Building my first coop! - progress thread

[K0k0shka]

Ventura feed and grain.

Thanks!

 

[aart]

I see you have ventilation in the eves. That is great.

Yes it is, but still, go with bigger(as big as will fit in the space) roof overhangs to protect that ventilation in the winter.

Looking good....nice drawings and illustrations...looking forward to following along!

 

[MPchicks]

I love the insulation. I think I am going to need to do that for the winters here in Utah.

 

[K0k0shka]

Yes it is, but still, go with bigger(as big as will fit in the space) roof overhangs to protect that ventilation in the winter.

Looking good....nice drawings and illustrations...looking forward to following along!

Thanks!
I'm having a hard time getting more overhang with the size materials I'm using... The coop is 5x7, but most lengths are 8 feet, so not much to spare. The wood aside, the roofing panels are 3 feet wide, which means that the roof can be at most 6 feet wide, with two panels alongside each other. So that would be a 6'-wide roof on a 5'-wide coop, or 6 inches of overhang on those sides. Is that too little? Those will be the sides with the long vents, too. At least one will be facing the tall retaining wall, and will be protected, and the other will be on the run side, where half of it will have polycarbonate on the run top extending straight out from the coop year round, so also protected. So it's really just the other half of the long run-facing vent that will have just the 6" overhang above it, and I'm thinking of giving it a top-hinged board that can either close all the way, or open partway or all the way and act as an awning...? I can do the same with the vent on the south-facing wall (the wall with the human door). And the north wall won't have any vents, since it's facing the neighbors whose house will be just about 10 feet from the coop, and I don't want anything to open on their side... (noise, smell, etc.)

 

[aart]

I'm having a hard time getting more overhang with the size materials I'm using... The coop is 5x7, but most lengths are 8 feet, so not much to spare. The wood aside, the roofing panels are 3 feet wide, which means that the roof can be at most 6 feet wide, with two panels alongside each other.

Your 5x7 is not finitely divisible by 4 or 8
All materials can be cut and pieced for less or more.
2x4's are available in 10' lengths for longer rafters without having to 'sister'.

 

[K0k0shka]

Your 5x7 is not finitely divisible by 4 or 8
All materials can be cut and pieced for less or more.
2x4's are available in 10' lengths for longer rafters without having to 'sister'.

2x4’s are easy, I’m talking about the roofing... I don’t want to have to buy a whole new panel just to use a foot from it... And even then, the overhang on the run facing side is limited by the linden tree.
5x7 isn’t perfect, but that’s the size space I have, unfortunately. There’s not enough room for 8 feet in that dimension...

 

[aart]

2x4’s are easy, I’m talking about the roofing... I don’t want to have to buy a whole new panel just to use a foot from it... And even then, the overhang on the run facing side is limited by the linden tree.
5x7 isn’t perfect, but that’s the size space I have, unfortunately. There’s not enough room for 8 feet in that dimension...

Yeah, I get it. Your build space is tight,
but nothing wrong with having some extra plywood around,
if you've some where to store it.

Am just a big overhang fan.
I added over hangs to my coop shed a couple years before chickens came long,
It only needed new shingles but....well, I couldn't resist.
Gratuitous pic.

 

[K0k0shka]

@aart ooh that looks nice! Okay, can you give me some numbers so I can visualize this. What would you say the minimum overhang should be, and then what's the ideal? (I know probably the bigger the better until it touches the ground, haha, but ya know - a reasonable ideal). I'm not sure how overhang is measured, but let's say the length of the roof board from the wall to the tip of the board, along the board itself (so the hypotenuse of the overhang triangle). Given the size of the roofing panels, my overhang would be 6 inches long. Where does that fall on the scale of good to bad?

Also, what are those additional boards called, that run along the edge of the overhang, parallel to the coop walls? I'm sure they have a proper name... If I add that kind of board along the overhang edge, hanging down... 4 inches? 6 inches? Would that make up for not having a big enough overhang? The vents would be behind that hanging board, with 6 inches in-between, so hopefully that would stop rain blowing in, but would allow for air movement...

 

[aart]

Okay, can you give me some numbers so I can visualize this.

IIRC ...I went with 12" over hangs.
I can dig up some drawings tomorrow.

 

[K0k0shka]

IIRC ...I went with 12" over hangs.
I can dig up some drawings tomorrow.

Okay, thanks. And what do you think about 6 inches? Way too little or could be enough? Also, will those boards help it be enough?