Need help designing run cover !!!

[Miz Mary]

Using a dog run ... 120" x 120" , will be building the coop to put inside from Purina ......

Not sure how to cover it !!! It rains here, so will be using clear plastic used for greenhouses...... Dh would like it moveable ( the pitch ) ..... I would like to have it hang over ALOT ( 3 feet each side ?? ) , or make a covered porch area ?!? He wants to attatch 2x4's ( ? ) to the inside corners of fence, then build a square frame for the top , covering with the plastic ..... any other ideas ?!?!

12 little banties will be happy in August !

 

[patandchickens]

I am not sure I understand the bit about your husband wanting the pitch adjustable? Reason is unclear, and engineering it would be an unnecessary pain in the butt IMO.

The simplest thing, if you want some overhang and/or the capacity to put gutters on (and I can see why you do, in your climate), is to firmly affix a couple of wooden uprights to the corners of one long side, possibly also one in the middle. Have them stick up a foot or two above the chainlink, and use them to support a beam all the way across. Now you have the supporting structure to add rafters to create a pitched roof (they will rest on a 2x4 firmly attached to the horizontal top framing of the opposite run wall).

Remember that the larger the overhang, the more leverage wind will have to do Bad Things to your structure. Either in terms of ripping the roof off, breaking apart part of the roof, or (if your roof is really strong and well attached) flipping the whole run fencing up into the air. So you would want to be careful about that.

Another option, since the run is not overly wide, would be a hoop-style cover using cattle panels covered with plastic sheeting; but this would not permit overhang or gutters. If you did it, though, remember to add wooden bracing so it can't easily sway or collapse in wind or snow.

When you say "clear plastic used for greenhouses", do you mean flexible plastic sheeting or do you mean the semi-rigid corrugated plastic panels? The latter are fine, if a bit spendier. But remember that flexible plastic sheeting (like a clear tarp, type thing) does not work well for flat (even if pitched) roof type purposes, because if you get any rain on it it will sag like crazy between supports and Bad Things Result from that. You *might* be able to get away with 6mil or thicker sheeting laid over well-supported 1x1" welded wire mesh, with a significant pitch, but I would not give great odds on its longevity before it started leaking.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Prospector]

Why not just use a 10' X 10' garden gazebo? You could even get the side panels for it if the rain/sun is a worry. You could anchor it to the dog run if wind is a concern. At $89.00 you could afford to replace it every couple years. Not ideal for winter here, but if you don't get much snow it may be a solution.

http://www.justcamp.com/index.php?cPath=50_57&main_page=product_info&products_id=417
http://www.aquasuperstore.com/products/Bravo-Sport-Quik-Shade-Mykonos-Gazebo/Canopy~26802.html


To me that sounds a lot simpler than what you are proposing.

 

[pattgal]

up our way people just put whatever they can get their hands on. and since we have alot of fishermen we just throw fishnets on them.
no one fishes in my family but i did find some plastic netting to put on the top of our run at home depot. hope this helps

 

[Swampwood]

What about rafters-6EA. 12ft 2x4s on edge 2ft apart for roof(Raise front with board along front edge)to pitch back. Cross over rafters with 1x4s to support fiber/plastic roofing sheets(see through roof tin)

 

[Miz Mary]

Great ideas !! We have alot of rain here, I want to make it dry as possible ..... using corrigated plastic for roof .......