Metal roofs - black, white, need plywood underneath?

[nmr]

You do not need plywood underneath. I would highly recommend insulation under the metal though.

How would you go about insulating/what do you suggest using?

thanks!

 

[neo71665]

My coop is all white tin with no wood under it. My run is covered with old galvanized barn tin.

Both were recycled so I could care less if it was pink with purple poka dots. Free is free.

 

[tigger19687]

Please talk to other VT'ers. People in the southern states do not understand our climate. Please list area of VT you are in, it will make a Big difference on your sustained lows for winter. You can put it in your profile so others know.
I'm in MA.
I would put solid ply, felt then metal roof. Have a deep overhang and high pitched roof to get the snow to slide off and away from the sides of the coop. Don't forget either roof vent or side vents.

I like a bigger coop then needed, like 2x as big, in case there are winter storms that keep them in the coop for an extended period of time.

Roof color will depend on if you get sun in the winter on the coop.... if so pick black to help get a tiny bit of solar gain otherwise it won't matter. Pick what ever is cheapest... or free

 

[Reggan]

We are in WI and just made it through our 1st winter. We have a 7x9 totally steel (walls and ceiling) shed. We then built an addition on to it for our 20 Brahmas/buckeyes. The addition is 8x8 all 3/4 quarter inch plywood. In essence we have a 15x17 coop/big shed.

The entire coop has vinyl plank flooring (easy cleanup) and helps insulate a bit.

The steel shed portion is vented at the roof line the entire length of the east and west walls about 6 inches high (so 7ft x 6 inches). The north and south of that portion are vented with a 8x8 inch screened opening. We also installed a 3x3 sliding window.

The plywood addition portion is not vented at the roof line. We just installed a 3x3 slider. This portion is where we insulated the ceiling and it's also where all my roosts are. This allows plenty of airflow in the building as a whole, but during the winter they roost in an 8x8 plywood section where the roof is insulated. All I did was after my hubby put a metal roof on I went in with pink board and and set it up between the joists and just made small furring strips to hold the board up to the ceiling. It's tight. The walls are not insulated and the girls and boy did fine all winter. I do have electricity in the building so on the very cold nights (below zero) I used the Premier1 heating lamp housing and used it off and on throughout February in the insulated plywood built part of the building. Plus their body heat was somewhat contained. I ran a thermometer/barometer all winter. I never had a humidity issue.

Because it's a rather large shed vs a coop we were a bit concerned about heat, but we faired well.

I did end up closing the west & north wall ventilation (covered them w/ plastic) due to wind and snow. I only left the east and south open... again no issue with humidity nor did I have any ill chickens.

I used a quasi deep litter method, more of a deep bedding method. I still cleaned up most the coop a few times, but kept the floor about 10inches deep.

I did set up some straw bales around the steel portion of the building where I could for obvious reasons since the walls are just corrugated steel panels.

I have two adjacent runs... My "Fort Knox safe run" runs the length of the building on the north side and I covered the north side of the run which means my entire building was somewhat shielded by the wind from the north. My large quasi safe run is off the east side of the coop and that's also my large people entrance. I say this so when you look at the pics you will be looking into the building from the east side. The big door you are looking into is the plywood addition where I insulated the ceiling. You'll also see the two buildings. The nesting boxes are in the steel portion.

I also attached a pic right after we built it where you can clearly see it's 2 different buildings, 1 steel and 1 plywood. That is the southside of the building. It looks much better now , but I thought the pic would help visually explain my post.

These pics are when we first built it all. We have a large covered safe run off the east side (right of the building) now too. That was nice for snow! I had 2 runs I didn't have to shovel much at all.

 

[Rldad1]

I live in the deep south. I put metal over plywood with felt in between. My choice was because all metal can get hot especially in our summers.

 

[jennyinvermont]

Sorry everyone for some reason I didn't emails about all the new replies! I got too worried about condensation (we're in vermont and i'm not insulating it) so i'm doing plywood with the felting underneath, to be safe. It has two windows and two vents and some leaky construction so I think it should be ventilated enough. I didn't want it to rain on the chicks and it seemed like it would be much colder without the plywood to seal it.

 

[jennyinvermont]

We are in WI and just made it through our 1st winter. We have a 7x9 totally steel (walls and ceiling) shed. We then built an addition on to it for our 20 Brahmas/buckeyes. The addition is 8x8 all 3/4 quarter inch plywood. In essence we have a 15x17 coop/big shed.

The entire coop has vinyl plank flooring (easy cleanup) and helps insulate a bit.

The steel shed portion is vented at the roof line the entire length of the east and west walls about 6 inches high (so 7ft x 6 inches). The north and south of that portion are vented with a 8x8 inch screened opening. We also installed a 3x3 sliding window.

The plywood addition portion is not vented at the roof line. We just installed a 3x3 slider. This portion is where we insulated the ceiling and it's also where all my roosts are. This allows plenty of airflow in the building as a whole, but during the winter they roost in an 8x8 plywood section where the roof is insulated. All I did was after my hubby put a metal roof on I went in with pink board and and set it up between the joists and just made small furring strips to hold the board up to the ceiling. It's tight. The walls are not insulated and the girls and boy did fine all winter. I do have electricity in the building so on the very cold nights (below zero) I used the Premier1 heating lamp housing and used it off and on throughout February in the insulated plywood built part of the building. Plus their body heat was somewhat contained. I ran a thermometer/barometer all winter. I never had a humidity issue.

Because it's a rather large shed vs a coop we were a bit concerned about heat, but we faired well.

I did end up closing the west & north wall ventilation (covered them w/ plastic) due to wind and snow. I only left the east and south open... again no issue with humidity nor did I have any ill chickens.

I used a quasi deep litter method, more of a deep bedding method. I still cleaned up most the coop a few times, but kept the floor about 10inches deep.

I did set up some straw bales around the steel portion of the building where I could for obvious reasons since the walls are just corrugated steel panels.

I have two adjacent runs... My "Fort Knox safe run" runs the length of the building on the north side and I covered the north side of the run which means my entire building was somewhat shielded by the wind from the north. My large quasi safe run is off the east side of the coop and that's also my large people entrance. I say this so when you look at the pics you will be looking into the building from the east side. The big door you are looking into is the plywood addition where I insulated the ceiling. You'll also see the two buildings. The nesting boxes are in the steel portion.

I also attached a pic right after we built it where you can clearly see it's 2 different buildings, 1 steel and 1 plywood. That is the southside of the building. It looks much better now , but I thought the pic would help visually explain my post.

These pics are when we first built it all. We have a large covered safe run off the east side (right of the building) now too. That was nice for snow! I had 2 runs I didn't have to shovel much at all.

Thank you for sharing!

 

[jennyinvermont]

Please talk to other VT'ers. People in the southern states do not understand our climate. Please list area of VT you are in, it will make a Big difference on your sustained lows for winter. You can put it in your profile so others know.
I'm in MA.
I would put solid ply, felt then metal roof. Have a deep overhang and high pitched roof to get the snow to slide off and away from the sides of the coop. Don't forget either roof vent or side vents.

I like a bigger coop then needed, like 2x as big, in case there are winter storms that keep them in the coop for an extended period of time.

Roof color will depend on if you get sun in the winter on the coop.... if so pick black to help get a tiny bit of solar gain otherwise it won't matter. Pick what ever is cheapest... or free

Thanks so much! We're in Southern VT, near Stratton. Okay we went big on the coop which I was thinking was silly but this makes me feel better. I hope to roof the small fort knox run so they have somewhere I don't have to shovel, but there will be a ton of snowcover on their free range part of the yard for several months. I already spent about 1 million dollars on this damn coop so no point in worrying about money now. I did decide to go plywood and felt so glad to hear that works. 2 windows and 2 wall vents.

 

[Rooster Giddens]

You do not need plywood underneath. I would highly recommend insulation under the metal though.

I was going to suggest insulation under your metal roof, also as well as roof vents. Black roof panels will absorb heat and therefore a need for ventilation.

 

[Kehknee]

Like many said, plywood isn’t required for metal roofs.

For condensation you can add a moisture barrier it looks kind of like a “space blanket”. Depending where you’re located. Lots of ventilation should also do the trick.

one item I would invest in is the rib sticks that are installed below the ribs of the panels and secured to the frame. Good luck!