have decided that my small coop (6 X 10) will be built in pole barn style, with a pent (shed) roof and (after some discussion with darkmatter) a sub-ground dirt floor.

Darkmatter suggested lining the edges of the floor with concrete blocks and the walls would set on them. I have been trying to see in my mind what would "secure" the framing to the blocks and seem to have 3 possible solutions.

1. Guy at Home Depot said just to use Liquid Nails to attach frame to blocks (seems kinda flimsy and non-permanent to me, but he said would be a really secure way to do it.
2. Rent a Nail gun and Nail into the blocks (Guy at Home Depot says the blocks would probably Shatter).
3. Just Attach the frames to the Poles and not worry about whether they are "attached" to the cement blocks.

Are You attaching your frames at the bottom somehow? Is the weight of the shed itself enough to drive away worry of the darn thing blowing away? I used to live in Elk City so I KNOW how much wind OK gets!!

Actually will be watching this thread to see how your construction goes as I will be starting mine as soon as this blasted snow we got melts off.

Good luck on your coop!!! Will also be interested in what and how you do your ventilation. Bye now I have to go Google rolled roofing to see what THAT is.

 

[redhotchick]

Quote:
A 6x9 coop is 54 sq ft and with 30 chickens that is 1.8 sq ft per bird. Metal is not good for my area due to the 100 + degree heat in the summer and the teens or lower in the winter. The metal would cook the birds here. I am building my 12x20 coop for about $725 for everything from Lumber to rolled roofing and I am going to bury welded wire around the edges. I haven't ever had a real problem with the wood sides and they do not absorb the heat like metal does. Metal is expensive here right now and I prefer working with wood. I am on a budget and this coop will have 240 sq feet and can accommodate 80 hens at 3 sq ft per bird and 60 at 4 sq ft. I will free range them from about 14 weeks and up. To cut the feed cost down. I will probably have about 40-50 Rsl Hens this year and probably more 10-15 more RSL next year.

Nate

I do hear that a lot about metal.Its not bad though.That is why I have the screen.Look where I live,Fort Worth.Trust me it gets a lot hotter here. Its not hot at all in in my coops because of the ventilation.Since those pics.I have added a rear screen in mine. I am actually switching to a fully open air pens. I am a huge believer in fresh air. Chickens are a lot tougher than we think with the weather. They do need the fresh air though. I made mine from metal because of preditors. My cousin has a wooden coop that a racoon chewed right threw the wall & keeps coming back.I had to move my flock to his house for a short term & I did not loose one bird.He looses them everyday.My coop was in his large pen.He has scince switched.Wood & steel both have pros & cons.My bird only sleep in a coop.They never go in there during the day.I here all the time on BYC,HOW BIG OF A COOP? My 35+ birds all pile up on one side anyway & there is plenty of roost space left.In my opinion,12x20 would be good for 200+ free range birds that were let out during the day.The yard space is a whole other thing.My 35 birds have an acre to scratch on & plenty of trees to hide under.

 

[rsf31tmp]

How old are your hogs? How much do they eat? With just two of them, how is the smell? Ever thought about throwing up some pole barn sheet metal on the hog hut?

 

[OkChickens]

My hogs are about 70 lbs, I'm not not sure about the age. This is my first time raising hogs and we bought 200 lbs of 16% feed and in week the have ate about 35-45lbs. We have been giving them a pumpkin every other day and food scraps. I haven't really thought about putting metal on over the wood. I have Used corrugated roofing but I can use that for something else. They stay warm and are out of the weather. There pen doesn't smell surprisingly but we feed them 3-4 coffee cans of food a day and the eat almost all of it.


I have to visit more family tomorrow so I will try to work on the coop tomorrow afternoon. I will post pictures as it progresses!

Nate

 

[VelvettFog]

I would put it on skids and not sink posts -- since you are renting. On skids you'd be able to pull it onto a trailer and take it with you when you move.

oops.. too late.

 

[OkChickens]

If I were to build a 12x20 coop with a floor on skids it would be $1200+ just for the materials. We have agreed on a 3 year lease with my father in law and he might possibly buy it when we moved. I designed this to use very little lumber and be easy to disassemble. I will reuse this material later down the road if he doesn't want to buy it. I would love to build a full fledged coop but I just can't justify spending twice the money for the same thing. To move a building wider than 10 ft with acquiring a permit and hiring someone to move it. I only have a 16 ft trailer. This way my wife and I can disassemble this coop in a few hours and relocate if I want to use the material again for a coop. Thanks for all the replies so far!

Nate

 

[OkChickens]

The Coop is now starting to take shape! We had a little time this afternoon and we set the rafters and about 1/2 the roof! Today was a pretty successful day!

 

[twentynine]

Hard to see on my iPhone. But I think your OSB sheathing is oriented wrong. The 8' length should be running across the rafters. The 4' width of the osb should be running the length of the rafters. And yes! It make a substantial difference in strength.

 

[NovaAman]

x2 on that. Looks good.

 

[OkChickens]

The Osb is running side to side everywhere except the front side. The roof is 14X20 and I will probably switch it to side to side.

Nate