EZ Frame Chicken Coop Build

[DavidReaves]

I enjoyed the designing with PowerPoint way too much

I'm glad I'm not the only one that uses Powerpoint for designing! I use the grid display to help and have snap to grid set. I frequently set the grid to be 3, with the snap to grid half that. It makes using 2 x2s easy (since they are 1.5").

I see that your profile says "Sacramento Area". Do you have more problems with cold weather or hot? Here in north central Texas, I wouldn't be able to paint the roof black-- it would make the coop an oven for 9 months of the year!

Also, did you have any trouble getting straight, non-warped or twisted 2 x 2s from Lowes? I've built a few products using 2 x 2s an I usually have to buy at least 30% more lumber to deal with the twists and warps!

Thanks! I'm looking forward to seeing your finished project!

 

[kurby22]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that uses Powerpoint for designing! I use the grid display to help and have snap to grid set. I frequently set the grid to be 3, with the snap to grid half that. It makes using 2 x2s easy (since they are 1.5").

I see that your profile says "Sacramento Area". Do you have more problems with cold weather or hot? Here in north central Texas, I wouldn't be able to paint the roof black-- it would make the coop an oven for 9 months of the year!

Also, did you have any trouble getting straight, non-warped or twisted 2 x 2s from Lowes? I've built a few products using 2 x 2s an I usually have to buy at least 30% more lumber to deal with the twists and warps!

Thanks! I'm looking forward to seeing your finished project!

Ooo! I will have to try that out! That sounds more complicated than my random arm waving method But much better for solid and accurate builds!

Yes, we do have miserable hot summers here—June through September are always above 90. But our humidity is not nearly as bad as yours in Texas. I would melt and die living there The spot I will be putting this coop will be under a big shade tree and only most of the hot sun hours it is the most shaded. So my hope is that I can get away with black given those conditions! I plan to put a thermometer in the coop so I can keep track. A little Govee like I use in my incubator that sends to my phone. If not, I will replace it and use the panels on something else—I really wanted to avoid glare from the steel color and white always looks so dirty. Maybe a light matte gray if the black in the shade still ends up too warm.

As for the 2x2s at Lowe’s—I haven’t had too much trouble finding straight ones! Some had some knots and other types of issues, but we did pick them out one at a time and put back the ones I didn’t like for whatever reason. I think my husband finds me super annoying because he’s tall so he got to take them out and put them back every time The 1x3 and 1x4 furring strips are not my favorite though. The back side is really roughly cut and even if it won’t be seen it’s not fun to work with super rough splinter making wood. I shouldn’t have to sand them down just to handle them. I’d pay a touch more to avoid that! They’re definitely cheap for a reason!

 

[Egg Snatcher]

Can wait to see how your coop turns out!

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Can't wait for some more updates

 

[kurby22]

Well I have been delayed making anymore real progress thanks to shipping errors

My black hardware cloth I ordered from Lowe's arrived yesterday and I was so excited to finally get started and opened the box and it was NOT black. I thought about keeping it and just painting it with Flexseal, but opted to return it and order from Amazon. Flexseal is pricey. I was very disappointed! So the new cloth is due to arrive tomorrow, so fingers crossed.

I also ordered a feeder that you can fill from the outside, but feeds on the inside if you put a hole in the wall and it holds 50 lbs of crumble! BUT the sent me the normal one that needs to be installed inside the coop instead. Soooo, now I have to wait for that too! Sigh haha. They got back to me right away and are sending me the right one, but it's just a bummer. On the upside, I think it's going to work out perfect when I get the right one. It's so big, my plan is to split it between both sides of the Cooplex. I tested it out since I have it here with one of my d’Anvers and it seems plenty big enough on each side for the size and amount of birds I’ll have in each side of the coop. I am also going to paint the lid black and body gold so it matches my color scheme. It’s very sturdy!

My nest boxes are finished drying and I think they look awesome.

While waiting for the next step I tried my hand at a window prototype and I decided I’m not quite ready for window building! The typical small windows for coops are too big for my coop, so I have to come up with something myself. The glue was messy, my cuts were slightly off because I don't have fancy tools, and everything looked crooked . So I was trying to come up with another idea that would allow me to close the window in winter and keep it open all summer to increase ventilation. I think I’ve come up with an idea that might work! I had some picture frames from IKEA that I never used and totally forgot about till perusing the IKEA website for inspiration, and they just might work!

It has this inner square frame that holds the glass in place and creates depth. So I bought some small hinges and I’m going to try using the outer frame with the glass glued in as the glass window, and add a hinge to secure to the siding. Then I will attach hardware cloth inside the siding. So I’m spray painting the frame gold and then gluing in the glass with the clear adhesive. Fingers crossed this works! I’m gonna use the inner frame as the frame to close the window onto for more stability. We shall see how it comes together. If nothing else I will do the hardware cloth first and solve the window covering later. We will be out of the bad weather really soon I’m guessing.

Tonight I will finish up all the painting for the siding so it's ready to be cut by tomorrow or Sunday! Tomorrow we will be adding the legs to the floor and the base to the floor so the frame can be secured entirely and we can get final measurements for the siding! I'm hoping that we will have a bunch done by the end of the weekend.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Absolutely genius idea with the picture frames! Love it!

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

Wow @kurby22 it is gonna be amazing!!!
I luv how you are gonna divide the feeder between the 2 sides! I've thought bout that off and on but was never sure

 

[kurby22]

I managed to get the husband to help before it got dark, so the coop frame is officially assembled and attached to the floor!

I’m getting very excited that it’s coming together! We are also going to add a couple 2x4s to the middle so I can divide things with hardware cloth down the middle underneath and attach it to a frame. I’m considering making the back side a door to underneath so I can gain access to that area if needed. Gonna ponder this but I think it’s needed. Hardware cloth comes tomorrow woohoo!

 

[Shetland lover]

Well I have been delayed making anymore real progress thanks to shipping errors

My black hardware cloth I ordered from Lowe's arrived yesterday and I was so excited to finally get started and opened the box and it was NOT black. I thought about keeping it and just painting it with Flexseal, but opted to return it and order from Amazon. Flexseal is pricey. I was very disappointed! So the new cloth is due to arrive tomorrow, so fingers crossed.

I also ordered a feeder that you can fill from the outside, but feeds on the inside if you put a hole in the wall and it holds 50 lbs of crumble! BUT the sent me the normal one that needs to be installed inside the coop instead. Soooo, now I have to wait for that too! Sigh haha. They got back to me right away and are sending me the right one, but it's just a bummer. On the upside, I think it's going to work out perfect when I get the right one. It's so big, my plan is to split it between both sides of the Cooplex. I tested it out since I have it here with one of my d’Anvers and it seems plenty big enough on each side for the size and amount of birds I’ll have in each side of the coop. I am also going to paint the lid black and body gold so it matches my color scheme. It’s very sturdy!

View attachment 3380949

My nest boxes are finished drying and I think they look awesome.

View attachment 3380958

While waiting for the next step I tried my hand at a window prototype and I decided I’m not quite ready for window building! The typical small windows for coops are too big for my coop, so I have to come up with something myself. The glue was messy, my cuts were slightly off because I don't have fancy tools, and everything looked crooked . So I was trying to come up with another idea that would allow me to close the window in winter and keep it open all summer to increase ventilation. I think I’ve come up with an idea that might work! I had some picture frames from IKEA that I never used and totally forgot about till perusing the IKEA website for inspiration, and they just might work!
View attachment 3380962
View attachment 3380965
It has this inner square frame that holds the glass in place and creates depth. So I bought some small hinges and I’m going to try using the outer frame with the glass glued in as the glass window, and add a hinge to secure to the siding. Then I will attach hardware cloth inside the siding. So I’m spray painting the frame gold and then gluing in the glass with the clear adhesive. Fingers crossed this works! I’m gonna use the inner frame as the frame to close the window onto for more stability. We shall see how it comes together. If nothing else I will do the hardware cloth first and solve the window covering later. We will be out of the bad weather really soon I’m guessing.

Tonight I will finish up all the painting for the siding so it's ready to be cut by tomorrow or Sunday! Tomorrow we will be adding the legs to the floor and the base to the floor so the frame can be secured entirely and we can get final measurements for the siding! I'm hoping that we will have a bunch done by the end of the weekend.

Looking fantastic, Kirby!

 

[kurby22]

Today was a busy day! The hardware cloth arrived and this time it’s black!

We cut down all the siding to the measurements of the coop, cut the roost bars, cut the wood pieces that will go between the legs to staple cloth, I cut and attached hardware cloth to the outer trusses. I also painted the base pieces with flex seal and painted the last side of the siding. I’m so glad I stayed committed to black hardware cloth—it looks so nice!

We even managed to cut the corners off the side panels.

I’m also really glad I didn’t listen to the husband and bought a chalk reel for the cutting! He said he could just use the laser on the saw, but it wasn’t enough. The chalk reel worked perfectly!

I also learned a couple things today…one, the peel and stick linoleum is not real sticky. So we went ahead and used flooring adhesive to make sure it sticks! And two, the plastic used for the joint braces should NOT be hammered they break pretty easily.

My hand is hurting from all the painting and my back is hurting from all the bending and lifting…so I’m done for today!