Well, well... after waiting what SEEMS like an eternity to get it going today my neighbor Frank and I got our ark started. We're using 2x3x8 pine and a lot of leftover plywood he gave us. So after hitting Home Depot for the wood, chicken wires (1/2 and 1 inch), screws and varnish we ate lunch and then started working about 12:30... We built two 8 x 2 ft. frames for the sides of the run and then started tacking everything else onto them. Like so...
Then we screwed plywood on about half of the bottom because we want part of our runs covered (we get a LOT of wind). After we got that done we screwed on pieces of scrap plywood until we had the whole top of the run covered (be patient it changes).
Then we started reinforcing the ends and insides with pieces of 2 x 3 pine.
Then we started building our superstructure... Originally we were going to have just the old usual A-frame type house but my neighbor said we'd get a lot more living room upstairs and downstairs making square walls and then a peeked roof (I agree now)
Once we got the sides built (we're using this plywood that has grooves cut in it so the walls will look like they have siding on them...
We laid and glued in the linoleum (we bought a 6 x 9 ft. "remnant" in a roll) into the upper structure, then using 1 x 2 screwed that in too - the coop house will have floors AND walls lined with linoleum... We cut our ramp hole and saved the "door" - our ramp will always be in place (going into the uncovered part of the run) but the piece of flooring will be the hinged door that will drop down to close the "coop house" up for the night.
We worked 5 hours real hard. We got this far
Sunday we will cut a service door on the end of the upstairs level, install brooding boxes, roosts (we're using 2 x 2 pine) and cutting out a big area of the roof on the run (we goofed that up from the get go), build a exit door on the open end of the run and then I will start applying coats of Bear Spar varnish/stain so the wood will look like redwood. Meanwhile my neighbor will build the roof sections AND we going to cover them with shingles. I'm going to get inflated wheels for one end... It's a real beauty but it's a heavy son of a gun and will be a little tough to move. But oh so nice...
I'll update this thread Sunday night. OUR PLAN is to have 2 Silver Edged Wyandottes and one Black Bantam roo - the living area upstairs is 4 x 4 with 16 inch high SIDE walls and a peeked roof totaling 28 inches (I THINK). The run is 8 x 4 ft with 4 ft. of it covered on top and the sides (as I said we get lots of wind here... We hope to be free ranging our birds a lot as we have an acre of wooded land we live on. We hope to have the coop near the house so we can always check on the guys and girls easily (it'll be roughly where those back deck stairs are in the photo).
Two of these Wyandottes are ours... oh man we can't wait to have them come live with us.... YEAH !!!
Then we screwed plywood on about half of the bottom because we want part of our runs covered (we get a LOT of wind). After we got that done we screwed on pieces of scrap plywood until we had the whole top of the run covered (be patient it changes).
Then we started reinforcing the ends and insides with pieces of 2 x 3 pine.
Then we started building our superstructure... Originally we were going to have just the old usual A-frame type house but my neighbor said we'd get a lot more living room upstairs and downstairs making square walls and then a peeked roof (I agree now)
Once we got the sides built (we're using this plywood that has grooves cut in it so the walls will look like they have siding on them...
We laid and glued in the linoleum (we bought a 6 x 9 ft. "remnant" in a roll) into the upper structure, then using 1 x 2 screwed that in too - the coop house will have floors AND walls lined with linoleum... We cut our ramp hole and saved the "door" - our ramp will always be in place (going into the uncovered part of the run) but the piece of flooring will be the hinged door that will drop down to close the "coop house" up for the night.
We worked 5 hours real hard. We got this far
Sunday we will cut a service door on the end of the upstairs level, install brooding boxes, roosts (we're using 2 x 2 pine) and cutting out a big area of the roof on the run (we goofed that up from the get go), build a exit door on the open end of the run and then I will start applying coats of Bear Spar varnish/stain so the wood will look like redwood. Meanwhile my neighbor will build the roof sections AND we going to cover them with shingles. I'm going to get inflated wheels for one end... It's a real beauty but it's a heavy son of a gun and will be a little tough to move. But oh so nice...
I'll update this thread Sunday night. OUR PLAN is to have 2 Silver Edged Wyandottes and one Black Bantam roo - the living area upstairs is 4 x 4 with 16 inch high SIDE walls and a peeked roof totaling 28 inches (I THINK). The run is 8 x 4 ft with 4 ft. of it covered on top and the sides (as I said we get lots of wind here... We hope to be free ranging our birds a lot as we have an acre of wooded land we live on. We hope to have the coop near the house so we can always check on the guys and girls easily (it'll be roughly where those back deck stairs are in the photo).
Two of these Wyandottes are ours... oh man we can't wait to have them come live with us.... YEAH !!!
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