Converting Aluminum Shed

[maenfayne]

We bought. 6' x 8' x 8' shed with sliding doors. The floor has been framed in with metal covering the wood joists and plywood as a floor. We have since added peel n stick vinyl to protect the floor from moisture. We also added insulation to the roof to prevent condensation from building up and dripping. My next project is the ventilation. Right now it's completely enclosed except the doors but those will need to be shut at night due to tons of predators.

I'm curious how much ventilation we need to cut out. Would simply cutting out the "eaves" (the triangle area up top) and adding hardware cloth be enough or do I need to cut out larger windows and of course cover with hardware cloth?

It gets pretty windy up here so I'm worried about getting too much air flow if I do windows. The coop is located in a fairly shaded area from the trees so I don't think it'll be too hot in the summer. Winters lows get to about 19* F and summer are normally mid 80's sometimes low 90's.

 

[cavemanrich]

The triangle on top is actually referred to as gable ends. Those on your shed are quite small. Removing those, would also weaken the structure somewhat. (I did have a metal shed similar to what you have, so I'm not shooting from the hip)
The eves are the area where the flat part of the roof, meets the wall. Ideally it would be good to have that total area vented, such as when building a wooden shed. The eves which are about 4 inches X total length of wall work well. In such construction the eves are also constructed to provide a significant overhang. 8 inches or so is good.
In your case there is very little overhang on your eves. So here is my thought and solution.
Install this type of LOUVERED VENTS.

The louvers will keep out rain, while providing ventilation.
Install them at the top. I personally would install 3 on each side, of about 12 inch x 12 inch size. This would give you about 6 square feet of ventilation. Probably enough to handle up to about 10 chickens. There will be differing opinions on how much ventilation is needed. I'm just giving a general guideline, and you can determine if it is enough or not yourself. There are some peeps that install power vent systems. That is a totally different level, as well as requirements.

On the interior, place your roosts about half way between floor and ceiling. One thing to keep in mind, is the vents need to be well above the chickens heads so as not to subject them to drafts.
Airflow is important in ventilation. Airflow that would ruffle a chickens feathers is considered a DRAFT.
It is also good to place a small vent near the floor for take-in-air. That one would certainly need to be well secured from predators.
Ask anything else you have questions about.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and