Coop design and build

[mclanea]

Day 2 report. Coming along. Been modifying the plan as I go and that's really slowed it all down.

It's going to be great. Just need a nights rest.

 

[mclanea]

Ok, day 3. 6 hours of work got me here. It's all framed in, working on the roof. Totally miscalculated the lumber because the corrugated roofing needs a stud every 2 feet and not 3.

Really wanted to get this done today but man it's a lot more work than I'd bargained for!

At quitting time

A few hours ago

My wife broke a shovel when we were digging up a palm tree too close to the run... She's a freaking rock star.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

This is coming along nicely...great efforts

 

[TerryH]

Ok, day 3. 6 hours of work got me here. It's all framed in, working on the roof. Totally miscalculated the lumber because the corrugated roofing needs a stud every 2 feet and not 3.

Really wanted to get this done today but man it's a lot more work than I'd bargained for!

Sounds perfectly normal to me. There is more to construction that meets the eye. Your making good progress and it's looking good!!

 

[dustcover]

This may be terribly immodest and presumptuous of me, but when I recently undertook to build a coop & run, I found viewing others' projects of immeasurable value.

In that context, if you'd like to view my handy work, click on:
http://s1146.photobucket.com/user/rarob1dustcover/library/coop

Do bear in mind that I did my project on the cheap by using pallet wood, discarded fence boards, and other salvageable materials.

 

[dindonuffin]

Good job, looks great!
I'm sure your chickens will be proud to live there!!

 

[mclanea]

Day 4 progress report. Did about 4-5 hours of work on the coop, interspersed with actual work... You know, the thing that pays for all of this. It's not helping that my tiny office is also in the backyard, so I'm constantly reminded to finish it. I was on a phone call today and wandered out to do some measurements. Oops.

End of day

Got all of the roof truss stuff done, added some crossbars in the run. Also got the linoleum down for the coop floor. It really doesn't look like over done a lot today, but I'm at the point where I can put the coop sides on and get paint going while I frame out the nesting boxes.

Three big question marks left...
1. How the heck do you build a door???
2. Where should I put the roosting bars in the coop? High? Low? A mix?
3. Will this keep the dogs out? Our dogs are super curious about the chicks.

Here's what the chicks are looking like. Took a couple out for some front yard playtime. They are getting hard to catch.

 

[Tumbling K]

A few hours ago

Day 4 progress report. Did about 4-5 hours of work on the coop, interspersed with actual work... You know, the thing that pays for all of this. It's not helping that my tiny office is also in the backyard, so I'm constantly reminded to finish it. I was on a phone call today and wandered out to do some measurements. Oops.

End of day

bud, where is all the run off from you roof going to go? looks like it will hit the wall, and run back into the coop/run? I know you guys may not be getting much rain right now, but when it comes?

looks like you are pretty deep into construction, but there are some alternatives for you, if you think you may change up the direction of the roof pitch.

 

[mclanea]

bud, where is all the run off from you roof going to go? looks like it will hit the wall, and run back into the coop/run? I know you guys may not be getting much rain right now, but when it comes?

looks like you are pretty deep into construction, but there are some alternatives for you, if you think you may change up the direction of the roof pitch.

Good observation and a great question.

The original design I had the roof snooping in towards the yard, where we'd install a gutter and have that flow into a rain barrel for garden irrigation. I've completely reversed that at this point to increase the clearance so we can actually enjoy having them in the yard and avoid cutting our heads on the roofing.

When I made that choice I spent a couple hours designing a new way for the water to flow towards the wall, down a gutter and a downspout into a rain barrel. I actually had the materials to do just that but ended up going the current route for a couple of reasons. (After talking it over with a couple builders)
1. It won't be hard to add that if there is, in fact, a problem. (Builder friends just laughed at the idea)
2. It's over-engineering for the amount of rainfall we actually receive, but more importantly for the types of rainfall receive. Here's what I mean...

In San Diego we either get trace rain or deluge. We pretty rarely get the types of rain I grew up with in the midwest... a few times a week getting a shower, sometimes a thunderstorm.

When I look at the weather data for the 15-20 rain events we might have per year, most are .1"-.3" in a 24 hour period. (off and on light drizzle) In May/June we get a heavy marine layer-- like today-- where the overcast is so thick it actually mists all morning. But then we get deluge rains it'll be 2-3" in an hour, maybe with a light shower before and after. For instance, in November we received 4" of rain in under 1 hour... which was equal to all of the rain we'd received to date in 2015.

I spent weeks last fall adding gutters to our house. But when we got the deluge of rain guess what happened? The water was flowing off the house so fast that the gutters couldn't keep up and most of the water flowed right over the full gutters! And in 2 hours my yard had completely drained all of that water... 1" below the dirt the ground was still 100% dry. All the gutters really did was helped me get some of the rain further away from the house.

Now, for the coop/run... that trace rain will indeed run down the wall. The run area slopes back to front so it'll just drain out. For the deluge rain it'll just be a mess either way but not a whole lot more of a mess than the gutter system. Fortunately, it's in the high spot of the yard so at least the rain will leave quickly, water collects in the middle of the yard when it rains hard before draining out via the walk to the street. (A poor mans french drain!)

So, for now, that's the plan. We won't get any rain until October/November.. so we shall see! For now, the main thing is creating shade for Aug/Sept when it gets hot in SoCal.

Adam

 

[Tumbling K]

I'm guessing you didn't want any of the coop/run exposed right next to the neighbor fence?

I apologize too. it looks like a super well built coop.