New plan! (LOTS O PICS, adding them as I go)

[AlabamaChickenLady]

WOW.... you did get alot done today!! It's looking good so far!! I really like the tiles you put down. Very nice pics too. I bet your SO will get more and more involved. Chicks and chickens are addicting!! lol


Quote:
I did read the newsletter tonight, and I was surprised also. Yeahhhh... your thread made the newsletter!! Congrats!!

 

[WhySayWhat]

Gah! I had a big long post I copied so I could go find my cost list, then I copied over it! Anywho...AlabamaChickenLady, sounds like you got a lot done too! I went to HD again tonight (why wait for morning, right?

) and picked up 8 more of the laminate tiles, so I'm ready to finish the floor and start on walls tomorrow! Tommorow is supposed to be 38 and sunny! So, that means I can hopefully get at least one crate up and start tearing down the boards that are in the center of the coop to open it up into one big space! I may just cut the boards even with the post, but we'll see...they really aren't that hard to take apart with a pry bar and a hammer...and as my T&G cut shows, straight isn't really in my vocab!

My back is sore tonight from all the half bent over work today...nothing a few muscle relaxors can't handle though.

All of the pictures I have are taken with my cell phone. If you want good picture quality, the Palm Pre takes very good pics! Of course, they don't even make the Orginal one anymore...I've been nursing mine along and have gotten 4 refurbished replacements for it (all in the span of 3 weeks right before Christmas...long story about them each having an issue).

Updated cost of materials list:

$ 2.04 - Pressure-treated 2x4's (4 at 4+' in length) - will be used somewhere, maybe not this project, we'll have to see
$ 2.04 - OSB (or whatever it is)
Free - 10 Pallets! (3 of the big blue kind...2 of which are going to be the bottom of the coop)
Free - 2 Pallet Crates
$ 6.52 - Paint @ Lowe's (MisTinted)
$ 17.94 - 2-4"x4"x8' Pressure Treated Lumber (for the floor to sit on)
$ 19.97 - 5# tub of 3" Drywall Screws (galvanized)
$ 58.46 - 1/2"x2'x100' Hardware Cloth (galvanized)
$ 0.51 - OSB
$ 10.92 - Concrete Blanks (the piers)...$2.73 each * 4 of them
$ 19.52 - Adjustable Galvanized 4x4 brackets (goes in pier to make it EXACTLY what they sell pre-made)...$4.88 ea * 4 of these too.
$ 5.00 - Interior paint in light beige! (1 Gallon)
$ 3.06 - 6 pieces of green painted cull lumber...2x4's, 1/2x6, tall skinny OSB...
$ 2.02 - 2 pieces of display...came 1/2 painted!
$ 7.48 - 4 3" Hinges
$ 8.91 - 3 Barrel Bolts
$ 1.87 - Hook & Eye Closures (3-pack)
$ 2.97 - Strap Hinges (2-pack)
Free - 20 Vinyl Tiles - 12" - Leftover from bathroom remodel
$ 2.88 - 8 12" Vinyl Tiles ($0.36 each)
$172.11

Funny thing about this total...as we were going into the grocery store this evening my SO starts in on the "we could have bought a coop for less money" stuff. He doesn't read this forum and has no idea of what I've spent as a total, mostly because he doesn't listen when I tell him. So, he asked tonight after starting this...I told him, "with the $3 I spent next door, about $170" to which he claims I could have bought one on Craig's List for cheaper.

Mind you, I spent a great deal of time looking on Craig's List and the "cheapest" I found was about $400! So, now he believes me when I tell him this is the cheaper route...here's hoping some nut job doesn't try selling a coop for under $170 in the next few months, lol.

 

[abChicken]

You ladies are doing fine Jobs-- Ive to got get my brooder ready i'm-getting
day old silkies on 24th

From local fellow didnt want order large order this yr.
keep on trucking

 

[WhySayWhat]

Someone always has to prove me wrong...lol. So I went in CL to "prove my point" about the cost. And wouldn't ya know it? Someone is selling a 6'x6'x6' A-Frame style coop for $175! So, I sent them an email to get pics after discussing it with my other half. We may end up getting it and repurposing what I'm making into a little shed, lol. But, I doubt it...I don't think the A-frame would fit in our run area! If it's all coop anyway...its more than likely a tiny coop in a run area...

 

[AlabamaChickenLady]

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WOW!! That's a bummer. I really hope you get to keep going with your original project. You were just getting started and doing so well. But I'm with you, its probably a little run coop combo that won't work.

 

[AlabamaChickenLady]

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That is so eggciting!! How many are you getting?

 

[abChicken]

Yes I really miss my chickens- iwas looking for splash color he only has
white and partrage? I will probaly? only take 8-Still hoping find trio grown birds

and i still cant spell

Saywhat, dont think u like A frame-just my guess tho.

Good nite uall

 

[WhySayWhat]

Yeah, I'll finish up what I have started. Unless they send pics over night and it is completely awesome, lol. Either way I'll finish what I have. If nothing else, I can sell it! Lol. Most of the coops on CL have been there for a few months now and the seller's aren't even trying to lower the price to sell them....there's one that's a tiny dog house that has been there since October!

 

[Valerie Dawn]

I've been following your progress, too. Great work! It's inspiring! I'm not sure I'll be able to get chickens this year but that's not stopping me from learning.

WhySayWhat posted --
[I'm going to have to create some sort of cage around the dryer vent...it sits about 2' from the side of the coop! While that might fly during the winter, it'll heat the heck out of the coop in the summer! I'll ask the guy at HD while I'm there if I can run an "extension" off the outside part to relocate where it vents to...]

Show him this picture, if you can. You don't want to put any more bends in a dryer vent. It needs to be as straight to the outdoors as possible. Otherwise, lint will get stuck in the bends and build up and could catch fire. You sure don't want a fire right next to your chicks. How about just putting a board on the coop wall in front of the vent so it doesn't blow right into the coop?

Good luck! Can't wait to see the new chicks in their new abode.

 

[WhySayWhat]

Quote:
There will be a wall on the coop, two if my plan goes the way it is in my head (interior walls and exterior ones). What I may do is put a board next to (or very close to) the vent to try and direct the airflow away as much as I can. I worry most about the summer because I don't want to cook them in the coop!

So far it is sunny here...just waiting for the temps to get above freezing so I can go work outside!