How does roof type affect humidity in the coop?

[123RedBeard]

My thoughts on the situation ...

1. Have you swapped out the temperature and humidity gauge/sensors, or put them both side by side to see if they read the same?

2. At what level and locations are both gauges/sensors?

3. I don't see your gambrel roof having a lot more volume, some ... but not a very large percentage compared to the entire rest of the coop.

If you draw a line from the peak, to the eaves ... there is very little space above that line ... compared to if the roof was at the line, and a gable style ...

 

[gtaus]

My thoughts on the situation ...

1. Have you swapped out the temperature and humidity gauge/sensors, or put them both side by side to see if they read the same?

2. At what level and locations are both gauges/sensors?

3. I don't see your gambrel roof having a lot more volume, some ... but not a very large percentage compared to the entire rest of the coop.

If you draw a line from the peak, to the eaves ... there is very little space above that line ... compared to if the roof was at the line, and a gable style ...

In response to:

1. Have you swapped out the temperature and humidity gauge/sensors, or put them both side by side to see if they read the same? Yes, I compared the remote sensors inside the house and they both read the same.

2. At what level and locations are both gauges/sensors? One remote sensor is in the front yard, the other sensor is in the backyard in the coop which is about 6 feet lower.​

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3. I don't see your gambrel roof having a lot more volume, some ... but not a very large percentage compared to the entire rest of the coop. If you draw a line from the peak, to the eaves ... there is very little space above that line ... compared to if the roof was at the line, and a gable style ...​

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I tried to find out online how much more volume the gambrel roof is giving me compared to a traditional gable style roof. I could not find a calculator to punch in the dimensions for comparison. Using my highly scientific eyeballs, I would estimate that the gambrel roof I built is about 1/3 more volume, maybe as much as 1/2 more compared to the conventional gable style roof I would have built. The roof really feels large above my head when you go into the coop. How much this affects the humidity in the coop, I really don't know.​

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[aart]

The roof really feels large above my head when you go into the coop.

Well, it is really tall.
You've got 8' walls, correct?
Many gambrels have short walls.
If you give me all the dimensions I can calculate the volume in cadd....
...or here's a visual.

 

[gtaus]

Well, it is really tall.
You've got 8' walls, correct?
Many gambrels have short walls.
If you give me all the dimensions I can calculate the volume in cadd....
...or here's a visual.
View attachment 1986014

Thanks, @aart, I will probably take you up on that offer. I will try to get out a tape measure in the next day or two and send you the dimensions of my roof.

 

[BYC910]

Don't even know how I got here but first off since your roof is near vertical, yor not much off o cubic feet , iif you caculated it square . Secound, it other than the vertical sides is the perfect construction of a gambrel roof..must are buiilt without soffits .Didn't quote but what someone else said is correct.You have less humidity because of the elavatef wood floor .The big consern with chicken munure is the build of methane gas ,Any thing placed directly on the ground helps to hold moisture in the ground .The ventalation you have is adequate for you voulme of cubic feet of air space .If your coop were directly on the ground then you would need more.Ihope you have a moisture proof fabric to protect the floor ,Iuse rubber foofing to cover mine .Remove the frozen poo ,don,t cover it .Finly let me say what a good job you did .Very impressive. For cubic feet calation use .sorry Iwas half asleep had to edit my post So LxWxH =cubic ft exaple 10×10=100sq ft x10=1000cubic ft. What I posted would drive you nuts and let you know I.am for sure .

 

[aart]

I will try to get out a tape measure in the next day or two and send you the dimensions of my roof.

Did you build this from plans...or....?

 

[Howard E]

To the OP, you have a lot of moving parts here to consider.

First off, have you given any thought as to WHY the coop is warmer inside than out? What are the possible heat sources? The only two I can think of are the birds themselves (each emits about the same amount of radiant heat as a 10 watt night light) and solar gain from sunshine. But the birds are also a source of humidity.....coming from their droppings, plus from their breath. Having heated water inside the coop is only a very minor factor.

Another source of heat is solar gain from the dark shingle roof and dark red paint. Both of those are radiating substantial amounts of heat into the structure. But that would only show up during daylight hours.....and to some extent, even on an overcast day.

Have you ever compared the temp / humidity difference during daylight hours and again several hours after dark? Keep in mind, relative humidity is a function of temperature. Assume a day outside when it's 0F and 95% humidity.......open the door, that cold air rushes in.....and we heat it. Relative humidity drops instantly. The warm dry air in our homes in winter is a function of cold air being brought in and heated.

As to the gambrel roof, probably makes no difference at all, except to the extent it acts like a chimney......venting warm moist air outside, to be replaced by colder, dryer makeup air that enters from below. And the moment the cold makeup air begins to warm, the relative humidity drops. All this would be amplified during the daylight hours from solar gain, but the same affect comes from the radiant heat the birds are giving off.

 

[aart]

(each emits about the same amount of radiant heat as a 10 watt night light)

This is what gets outside the feather 'blanket'?
Wonders, how did they measure that?

 

[Howard E]

Quote lifted from a book on poultry husbandry, written by Professor Card, U of IL, circa 1960......chapter on optimal ventilation to retain heat and control humidity in poultry barns.

 

[Howard E]

Not to put too fine a point on it, but I doubt that as many as 1 in 100 BYC folks are even aware that the basic, best practices for chicken house construction was worked out well over 100 years ago. We are not stupid....but we are ignorant.

Case in point is the concurrent thread the lady is having with condensation under her metal roof. An uninsulated metal roof on a chicken house was being universally condemned by the experts 100 years ago, and for the same reason. The lady trusted that the guy she hired to build her coop would know this. Not so.....her guy was probably good at building......probably did an excellent job of building her a class A death trap. Why? Because he too was ignorant......as is the case with nearly 99.9% of all the other builders of coops. Their emphasis is on something "cute" to sell. The fact that it is screwed up 6 ways to Sunday is lost on them.

One of the most hilarious examples was a version of the Purina coop built by non other than the experts on Good Old House. They did an excellent job of building what may have been one of the worst coop designs ever concocted.