In Which I relocate a very heavy Chicken Coop

[Gypsi]

Overbuilding with heavy wood and building inside a structure with no door wide enough to remove the finished product happened with my first stereo cabinet, in around 1980.

I put great thought into weight vs strength. My coop is not overbuilt. I think I will add some 1x2 rafters - to provide support to the roof but keep weight down. up until I added the first roof panel, I could still lift it and move it by myself small distances (like inches). I used a leftover piece of 1 1/4" subflooring 4ft by4ft, cut in half for the floor, with lighter plywood over a 2x4 brace in the center, allowing 1/2 inch drains on either side of the plywood for major cleanups. 3/8 inch plywood for the sides because of weight again. Strong enough, but not as heavy as 1/2 inch. I won't touch particle board for anything. Stuff weighs a ton and has no structural integrity if it gets damp.

Now my run is overbuilt. And there is zero clearance between peak of roof on chicken house and the center beam supporting the chickenwire on top of the run. But I did want it solid so I can attach good fencing, and I do have hawks and vultures and other flying critters around.

But I'm still not moving my coop. At least not without a LOT of help.

 

[WV_Hillbilly70]

That sounds about like the adventure I'm about to embark on!!! Got the brilliant idea to build mine in my garage due the the excessive rain we've been having here in central Indiana.....after three weekends of constructiveness I've think I may have built the perfect coop...But now the issues with this well laid plan...As it sits at the moment from the top of the rafters (without the roof package) to the ground is 83"...my garage door opening is 83 1/2"....and that thing probably weighs 500lbs or more!!!! Granted it is only being placed about 20 feet from the garage door opening, but none the less I'm thinking about having my better half video tape the culmination of my "Coop Moving Party" that I'm planning in the coming weeks!! Should be a youtube sensation!!!

More to come!!

 

[Prospector]

Quote:
Sheet rock screws are great for what they are made for, but structurally they can't be trusted. The metal used in them is brittle and does not stand up to stresses well at all (compared to properly sized nails). If moving it in sections is an option, I would go that way. If you have access to a flatbed trailer, you may be able to move it in one piece, but go slow and be careful. My real undoing was getting the van stuck in the mud. If that hadn't happenned I could have backed the coop into position, and lifted it off the trailer directly onto the waiting CMUs. If I had waited for better weather there wouldn't have been a story worth telling, but slopping around in mud and rain and swearing at something that isn't going right reminds me that I'm a guy.

 

[robk0220]

Don't feel bad... here goes:


After spending over $1,000 to buy the materials and construct the 10 foot x 12 foot coop, and my wife ordering the chickens, ducks, and geese that she wanted, our landlord informs us that he is not going to renew our lease. We are now going to be moving about 50 miles away from here, utilizing u.s. highways, and a portion of the interstate for our move.

Keep in mind, that we constructed the coop to code, you could actually live inside the thing. 2 x 6 floor joists, 1/2" exterior grade plywood floor, 2 x 6 roof joists, rubber roll roofing, etc.... and everything held together with 3" screws. it is 12 foot wide and 10 foot deep, 8 foot tall in the front and 6 foot tall in the back.

Now, in most circumstances, the first thought is: "how in the world are we gonna move this?!?!?!" as there is no way to move something that size without getting permits and escort vehicles and the such...

For some reason, during the design of the coop, I had a brilliant idea (which is a miracle for me)... Since we don't own the property, we will eventually need to be able to move it.

For once, the gears had actually started working in my brain. I designed our coop to split into 2 sections and load onto our 24 foot trailer to be moved... Which we will be attempting in the next week or two... I am definatley gonna have to take pictures of this one.

Now, I've moved a lot of large items (having been a truck driver for over 15 years) so the actual driving portion is not gonna be a problem. The loading it onto the trailer is gonna be the fun part, as we are working with only floor jacks and 2 people... Should be interesting.

 

[Prospector]

Quote:
Yes, the rain has been my undoing as well. I am way behind schedule both on the coop and our spring boat launch because of this rain, hence needing to do this yesterday. The chicks won't stop growing and soon they will need to get outta the brooder. Plus this entire weekend is lost to a course I am goin gon out of town so every night some progress MUST be made regardless of weather. Yesterday it was either trimwork (adding weight) or paint (in the rain??) the big move.

If I can be so bold, Have you thought about putting a sheet of anything slippy down under the coop (I am thinking you can get countertop skins for cheap) then putting a rope around it and sliding it out of the garage very carefully? If you have a vehicle with a tow hook under it, you may be able to just put a rope or load strap around the coop and pull it outta there. Once the coop is out of the garage, lifting it onto rollers or a trailer or something will be the next challenge, but I'll leave you to solve that one. You need to have some fun after all.

A hint about the pipe rollers suggested above - buy a couple bags of concrete mix and fill the pipes and put caps on the ends for added strength and less flex.

 

[Prospector]

Rob, If you are nervous about it, don't be. I suggest you look at the boat moving link I posted above, and you can see how it can be done. The lifting is easy (jacks of any kind will do) its the getting the trailer under it that is difficult. Your moves sound about like mine. Flatbed trailer and elbow greaes and see how far you can get. For reference th eboat I moved there weighs 4500 lbs empty, closer to 5500 lbs equipped, and around 6500 lbs outfitted.

Good Luck on your move!!

 

[Gypsi]

So since I used sheet rock screws to put my coop together, I should maybe add some nails for reinforcement? It's always something.....

 

[WV_Hillbilly70]

Quote:
Yes, the rain has been my undoing as well. I am way behind schedule both on the coop and our spring boat launch because of this rain, hence needing to do this yesterday. The chicks won't stop growing and soon they will need to get outta the brooder. Plus this entire weekend is lost to a course I am goin gon out of town so every night some progress MUST be made regardless of weather. Yesterday it was either trimwork (adding weight) or paint (in the rain??) the big move.

If I can be so bold, Have you thought about putting a sheet of anything slippy down under the coop (I am thinking you can get countertop skins for cheap) then putting a rope around it and sliding it out of the garage very carefully? If you have a vehicle with a tow hook under it, you may be able to just put a rope or load strap around the coop and pull it outta there. Once the coop is out of the garage, lifting it onto rollers or a trailer or something will be the next challenge, but I'll leave you to solve that one. You need to have some fun after all.

A hint about the pipe rollers suggested above - buy a couple bags of concrete mix and fill the pipes and put caps on the ends for added strength and less flex.

Thought alot about moving the thing, luckily I have a platoon of Army mechanics who will pick up and move anything for beer and some hamburgers and hot dogs...

 

[nelgkel]

thanks for the laugh!!! Sounds like my hubby and I trying to move stuff! Fortunately we also have a strong teenager who always gets pulled into our adventures!!! We used 1 1/2 inch PVC to move the coop across our yard!

We got the coop for free of CL ...went to pick it up...OH MY GOSH IT WAS HEAVY!!!!!! I backed the truck up after we got it into position and the teetered it up onto the bed of the truck! It barely fit into the bed of the truck and between the wheel wells...well once we got it in and got the back closed....WEll then we got home and had NO way to get between the truck and coop to start pushing it out of the truck!!! Hubby used one of those ratcheting straps around the PALM TREE!!! and pulled the coop out a few feet so we could then back up to the back fence and push it out onto the pvc pieces to roll it across the yard! GOSH , I sure wish I had taken pictures!! It was CRAZY but we got it done! Enlisted the help of our 3 boys and 2 of the neighbor boys!!

Love the story! Hope you get it moved safely!

 

[Prospector]

Gypsi - I have a number of friends who have built canoes in their basements, and then had no way to get them out. One guy actually excavated his foundation, removed a section of cinderblock wall, and then rebuild the wall once the canoe was out.

Now thats an expensive canoe!

I have always maintained that anything can be done if you go slow and use your head. I knew the coop was top-heavy going in, and I knew there was a good chance I would lose it on the unloading part, but rolled the dice and lost. Luckily at the end of the day, there was no damage done (I was smart enough to not install the windows before the move), and things will all work out fine. Had I thought that the risk of damage was greater, I would have done things a little differently to prevent the roll. Before I pulled wit hthe car I told SWMBO to watch and let me know If th ecoop was going to catch on the trailer's edge since that would have damaged either the coop or the trailer. I figured if it rolled, the worst that would happen was I would end up rebuilding a wall or roof panel.

For those who are asking for pics, I don't have any. I took some of the coop loaded on the trailer, but by the time we were off-loading, the rain was coing down too heavy to take a camera out in it.