Hurricane Coop Construction

[HurricaneCoops]

New here and this if my very first post.

So after my Chicken tractor got blown 100 yards away during Hurricane Irma here in SWF I have decided to build a Hurricane resistant coop. (if there is such a thing)

I plan on it having a large foot print 32' X 10' because I have had some losses due to them free ranging in the yard, two losses due to Hawks and by the looks of the claw and paw marks in the sand I loss another three to maybe a Florida Panther.

I'm thinking of having 4 X 6 posts cemented into the ground with 4 X 4 tying it all together.

Here is a picture of where my thoughts have gotten me so far, doors on both sides and a deep litter box in the middle elevated 24" off the ground. The reason for two doors is because I'm thinking of it being a duplex that I can partition off in the middle to keep two separate groups apart from each other?

 

[blackdog043]

Looks good to me and it should work well for two groups. If you are going to use 1/2 x 1/2 hardware cloth, check Amazon and walmart.com for the best prices. The prices fluctuate on both sites, check every day.

 

[TalkALittle]

Cemented posts won't go anywhere in a hurricane, but footage of hurricane damage always shows roofs peeled right off structures. I'm not familiar to building codes for hurricane safety (but am more familiar with those for snow load). What needs to be done to keep a roof on during a hurricane?

 

[aart]

Nice model!
What software?

Ditto TAL.
Look at building codes.
BUT
That may not cover the fact that you have mesh walls,
which probably make the roof more susceptible to 'flight'.
Am assuming the roof will be solid material for shade and rain shedding?

Oh, and, Welcome to BYC!

 

[HurricaneCoops]

Looks good to me and it should work well for two groups. If you are going to use 1/2 x 1/2 hardware cloth, check Amazon and walmart.com for the best prices. The prices fluctuate on both sites, check every day.

The spacing shown in the image was determined by the 1/2" 16GA Black Vinyl coated hardware cloth that I all ready purchased that is 48" x 100' off of Amazon, how they made any money on it with free shipping is a mystery to me as it weighs a ton.

 

[HurricaneCoops]

Nice model!
What software?

Ditto TAL.
Look at building codes.
BUT
That may not cover the fact that you have mesh walls,
which probably make the roof more susceptible to 'flight'.
Am assuming the roof will be solid material for shade and rain shedding?

Oh, and, Welcome to BYC!

The Software is SolidWorks,
Will try and make it over kill and use hurricane brackets everywhere I can?
May just try and document a CAD Drawing as completly as I can and have the county permitting office determine what I need to change?

 

[aart]

The spacing shown in the image was determined by the 1/2" 16GA Black Vinyl coated hardware cloth

But not drawn to scale.

 

[HurricaneCoops]

Cemented posts won't go anywhere in a hurricane, but footage of hurricane damage always shows roofs peeled right off structures. I'm not familiar to building codes for hurricane safety (but am more familiar with those for snow load). What needs to be done to keep a roof on during a hurricane?

Not sure? Even has someone here at work tell me that 4x4 posts for their fence snapped off at the base during this last hurricane?

 

[HurricaneCoops]

But not drawn to scale.

Good catch.

Everything except the pattern of the hardware cloth is 100% to scale. If I made the pattern 1/2 x 1/2 it would have looked almost solid unless you were zoomed in.

 

[aart]

Good catch.

Everything except the pattern of the hardware cloth is 100% to scale. If I made the pattern 1/2 x 1/2 it would have looked almost solid unless you were zoomed in.

Yep...it sure would. Old drafter here.

Just wanted to point out to others that the mesh is not drawn to scale.

So what software are you using?