EZ Frame Chicken Coop Build

[kurby22]

A bit further! It looks so much better with some trim!

 

[kurby22]

Well, if you've been watching the weather, you likely know that CA is WET. So we have been delayed again in taking the last steps on the EZ Frame coop! The sawing left and door attachment and such needs to be outside and site prep for the run won’t happen until things dry out I’m very impatiently waiting…so impatient in fact, that I used more scrap materials and some added costs…and made another small coop with built runs haha. We were able to do all the cutting inside and put out part of it on a day the rain quit for more than half the day! The second run will go on the other side—we just finished it today! This is going to be the “Love Shack” for my breeding pairs I want to use each season!

 

[3KillerBs]

Metal would be great we have it on my other big coop someone else built for me, I’m just intimidated by the cutting process. Maybe Lowe’s can cut it for me…hmm.

If you need to cut it, which we tried to avoid, this tool is a great investment -- especially because it will save your hands when cutting the hardware cloth too.

https://www.harborfreight.com/35-amp-18-gauge-metal-shears-61737.html?_br_psugg_q=metal+shears

Don't get the other one that looks more ergonomic. That one takes out a kerf and will leave your ground salted with tiny bits of sharp metal that the birds might eat.

 

[kurby22]

Another trip to Lowe’s today! Bought hopefully all the rest of the wood needed for the coop and run! Still probably gonna need one more trip for hardware and a couple other things, but I’m almost ready to cut siding and attach!

Lowe’s also had cheap pre-cut metal sheets that are the perfect size for the roof! So I bought some Krylon Fusion black spray paint and roofing screws. It’s hard to fit stuff in our vehicles so this was a great solution! I’m really happy how it looks! Now I just have to figure out a ridge cap. Lowe’s apparently won’t cut metal after all and I don’t need a 10 ft long ridge cap—nor wud it fit in our SUV! I might as I buy it and sit cutting it down in the parking lot…haha. So gonna work on that.

Got a bunch of hardware too—some from the decking area and some from the gate hardware section. I also found nice 2x2x3 ft redwood decking balusters to use to connect the feet on the coop so I can attach hardware cloth. I plan to paint them black, but since they will be making ground contact, redwood was the best option! They don’t readily stock the severe weather wood as 2x2s and I needed to cut some cost where I could so we shall see how things go! They were $3/each and the severe weather ones were $6/each so it works!

My hardware cloth arrives tomorrow, so that’s probably my next big chore! And the husband will be cutting wood! I wanted the black cloth instead of regular and Lowe’s had the best price but I had to ship it!

 

[JoeCT]

Quick pro tip for spraying paint out of rattle cans; Clean surface and dry, spray your 1st coat as a "fog coat" (very thin and very light coat) and let dry to touch. Then finish with 2 more coats applied normally (50% overlap with each pass). The secret sauce is the fog coat. Always clean and prep well.

 

[kurby22]

Slowly making next step progress. This weekend I’m taking the show babies to the Pacific Poultry Breeders Association show so I have switched my focus to cleaning up chickens for show

The boards for the run are being painted

and I’ve been watching videos on how to do a few things like attach doors, cut out shapes with a jigsaw, and game planning my quail pen that I am doing next. :-D I am going to try using U posts, attaching the hardware cloth, and then screwing boards right onto the U post. We will see how it works—quail don’t need the same amount of protection so it should go quickly! I hope

 

[kurby22]

Poultry show is over and I’m shifting my focus back to coops! My show birds did pretty well! There were 1932 birds entered and feather-legged and rose comb clean legs were stiff categories! My d’Anvers and my bantam Ameraucanas were the only ones in their varieties, so they did well But my white bantam Wyandotte rooster took 3rd and my buff bantam Brahma rooster took 5th. I also came home with more birds so the coops REALLY need to get finished!

So with all that said, we connected some additional studs today, cut some siding down to fit, and I put the first door together and painted it!

Tomorrow I am going to trace out holes for the door into the siding, attach the poop boards, finish up some painting, and we will get ready for all the cutting this weekend!

 

[JoeCT]

@JoeCT any tips on the best type of paint sealer? The gold spray paint I’m using comes off pretty easily from some of the metal and it got me to thinking I may want to seal the paint on my windows I’m creating from IKEA “wood” so they are waterproof…which got me thinking about sealing the paint on all the wood. Do I need it? What is best and easiest?

Thanks!

As for the windows what you really want to use there is a bonding primer like the one in the pic. As long as you give the substrate a quick scuff with a scotchbrite pad followed by a wipe down with a damp rag and let it dry before priming it will be very durable. Follow the steps of the fog coat plus 2 coats with the primer and top coat. Beyond that you would add a nice gloss exterior grade clear coat to top it off and go overboard but get great results. The clear coat will also stop your gold foot prints from flaking/peeling off. I say it is worth it considering the awesome job you guys are already doing. Here is a link for a brush/roller applied clear coat that I have used with awesome results.

https://eco-buildingproducts.com/product/afm-safecoat-polyurseal-ext-exterior-clear-finish-gloss/

 

[kurby22]

Today has been busy! This whole week has been actually! I decided since we have been slowed down due to weather AGAIN, that I would use the scraps and make another coop!

Despite the rain, we were able to add the rest of the studs, dividing wall, all the roost bars, and the clear coat for my accent wall and my finished door!

The scraps coop is made up as I go along haha. I had two pieces of plywood, a few extra 2x2s, extra metal roof panels, and some hardware cloth. So just to add to the chaos, I built the frame on Monday and am about 1/2 way done building it!

Any tips on making sure cheap-oh wallpaper stay nice? I’m in love with it! And plan to paint the outside soft yellow and the inside walls a vintage rose color Tomorrow the flooring goes in and the roost bars go in!

 

[kurby22]

Got some big steps done today!! My worry about getting the hole for the door to work…was not unfounded. My husband didn’t quite get it straight and so we had to fiddle with the jigsaw a bit to shave the side down without breaking things haha. Two sides are attached, some holes cut and all the dividing panels in place. It’s getting closer!