Well after a couple of years of talking, planning, talking and planning we finally bit the bullet and decided to start building our chook shed. The factors we had to deal with were:
We sourced some good hardwood for the bearers and joists from a salvage yard along with a door for a good price. The wall and roof framing is treated pine seconds. We're also getting Colorbond roofing and two strips of Laserlite to help get light into the coop.
We nestled the chook shed on the edge of our orchard. It is framed on the eastern side by an avenue of Oriental Pears, an established chestnut on the south, and a semi-established maple, Williams pear and golden elm on the western and north-western sides.
The bearers are cemented in. They're made of ironbark.
Then come the joists which are hung between the bearers.
The southern wall frame is erected. There is space at the top for shuttered vents.
The side walls getting knocked together...
...and erected! There will be ventilation along the top of both side walls.
Front wall in place. We had to put tarps on the roof and north-western side as the roofing iron has been delayed and we were expecting gale force wind and rain
The barn doors my husband built using salvaged hardwood.
Sarking goes on...
... and then the weatherboards.
Husband applying waterproof membrane to the floor. (This stuff rocks by the way!) Still no roof.
The northern wall with two pop doors that will go out into their individual runs. The top portion will remain open and be covered with avian mesh (like American 'hardware cloth').
The western side with the pop door going out into the orchard.
The southern wall. Yes, it's starting to look a bit like a Boy Scout hall... dib dib dib dob dob dob
The eastern wall with the glass panel door going into the store room and the barn doors that open from the chicken side of the coop.
Membrane dry. Weather coming. Still no bloomin' roof!
One small section of weatherboards left to put up. It will have to wait until this weekend.
And here it is nestled amongst our garden. We're digging it so far
As of today, we're still waiting for the roof (and it just started hailing
). Thankfully the waterproofing has held up brilliantly. I will post further pics as we get more done.
- Climate: cool/cold wet winters (down to -8c/14f) - we usually get one or two snow falls per year and multiple frosts; warm/hot dry summers (up to 36c/98f). We're at 775m (approx 2500ft) above sea level.
- Weather: In winter the wind/rain/sleet comes mainly from the west to south west. In summer the hottest winds come form the north-north west.
- I wanted at least two separated bays
- A storage room that had enough room for a broody box
- Doors wide enough for wheelbarrows and with an external door with sufficient height to sweep the coop flooring straight out into the barrow.
- It had to be tall enough for my 6'4" husband to stand upright in
- This is the first structure we have ever built so we are total newbies to building!
We sourced some good hardwood for the bearers and joists from a salvage yard along with a door for a good price. The wall and roof framing is treated pine seconds. We're also getting Colorbond roofing and two strips of Laserlite to help get light into the coop.
We nestled the chook shed on the edge of our orchard. It is framed on the eastern side by an avenue of Oriental Pears, an established chestnut on the south, and a semi-established maple, Williams pear and golden elm on the western and north-western sides.
The bearers are cemented in. They're made of ironbark.
Then come the joists which are hung between the bearers.
The southern wall frame is erected. There is space at the top for shuttered vents.
The side walls getting knocked together...
...and erected! There will be ventilation along the top of both side walls.
Front wall in place. We had to put tarps on the roof and north-western side as the roofing iron has been delayed and we were expecting gale force wind and rain
The barn doors my husband built using salvaged hardwood.
Sarking goes on...
... and then the weatherboards.
Husband applying waterproof membrane to the floor. (This stuff rocks by the way!) Still no roof.
The northern wall with two pop doors that will go out into their individual runs. The top portion will remain open and be covered with avian mesh (like American 'hardware cloth').
The western side with the pop door going out into the orchard.
The southern wall. Yes, it's starting to look a bit like a Boy Scout hall... dib dib dib dob dob dob
The eastern wall with the glass panel door going into the store room and the barn doors that open from the chicken side of the coop.
Membrane dry. Weather coming. Still no bloomin' roof!
One small section of weatherboards left to put up. It will have to wait until this weekend.
And here it is nestled amongst our garden. We're digging it so far
As of today, we're still waiting for the roof (and it just started hailing
