Anyone frame their coop walls in garage first?

[biga]

3/4" decking is good for 24" on center joist spacing for residential housing. it's what you'll find in most tract home subdivisions these days. while i wouldn't want my house on 24" spacing it's MORE than fine for a chicken coop. i built my coop on 24" centers with 1/2" decking. is it a soft floor? yep. do i care? nope.. i'm only in there once every few days. your roof decking is going to be 1/2" or LESS and it's more than suitable to shingle and occasionally walk on. if you ask me, you're just wasting money buying 3/4 and using 16" centers.

 

[jbher]

Ripping a 3 inch piece off of a sheet of 4x8 plywood and ending up with a sheet that is 45 x 96 inches would also be 30 square feet. One piece of plywood and run the joists the 45 inch way. The 8 foot length would give a lot more room for roosting birds. Just food for thought.

45"x96"=4320 square inches divided by 144=30 square feet

I can't imagine having a coop that is that narrow. I want to be able to walk in it and move around haha.

 

[jbher]

3/4" decking is good for 24" on center joist spacing for residential housing. it's what you'll find in most tract home subdivisions these days. while i wouldn't want my house on 24" spacing it's MORE than fine for a chicken coop. i built my coop on 24" centers with 1/2" decking. is it a soft floor? yep. do i care? nope.. i'm only in there once every few days. your roof decking is going to be 1/2" or LESS and it's more than suitable to shingle and occasionally walk on. if you ask me, you're just wasting money buying 3/4 and using 16" centers.

Okay I will try spacing my joists maybe at 18" or 20" OC to see if I can get the plywood to line up better at different widths. We are getting nearly all of our lumber for free so since I can get the 3/4" plywood I'll definitely go with that.

 

[biga]

Okay I will try spacing my joists maybe at 18" or 20" OC to see if I can get the plywood to line up better at different widths. We are getting nearly all of our lumber for free so since I can get the 3/4" plywood I'll definitely go with that.

the main reason for on center spacing is for larger construction where you need 8' sheets to have the seams hit on the joist without doing additional cutting to fit. there are several OC spacings, 8", 12", 16", 19.2", 24".... yep, even 19.2"... 96"/5=19.2". (i do engineered flooring design)

 

[jbher]

the main reason for on center spacing is for larger construction where you need 8' sheets to have the seams hit on the joist without doing additional cutting to fit. there are several OC spacings, 8", 12", 16", 19.2", 24".... yep, even 19.2"... 96"/5=19.2". (i do engineered flooring design)

Ah ha! I see!! My OCD brain tells me to do even numbers haha - hence the 16, 18 or 20" that I was going to try So how can I calculate to try and figure out what spacing I should do on a 6' span to be able to cover it with plywood. WITHOUT having to cut my plywood at horrible widths like 3' 5 9/16" or something

 

[biga]

Ah ha! I see!! My OCD brain tells me to do even numbers haha - hence the 16, 18 or 20" that I was going to try So how can I calculate to try and figure out what spacing I should do on a 6' span to be able to cover it with plywood. WITHOUT having to cut my plywood at horrible widths like 3' 5 9/16" or something

i see what you're saying... but what i'm saying is, it doesn't matter. do 18", or 20"... you just want the seams of your plywood joint to fall in the middle of a joist. if i were you i would do 24" centers and be done with it. 72" / 24" spacing = 3... that's some even numbers!

 

[jbher]

You could just put the joists on 24" centers. That's what I did with my coop. I used 2X8s for the joists, and went over that with 3/4" plywood. It's a chicken coop, not the TajMahal. That's plenty for a coop floor.

This is a little off topic but I'm wondering - could you explain how you framed in those top two windows of yours? I have old window sashes I purchased for my coop and I am having a helluva time figuring out how to frame them. They will be top hinged and I want them to look just like yours - flush against the siding. HELP!!

 

[ShawnRich]

So you have window and need a frame for it to install it? If I understand correctly. If so,here is the general idea. You want to create a "rough opening" in your wall when you frame the wall that allows for the window (with frame you build around it.....think a box around the perimeter) and a 1/4-1/2" gap. Then, when wall is standing and in place (all walls up and roof on), you put the window "box" into the rough opening you built, shim it level, fasten it with screw or finishing nails from inside of the box you built and into the wall. Hard to explain but easy to do. Probably a google search would help. Here is a pic showing how to build the "box" or frame to accomodate a window "sash"? and you install hinges at the top if you want to have it swing open......hope it helps and I understood your question correctly. The joints of your frame do not need to be fancy, just butt joints, glue and screw but predrill holes for the screws, due to the distance from the end of the board. Make sure it is square and dry fit before gluing to ensure it all is good. Fun project. I have done many.

 

[JackE]

This is a little off topic but I'm wondering - could you explain how you framed in those top two windows of yours? I have old window sashes I purchased for my coop and I am having a helluva time figuring out how to frame them. They will be top hinged and I want them to look just like yours - flush against the siding. HELP!!

On my coop, that whole upper assembly is one piece, prebuilt with 2X4s in my garage. Now as far as the window frame goes, more or less, Shawn describes the basics. You have your 2X4 frame, after it's built, you have to put some window stops in it, so the window doesn't just flop around when closed. I used 3/4" pine. Made the stops 1 1/2" wide, and nailed them around the inside of the window frame, so when the windows is shut, they rest right up against the stop.
In my coop, to go with the upper windows, I framed up, again using 3/4" pine, two hardware cloth screen windows. They are installed on the inside, also hinged from the top, they open in. They keep out wild birds, and are strong enough to keep out 4-legged preds too.

 

[chiknhurder]

I can't imagine having a coop that is that narrow. I want to be able to walk in it and move around haha.

Four feet wide is narrow? That's ok. Just trying to simplify it for you.