Finally starting on my coop!

[Appalachickens]

More snow today, so more work in the garage. All the exterior walls are now fully painted. We're hoping to finish up the framing tomorrow so we can get the roof and walls up.

 

[Appalachickens]

A more progress: roof framed and sheathing up. Nest weekend we will do the underlayment and metal roofing.

 

[Farmgirl1878]

Since you’re down in the holler, you might want to consider adding some windows on the long sides. We repurposed five windows for our coop and covered everything with hardware cloth on the outside so I can open and close the windows. It’s great for keeping the humidity as low as possible and keeping it cooler in the summer.

A vent fan is a good idea too!

 

[Farmgirl1878]

Also, if possible, roof your run. It makes life a lot easier in bad weather!

 

[Appalachickens]

Since you’re down in the holler, you might want to consider adding some windows on the long sides. We repurposed five windows for our coop and covered everything with hardware cloth on the outside so I can open and close the windows. It’s great for keeping the humidity as low as possible and keeping it cooler in the summer.

A vent fan is a good idea too!

Nice coop! Since the studs are already in place, adding windows isn’t practical, but I am putting in vents along one side and a big hatch in back that can be opened different amounts.

 

[Appalachickens]

Also, if possible, roof your run. It makes life a lot easier in bad weather!

I will have roofing over part of the run, but not all of it. I want rain to come in so things can decompose more readily. They’ll have 34 SF of covered area in the run, the rest open.

 

[Appalachickens]

Finally a clear day today, after what felt like endless rain. We had not had a chance to cover the roof, so water got in the seam between two plywood panels and soaked everything down. Today we added plywood I'd painted with a waterproofing paint, to create an overhang and off-set to cover that one seam, added aluminum drip flashing on the edges, and a peel and stick underlayment. One of the cats supervised. (Incidentally, that is not a window, it's the start of a cut-out for nesting boxes.) The metal roof panels will get added on next weekend, weather permitting, and until then we've covered everything with tarps. It's tough to build when you are a) rank beginners, b) hampered by winter weather, and c) work full time!

 

[Appalachickens]

We got a beautiful weekend, at last, and got the coop mostly roofed. Unfortunately, since we expanded it to have more of an overhang, we were short about five roof panels. They've been ordered. We got the vent along the east wall covered in HC and held in with furring strips. And got the clean-out doors and the ventilation hatch installed. I have painted the interior walls (a yellow called Egg Cream - how perfect is that?) and have a primer layer down on the floor and first foot of the walls. And now every thing will have to wait for a bit, while we go on an early vacation this year.

 

[Appalachickens]

Big coop-work weekend, taking advantage of the beautiful weather. The last of the roofing panels came in the day before we left on vacation, so the first order of business was getting the last panels on. The roof is two layers of plywood, both coated in APOC elastomeric roof sealant, a layer of water-proof underlayment, and metal panels with silicone along seams. If all that won't keep the water out, I give up!

Next we put handles and latches on the clean-out door in back. I have locking carabiners that will go in the swivel hasp latches and also need to get corner latches for the hatch over the door. The hatch opens up to provide extra ventilation.

When the hatch is open, there is still hardware cloth in a wooden frame, which is hinged to swing up to be out of the way for cleaning. I will be added bolt latches to it on the inside. Don't mind the gap in the door, that will be changed soon. Also, those roost bars are easily removable.

Finally, we framed the door to the run. My son recently replaced his front door so I salvaged the old one. I just liked the idea of having a piece of my son's home at my place. I painted a rectangle the same color as the interior of the coop and painted "Appalachickens" on it. For no reason except for fun. The door needs another coat of paint, which I'll do once we have done the finish trim work around it. That door was an absolute bear to frame in, but I was paying attention when my son was framing the coop and knew to build jack studs and king studs to support the headers. It took some finagling but we got it all level so that it opens and closes easily.

You can see to the right of the door that the entire side wall of the coop (12 feet long) has an opening at the top covered in hardware cloth that is stapled down and then held in place with furring strips screwed in. I still have to paint the top part of the frame, but I'll probably do that when I put the last coat on the outside. Still a ways to go, but I feel good about how much we got done.

 

[Appalachickens]

Man this is a slow process! We started framing the run this weekend. This involved trips to Lowes and Home Depot, staining boards, and a lot of standing around brainstorming about how to make it all work. My husband is a willing helper but has not done any looking into chickens at all, so he will ask questions like, "Does it have to be 6 feet tall? Why not just a couple feet high?" Or "Why can't we just block off the underside of the coop - do the chickens really need to go under there?" I want to give the chickens-to-be as much room to roam as possible, and I want to be able to walk around in the run. So lots and lots of discussion, but eventually I convince him that there is a method to my madness. Next weekend, I hope to start getting some of the fencing up.