OK to cover half of the soffits with newspaper?(lot of PICS added)

[camjac]

My DH built my coop this summer and it is built like a regular house. On the roof there is a ridge vent and under the eaves he put soffit vent ( not sure if this is the correct wording). We are forecasting for 12-24" of lake effect snow sometime tonight/tomorrow into Saturday. I am concerned that some of these winds may make the coop too cold so I put newspaper inside the coop on top of every other soffit just to cover them and stop some heat loss. Does this sound right to anyone or should I do something else or is it okay the way it is? Thanks for any help!
Elaine

 

[LynneP]

Any pics? Are you sure this won't affect your ventilation too much? You might not need anything. I'd be leery that wind might blow the newspaper out and terrify your birds, too.

 

[camjac]

I'll get pics in 1/2 hour when I go to meet the bus!

 

[bigredfeather]

I would think blue foam might be a better way to go. That newspaper may blow around and offers very little R value. The foam comes in several different thicknesses. The thicker it is, the higher the R value. Probably should check the ridge vent as well. Sometimes blowing snow can make it's way inside.

 

[camjac]

Okay, I have my pics but I may be naming things incorrectly. If I am, please help me out.

This is the coop. The area I am talking about is right behind the white trim under the shingles.

This is the area I am talking about from the inside.

This is the soffit? from the inside without anything on it. It is about 4" deep and 6" wide and 16" long. I guess I was a little misleading when I said "wind." When I got out there to look at it I thought there were more holes.

Here with the newspaper covering it.

This is the part that I am talking about from directly under it.

I think the ridge vent (the part with the mesh that runs along the peak of the coop and has shingles on it?) should be okay. It is totally covered with shingles. There is also felt paper under the shingles and ice shield at the edges of the roof.

If I cover with blue foam should I only cover half of the areas (the 6" x 16" between the roof trusses) or should I cover all of them. I thought if I covered all of them I wouldn't get adequate ventilation! Also, this is a 10' x 6' x 6' high coop with only 5 chickens in it. I poop scoop every morning or every other so I do not have the deep litter method going to give off any extra warmth. I don't know if this is important but thought I would add it just to give anyone extra info to help make an informed opinion. Thanks!

 

[patandchickens]

What a lazy person would do, and get away with for a reasonable while, would be to find some scrap pieces of 2x6 or 2x8 (whatever width and length it takes to cover the hole-y part), and just reach up there and set 'em over the holes when you wanna close off holes. Push block aside when you wanna uncover the holes. Ta-da, lazy person's adjustible vent covers

Mind this will not last forever, will not block ALL drafts, may stress your plastic or aluminum soffit a bit depending on how you conduct yourself, and will never win the This Old House seal of approval

Like, if you were to ask my father, who has spent 86 years doing things the long hard correct way and is not about to change now, he would say you have to put weatherstripped flaps/chocks between each pair of rafters, hinged on the bottom edge so they can be opened individually. You are of course welcome to do this and certainly it will be more lasting, effective, problem-free and elegant.

OTOH, for now, sliding blocks of wood back and forth may be adequate and will definitely be better than newspaper

Mind you will want to be adjusting your ventilation as the weather changes, so whatever you do, you need to be able to easily control how much ventilation is open, right from 'totally all of it" to "none'.

Good luck, have fun, please don't ever tell my Dad I suggested the scrap blocks of wood <g>,

Pat

 

[Toast n Jelly]

Good idea about the wood blocks Pat

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I put feed bags over the soffits but I also have ventilation on either side near the roof so I'm not too worried about condensation in the coop.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

I stuff those areas with fiberglass batt in the winter.

 

[camjac]

Thanks for all of the good ideas! I was definately trying for the easy way out! In the summer the windows open and have screens and 1" wire on them to keep out pests so I don't really worry about the ventilation then (but will remove anything that I put in for the winter). I was just trying to keep in some of the heat for the winter as there are so few chickens in there (to be remedied next spring - thanks to everyone on this website!) This is my first winter keeping chickens and I want them to be comfortable out there.

 

[Wynette]

First of all, your coop if lovely!

I don't know if they would be too big - one of my coops is similar to yours, and I cut up sections of those noodle things that kids use in swimming pools, and put them in between the rafters.