Blown away in Virginia

[PattyO]

I got some 6 mil plastic sheeting to cover my Cube and run extension to keep things warm and dry. 10 feet wide by 25 feet long. Cut the plastic in half and have both pieces draped over run and coop. Tried to use rocks, logs etc. to weight it down on the bottom needless to say the wind wrecked havoc on it. What are some ways to attach the plastic to the run??

 

[Wendy'sChicksRock]

maybe zip ties?

 

[Tdub4chiks]

If your run is made from wood, you can use Firring strips & either screw or nail to the run. If not wood, you can use some cheap chicken wire to hold the plastic in place using zip ties. I hear that works too.

 

[PattyO]

It is not wood so I would lay the chicken wire over the plastic punch holes and secure with zip ties?

 

[oldchickenlady]

I have a pvc hoop run with a tarp over the top. I used some plastic sheeting a painter left here to extend the covering over the run down to the ground on 2 sides. I untied the wires I used to attach the tarp and slid the top edge of the plastic under the tarp, then retied the wires going through the plastic. Then I used big head roofing type nails to tack down the bottom edge to the bottom of the 2x4 frame. After that I used hay strings tied together to go over the plastic from the front of the run to the back and tied them to the wire. Actually, without a picture of your set up, it is hard to say what would be the best way to attach the plastic. You can do a lot of things with duct tape, bungee cords, hay string, etc, etc, but need to know what your set up consists of to be able to advise. We had some fairly strong winds last night and all my plastic is still in place...yaay!

 

[Tdub4chiks]

Quote:
Yep, I believe that would hold it in place. Chicken wire shouldn't cost too much.

 

[Intheswamp]

If you need to fasten the plastic to the fencing envision placing a marble under the plastic where you want to tie...then wrap the plastic around the marble and tie it off, basically trapping the marble within the plastic. The plastic covered ball will give you something to tie to rather than simply punching a hole (which will rip out) in the plastic and running a cord through it. Rocks or small pieces of wood could be substituted for the marble...or basically anything that you could tie a cord around....the smoother, the better.

Best wishes,
Ed

 

[PattyO]

Thanks so much for the info!

 

[chiks_rule]

@Oldchickenlady,

Do you have pics of what your talking about? I have a hoop house that was torn apart by these Virginia winds. My pvc pipes go into rebar that's deep into the ground...came right up this time.

 

[mdbokc]

Slightly off topic but I use the wide Gorilla tape to give me a secure edge on tape and reburbished plastic tarps. By refurbished tarps, I am referring to one that has worn some, maybe torn out a bit. I cut the damaged end off creating a new edge. I place the newly cut edge halfway onto the tap and fold the remaining half of the wide Gorilla tape over. The Gorilla tape forms a new edge providing the strength on both sides of the tarp. I can repair a weakened part of the tarp with Gorilla tape and it is fine.

I can continue to use tarps that I would otherwise throw away. I use them to provide winter wind breaks along the runs, 18" - 24" high. The girls use them all the time when the cold winds blow in and they do not want to be in the wind. They could go into their spacious coop but nooo, that would be too easy.

When I run a section of tarp along the chicken wire, I use small cord to contain the trap against the fence and prevent damage from flapping in the wind. I just "wrap" it against the fence with the cords spaced about 12" - 18" apart.