converting existing pole barn into coop

[lauriruth]

Hi all! I FINALLY made it to my 5 acres in the country!! The girls and I made the move ok and I'm snuggled into my tiny house and they are crammed into the existing coop which is WAY to small and nasty. There is a large pole barn with a dirt/sand floor which I am converting to a coop/barn.
The structure is sound with 6x8 poles set in concrete between 9 and 12 ft. apart and 2x8 horizontal framing with diagonal bracing. The exterior is some seriously heavy duty barn metal on 3 sides. the roof trusses are substantial. I am enclosing the first section of barn to make a coop.
Question: can i build 2x4 walls, 16 oc and attach them to the existing 6x8's?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You probably don't need to be concerned about winter cold but rather summer heat. You might want to just start off by subdividing the building for the coop space and let the barn walls be the sides of the coop. After they're in there and you don't like it you can always add more framing to the outer walls.

 

[TheGeekySheep]

Hey there! Congrats on your new home! I turned a corner of my metal-sided pole barn into a coop. I went with a very lightweight approach as you can see here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pole-barn-coop-part-one-the-coop

I did it this way because I was concerned about ventilation (no real windows in there) and heat. Since the walls were so light, I just attached them to the 2x6's in a few places. I just added an outdoor run on the other side of the wall:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pole-barn-coop-part-two-the-run

 

[yogifink]

Yes, you can frame a regular 2x4 wall, 16oc, on the inside of the 6x8 posts (between posts). Just build a wall like you normally would with a top and bottom plate, and the tack into the posts on the sides and top.

You may want to run some treated lumber that is rated for ground contact or maybe a row of brick (what ever kind you've got handy) along the ground before you erect a wall to keep your studs dry and termite free.

 

[Black wallnut]

Quick answer is yes you can attach a wall to what you have now. Perhaps a better way to start though is to build the floor first and then erect the walls on top of that. Use "Simpson" joist hangers to attach your rim joist between two of the posts and hang your floor joists off that with more hangers. If you hang it so the inside edge is 3.5" back from the face of the posts your wall will be flush once framed.

I did something similar when i built my coop utilizing an existing building that had an open front. However I choose to go 24" oc for my wall studs. The coop walls are not load bearing so 24" is fine, plus the wider spacing saves a few dollars. I added a floor, two walls and a door to make mine.

 

[Chuck971]

So would a pole barn coop need flooring or could you just use the natural dirt floor? I want to convert a section of my pole barn into a coop.