Caulk/paint?

[patandchickens]

Backer rod is just a thin foam-type "string/rope" you jam into the crevice to fill excess space. Always use a THIN (not thick) bead of caulk if going over backer rod, it will last better. Backer rod is only when you have a significant gap to fill, of course.

I am not a big fan of caulk in the coop (b/c of being eaten) EXCEPT that I *am* a big fan of using in plywood seams and other joints, and between quarter-round molding (if any) at floor edges, with the caulk being put in AS the joint is being constructed. Then all excess wiped off. So the joint is filled internally and nowhere for mites to live in there.

Pat

 

[frog522]

Quote:
Does priming help adhesion of caulk? The type of caulk I bought "Polyseamseal" from Home Depot says it can be used for caulking for things such as OSB (hopefully plywood in my case too). Is it still better to prime then caulk?

Also...really newbie question: is primer "colored". I haven't bought my primer or paint yet. Does it matter what color the primer is compared to the paint color I'll be using? I plan to paint the inside of my coop white, outside of the coop an olive green with white trim. Can I use the same primer inside the coop as the outside?

 

[chickendude]

go ahead caulk the outside seams. I did it to my coop to keep it water tight then I painted over it. It will look much more completed and don't worry about the chooks eating the caulk. It will be the same color as your paint/stain so they will not even know it is there. If it does start to peel then just keep an eye on the chooks and repair as needed.

 

[frog522]

Quote:
Thanks, Pat.

Are mites common problem with chickens? I have parakeets (the less than $20 kind) and the only thing I've ever used with them are those little chemical smelling "Bird Protector" metal tin that you tie somewhere in the cage. Are mites something I will expect to have to deal with eventually?

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Pretty common, yes. Obviously it depends on how you are keeping your chickens -- if you ever (ever ever!) buy started or grown birds, or if your chickens' run is located such that wild birds sometimes hang around it or if they free-range, mites will come sooner and more often than if you practice extremely strict biosecurity for some reason. But, yeah, they are pretty common, overall. Red roost mites and northern fowl mites (you can google) are the two that are by far commonest, in a hiding-in-crevices sense. (Feather and scaly-leg mites live entirely on the birds)

Personally I think it makes sense to design a coop such that, if and when you DO get into a mite problem, it is pretty easily solved, rather than offering them crevices where they can stuff their eggs (or hide themselves, in the case of roost mites) and make an infestation much harder to get rid of.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Alpha Chick]

Quote:
Primer comes white or tinted. If you are painting light colors the white is great. If you are going to be painting a dark color, get the primer tinted. It will make the final paint a deep color and not take as many coats to get that rich color.

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

Priming first really has nothing to do with the adhesion. I'm quite sure most any quality caulk will stick to raw wood as well as the primer. The main reason you want to prime first is so that you can "point" the walls and caulk the cracks/crevices(woodwork) much easier because they now show up so much better. If you caulked first, then you would be caulking>priming>caulking what you missed the first time>then painting. Some folks would be surprised at the difference in a multi-panel door and casing that has been caulked vs. one that hasn't. Looks like a whole different door when painted.

 

[frog522]

Awesome

I'll let you guys know how it goes!