Painting floor of existing coop?

dcd198

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8 Years
Sep 2, 2011
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The floor of my chicken coop is pressure-treated plywood (8'x10' coop) and I now have 11 chickens that have been living in it for close to 1 1/2 years. Maintenance has gotten crazy with the plywood because it's very difficult to clean and I would really like to paint it with latex gloss.

My question is this: This is the only place that I can keep the hens safe at night, but the floor really needs to be painted; how can I safely paint the floor even though I don't have a week to let it air out? Will the hens be okay if I paint it in the morning and let it air out the whole day? Since the existing floor has had chicken poo on it, can I just paint over it with the latex or does it need a barrier? Thank you!
 
I'd scrub it down as good as you can. Let it dry then paint. Most paints are dry to the touch in 4 hours. To dry the plywood you might want to put a fan on it. Good luck.
 
You'd have to clean it then prime it. I just don't see it being done in a day. There are self priming exterior paints, Behr at Home Depot makes one and Duration at Sherwin Williams. But again you'll need to clean it first with bleach and water so will have to dry then paint, dry then paint again for a good thick lasting covering.

It might be easier to buy a sheet of FRP (fiber reinforced plastic), it's what you see glued to walls around commercial sinks or in a janitor closest sump sink. Just use a putty knife to scrap the floor clean and use a good adhesive like say just Liquid Nails that can be used in caulking gun. That way you can easily get it done in a hour or so to have all day for the adhesive fumes to air out.
 
Just a word about the paint. I have already painted my floor with Porch Paint over my plywood subfloor (you can find it at Walmart for about $20 a can- much cheaper than else where). BUT, even with two coats of that porch paint on it (and it's thick!), I don't think it would hold up under heavy use. I think it needs another two more coats to be really good to go and get that nice thick coat/gloss you are looking for that will clean off easily. I gave up after the two coats of paint and just decided to spend the $45 instead and buy a piece of vinyl flooring- by the time I put two more coats of paint on, I will have spent more than that anyway. But it is certainly doable... just count on putting down more paint that you expected to put on, that's for sure!
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My floor was exposed to the hot sun when I did this, so it dried pretty fast.

ETA: my coop floor is an 8X8 and I used an entire gallon for 2 coats of paint. I was very liberal with it, too. I'd expect you'd need two gallons to do the 4 coats you will need.
 
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Yeah, if you want a paint coating that lasts... you'll have to get it clean, prime it, and paint it with mulitple coats. Dry to touch latex is dry to touch, however... if you set something on it... like oh, your feet, you'll leave foot prints. LOL I did that.

For the new coop I am still finishing, I put probably a gallon of paint down on the 6x8 floor. But it has had a month to cure.

Takes about a week to a month to cure depending on temp and humidity. At this point, if I were you, I would go with a vinyl sheet for the floor.
 
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OH!! and BTW,
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I just realized this is your first post! Welcome! Lots of great advice here! You'll gets lot of different view points, which is wonderful because everyone has something that works for them, which means you'll find something that will work for you.
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I put a couple of horse stall mats on my coop floor because they will last forever. Pricey though. Currently have wood chips but considering switching to sand.
 
Use Rustoleum, their paint made for metal. It is a LOT harder and more durable than "wood" paints. A couple of coats of Rustoleum and you'll be well protected for years to come. Best part is, its generally cheaper than a wood paint is for a same sized can.
 

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