brick? concrete block?

[6chickens in St. Charles]

Anybody build a stone or concrete block coop?

I thought I might want a poured concrete base for my future coop, and maybe stone, concrete block or masonry walls with glass bricks for light on all sides.

I am thinking to evade wood, as we endured a mite infestation once and I really like to scrub walls and roosts with soapy water once in a while. I think tile interior might be fun and decorative.

I would like the concrete "basement" to be the foundation of a very sturdy, weather resistant coop. And, I want more light inside.

Any pictures anyone here can share?

 

[TinkleTurkey]

That sounds fancy, I like the glass bricks idea

I wonder if using cinder blocks would be costly? You could paint it and it would be easy to clean

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

Yes, I think I would paint and tile. I hope there's tile that mites won't burrow into.

I just hate that my birdies might be itchy & worried instead of deep-beauty sleeping.

I just googled and a funny coop made from an old woody sided car came up. so, now I'm thinking of mounting a pretty vehicle onto a 2-3 ft high concrete foundation....
lots of light and predator proof! And the windows could roll up or down depending on weather!

I'm sure that could be done in a clean, high quality installment.

 

[patandchickens]

6chickens in St. Charles :

Anybody build a stone or concrete block coop?

It will be quite spendy, you realize.

And I am not sure how well you will be able to completely avoid wood. Reason being, a stone or all-brick (as opposed to brick-clad) or block building is very prone to condensation/humidity problems at certain times of year, mainly late winter and the spring. So unless you are building it with VAST amounts of ventilation e.g. one or more sides that can pretty-much completely open up, you may need to insulate it. And with insulation you obviously get into wood etc (well, I suppose you could use the plastic fake-wood stuff, if you want to spend even more money).

If you are a "hoser" so to speak (or just a very wet scrubber) perhaps rather than an all stone or block coop what you might want to look at is building a regular stud-wall coop but putting your money into making the floor and inside walls all out of something waterproof e.g. the plastic panels they sell for barns and kennels. That plus a good caulking job (and not going *excessively* berzerk with the water

) would pretty well avoid any possibility of rot from whatever aquatic cleaning adventures you wished to have. It would cost more than plywood but WAAAY less than stone or block.

Just a thought anyhow, good luck, have fun,

Pat​

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

Quote:
It will be quite spendy, you realize.

And I am not sure how well you will be able to completely avoid wood. Reason being, a stone or all-brick (as opposed to brick-clad) or block building is very prone to condensation/humidity problems at certain times of year, mainly late winter and the spring. So unless you are building it with VAST amounts of ventilation e.g. one or more sides that can pretty-much completely open up, you may need to insulate it. And with insulation you obviously get into wood etc (well, I suppose you could use the plastic fake-wood stuff, if you want to spend even more money).

If you are a "hoser" so to speak (or just a very wet scrubber) perhaps rather than an all stone or block coop what you might want to look at is building a regular stud-wall coop but putting your money into making the floor and inside walls all out of something waterproof e.g. the plastic panels they sell for barns and kennels. That plus a good caulking job (and not going *excessively* berzerk with the water

) would pretty well avoid any possibility of rot from whatever aquatic cleaning adventures you wished to have. It would cost more than plywood but WAAAY less than stone or block.

Just a thought anyhow, good luck, have fun,

Pat

Ooh, good thoughts. I like the hoop buildings a lot because they let in normal light. But I fear the creative use of raccoon fingers and fangs to destroy my investment, and I've experienced serious storms. SO, your idea of plastic panels may work into my plan, too.

I'm thinking of the WOODS-STYLE design, only lighted with glass bricks instead of windows, and anchored to a concrete foundation instead of on stilts.

And a steel door with decorative windows (in acrylic) whch, in this house, is termed "Timmy-proof" for our youngest son's difficulty with doors... I figure that would work against predators.

 

[patandchickens]

6chickens in St. Charles :

Ooh, good thoughts. I like the hoop buildings a lot because they let in normal light. But I fear the creative use of raccoon fingers and fangs to destroy my investment, and I've experienced serious storms. SO, your idea of plastic panels may work into my plan, too.

Well actually I did not mean the transparent/translucent roofing panels -- I meant the solid opaque ones that are like 1/4" plywood only they are made of solid plastic. They are used in kennels and barns -- try searching on the www.farmtek.com site for examples -- because they are impervious to water and good for hosing-down type environments.

I'm thinking of the WOODS-STYLE design, only lighted with glass bricks instead of windows

Why glass bricks instead of windows??? You need/want something OPENABLE.

a steel door with decorative windows (in acrylic) whch, in this house, is termed "Timmy-proof" for our youngest son's difficulty with doors... I figure that would work against predators.

It will, but so would a normal door and a normal door would leave you more money for other things e.g. a bigger run or roofing part of the run or whatever

Good luck, have fun,

Pat​

 

[saxet]

Quote:
I was thinking along the lines of using vinyl over a wooden wall. Had no idea there was any plastic like you describe?
Excuse my ignorance, but where on farmtec would I look? (under that header?) if I don't know what it's called?

 

[patandchickens]

Huh, it is easier to just leaf thru a catalog than to tackle their website LOL But I finally found it online (never did find my catalog

), this is the general type stuff I was talking about:

http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/prod1;ft1_building_material-ft1_polymax_wall_4;pg106835.html

You would only need the thinnest stuff; it doesn't have to stand up to kicking horses or anything! Mind you I am not recommending this as necessary (honestly I don't think a lot of hosing or wet scrubbing are necessary in the first place, and what is needed can be handled by properly installed/painted plywood) but since you ARE talking about wanting a non-wood moistureproof wall, this is probably your best bet. I am sure there are other suppliers, and you might want to talk to the customer service (or contractor) desk at your local hardware store and Home Depot type places to see what they might be able to get for you. They sell it mainly for farms and kennels AFAIK. I have some of that in my chicken building (b/c it was originally a boarding/breeding kennel, for previous owners of this property) and let me tell you it is nice stuff!

Pat

 

[VelvettFog]

I've been thinking of using shower-surround as my interior sheeting. It's water proof, comes in reasonably priced 4' x 8' sheets. Caulk the seams and be careful when using the power washer --

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

Quote:
Yeah, I agree the washing/scrubbing is not necessary. I just LIKE to do it once in awhile, and remove to the fire pit old roosts that are too poopy to clean anymore, and build a nice new smooth one... it's just relaxing to clean the coop. Occasional detail work where nobody will bother me for awhile.

Everytime I look up "stone shed" I keep seeing pics of darling tiled and "stained glass" (made from colored bottles) installments. Old Russian and Polish looking tile, like an illustration from a Jan Brett book.

The Woods-Style chicken house is an open air design. There's specific mathematics in it's design, though, and I'll need a real mason to get it right, with bricks, stone and concrete in different measurements than wood. I'm thinking for the top venting windows, there used to be glass brick bathroom windows from the 1950's that I'd have to find that have a dialed, screened levelor vent built in. And the front of the open air, will need to be a decorative (moorish?) metal grate instead of wooden framed hardware cloth. I'll be needing to visit flea markets and old falling-down churches to rummage through for the stone and metal, I think.

Chickens really bring out the creative muse, eh?