Insulating a very hot coop

[erkadoo]

Hello everyone,
I have some questions regarding insulating. I have a 10X12 metal shed that we converted into a coop. We cut a window and installed an air conditioner however it’s 104 degrees out and it doesn’t help at all. I was going to buy 0.75 inch insulating board the “styrofoam with reflective stuff” however I’m unsure if they will eat at it. I’m wondering if I just do the ceiling and all but 4’ from the floor if it Would be sufficient . Do you think it will still cool enough? Thank you for your time, also they have a very large shaded run so they are not baking

 

[PirateGirl]

I have not dealt with the heat, but can attest to the fact that chickens love to peck at and eat foam insulation.

 

[Nksg75]

I pondered this same thing. I also have converted a metal shed into a coop. Here in Texas, it's pretty darn hot! I went back and forth on what to do without building a whole new coop. I ended up with 4 fans on 24/7 and removing the entire front of the shed.
I swapped hardware cloth in place of a solid front.
It still gets up to about 97 mid day, however it's not past that 100 mark anymore.

 

[snow5164]

Our coop a converted shed is insulated with foam sheets, dropped ceiling , walls and floors , it was 10 degrees cooler then the barn last week that only has insulated walls .... it really does help and they really will eat it... I’d do it all the way down then cover it with cheap paneling or particle board sheets..... good luck . We have no a/c or fans just cross breezes

 

[Howard E]

To clarify my post, insulation is not all equal. For this use, the product to use is foil faced polyiso insulation to reflect the radiant heat gain from the metal siding, and to do that, it requires a bit of an air gap between the metal siding and insulation. The gap of a 2x4, either 1.5" or 3.5" is OK to create this air gap.

On a clear day as the sun is coming up, and sunlight is hitting the side of the house with dark red paint, the metal siding can become so hot you can't put your hand on it. Yet the plywood on the inside is cool to the touch. The wall with hot side equal in temp to the others. The foil faced stuff is reflecting this radiant heat gain.

A really BAD insulation for this use would be fiberglass batt insulation. Does not work nearly as well and becomes the perfect place for rodents like rats and mice to setup housekeeping inside the walls of your house.

A tight, well constructed metal clad house, with foil faced foam board insulation, with insulation then covered by a thin layer of plywood to keep the birds from eating it, is close to rodent proof.

 

[BirdGirl2004]

What i did when my I turned my shed into a coop, is leave about 2-3 inches open at the top edges of the coop. That way the air can blow in through the top, giving them the ventilation that they need. If you have a air conditioner in that small of a coop I'm wondering how it doesn't cool it down!! hmmmmm...

Hope some of that helped!

 

[erkadoo]

It is confusing to me as well, it does have vents between roof and walls were the metal is corrugated.And a turbine on the top. I think the sun just bakes the metal making it a oven.

 

[BirdGirl2004]

That is a very nice coop birdgirl luckly it is wood and is better insulated than just metal. I will insulate it tomorrow and let y’all know how it works. I just hope they don’t think it tastes good

lol, there just pics from the internet... but thanks anyways!! My coop doesn't look that great lol... i wish *sigh*

 

[erkadoo]

Our coop a converted shed is insulated with foam sheets, dropped ceiling , walls and floors , it was 10 degrees cooler then the barn last week that only has insulated walls .... it really does help and they really will eat it... I’d do it all the way down then cover it with cheap paneling or particle board sheets..... good luck . We have no a/c or fans just cross breezes

Awesome maybe I can get rid of the a/c and lower the electric bill

 

[Nksg75]

In this pic, I had the fan inside. That did not work at all. It just blew really hot air from the burning hot metal tin.
I then cut a large opening on each side on this lean to thing, and inserted the fan. This way it blew air from the outside instead of the air that was being heated by the tin.

It is confusing to me as well, it does have vents between roof and walls were the metal is corrugated.And a turbine on the top. I think the sun just bakes the metal making it a oven.

Your right, it sure felt like an oven before I altered it.
I will post pics:

Btw I did not build this originally. We just had to make do with what was already there!