Need to tear down the coop

[SarahFair]

My coop has taken to leaking!

Ive got to tear it down and rebuild it. I hate the way they built it anyways. Made it SUPER hard to clean out. Very time consuming.

Im short on money till after xmas so I need to reuse as much wood on the coop as possible.

I have about 16 chickens as of now but I want to take it down to 5 laying hens and a rooster within the next few weeks.


This is a picture of the inside. I tore out the nesting box last week and wont be able to reuse any of that wood. The water has been pooling on the floor so I wont be able to use it either..

And heres the outside

any ideas on what I can do?

 

[joebryant]

STOP! That looks like a well constructed coop, and if you're low on money now, you'll probably be low on money later.
Attach a tarp tightly over the roof for now until spring; screw it on. Get rid of the eleven extra hens TODAY. Put six inches of construction (not play) sand in the run. Next spring, remodel the inside of what you have. It'll be great for five hens and a rooster.

EDIT: BTW, put wood shavings on the floor, and add diatomaceous earth (food grade only) occasionally to the wood shavings in the coop and the sand in the run, i.e., use the deep litter method in the coop. Doing that, you shouldn't have to clean it out more than twice a year, probably not that often.

 

[Barnyard]

Quote:
I agree 100%.....tarps have saved me money alote of times. I would put off "remodling" until after christmas.

 

[Royd]

I agree with joebryant...Don't panic... I see plenty of pressure treated lumber. At least that's what it looks like. It appears, to me, that the biggest problem, is that there is no pitch on the metal roof, or if there is, it's very slight, and the metal is running the wrong way.

That's a problem I've always had with these modern modular shelters, where the corrigation runs horizontally on the building, all the way to the roof ridge. Just a little, one line rant.

 

[Nostalchic]

I agree with joebryant. You probably found out with the nest boxes -you lose a lot of material when you tear something apart, and that coop looks pretty functional to me. Might be a lot easier to FIX the leak problems,etc, than to start from scratch, and then do some planning and save up for materials to build a better functioning coop for yourself later.

 

[patandchickens]

Yes, just fix the leaks and leave the coop more or less as is, perhaps adding a different access arrangment if you find the existing setup inconvenient.

Put a pitch or crown on the roof (making sure the corrugations are running the right way w/r/t it, and making sure you screw it down properly with the correct gasketed fasteners) and your leak will go away.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[hens & chicks]

I would not tear down your coop. It is too nice. The tarps work great-long time user-right next to duck tape in usefulness. The hardware stores have a spray sealent used for cracks and fillers. It is an expanding foam. That will last for several yrs. even and can be sprayed in a leaky nail hole as well as in a line. I just saw a coop that was recently built and they had used a wonderful panel of smooth acrylic like material. All I got from the people on it was that it came from something that was being used for factory walls. They used it on the walls and the floors and ceiling. Just open up the doors-turn on the garden hose and flush everything out. I am now in search of that product. Vic

 

[DarkWolf]

My question would be why is there water coming in to begin with. My only assumption is that you installed the metal roof wrong which is allowing water to drip in.

Far as reusing the wood on the floor, I see no water damage.. Pooling or not, it's plywood and unless it's been pooling water for a year or so it's fine. Even if a tad warped.

Identify your problem and work to fix it. Be far easier to re-roof it than to build again... Like stated above, tarps will be fine, just tack it down via the grommets and bend the nails over to keep it from blowing off.

Regardless, you need to figure out why water is coming in before going any further with busting stuff apart.

And don't use spray foam in nail holes... Pick up some roofing tar in tubes and a caulk gun and seal them that way.

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

I agree with everyone else. Do not tear it down. If the roofing is running the wrong way, use the grey gutter caulk instead of the tar or roof patch products. It will last the lifetime of the roof and will not deteriorate over time as tar products will. Just run a bead down the seams and cover the nail heads with it. I use this stuff for everything that I need to caulk. It will stick to anything. It only costs about 5 bucks a tube.

Are you sure it isn't raining in the side window? Looks like to me you may need to put in an overhang to prevent blowing rain from going in.

Marty

 

[Royd]

If you have a day, and a couple of people helping, or one good one, with knowledge, you could reroof it, properly, in a day, if you have the materials....Take the metal off, install rafters with the short run, of the coop. A shed roof, with a 2/12 pitch would be sufficient, and use washered screws, to refasten the metal.