Some of you may have seen the beginnings of my chicken coop but I've come up against a bit of a problem. So at this point I need to do the roof but I can't figure out what kind of roof I'm going to have. I would like to do a Hip Roof where all four sides of the roof are pitched to the center of the roof. Obviously this will be a more complicated project and I am by no means a professional. The alternative is a simple slant roof which will probably be cheaper, quicker, and easier, but IMHO not nearly as nice looking or as protecting of the structure as the hip roof would be. I'm really having a hard time on this decision. I don't expect anyone to tell me what to do but if anyone has any experiences they can share I would greatly appreciate them in trying to make my decision.
I have a slant roof for 2 reasons. The first and most important is that I had finished the rest of the coop (inside too) and was flat out fed up with building. And second, in hindsight only, it is great way to give ventilation. Things for you to consider: The more bends you have the more potential you have for leaks. You need some sort of high ventilation (above not on roosts) and where better than to have it there? A slant roof only works well if your rain normally goes only one way. Where my coop is sitting the rain blows 99% of the time from left to right so my high side is on the right and my low side is on the left preventing problems. Overhangs in my mind are great for when you have to do a head count and close the door in the rain. Nothing like getting soaked thinking one of your hens didn't go in just to find out she is hiding somewhere in the coop. Whatever roof you decide on, research it (ehow is great) very well first because trust me the last thing you want to do is have to fix a leak or completely redo the roof because it wasn't done right the first time.
I´d vote for a slant roof. It is easier, cheaper and still looks good on such a small building. Put your effort into some clever and work-saving maintainance issues instead, like making it easy to clean or perhaps an automatic waterer.
While the other two members make some good points and have given good advice, I'd go with the hip roof. I think it would look great and give your coop a lot more character than a plain slanted roof. (How about a nice cupola on top for good ventilation like the ones on this site? Ready Shed ) If you don't have the expertise, you can Google "How to calculate a hip roof" or "How to build a hip roof". There is a ton of info out there that will help you through.
As you can tell from my avatar, we've got a slant roof. We have it for the reasons you state - not a lot of roofing experience, less expensive, quicker to build. We figured that we'd rather have a well built slant roof than a not-so-well built pitched roof. Also, as we have a tin roof it was much easier to put up one longer piece instead of two and then join it at the peak. It's all a matter of personal preference, materials on hand, and skill level. So far the roof has done its job - no leaks - so, IMO, it's a success! ;-)
