Anyone frame their coop walls in garage first?

[jbher]

Being that I'm in Wisconsin it is still COLD. At this rate we won't be able to build our coop until May. We are expected to get more snow tomorrow too! UGH! I'm designing my coop in sketchup. Therefore, I will have a very good plan set in place and theoretically could build the walls and sections of the coop in our garage to get a head start on the coop. Then I'm thinking once the snow melts and the ground thaws more - we can basically put all those pieces together.

Anyone else do this?? My husband thinks we could be setting ourselves up for problems by doing this.

 

[JaceAgain]

Thats how we are doing it, very smart we are assembling the entire wall including the siding in the garage, and then we'll carry them out to the yard. Just lay it on the level concrete and screw together, much easier than outside. The roof and shingles will go on outside, and so will the nest box/windows and doors.

 

[JackE]

That's what I did. I prebuilt all the framing in the garage, except for the floor and roof. I built the floor/deck on site, dragged the wall sections out there and put it together. I installed the wall sheathing after all the framing was assembled.

 

[jbher]

Thats how we are doing it, very smart

we are assembling the entire wall including the siding in the garage, and then we'll carry them out to the yard. Just lay it on the level concrete and screw together, much easier than outside. The roof and shingles will go on outside, and so will the nest box/windows and doors.

Wow including the siding!! Won't that be super heavy!?

That's what I did. I prebuilt all the framing in the garage, except for the floor and roof. I built the floor/deck on site, dragged the wall sections out there and put it together. I installed the wall sheathing after all the framing was assembled.

That's what I am thinking too. That we will do the framing for the walls and nest boxes inside the garage. Then do the base and deck outside, and some how carry the wall sections outside. So you never had any issues with it being out of level or any weird problems once you installed? Did you carry your sections out by hand with help?

 

[JackE]

Wow including the siding!! Won't that be super heavy!?


That's what I am thinking too. That we will do the framing for the walls and nest boxes inside the garage. Then do the base and deck outside, and some how carry the wall sections outside. So you never had any issues with it being out of level or any weird problems once you installed? Did you carry your sections out by hand with help?

If you build the deck level, and build your wall frames the same, it will all line up, and be level. My coop is 8X16'. It's just over 9' at the highest point over the monitor section. The side walls were built in two sections. If you look my avatar, you see a small front section, with a large rear section. Those two sections were joined at the build site. My daughter and I carried out all the sections down to the site with no problem. The only tricky part, and it wasn't really not that big a deal, was to pick up and install the upper monitor section. That was what tied together the two walls at the middle. The walls kinda wanted to wiggle around until the monitor section was installed and tied them together. The coop went together easily, to me.

 

[ShawnRich]

Sounds great to me. In the garage, you are building out of the weather and near all of your tools. As JackE says, ensure your foundation is packed and level and your parts should go together just fine. Plan ahead when designing ie, overhang one side panel the width of the adjoinig wall so that when you assemble, the side panel holds the walls tight and square. Houses are built in factories and assembled on site now so this system works well. You can screw it together in the garage (1 or 2 screws) to ensure it all fits as you expect and then just unscrew and reassemble in place.


I am doing the same thing as you, albeit, I am trying to learn Sketchup right now, and then drawing my coop. Then will build in the garage and assemble on site, exactly what you describe. Sketch Up looks like a powerful program for us hobbyists, especially that it is free!

Would you post some of your sketch up photos? We might be able to make suggestions that will make the assembly go smoother....?

Good luck

 

[jbher]

Sounds great to me. In the garage, you are building out of the weather and near all of your tools. As JackE says, ensure your foundation is packed and level and your parts should go together just fine. Plan ahead when designing ie, overhang one side panel the width of the adjoinig wall so that when you assemble, the side panel holds the walls tight and square. Houses are built in factories and assembled on site now so this system works well. You can screw it together in the garage (1 or 2 screws) to ensure it all fits as you expect and then just unscrew and reassemble in place.


I am doing the same thing as you, albeit, I am trying to learn Sketchup right now, and then drawing my coop. Then will build in the garage and assemble on site, exactly what you describe. Sketch Up looks like a powerful program for us hobbyists, especially that it is free!

Would you post some of your sketch up photos? We might be able to make suggestions that will make the assembly go smoother....?

Good luck

I have really enjoyed learning and using Sketchup!! I really believe it will help our build out and avoid too many delays. Here's pics of my coop from the "design perspective'... and also some pics of me starting the build out. I still have to finish the build out part...

 

[JackE]

That Sketchup is pretty cool. I didn't have any of that. I just got my design out of a book, drew down a bunch of measurements, and started cutting wood. Your deck drawings show the framing method I used with my coop.

 

[thomasboyle]

Pre-building walls is a great way to go. That's how most houses are built today. Get an air powered framing nail gun and you can have a wall assembled in a few minutes. Just remember to measure twice, and cut once, and keep everything square by measuring the distance from corner to opposite corner (bottom left to top right and top left to bottom right). When those two numbers match, you are square. Assembly goes quickly once all the walls are built, and yo go from nothing to coop in a very short amount of time!

 

[ShawnRich]

I am not an expert but I see in your Coop Decking photo, you are laying the plywood across the flooring, which will tie it together well. You might want to consider tongue and groove flooring plywood then and lock in the 1' piece. Personally, I would go the other way and the joint between sheets of plywood will/should end up on a joist, thereby preventing sag. With the one foot piece, you will find it will be soft there at the joint unless it is a glued T&G joint or supported underneath.

Just a thought.....looks great. You are further along with Sketchup than me.

Now, if there was only a program to convince my wife that we need chickens....;-)

Cheers,