Insulating a very hot coop

[cmom]

Plenty of ventilation is the key along with shade. My coops aren't insulated but there is plenty of air flow. The roosts are over a poop pit which I can clean out from outside the coop. All of my coops are different but I can clean them out easily.

 

[Howard E]

This house has metal roof and sides, and is insulated with 1/2 polyiso foam, with reflective foil facing out towards the metal. To keep the birds away from it, it walls were then covered with 3/8" plywood.

You are correct that unless insulated, a metal clad house of this type would become a sweatbox / torture chamber / death trap. Far hotter inside than out. As is, it remains cooler inside than outside and birds using this house go inside during the day to escape the heat, which has been running 95+ during the day. A lot of folks will find their birds refusing to use their house, preferring to remain and roost outside. If its hotter inside than out, I would do the same.

To do this correctly, there is an air gap between the metal siding and shiny, foil faced poly iso board, in this case the gap is 1.5 inches, the width of a 2x4. Also helps under the roof to reflect heat, and it helps that roof is bright white so doesn't get nearly as hot as a colored roof would.

Insulation will also help in winter, to retain heat generated by the birds themselves.

This house is also well ventilated. Roof overhangs front and back are wide open, windows left open and two gable vents were installed in front wall.

 

[Hokum Coco]

I just hope they don’t think it tastes good

My set up is similar to yours (coop footprint 4x8) insulating alone helped (1½" Styrofoam covered with a plywood veneer).

Two layers of 0.75 to the floor with the second layer staggering the joints of the first is what I would recommend.
It way take them awhile but eventually they will chow down on your Styrofoam. The reflective stuff will act as a mirror and encourage pecking. Covering it with plywood would be best even corrugated cardboard stuck on with adhesive would be better than what you have planed I think. I ran interior door for the veneer I picked up at Habitat for Humanity through my table saw to cover my Styrofoam.

 

[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.

 

[leslielbk]

And the humidity there is unreal lol I’m in Oklahoma we don’t have near the humidity you have yay I will definitely get the 2” for roof thank you

My Mom's people are from Cherokee, OK!! Good luck with your insulation project - please keep us posted on what you did and the result. I forgot to mention my coop is always 10 degrees cooler, but that's not saying much when it's 95.

 

[erkadoo]

I did way more than this shows but I was able to get it down to 75 today. I did the ceiling and the west wall that gets most the sun. Also bout some aluminum fiber metal coating and mixed it with white paint to make it stretch and painted the outside and roof. Also purchased a new window unit. It was only 102 outside today.

 

[erkadoo]

Thank you all so much! I really appreciate the help. I did use the reflective.75 poly on ceiling, however I also plan on making a lite drop ceiling. I know this may seem excessive but my grown lady’s are getting a new more airy build,hopefully critter resistant. Next year. And this will be specifically for the chicks.

 

[erkadoo]

Also lol I didn’t do an airgap per say because the metal is corrugated and I’m hoping those will serve well as the air gap. It is flimsy tin and I’m a plumber this is not my area at all. But the outer edges have 2” holes the length of the panel every 6”

 

[leslielbk]

Wow! That's a huge temperature drop - success feels good, don't it? I get a lot of advice on here and this is my best tip: even though I've kept chickens for years, I'll look for a thread or post a quick question. My latest was roosting poles, and instead of wracking my brain to solve what I know is a simple problem I posted a quick question and voila!! Got what I needed.
My next one is before I build my 90th nesting box, what could I learn here? Something better/new? Probably.