Our yard is enclosed with a 6' high cinder block wall along the back and 5' high cinder block wall along the side. Our new coop will be going in our back yard which is on the small side. In order to make the best use of the space, we will be making an all in one coop and run in an L shape design. The 8' x 8' coop part will be right off our patio for ease of use for me and the run will continue down the wall and then to the left and run for about 20' along the back wall. This gives us the maximum amount of space as far as we can figure. However, we are certainly not great designers, so we could be way off the mark here.
So we were wondering if it would be ok to incorporate the two block walls (one will be on the right side and the other along the back) into the coop and run design. I feel it would save on building materials and provide very secure area for the girls. However, we have never done anything like this before and don't want to create a problem for ourselves. It would be a shed style roof that starts high at the wall and then angles down into the yard. The walls had 2 x 4s attached to them when we moved in and were holding up panels of 4'x8' lattice. They were falling apart, so we removed them. We could install new supports if we wanted and attach the roof higher than the wall for ventilation purposes. We would cover it will hardware cloth and new lattice so it would look nice to the neighbors. We will also install rain spouting and rain barrels to control the water and snow runoff in front of the run and coop.
The other issue is that the previous owners poured an odd 5' x 5' cement pad in the corner of the two block walls and we have no idea what it was used for. It would be quite handy in the run though to put food and water on. If we don't use the block walls as part of the coop and run, we will have to have that pad removed in order not to lose a lot of space and husband is not keen to do that.
I have no idea if this will work or not or if it is a dumb idea. Below is a rough sketch of what we have to work with. What, if any, problems do you foresee with this design? The walls we will build will be a wood frame set up on cinder blocks covered with hardware cloth from top to bottom. We will also run a row of pavers inside around the perimeter of the run. We want it to have a solid roof with asphalt shingles to match our house. The husband has built a shed style roof before using metal hangers and we have a carpenter person available should he get stuck on joining the two roofs together. This is the last coop I will ever get, so I need to get it right. Thanks. I appreciate any and all advice.
The patio on the left is not a real patio. It is off my daughter's bedroom and she has visions of removing the stationary window that is there now and installing french doors so she can walk out of her room and sit under the pine tree and have her morning coffee. LOL!!!! It isn't something we have to get to on a regular basis. The measurements of the run are adjustable. The coop I want to keep no smaller than 8 x8 as I like to keep around a dozen chickens at one time.
So we were wondering if it would be ok to incorporate the two block walls (one will be on the right side and the other along the back) into the coop and run design. I feel it would save on building materials and provide very secure area for the girls. However, we have never done anything like this before and don't want to create a problem for ourselves. It would be a shed style roof that starts high at the wall and then angles down into the yard. The walls had 2 x 4s attached to them when we moved in and were holding up panels of 4'x8' lattice. They were falling apart, so we removed them. We could install new supports if we wanted and attach the roof higher than the wall for ventilation purposes. We would cover it will hardware cloth and new lattice so it would look nice to the neighbors. We will also install rain spouting and rain barrels to control the water and snow runoff in front of the run and coop.
The other issue is that the previous owners poured an odd 5' x 5' cement pad in the corner of the two block walls and we have no idea what it was used for. It would be quite handy in the run though to put food and water on. If we don't use the block walls as part of the coop and run, we will have to have that pad removed in order not to lose a lot of space and husband is not keen to do that.
I have no idea if this will work or not or if it is a dumb idea. Below is a rough sketch of what we have to work with. What, if any, problems do you foresee with this design? The walls we will build will be a wood frame set up on cinder blocks covered with hardware cloth from top to bottom. We will also run a row of pavers inside around the perimeter of the run. We want it to have a solid roof with asphalt shingles to match our house. The husband has built a shed style roof before using metal hangers and we have a carpenter person available should he get stuck on joining the two roofs together. This is the last coop I will ever get, so I need to get it right. Thanks. I appreciate any and all advice.
The patio on the left is not a real patio. It is off my daughter's bedroom and she has visions of removing the stationary window that is there now and installing french doors so she can walk out of her room and sit under the pine tree and have her morning coffee. LOL!!!! It isn't something we have to get to on a regular basis. The measurements of the run are adjustable. The coop I want to keep no smaller than 8 x8 as I like to keep around a dozen chickens at one time.
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