Chickens by Easter .... Maybe

[45lk9p459gm-w]

The decision has been made to try and have chickens by Easter, or shortly after, so I will have to get busy. The plan is to turn this shed into a coop/storage area. The shed is 12’ x 16’ and will be split across the waist to make two 8’ x 12’ areas. One for the birds and one for storage of chicken, rabbit, and garden supplies and tools. Inside roof heights are 10’ in front and slopes to 8’ in the rear.

I have already borrowed a couple of ideas from "aarts" coop page and will gladly listen to any other advice that may be offered during this process. Might start a coop page too.

Tomorrow I start cleaning out what little junk is in there and inspect it for any damage that siding might be hiding.

 

[Callender Girl]

Best wishes on your ambitious undertaking! Hope to read that you have your chickens by Easter.

 

[3KillerBs]

Wishing you the best for your project.

Remember to add PLENTY of ventilation. In fact, for Texas you might want to remove all the siding on one wall and replace it with wire.

Have you seen this thread? https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/texas-coop-build-pic-heavy.1371038/#post-22557467

 

[aart]

Tomorrow I start cleaning out what little junk is in there and inspect it for any damage that siding might be hiding.

Can't wait to see the inside, get some good pic of the roof and floor too.

 

[45lk9p459gm-w]

Can't wait to see the inside, get some good pic of the roof and floor too.

I will have images of inside roof and floor tomorrow. Got it more or less cleaned out today and found that it is in great shape for 20+ years old. Has a couple of minor leaks in the roof along with one that has caused some slight floor damage. Won't take much to correct those issues.

While I have your attention though .... The floor is 5/8" tongue and groove plywood that is really dirty (ground in dirt, oil stains) and probably can't be cleaned well enough to paint. Question is ... should I just leave the floor as is or maybe cover the coop side with 1/2" OSB and paint to seal it? Not sure just how rough chicken claws are on wood floors.

 

[3KillerBs]

The name escapes me at the moment, but there is a heavy sealer product a lot of people use on their coop floors. Black ?????

It might be possible to use such a thing. If someone posts what it actually is since I can't remember you could read the specs on the manufacturer's website.

 

[aart]

I will have images of inside roof and floor tomorrow. Got it more or less cleaned out today and found that it is in great shape for 20+ years old. Has a couple of minor leaks in the roof along with one that has caused some slight floor damage. Won't take much to correct those issues.

While I have your attention though .... The floor is 5/8" tongue and groove plywood that is really dirty (ground in dirt, oil stains) and probably can't be cleaned well enough to paint. Question is ... should I just leave the floor as is or maybe cover the coop side with 1/2" OSB and paint to seal it? Not sure just how rough chicken claws are on wood floors.

Not sure I'd use OSB, that stuff might absorb moisture from underneath, or above from spills, and start to deteriorate.
1/2" plywood would be better, then you can paint or use BlackJack 57.
Is the floor good an solid where the leaks hit?
Can you see underneath floor much to check framing there?
Will you re-roof....or.....?

 

[3KillerBs]

or use BlackJack 57

That's the name I couldn't remember!

 

[45lk9p459gm-w]

Not sure I'd use OSB, that stuff might absorb moisture from underneath, or above from spills, and start to deteriorate.
1/2" plywood would be better, then you can paint or use BlackJack 57.
Is the floor good an solid where the leaks hit?
Can you see underneath floor much to check framing there?
Will you re-roof....or.....?

I will think on the plywood ... that stuff has gotten really expensive lately.

The floor is solid and only one place has any real deterioration. That one place sounds solid when hit with a hammer so it should be good. The leaks are where the washers on the screws are starting to fail and letting some water seep down the screw shaft. Two or three purling (?) strips will have to be replaced where they have rotted around the screws though. I will replace all the screws in the roof at some point and that should take care of the leaks.

Floor joist look good from what I can see and I didn't find any signs of termites or other critter damage. Just wasp nests everywhere ... sure glad its winter.

I see no reason to replace the whole roof so I will see if replacing all the screws will do the job.

 

[rosemarythyme]

While I have your attention though .... The floor is 5/8" tongue and groove plywood that is really dirty (ground in dirt, oil stains) and probably can't be cleaned well enough to paint. Question is ... should I just leave the floor as is or maybe cover the coop side with 1/2" OSB and paint to seal it? Not sure just how rough chicken claws are on wood floors.

It's not that their claws are rough on wood, it's the moisture from the poop seeping into the floor that's the issue.

BlackJack 57 is a popular product on here but needs to be applied to clean, unpainted wood. I don't know if it would work on OSB.