Quote:
My BYC page! The link is under my avatar. I wanted to use what I had to build with. I had been given a large stack of plywood piece's. They measured 18" x 8' x 3/8". The plans call for 1/4" so I decided to try it. Plywood bends easy when its thin and, the rib's are only 4" wide. The weak spot in those plans is where the ribs attach. It leaves a gap 3/4' wide and 18" long top and bottom. When I build my new one i will use 4 ribs instead of 2. These 2 extra ribs will be shorter and won't attach to the side rails but, instead will fill those gaps and make the ribs thicker and stronger. All the ribs will be glued together making them 1 solid piece. Now this tractor lasted 8 years before some 90 mph winds broke 2 of the ribs. (1 inner on one side and, 1 outer on the other side)
When I put the end panels in for the coop part I used scrap chunks of 2x4 and made short blocks that I screwed to the ribs. This gave me points to attach the walls. The door frames are made with 2x2 and run all the way up to the ribs from the floor. The walls are fiberglass, I got some free 4'x4' panels from a semi trailer repair shop. It is what is used on trailer roofs. They used to break it up to fit in the dumpster. Now they save it for me in 1 piece. It makes a roll that's 8'x50'. I have used it for roofing and siding on all of my tractors.
I also did not have the 1"x6" boards that are called for in the plans. So I made some side and, end panels of my own. I used those 3/8" plywood scraps some screws and liquid nails. The side panels are 18"x12'x3/4" and the end panels are 18"x7'x3/4". The coop is still solid, The broken ribs are in the run part.
Mistakes:
I had just bought this place so I didn't know that the area that I built the coop on was very damp in the spring. As I mentioned before the ribs need to be solid without the gaps shown in the plans, unless you intend to cover the entire structure with something. I should have built it higher off of the ground.
I built this for less than 75 dollars 8 years ago. My only cost was for chicken wire, liquid nails, screws and, hardware. If I can move this without to much damage, I will try to repair it later. For now I am planing a new one that is twice as long with 2 runs separated by the coop which will be built in the center. This way I can alternate the use of the runs and reseed the grass when necessary.