Anyone Have Metal Siding on Coop?

[Juise]

Ha! Too cute, my daughter does the same

Is that not some type of plastic under the plywood on the ceiling, though, too? Or am I just seeing things?

 

[ll]

Oh! Those are overlapping sheets of styrofoam insulation that are under all the plywood for the roof

 

[Juise]

Ooooh, okay, I can see it now, thanks

 

[fried green eggs]

You can cut pole barn steel with a circular saw pretty easily with a blade for Steel Cutting but Everyone close needs to ware goggles and long sleeves, etc . It will shoot small metal sparks that sting. I think our weather will be nice enough in the next day or so and I will post picks of our Steel Sided Coop and Windows, vents.

 

[Kriston]

We bought one of those metal storage buildings from Lowe's parking lot, insulated it with the sheets of styrofoam insulation and then hung plywood on the walls. It's only a couple of weeks old, but so far so good. Once the plywood walls go up it doesn't feel so much like a metal building which is good. Good luck with yours!

 

[Juise]

fried green eggs, that would be fabulous if you don't mind!

 

[bryan99705]

You have a great starting point but I want to offer some ideas and thoughts.

For mounting windows etc, cut a oversized hole in the metal, using sheet metal screws and fender washers, fasten a piece of plywood to cover the hole from the inside with a bead of caulking to seal it to the metal and simply mount the window in the plywood. This will seal and secure the opening and allow you to fir inward for insulating or inside wall covering. A piece of sill seal or backer rod and some caulking will fill any corrigations or convulusions in the metal wall. Same idea works for man door openings, coverable wire air vents for the summer, outside access laying boxes, run door openings,etc (protects you and the birds from the sharp edges)

Using a skil saw to cut metal works well and it's very fast but it's definately noisy, can use dull wood blade if you run the blade backwards but wear a face shield, wear ear muffs, wear heavy gloves, and wear long sleeves due to metal shards and sparks.

The major problem with a metal building is condensation, chickens put out a LOT of moisture, both breathing and in their poo. This creates a huge problem keeping them warm when it's cold out and they're damp and being dripped on.

You didn't fill in where you're at but if your cold weather is not too bad (above 0), your birds should be fine without insulation, especially if they have a covered sunporch or run to go out on in, in the winter and soak up some sunshine during the day and there are enough to huddle at night, might hang a heatlamp if you're concerned on a real cold night. If you use foamboard, you should cover it, chickens love to peck at it, it doesn't hurt them, it's just fun for them.

Hope this helps and hope you have fun with your project and your birds

 

[Juise]

Thanks! My husband's father just dropped off a sawzall today that he swears will cut right through it, so hopefully that task will get a lot easier, we are yet to try it out.

We're covering the entire interior with plywood, so hopefully we will not have a condensation issue.

We'd decided not to insulate, but you mention above 0. In *general* temps during the winter around here are around 20° F, but it can and does get to be -20°F, and that isn't counting wind, which we often get in ample amounts. Wind chill makes it deadly cold around here. We're less than a mile away from the East "coast" of Lake Michigan, and we get wind and snow like you wouldn't believe. We are not planning on being able to get the chickens out a whole lot during the winter, we're putting in a lot of windows to help get them as much light as possible through those months. This past winter the snow in our back yard came up to my shoulders, and that is out of the drifts.

Soooo... does that mean we really should insulate?

 

[redhotchick]

Hey! I build metal buildings for a living.I can tell you that the easiest way is to use a regular circular saw.At home Depot they sell a metal cutting blade.Buy the Norton 3X blade,as they last longer.WEAR EYE PROTECTION! It will cut right thru it. I have a tool called a Turbo Shear to cut panels,but still use my saw to install windows.A sawzall will cut it,but will mangle the edge.I would use a skill saw.

 

[Dirty Farmer]

X2 on the circular saw with a metal blade, for cutting the siding. It'll give you the best/cleanest cut