Helpful hints for building coops

[RawEggEater]

No doubt, the larger the better.

Also, go ahead and buy the pack of long bits and don't try to use the ones that come in the box - too small.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

T20s are $#!+. If the screw will take a T25, use it. and the little bits that come with the package of screws? Good for maybe half a pound of screws before they start wearing round and stripping screws. The longer your screw, the faster they strip.

A $5 investment in one of those carded multi-packs from a major Mfg - DeWalt, Ryobi, Milwaukee, etc is absolutely worth it. That said, I don't like the new DeWalt stuff. The old stuff used to have a safety yellow stripe around the middle, the new stuff doesn't - so when I do somehow drop a bit, these poor old eyes can't find it. (In fairness, I lost a chainsaw wrench recently, its about6" long, shaped vaguely like a T, and was painted safety orange - can't find that either, but its somewhere in three acres, so...)

 

[RawEggEater]

T20s are $#!+. If the screw will take a T25, use it. and the little bits that come with the package of screws? Good for maybe half a pound of screws before they start wearing round and stripping screws. The longer your screw, the faster they strip.

A $5 investment in one of those carded multi-packs from a major Mfg - DeWalt, Ryobi, Milwaukee, etc is absolutely worth it. That said, I don't like the new DeWalt stuff. The old stuff used to have a safety yellow stripe around the middle, the new stuff doesn't - so when I do somehow drop a bit, these poor old eyes can't find it. (In fairness, I lost a chainsaw wrench recently, its about6" long, shaped vaguely like a T, and was painted safety orange - can't find that either, but its somewhere in three acres, so...)

Especially when you drop it in grass. My DeWalt drill is getting old and it sometimes comes loose of the bit when backing out a screw. I have to keep making sure the bit's in there tight. Sucks when you're up on a ladder and realize you lost the bit.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Especially when you drop it in grass. My DeWalt drill is getting old and it sometimes comes loose of the bit when backing out a screw. I have to keep making sure the bit's in there tight. Sucks when you're up on a ladder and realize you lost the bit.

Part of why an impact driver is on my "to buy" list. They don't drop bits (assuming they are full sized, and not those useless little stubs you pop into a magnetic extender). I already have an SDS drill for real jobs, so its just the small stuff where I keep watching things roll off the roof... Never been so thankful for gutters!

 

[RawEggEater]

I built a pole barn last summer and bought 4" SPAX T20 deck screws from Menards. I wanted the T25's but they didn't have any so I ended up buying (3) boxes for a total of $60. I must've gone threw 5 or 6 packs of T20 bits because the second my drill would let loose of the bit, it would immediately round out the bit. Some of the screws are sticking out of the wood and inch or so because the torx head stripped out. Total PITA.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I built my stuff with 1/2" hardieboard, it sands the point right off a screw. Impact driver (I borrowed one) or not. Ended up walking around with a bag of screws (deliberately T25 sized, in spite of the short length), the impact driver on one hip, and a decent hammer in the other. I'd set the screw with a hammer, THEN drive it in. 15# or so of screws, and yes, a card's worth of replacement bits, maybe 3 bits total?

 

[RawEggEater]

I built my stuff with 1/2" hardieboard, it sands the point right off a screw. Impact driver (I borrowed one) or not. Ended up walking around with a bag of screws (deliberately T25 sized, in spite of the short length), the impact driver on one hip, and a decent hammer in the other. I'd set the screw with a hammer, THEN drive it in. 15# or so of screws, and yes, a card's worth of replacement bits, maybe 3 bits total?

I might consider using hardieboard with the price of OSB up to $30 for 7/16" 4x8. I can remember when it was $8 a sheet not too many years ago. I might even start scrounging for old pallets and try and de-nail them.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

T11 Exterior and Hardieboard are the same price for me right now. In my view, there is no comparison between the materials in terms of their durability in my climate. HB hands down, in spite of how heavy it is, and how hard it is on saw blades.

Its the rest of the lumber prices that are frightening - 2x4s have roughly tripled around me, and my neighbors have southern pine farms. Can't imagine what its like in the rest of the country. So I'm carefully selecting dead hickory and pine trees on my acres, dropping them, milling them with my chainsaw (or splitting with wedges), finishing with a cheap table saw, and screwing them together. Its a LOT of work. Honestly, while I have the biggest chainsaw for small jobs (Stihl MS 251 w 18" blade) any homeowner is likely to own, its not suited for milling. Neither is a 10" table saw, though it was great for cutting flooring... You get the idea.

Probably why I'm in here typing instead of out in 40 degree weather hauling timber.

 

[RawEggEater]

T11 Exterior and Hardieboard are the same price for me right now. In my view, there is no comparison between the materials in terms of their durability in my climate. HB hands down, in spite of how heavy it is, and how hard it is on saw blades.

Its the rest of the lumber prices that are frightening - 2x4s have roughly tripled around me, and my neighbors have southern pine farms. Can't imagine what its like in the rest of the country. So I'm carefully selecting dead hickory and pine trees on my acres, dropping them, milling them with my chainsaw (or splitting with wedges), finishing with a cheap table saw, and screwing them together. Its a LOT of work. Honestly, while I have the biggest chainsaw for small jobs (Stihl MS 251 w 18" blade) and homeowner is likely to own, its not suited for milling. Neither is a 10" table saw, though it was great for cutting flooring... You get the idea.

Probably why I'm in here typing instead of out in 40 degree weather hauling timber.

Well I'm in Lakeland, FL right now, visiting relatives, but back at my place in WY there are no trees except a few Junipers and Ponderosa Pines down in the draw. I'm also 45 miles from Douglas and 2 hours from the nearest HD or Menards so building stuff is a logistics nightmare. I heard somewhere the beetle infestation in Canada has caused over-harvesting which resulted in a lumber shortage. The recent hurricanes and forest fires are also to blame.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Well I'm in Lakeland, FL right now, visiting relatives, but back at my place in WY there are no trees except a few Junipers and Ponderosa Pines down in the draw. I'm also 45 miles from Douglas and 2 hours from the nearest HD or Menards so building stuff is a logistics nightmare. I heard somewhere the beetle infestation in Canada has caused over-harvesting which resulted in a lumber shortage. The recent hurricanes and forest fires are also to blame.

and its on the backs of beetles destroying pines in TX, and then FL. They tend to move in whenever the trees get stressed, so long periods drought or drowning, and we've had both.