Hold me back just a little bit longer

[mikecnorthwest]

Assuming the wood is dry now, why take the risk of having it suck up moisture sitting outside? If that happens you'll be kicking yourself because you'll either end up with some warped boards or at least have to wait until they dry. I'd just wait until the weather improves. You'll have enough unexpected issues come up as it is.

 

[Intheswamp]

Quote:
...and use that three day weekend to scavenge up some maybe freebie or almost freebie building material. Get a friend with a pickup truck and check out some construction sites, alleyways, recycling centers, curbsides (weekends and Mondays are good for that),etc.,. You might be able to extend to that 8x8 without hardly any extra cost.

Seriously, wood doesn't weather well sitting stacked up in the yard.

Ok, I'll be quiet.

Whatever you do...have fun!
Ed

 

[95yj]

looks good, and nice job with the 3D cardboard mockup, i usually make stuff up on the fly. As for the wood it doesn't sound like its going to be sitting outside for too long and some of it is probably PT. I'v left wood outside alot longer than a week. Just cover it with a tarp and put it on top of something that won't wick up the water [recycling bins etc.] I'd start on it, give it a couple minutes here and there when its not raining, thats how i built my last coop, in the middle of a new england winter. Whatever you do don't rush it, don't plan on doing it all in one weekend cause than its way too easy to make mistakes.

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:
Oh, good lord, no! I'm a 50+ former couch potato, there's NO WAY I could do it all in one weekend.

The A-Frame coop took me 3 months of weekends (but, that was my first attempt at building anything).

This time I am SO prepped.

The suggestions to make it larger - 8x8 instead of 4x8 - took me by surprise for a few minutes. Thank y'all for the tips, but the planning for that will set me back months. (Can you say A. - R. ? And don't forget that hyphen! It kinda sucks being a perfectionist who is far, far from perfect. You've seen my cardboard model and now, the coop I've already built.)

The materials will be delivered on a pallet, and I'm gonna pick up a good tarp. The only thing I'll hold off on buying right now is the paint - I scout Lowe's and Home Depot for their OOPS! paint, and while I might like a pale pink, I'm not going to paint anything too spectacularly an odd color, or too dark. Not even for only $5.00.

 

[GreenGoddess]

Quote:
Hey, I built the second edition to the run in the rain (neighbor was cracking up watching me from his dry house! lol) and built most of the revamped run in the rain.. Had to stop when the cordless drill and saw got soaked!! Didn't have to worry about sweating!

Goddess

 

[lauriruth]

i LOVE it!!!!! it's supposed to rain here this weekend also, but i'm forging onward!!! getting more lumber this weekend! this is coop #2, mind you...improved, larger model! a 12-step program is just around the corner for me! I'M ADDICTED - HELP!!!! Already over my limit of 3 hens....

to our sickness!!!!

 

[Airilith]

Quote:
If you have a Restore near you look there for paint. I just found my Restore the other day and they had cans and cans of paint.

I guess I'm the only one with dry weather planned for this weekend. I'm contemplating starting my coop this weekend because the weather's been so warm and dry.

As for the 4x8, I agree with trying for larger. I've been scrounging pallets (I'm up to 13 now... woot), got some used metal roofing, and will buy hardware and paint from the Restore. So hopefully the only big purchases will be for the plywood for the floor and the wire for the run

But needless to say, my plans started out with a 4x8, and only stayed there for a little while because it will just a little bit more material to increase it to 8x8, and give me double the floor space which is totally going to be worth it. Though it didn't stay at 8x8 for long either. I think when it's all put together its going to be either 8x10 or 8x12 depending on the size of the door and the windows I go with. Hehe! So exciting.

I am quite jealous that you're making your coop out of new materials though. It's been a pain finding stuff, and I know I'll have to redneck-rig a few things, but as long as it keeps the birds safe that's all that matters.

Good luck ... and don't forget to post lots of pictures!!!

 

[CityChook]

We started this coop in the garage, finished in the light October snow and delivered it via car-hauler before the real snow started flying. Where there's a will, there's a way.

This coop took us almost 2 months of weekends... our first coop took an entire summer to build. We're newbies.

 

[gsim]

Good start and good idea to build a mock-up. I wondered why a rollout nest box instead of a full time bumpout? Easier to build a permanent bumpout box, and makes for more floor space inside. And be sure to locate it lower so that roost can be higher without putting chooks flat up against the hot roof decking. Looks like roost will be on tallest wall. Did you plan to build permanent vents at nest wall and opposite wall at the top? Good natural place to put them between each rafter. If you have the space, do some pre-fabbing whenever possible. Could build door, nest box, poop boards, etc now. Might be almost as easy to build it on a footprint of 8X6 as opposed to 8 x 4? How far does it have to be moved to site? Is it to be raised? If so, then make it 18" to 24" tall so no rodents can take up residence.

Take long breaks, short puffs, laugh a lot, and work safely.

Gerry

 

[1newchickontheblock]

Quote:
Ditto on going 8x8.

Check it out. Figure up how much more it would cost to go 8x8 and you might be pleasantly suprised...especially if you can find some recycled material! Doubling your square footage with an increase of 1/3 or maybe 1/4 the cost or maybe nothing. 4' and 8' seem to be minimum standard lumber dimensions.

It looks like you have some moderate temperatures with humidity averaging around 50%. Seems to me you could use a good bit of ventilation. Going with an 8x8 foot footprint with solid walls up to 4' high and hardware cloth enclosing the open areas it would take 1 more sheet of plywood for the walls and 1 more sheet for the floor. You'll need twice as many floor joists but only 25% more wall studs and wall plates. You would need some 2x4 blocking between the floor joists at the point where the 2 pieces of plywood meet. The roof will require roughly twice as much material and the foundation a third more material.

The extra 32 sq feet would be *well* worth it!

It really will never be cheaper to enlarge your coop than right now. After all....you *did* say BYC'ers were enablers.

Just some thoughts.
Best wishes,

Ed

Ugh! I was going to go 4 x 8 - now you have me thinking.... It seems like a LOT to build!!
What to do....!?