need suggestions for adding a door...

[ki4got]

ok here's my coop i'm building right now...

it's only 3' wide, so I was thinking of making the entire side a door from the lowest edge of the roof straight across. it will be covered by flat boards (pallet slats) then cedar shingles.

What I'm trying to decide is, one single door, openning from one edge, or a double door openning from the center.

Also, How would I shingle above the edge of the door to keep it water tight? and if i do a double, the same for the seam?

here's a mock-up of the shingle siding on the coop...

thanks for any input.
Karen

 

[mysweetgypsy]

I have a very similar design, mine is 4' wide x 8' long. I did a single door from the highest point back to front, so it's a big square. (if that makes sense ?) A double door on 3' would be over kill. As for keeping water out your overhang should help, but you'd almost need a full jam and sill. I'm only a second year student so I could be way off, we've only covered brick construction thus far

I know that what we did has worked so far, but we did board and batten, so the door is just inches larger than the opening. The floor of my coop is just above the bottom of the door opening, so clean up is super quick and easy! Open the side, sweep it all out

Hopefully one of the real architects on here will chime in

Good luck!

 

[ki4got]

Quote:
thanks. do you have a pic of the side so i can see what you're talking about? 8) i'm better at 'winging it' if i have something to look at.

 

[mysweetgypsy]

Here is a pic of the side. I used rough cut and reclaimed wood, so some of my "design" is dictated by materials, but I like a challenge

Almost everything was used/leftover material, including the fence. What can I say, I'm cheap!!

 

[Ole rooster]

I noticed on the drawing the roof rafters have a forward and a reversed birds mouth. Can anybody explain to me how that's done? That is sharp.

 

[ki4got]

ok thanks for the pics 8)
I'm actually planning on leaving this on the ground, as i've got hardware cloth as the floor for easy cleanup. it's designed to be portable so I can move it around the yard as needed. we've got pallet forks for the tractor and some angle iron to attach to the base to use as lift points.

as for the door hubby came up with the idea of just building a removable wall basically, so if/when i need to get inside we just pull a wall off. then there;s no worry about hinges and doors hanging straight etc.

 

[ki4got]

Quote:
the actual coop is slightly different from the drawing, but I used a chop saw (aka miter saw) and just set it on a 45 degree angle and cut the boards. (the design had likle 42 asnd 47 degrees, so i split the difference for ease).

here's a pic of a similar saw...

i love this saw 8) it can do almost anything. what it can't, i use the skill saw or table saw for.