How to attach rafters?

[fightingbunny]

Only issue I see is to much sun from roof I'd have more shade roofing then clear. Chickens need the shade

I considered going with an opaque roofing but this coop is under very large and established trees. There is a lot of shade all day at this location. It is also more prone to breezes than the rest of our property as it is up on the hill. We cleared the underbrush and small under-story trees from the location which is why maybe the picture doesn't show as much greenery as there is. The trees there are very tall and if I back up enough to show the upper part of trees then I am stuck in a bush and you can't see the coop! I would not describe it as dense shade as there are a few little beams of sunlight that filter through, but is a bit dark at some points in the day. The semi-transparent roofing keeps the coop/run from being very gloomy. I took these pictures around 8pm so it does not show the sunlight level well. I will try to get one on a sunny day around 10am so people can chime in on whether the trees provide enough shade. Is there much difference between shaded and gloomy for temperature? I know when I have been up in the woods in a chair I never felt the desire for more shade. Do you think there is a heat risk in the winter when the trees drop their leaves? I would think a bit of extra light during the winter would not be a bad thing.

 

[fightingbunny]

Looking at suntuf, which is the home depot line of these panels, the rep states the grey lets through 35% of the light. So that seems pretty good for adding some shade without being gloomy.

I looked at the tuftex website and got the following link. Not sure what % this is but the graph looks like 50% to me. https://tuftexpanel.com/tuftex-polycarb-transmission-data.shtml

 

[aart]

Does anyone have a screw length and washer size they recommend?

I used 1 1/4 drywall screws and ordered #8 oversized washers from McMaster Carr,
kinda pricey with shipping but I couldn't find anything close in hardware stores.

 

[NorthTexasWink]

@fightingbunny I see your coop is under trees. I'd need more shade, like @Rob Tof said. Do you have any open areas under the roof or rafters? In my area, I'd have issues with that, snakes, wild birds getting in. Otherwise I'm crazy jealous of such construction skills!

 

[imnukensc]

I think with all the trees you'll have plenty of shade in the summer and plenty of sun in the winter. Seems like a good plan to me. As far as attaching HW cloth or any other wire, I used a compressed air stapler. There was no way I was going to use screws to attach all the wire on my 8' wide, 16' long, by 7' tall run.

 

[fightingbunny]

@imnukensc , How well do the compressed air stapled staples hold up? Will a racoon or dog be able to pull the hardware cloth off?

 

[imnukensc]

They hold up extremely well. I can assure you no dog or raccoon is going to be tearing off my wire. I probably used way more staples than I had to, but it was a heck of a lot faster and easier than using screws and washers.

 

[cavemanrich]

They hold up extremely well. I can assure you no dog or raccoon is going to be tearing off my wire. I probably used way more staples than I had to, but it was a heck of a lot faster and easier than using screws and washers.

Have to agree with you on the staples. I also use them for various things. Staples come in various lengths . I have used the ones at 1 inch in length, 1/4 crown and they are quite difficult to pull out using pliers. Used shorter 5/8 inch long quite extensively when I built/added onto my pigeon loft. (to hold hardware cloth to framework)

 

[fightingbunny]

So, I am dreading attaching the hardware cloth as a huge time suck with random bleeding. I got an angle grinder in order to reduce the bleeding part hopefully (angle grinder I got: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RZV20CS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

Pounding in staples with a hammer sounds like it will take longer than drilling in screws/washers with the impact driver.

I really like the sound of some sort of compressed stapler thing as that sounds FAST! I think I can rent one from a hardware store around here, but I need to know what exactly I need. I also might have a contractor friend that I could borrow one from over the weekend potentially. Is it possible to give me exact names for the staples and the tool that drives them in?

Using compressed stapler, could I get my hardware cloth attached in a few hours?

Btw, I love this forum!! You guys are the best!

 

[fightingbunny]

Do any of these seem like the tool for attaching hardware cloth?

http://www.homedepot.com/c/nailers_and_floor_installation_equipment_rental#construction-nailer