Chicken Coop stability issues

[turtlebird]

another "siding will firm things up" vote. You will be surprised how it ties everything together. Great looking coop!

 

[TruGritCkn]

I believe the wind does not care who lives in the structure, the wind will still huff and puff and blowwwww......

 

[Toothless Willie]

Do not be fooled into believing siding fixes everything. I was one of the structural engineers who studied and reported on the effects of hurricaines Andrew, Hugo, and Floyd and whose recomendations in part made up the new wind codes for the International Building Codes, (IRC/IBC2001). The first failures normally occured at large openings in the walls. Picture windows, garage doors, and improperly braced walls were almost universally the point of failure in most cases. In a good number of cases it was discovered that in Florida the wall and roof sheathing was attached with nothing more than staples.

However just as many dog houses and other out buildings lay in ruins after these events as did houses. In one case we examined, the roof of a poorly constructed chicken house was driven completely through the bedroom of a nearby house killing four children inside. In high winds it is frequently airborn projectiles which do the most damage.

I do stress that some framing may be lightened for a chicken coop because normally they have a lower exposure rating than a house. That does not mean sheathe it and forget it. In a time with worsening weather patterns due to huge environmental changes, anything you build needs to withstand these more violent forces. Within the pages of this forum are numerous accounts of people who lost coops, runs, and beloved livestock all across the south and midwest during the tornadoes and storms that plagued much of the nation this spring and early summer. We are yet to come to the primary hurricaine season in the gulf and east coast.

My advice is do it once and do it right. It takes very little extra time or materials, and may save you a ton of expense and grief later.

 

[mikecnorthwest]

It's fine. Just finish it up and enjoy.

 

[Ole rooster]

Well ok then, maybe not Katrina or Andrew. But me being in construction for 55 years, I think the coop is going to be fine. I have two ironworking buddy's died building the new baseball field it Atlanta because of a miscalculation by a college educated structural engineer. Of course it took almost 10 years and an act of congress to get the truth. So my point is the rules and books don't always work. And tell me, how many chicken coop roofs have you know to go through a house and kill 4 children?

 

[Toothless Willie]

Quote:
You need more than one?

 

[chemew]

Thanks to everyone for the replies and helpful suggestions. I decided to be safe and added in some angled bracing to the sides of the coop and the movement has almost entirely disappeared. Now ... on to the next step -> sheathing.

Does anyone have suggestions on the type and thickness of the boards that are placed on the coop before the siding is applied? Since the coop is more stable, is it ok to put on 1/4" OSB or does it need to be 1/2" or 3/4"? Or is OSB even required? Would normal plywood be ok?

 

[KDK1]

Quote:
1/2 CDX... you can use OSB but I personally don't like it. Nails tend to pull through it easily.

 

[Ole rooster]

I won't get into one of those p--- matches but I'll say this and that's it. More flying 2X4 and tree limbs have killed in hurricanes and tornados than hen house roofs. I just don't see us limiting the use of these because of one incident. So I fail to see your point of the code issues. But then government likes to get involved so it just may happen.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Quote:
X2
Yup, siding is your gusset so to speak.