Coop Nest Box Lid Repair

[Olivess]

Hi everyone. We've got one of those "Amish made" chicken coops that comes premade and dropped off via a trailer.

It has been great. But over the years with the rain falling on the nest box lid the wood is starting to rot.

Has anyone tried to replace the lid before on a similar design, and how did they go about?

The lid looks like ship-lap, but it is some sort of plywood or composite. I'm not sure where I could source something like that.

Thanks!

 

[DobieLover]

The lid looks like ship-lap, but it is some sort of plywood or composite.

It's probably T1-11. It's not good for roofing material and needs to be kept up with exterior grade paint or stain when used as siding.
You could go over it with polycarbonate or metal roofing. Just make sure you use sealing roofing screws that aren't so long they penetrate through to the inside. You would need a support strip at the top and bottom of the lid and screw through the ridges, not the valleys.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

It's probably T1-11. It's not good for roofing material and needs to be kept up with exterior grade paint or stain when used as siding.
You could go over it with polycarbonate or metal roofing. Just make sure you use sealing roofing screws that aren't so long they penetrate through to the inside. You would need a support strip at the top and bottom of the lid and screw through the ridges, not the valleys.

Would this type of construction avoid the leaking problems that are often seen with top-opening nest boxes?

I know that the alternative is front-opening, which is more easily protected from rain, but my lower back prefers the top-opening option.

 

[Laurasb65]

When I had this type. I sealed the wood then put on roofing material, it was like a rubber peice, i had it where part of the rubber went up the side of coop about 3 inches, I glued that part so no water would run between the lid and the coop wall, then put shingles over that on the lid.

 

[DobieLover]

Would this type of construction avoid the leaking problems that are often seen with top-opening nest boxes?

Not really. The problem is the way they are never flashed. If there isn't flexible flashing that runs behind the siding then over the top of the lid, rain can run down the siding and into the hinge joint. That is why I would only have a front drop down nest box with a few inches of overhang to keep the water from wicking back towards the door.