Chicken Coop to Green House

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Cardi B

Cardi B

In the Brooder
Mar 27, 2022
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Hi There -
I am wondering if anyone on this forum has ever changed their chicken coop like this - to a green house? If so, how did you do it? Can you please post photos and how you did it?


https://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Poul...pd_rd_i=B07YFLNLDL&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_d_rp_1_t


I bought this chicken coop for my meat birds. We ended up not using it and my layers already have this run in at their coop so that leaves me with an extra structure that I don't want to waste. Any ideas on how to make the structure more solid to withstand heavy snow and winds? Apparently some people have had them collapse if they left the tarp on it if they got a heavy snow.

Any ideas would be helpful.
Thanks
 
Krugerrand said:
Here is what I had in mind that I just wasn't near my PC to draw out:

As that roof weight pushes down (A) some element of that is pushing horizontally (B) and some is pushing vertically (C). (be sure it's straight and level) There is very little to hold back those B forces - just the top of the roof support's ability to not bend. It just doesn't look like it was built to hold weight on top of it. It really needs those purple supports to hold weight.

I'm estimating the roof supports to be just under 7.5'. That's too tall for a cattle panel going length wise. If a panel goes from side to side over the top, you'd be looking at 5 panels. That's some weight just right there. If you cut them for each side, then you'll need something so support them from bending, too.

If you could find a way to hold those B forces, you could bend cattle panel over the top and it would withstand a good bit of weight. But, I'm not sure how to do that. The white lines are the possible ground anchors pulling from going outward? You could perhaps use some steel t-posts .... but I've always had the cattle panel pushing at the base of the post where it's far more secure. (Lots of torque at the top)

I'm no engineer ... so be really careful taking any of my advice. It's offered just as some things to think about. (My straw structure 30 years ago in school did win first prize!)

If you go for it, post pictures so we can see what you did.

View attachment 3157296
Click to expand...
I had one of these collapse under 4 feet of snow and it just buckled and snapped. I had two more just like it and I supported those with iron pipe that I got from Home Depot and put it exactly where the purple is in this diagram, and they did not collapse. I had made it into a greenhouse with heavy duty tarps and it was perfect until I was due to put my supports in and a freak snow storm arrived overnight. It was ruined. The other two survived by having the supports and I had to take off the tarps because they increased the snow load. I didn't enjoy it as a greenhouse.
 
The way I see it, you have 2 problems.
1 there are no horizontal supports holding the top of the side walls together. So weight on the roof will push the side walls apart. As long as the structure is, it will be hard to account for that without adding horizontal supports inside, which would ruin the usability of the green house. Perhaps you could have ground anchors inside holding the sides from pushing outward and still have some shelving between the supports. but, ground anchors are adding a downward force.

The other problem is the roof sections are huge. They will really want to sink in which will hold even more snow and threaten the integrity of your (I'm assuming) plastic cover. What comes to mind would be to attach cattle panel to shrink the space for trapping snow. 1/2" pvc on top of that can keep the plastic off the cattle panel while allowing it to be secured with clips. You still may need some extra framing to keep the cattle panel from bowing too much. I'm not sure how much that extra framing would weigh.

Of course, if you don't mind a pair of vertical supports roof to ground inside, that could help.

Unfortunately I'm on my phone and can't do any quick drawings to explain my thoughts. Hopefully they are helpful.

Be careful.
 
Krugerrand said:
The way I see it, you have 2 problems.
1 there are no horizontal supports holding the top of the side walls together. So weight on the roof will push the side walls apart. As long as the structure is, it will be hard to account for that without adding horizontal supports inside, which would ruin the usability of the green house. Perhaps you could have ground anchors inside holding the sides from pushing outward and still have some shelving between the supports. but, ground anchors are adding a downward force.

The other problem is the roof sections are huge. They will really want to sink in which will hold even more snow and threaten the integrity of your (I'm assuming) plastic cover. What comes to mind would be to attach cattle panel to shrink the space for trapping snow. 1/2" pvc on top of that can keep the plastic off the cattle panel while allowing it to be secured with clips. You still may need some extra framing to keep the cattle panel from bowing too much. I'm not sure how much that extra framing would weigh.

Of course, if you don't mind a pair of vertical supports roof to ground inside, that could help.

Unfortunately I'm on my phone and can't do any quick drawings to explain my thoughts. Hopefully they are helpful.

Be careful.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your thoughtful advice! I didn't think of using cattle panels but that would definitely add strength to it.
 
Here is what I had in mind that I just wasn't near my PC to draw out:

As that roof weight pushes down (A) some element of that is pushing horizontally (B) and some is pushing vertically (C). (be sure it's straight and level) There is very little to hold back those B forces - just the top of the roof support's ability to not bend. It just doesn't look like it was built to hold weight on top of it. It really needs those purple supports to hold weight.

I'm estimating the roof supports to be just under 7.5'. That's too tall for a cattle panel going length wise. If a panel goes from side to side over the top, you'd be looking at 5 panels. That's some weight just right there. If you cut them for each side, then you'll need something so support them from bending, too.

If you could find a way to hold those B forces, you could bend cattle panel over the top and it would withstand a good bit of weight. But, I'm not sure how to do that. The white lines are the possible ground anchors pulling from going outward? You could perhaps use some steel t-posts .... but I've always had the cattle panel pushing at the base of the post where it's far more secure. (Lots of torque at the top)

I'm no engineer ... so be really careful taking any of my advice. It's offered just as some things to think about. (My straw structure 30 years ago in school did win first prize!)

If you go for it, post pictures so we can see what you did.

AmazonRunEdit.jpg
 
Rigid roof panels would help with snow. I think they would last longer and be lighter in weight, too. I suspect the frame will need at least the extra pieces Krugerrand suggested.

Diagonals somewhere front to back will also help, wire or strapping is an option if you brace both back to front and front to back.

You could bury the bottom four feet or so for stability and warm. Or, dig out some and bank that on the outside. It doesn't have to be four feet - that is what I've seen done with permanent greenhouses - even a little will help. You might want to reinforce the bottom of the legs with cement blocks.
 
The plastic for a greenhouse is much lighter than a tarp. You would use a rake or broom to remove the snow.

Kruggerand states there isn't enough structure, and I agree, even with greenhouse plastic.
 
I wouldn't want to be in it in high winds or snow but it'd be perfect for seasonal use (as long as you didn't cover it!) I'd put raised beds on the sides and have all my vertical plants growing in the middle.
 

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