need some ideas on coop expansion...im no architect!

[aran]

Morning all...Im sure you have all seen my alcatraz for chickens...well i need to expand the coop to make room for everyone as it gets colder. The coop now is 10x6. I want to expand it probably at least another 8x4 and it has to end up looking nicer than it does now...which should not be terribly difficult LOL. Here is the pic of the coop. There are 4 nesting boxes mounted through the back wall that you cant see...easy to open from the outside. Would probably add another 4 onto the coop expansion. The coop now has a ceiling exhaust fan, vents running the length of the coop front and back under the roof eaves and a window in the back wall with a removable plexiglass piece and mesh inside that. There is a heap of roost space inside the coop already.

Its a long shot of the coop but you see the basic design. If any of you are less architecturally challenged than me could give me some ideas that would rock.

 

[rooster-red]

This isn't very imaginative, but what about doubling what you have now, maybe open an end wall and build a mirror image attaching to the existing one.

 

[aran]

i have scratched out on paper a couple of quick ideas so far...one involves adding to the side of the existing coop, and the other which I think i prefer adds to back of the coop.

 

[aran]

red...yeah i thought about that...the problem is my carpentry skills suck fairly badly and I want to keep it as simple as I can. Thats why I was thinking of adding to the back so noone could see my crappy workmanship...then I could just paint the whole thing to beautify it from the front view and bobs your uncle an additional 32sq feet of coop space. That would give the girls/boys about 3.2 sq feet/bird over the winter months which I think will be sufficient. They spend all day every day outside now in the summer, and use the coop only for its roosting space in the rafters at night. They dont use 1/3 of the coop space that is currently there but i guess in the winter they are going to spend most of the time inside so hence the need to expand.

 

[lurky]

Well i see you got bars on the windows to keep the theme going, eh?

 

[Chelly]

I'm just as bad with any kind of building skills - never done it before this coop we're building.

Perhaps you can BUY a shed and attach it somehow?

How high is your roof? Perhaps it would be not tooo difficult to add some space at the back, but you would need to take of part of your roof if you wanted it to blend and not collect snow and such in the middle.
Adding to the side - you wouldn't need to mess with the roof.

Good luck!

 

[JacobsRewardFarm]

Aran, you either don't trust your neighbors, or you live in bear country, or your chickens are high security risks! LOL! Got a juvey section for bad eggs? Hee hee.

Seriously, that's some compound you've got! How much room is behind your current coop? Have you shopped the coop section here at the forum? Somebody has done wonders using wooden pallets, but then, I'm fortunate to have a couple of handymen who build stuff for me and don't charge a fortune. Now that I'm out on acreage, I sure wish I had better carpenter skills myself.

Good luck with that, Warden. Your chicks are in good hands!

Cindy T.
Parker, TX

 

[lurky]

Quote:

 

[aran]

WELCOME TO ALCATRAZ FOR CHICKENS...ABANDON HOPE ALL YE WHO ENTER THESE WALLS!

Actually I was just worried about predators so i went a TAD overboard on the security side of things.

 

[mdbucks]

I would stick with the same lines you already have. just expand widthwise when you start changing fooflines you get into troughs which arte where your biggest potential for leaks come in. Yust copy your rafters for pitch, buuild walls they same height and you will hve no problems matching up when ready, remove one ouside wall line the two together, tie together using some 31/2 in screws. you will have to overlap the new roof so you have no leaks.

cant see pictures of your drawings but another option if you want to go out back is just add a leanto type addition, join it under the eaves and you will not have a problem of Leaks at a new roofline. the only problem with this is that the new sectin will not be as high as rest of the coop.