How to frame windows for Coop

[chrislondon]

Hey all,

My wife and I want to build this coop for our 20 chickens: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/pullet-pimps-layers-lodge-chicken-coop.47770/ I'm trying to diagram it out in Sketchup but I have no idea how to properly frame stuff. How does this look for framing a window with a rough opening of 18" x 24"?

The cripple stud under the window is at 16"o.c. with the rest of the wall. Should I center it under the window instead?

 

[Chad Oftedal]

From my reading in this when framing my own coop - and I'm not a professional framer - but the information that I found said that the cripple stud went in the place where the normal stud would have been if it had not been interrupted by the opening. The simple read of all that verbiage, is that it's position would stay true to the wall stud layout, so putting it at 16" o.c. under that window is exactly correct.

It doesn't appear that you have a header above that window, and it's possible that you don't need one. In my plans that I built mine from, all of my windows had a header above them. But, I know there are many conditions/situations that come in to play, so hopefully someone with a formal construction background can help share when a header is needed. I just built mine with them because that is how the plans came drawn up.

 

[imnukensc]

Don't know what the rest of your dimensions are on that coop, but it doesn't look anywhere near large enough for 20 chickens.

 

[chrislondon]

The coop is 160 sq ft. The fenced outdoor run will be 16' x 16' (256 sq ft). I believe that's enough room for 20 chickens but if I'm mistaken I'd like to know.

Here's what the framing would look like if I did headers for the window. It almost makes a solid wall of 2x4's! Haha. If that's what I need to do to make the coop strong enough I'll do it but it seems like overkill to me (though, again, I'm not a contractor so i have no idea)

 

[cholland]

You've framed it like a house. Really solid. I would probably go 24" center for stud spacing. It's basically just a shed. Might save you a few $$.
You could just turn the two top plates on their side and not need a header. The king studs carry the load to the floor.
If it's not really a load bearing wall. You can get away with pretty light framing.

 

[jthornton]

How high off the ground is it? It looks like it's either on a hill or 5' off the ground. If I was making a new coop from scratch I'd build a walk in coop. A 4' tall coop unless you have munchkins to go inside and clean is a pain to get into. And yea you don't need that many studs for a coop. What is the floor dimensions?

JT

 

[aart]

My wife and I want to build this coop for our 20 chickens: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/pullet-pimps-layers-lodge-chicken-coop.47770/

That is a sweet looking coop!...tho I see no ventilation.

 

[Chad Oftedal]

You've framed it like a house. Really solid. I would probably go 24" center for stud spacing. It's basically just a shed. Might save you a few $$.
You could just turn the two top plates on their side and not need a header. The king studs carry the load to the floor.
If it's not really a load bearing wall. You can get away with pretty light framing.

This is just purely for my learning, not questioning the the advice here at all - does the type of siding that the OP is going to use make a difference? In my case, I wanted to match my coop siding to our shop and house siding. That meant that I ended up using LP SmartSide 76 because it had the 4" oc narrow look that matched. In reading the install instructions for that siding, it said that it had to be put on walls that were framed 16" oc. The LP SmartSide 38 could be put on walls up to 24" oc, but it didn't come in the 8" oc look that I wanted. My plans that I used were already drawn up for 16" oc, so it didn't come in to play for me. My question really is, are those guidelines that the manufacturer lists really based on residential code only? I'm sure they're not thinking shed/chicken coops when writing those up! I hope this question makes sense, I'm just trying to further my knowledge here, and if it does actually make a difference, maybe that helps the OP.

 

[cholland]

Those are building code specifications. For houses and buildings you occupy. Outbuildings are usually of lighter construction. It really only makes the difference of a couple studs when building small, so use 16" center if you want.
Most sheds and coops are not as large as a house, and are not heavily insulated, covered inside with Sheetrock, etc. so the structural framing can be a bit less and still be well built and last a long time.
Stop by one of those places that sells prebuilt sheds and check out the framing. They really cut corners.