Ok... So I've got my plan, my walls are up, the window openings are frames and I'm just about ready to sheet and roof. Question though about the windows. I'm going to be doing double swing open windows which open to the outside world as opposed to single hung windows to allow for the whole area to be opened for ventilation. A question comes to mind however about keeping the rain out. Granted, it would be the same for a single hung window, on a lesser degree. But with double swing windows that will give roughly a 30" X 36" wide open hole, what to do about rain? Granted, I could just close them and reopen them when the rain stops, but this time of year that's alot of running back and forth. I'd also thought of having a pinning system to have them held open only a smidgen to allow for air flow but block the bulk of the rain. I dunno... I'm going to have roughly a 12" roof overhang on all four walls which will handle the basic rain shower. It's the blowing rains I'm thinking of which we get at least 25% of the time. So what are your thoughts on this? Only other thing I can think of is to do the windows as inverted hoppers so that they open from the bottom, but I'd prefer not to do this.
It sounds like you have intelligently-designed roof overhangs (not all that common on coops, unfortunately!) so I agree that your problem will just be with gusty storms. The logical solution would be to leave the upwind-side windows closed, or mostly closed, on days when such are forecast. And you know what, if a little bit of rain blows into the coop on occasion, it is not a major tragedy. Pat
We have a major problem with rain in the Pacific Northwest but more so here in Forks since we are so close to the rain forest. We get an average of 129 inches a year. I haven't built our coop yet but I was thinking that to avoid rain getting inside I would keep the windows open with only a little crack and rely most on the open area at the roof that I will cover with chicken wire. That way if I'm gone for the day and it is raining then they will still have some good air flow with the windows cracked, pop door open and the top vents. More then half the rain we get comes with real nasty wind so I will need to have the windows shut for those times. I aslo want good over hangs like you mentioned in your post and hope that will help some. Just my thoughts since I'm a such a newbie, what do I know?! I have been "planning" my coop forever and seems like I will never get it built.
You might be better off using jalousie windows, if you can find them. They're the ones which are made up of slats of glass, much like louvered doors. Should fit your needs really well. Only problem is finding them since they're long since out of style due to obvious reasons. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jalousie
Just build them a roofed porch on that side of the coop. That way they can sit their rocking chairs and watch the rain. Sorry. I couldn't help it.
That's actually not a bad idea.. I'm going to put a dormer on that side of the roof. Would look good.
