My run is 12x18 now. I am expanding it to 20x18 in the spring. The pitch will be so the 18 foot side is the front and back so to speak. (I hope that makes sense.) I need to roof it since my hens HATE the snow and it makes such a muddy mess of the coop. I am looking at the metal roofing or barn siding at Home Depot. I have looked at the plastic roofing material as well. I am wondering about snow load on the roofing and wind. We get wind 100 mph in the spring and fall here. We can also have 2-3 foot of heavy wet snow. I am wondering what others have on theirs and how it is holding up. http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k576/littlechickenbawk/100_0389.jpg I will be raising the right side which is the north here. I will be expanding it another 8 feet to the south as well. I am going to be using 4x4 posts in concrete or 6x6 if the wind freaks me out too much to trust the 4x4's. edited to fix the link
We've used the plastic/poly roofing that is corrugated like tin roof panels on a porch before. It held up well in TX summer sun and was able to withstand many thunderstorms and windstorms from nearby tornadoes without a problem.
We also used Suntuf from Lowes (I think) and are pleased with it, we used the smoke colored kind to filter out some sun but not all. You could roof half of your run to protect from the the rain and snow, that would save you some money
We are building a run too and plan to use corrugated galvanized metal panels. Home Depot has them for about $20 per 10'x2.5' sheets. I read some of the reviews on the plastic panels, and they weren't great so I'm going with the metal ones. We need to finish the framing (almost done), paint, cover in hardware cloth and roof. Will post pics once it's done. Good luck with your project!
I used the metal roofing on my coop and smoke colored suntuf on my run. I like the looks of the metal roofing and I think it will last longer but it is a pain to cut and the sharp edges are dangerous. It's almost as much of a pain to work with as hardware cloth. I plan to cover my run in the hot part of the summer with shade cloth.
I used the Tuftex polycarb (polycarbonate) smoke-colored corrugated roofing from Lowe's to roof my small run and am very happy with it. I believe it to be quite strong. I had to put it up by myself in very windy weather, and before I could get it fastened it blew off several times and crashed into the ground or nearby garage with no damage whatsoever. It will bend completely in half (vertically or horizontally) and be none the worse for wear. I stepped on panels a couple of times.... no damage. I will tell you that Lowe's has two different types of panels right next to each other, almost mixed together, so you'll have to look carefully at what you're buying. They have plastic corrugated roofing, then there is the polycarbonate roofing. They are only about $1-2 difference in price, and they look identical. I paid about $21 per 12' x 26" panel. I wouldn't bother with the plastic, as it's probably going to get brittle and break within a few years. If you're worried about snow load just beef up the framing under it with some additional 2 x 4's. It does say to use a minimum 1:12 slope. Here is a link to the manufacturer's website http://www.tuftexpanel.com/residential.asp
