Need advice on retrofitting a sloped roof over my existing ChickArena.
The sloped roof that we’ve used for the past five years is not at a-large-enough pitch for rain and snow to readily run off.
We need to replace it or somehow redesign and build and install it so that it has a much greater slant.
We can easily remove the plastic roof panels, exposing the supporting “lath” lumber with their scalloped top edges:
PHOTO # 1
Problem is, we can’t climb up there to do any of the work. We’ll have to work down on the ground or on the patio worktable to build whatever’s needed. And then somehow the two of us will lift it up onto the 2 x 4’s that run on top of the wire ceiling, front to back across the entire structure. See PHOTO # 4 .
The roof as it exists now:
PHOTO # 2
The ChickArena is a 9’ x 15’ rectangle structure framed with vertical 2 x 4’s [painted yellow] set three feet apart. Horizontal 2 x 4’s (painted yellow] are at the base and at the top of the yellow verticals on all four sides of the enclosure, and additional 2 x 4’s [painted white] run across the ceiling of the enclosure from front to back. See PHOTOS 3 & 4.
Hardwire cloth lines the interior sides and top of the enclosure and is screwed securely into the lumber creating four walls and a ceiling.
Three wood laths lie above the hardware cloth ceiling, running crosswise from left to right. One is near the front of the structure, one in the middle, and one is close to the back of the ChickArena. The front lath is a 2 x 8 standing on edge, the middle lath is a 2 x 6, and the one at the back is a 2 x 4. The decreasing height of the three laths is what allows the overlaid clear plastic roof panels to slope. See PHOTO # 5.
The roof panels are scalloped clear corrugated plastic panels lying on top of the lathing. The panels are held in place with removable weights so I can take the panels off for cleaning twice a year.
PHOTO # 3
In the next two photos you can see the lath lumber with the scalloped “horizontal plastic closure strips” attached to the top of each lath board.
Here it is, half built, five years ago:
PHOTO # 4
In the next photo, the panels are all in place and you can see the decreasing size of the lathing boards. We no longer use aluminum leaders to hold the panels in place, but you can see the one that we were using at the time. That’s what that white object is spanning the front of the roof panels:
PHOTO # 5
Each of those scalloped closure strips is just a scalloped bed for the scalloped roof panels to lie on. The manufacturer of the plastic roof panels supplies the strips as the installation device. Here’s a photo of four strips nested in their original packaging:
PHOTO # 6
Here’s a photo of the hardware cloth ceiling from inside the ChickArena:
PHOTO # 7
The coop is a converted plastic playhouse placed free standing in the middle of the ChickArena.
We need to have the new design rigid enough and strong enough to carry a rain and snow load without the panels sagging between the supports. That inevitably leads to leaks and I’ve had to suspend buckets hanging inside the ChickArena to catch the rain flow and the snow melt.
Also, the overhead trees constantly drop leaves, twigs, hazelnuts, acorns and dirt onto the roof panels. I climb up on a six foot ladder every few months and use my strongest hose setting to try and clean it all off. But the pitch of the roof needs to be higher to facilitate the runoff. Panels overlap each other nicely when first installed, but gaps and leaks develop because there isn’t enough solid support from beneath. I don’t want to seal any of the panels to each other, because I won’t then be able to remove them and take them down for scrubbing.
The roof needs to be clear and transparent to allow sunshine into the ChickArena. The chickens have plenty of shade in there from the trees, so they need as much daylight as possible from overhead as well. The greater the number of daylight hours, the higher their egg production.
PHOTO # 8
Any ideas?
The sloped roof that we’ve used for the past five years is not at a-large-enough pitch for rain and snow to readily run off.
We need to replace it or somehow redesign and build and install it so that it has a much greater slant.
We can easily remove the plastic roof panels, exposing the supporting “lath” lumber with their scalloped top edges:
PHOTO # 1
Problem is, we can’t climb up there to do any of the work. We’ll have to work down on the ground or on the patio worktable to build whatever’s needed. And then somehow the two of us will lift it up onto the 2 x 4’s that run on top of the wire ceiling, front to back across the entire structure. See PHOTO # 4 .
The roof as it exists now:
PHOTO # 2
The ChickArena is a 9’ x 15’ rectangle structure framed with vertical 2 x 4’s [painted yellow] set three feet apart. Horizontal 2 x 4’s (painted yellow] are at the base and at the top of the yellow verticals on all four sides of the enclosure, and additional 2 x 4’s [painted white] run across the ceiling of the enclosure from front to back. See PHOTOS 3 & 4.
Hardwire cloth lines the interior sides and top of the enclosure and is screwed securely into the lumber creating four walls and a ceiling.
Three wood laths lie above the hardware cloth ceiling, running crosswise from left to right. One is near the front of the structure, one in the middle, and one is close to the back of the ChickArena. The front lath is a 2 x 8 standing on edge, the middle lath is a 2 x 6, and the one at the back is a 2 x 4. The decreasing height of the three laths is what allows the overlaid clear plastic roof panels to slope. See PHOTO # 5.
The roof panels are scalloped clear corrugated plastic panels lying on top of the lathing. The panels are held in place with removable weights so I can take the panels off for cleaning twice a year.
PHOTO # 3
In the next two photos you can see the lath lumber with the scalloped “horizontal plastic closure strips” attached to the top of each lath board.
Here it is, half built, five years ago:
PHOTO # 4
In the next photo, the panels are all in place and you can see the decreasing size of the lathing boards. We no longer use aluminum leaders to hold the panels in place, but you can see the one that we were using at the time. That’s what that white object is spanning the front of the roof panels:
PHOTO # 5
Each of those scalloped closure strips is just a scalloped bed for the scalloped roof panels to lie on. The manufacturer of the plastic roof panels supplies the strips as the installation device. Here’s a photo of four strips nested in their original packaging:
PHOTO # 6
Here’s a photo of the hardware cloth ceiling from inside the ChickArena:
PHOTO # 7
The coop is a converted plastic playhouse placed free standing in the middle of the ChickArena.
We need to have the new design rigid enough and strong enough to carry a rain and snow load without the panels sagging between the supports. That inevitably leads to leaks and I’ve had to suspend buckets hanging inside the ChickArena to catch the rain flow and the snow melt.
Also, the overhead trees constantly drop leaves, twigs, hazelnuts, acorns and dirt onto the roof panels. I climb up on a six foot ladder every few months and use my strongest hose setting to try and clean it all off. But the pitch of the roof needs to be higher to facilitate the runoff. Panels overlap each other nicely when first installed, but gaps and leaks develop because there isn’t enough solid support from beneath. I don’t want to seal any of the panels to each other, because I won’t then be able to remove them and take them down for scrubbing.
The roof needs to be clear and transparent to allow sunshine into the ChickArena. The chickens have plenty of shade in there from the trees, so they need as much daylight as possible from overhead as well. The greater the number of daylight hours, the higher their egg production.
PHOTO # 8
Any ideas?
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