Help with leaky coop, please!

[TheWriteChick]

Ok, so I reworked a freebie coop because my stupid store bought one leaked in addition to other problems. Well, after a really good 4 days of rain -and I'm talking over 2 inches yesterday - I found this morning that it leaked all along the front and down half one side and all of the other. I realized I need to shave some wood off the door and pop hole, because they expanded with the wetness and don't fit now. That may fix the side. But I'm not sure what to do about the long front. The roof does overhang, and the interior section is dry, so I don't think it's the roof. I'm wondering if it blew through the ventilation holes? All the gray paint is deck correct, so that should be water proof. Do I need to caulk along the roofline? It seems like that would just lessen ventilation, which is why I left it. Add more overhang to the roof? Any help would be great! Pics are of the sides that leaked, and the pattern on the inside.

 

[ChickNanny13]

The first picture doesn't look like it's going enough of an overhang. It could be the rain if windy blew in, 3rd pic. The 4th pic, I see the wet area is that inside the coop? Is it against a wall? If so, the wet could be blown in rain. Can we get a picture full view, not sure what I'm seeing?

 

[TheWriteChick]

Sorry - could have explained more. The first pic is the side that is hinged as a door. That's where I took the inside pic from, which shows where the water is. The wet there may be because the door swelled and doesn't fit under the roof. The second one is the front, which is where I'm not sure if it's just blowing in the ventilation holes or if it needs more overhang. The 3rd picture is the other side, half of which is wet, but only the front half. Here are some pics from when I "finished" it.

 

[ScottandSam]

Id give it some paint where you cut the holes. That looks like osb and it will not hold up to moister at all and will rot. of course wait for it to dry out first.
Scott

 

[WildCHILD400]

Make a bigger over hang and or cauk it

 

[mamajacqueline]

Looks a little short on overhang. Or move it to a more sheltered area where driving rain can"t enter the vent holes. Maybe under a tree in summer or by a wall of a barn/shed?

 

[junebuggena]

Build out the overhang on the sides and your OSB needs more paint. That stuff acts as a sponge. You need to put so much paint on it, that you can't tell that it's OSB anymore to keep it from swelling.

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Instead of traditional caulk, I would use some Flex Seal. They, sell it at Wal-Mart and hardware stores.

I love the stuff, it really is water proof and flexible too. It has so many uses, and is non-toxic for use around animals. I comes in black, white and blue.

They have it as a brush on liquid or caulk type dispenser. The only draw back is the price. But, it is worth the cost, about $14 for a small can.

The coop design looks good, do you have nesting material/boxes?

You could also suspend a large tarp over the top of the coop, attaching to the chain link fence and across to the wood fence. Then, the coop will stay dry and the ground will stay a bit drier too. Also, the hens can go out during the rain.

Anyways those are my thoughts.

 

[TheWriteChick]

The paint I used is the stuff intended to fill in cracks and waterproof old decks. Do you really think I need more? And the holes do have paint in them - hence the drips thatI didn't have enough leftover paint to cover . So, maybe I'll move it over closer to the fence and face the fence to keep the rain out of the ventilation where the roof slants up. And after I cut down the doors and paint the cuts if it still has issues I'll add more roofing and caulk. I knew it would be a never-ending project . . . good thing I liked to work outside!

 

[ScottandSam]

just painting the osb will be a never ending project. Sound like you have a plan bigger overhangs.

Scott