Condesation on tin roof

[abhaya]

My coop has a tin roof in the morning I check on the ladies and they have some condesation on the roof of the coop it is well venyed what should I do?

 

[patandchickens]

It is not well ventilated ENOUGH. REally really.

On the one hand, you can prevent (or minimize) condensation by insulating the underside of the roof tin. And in a cold-winter climate I would for sure be suggesting you do this. (In TN, enh, it's not a *bad* idea to do it but probably not essential).

HOwever if you are getting this problem now, when temps are really not that different in vs out of the coop, then it is for sure a VENTILATION problem, and insulating under the roof tin will merely hide that problem from you until it gets even worse and you are posting about what to do about frostbit combs.

Thus, I'd suggest taking this as an educational experience, and going and cutting some more bigger holes

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Raen]

Hey patandchickens, how do you suggest insulating the underside of the tin? We're in the process of building our first coop right now, and we've done the tin roof thing. No chickens yet, but I am thinking we should insulate the bottom of the roof. Just fiberglass insulation? Thanks!

 

[patandchickens]

Rigid foamboard is better, because it won't get moisture-soaked to the degree that fiberglass will (wet fiberglass batts lose a lot of their R value and get very heavy and saggy and awful). If you are in, like, coastal Maine and your need for insulation is only moderate, you can even try just plywood or a couple layers of bubblewrap.

All of the above can either be glued to the underside of the roof tin (use an appropriate glue if doing it on foamboard!!), or nailed/screwed/staplegunned to the underside of the rafters or purlins, or in the case of rigid materials they can be held up by cross battens. Or you can make an actual separate drop ceiling, but in most cases that's way too much work and neither necessary nor desirable.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Raen]

OK, thanks. We're about 20 miles inland (North Berwick, ME) and new to this area (I'm from the South) so I think it's going to feel really cold to me! Apparently the average annual snowfall here is 53", my height exactly. It's going to be a bit of a shock.

We actually have a sheet of foam board we can use, I think I'll just screw it up to the bottoms of the rafters (the tin rests on the tops) and see how that goes. We could take it down in the summer that way to help with airflow.

 

[Omran]

Quote:
you need to take the panels off and install insulation ( they make it especially for pol barns and metal roofs) and then put the metal back on.