Painting interior of coop

[aart]

I would not use a pressure washer, you don't want to 'wet' area behind the interior sheathing.
Who knows what's in there...matter of fact, it might be good to find out.

 

[Cchurchill91]

I love a pressure washer for cleaning.

While Killz paint is great, for coops and barns I use whitewash. It's cheap, kills bugs, germs and odors and looks good. Some of it will dust off and a new layer yearly is a good idea, but that new layer will take down some dirt and disinfect - and yearly disinfecting is never bad.

One part (coffee can) fine livestock salt, 3 parts barn/hydrated/masonry lime (NOT garden lime) and enough water to give it the consistency of fresh milk.

It goes on almost clear, and is a lovely, clean, bright white by the next morning.

Neat, I’ve never heard of that method before. We already went out and bought the Killz primer and Gloss exterior but I’d like to try that method on our barn. Thanks for the recipe

 

[Cchurchill91]

I would not use a pressure washer, you don't want to 'wet' area behind the interior sheathing.
Who knows what's in there...matter of fact, it might be good to find out.

I started to think about that too. We‘re pretty positive it’s not insulated because we took two boards down and there was nothing in there but the outside layer of wood. Still wouldn’t want wetness in between the boards though either. Maybe just a hard brush to the wood with water and vinegar or bleach?

 

[aart]

I started to think about that too. We‘re pretty positive it’s not insulated because we took two boards down and there was nothing in there but the outside layer of wood. Still wouldn’t want wetness in between the boards though either. Maybe just a hard brush to the wood with water and vinegar or bleach?

Indeed.... or rodents/insects.
But I can see that you might want that double wall in your climate.
I would just prep for painting in a dry way, scrapers and wire brushes.

 

[BDutch]

Wondering if others paint the interior of their coop. Our family recently moved to a property with a large wooden coop. It’s basically a small house (full size doors, windows, room to walk around). However, it’s very old, dirty and smelly (the barn beside it was built in the early 1900’s so we believe the coop is around the same age). We were planning to take down the interior wood, put in some insulation, put the wood back on and paint it as well as the floor to seal it. We read about KILZ sealer and primer being good for getting rid of odours. Does anyone have any experience/suggestions with this? I’m also wondering if there’s a better material to use. Or scrap the whole idea and keep the wood bare by cleaning it somehow? We are new to chickens! Thanks for your help.

• I don't believe a paint wil help much with the odeurs. You need a good ventilation for that. Keep it so much ventilated that the inside of the coop is dry. The wet poop smells, the dry poop doesn't. I see you are working on creating a good ventilation..
• I do 'paint' the inside of the coop with diatomaceous earth (mix it with water). Especially around the roost and cracks in the wood. This is not for preservation, but against bird mites. If the young bird mite comes out of there eggs they get killed by the DE (I hope).
• I don't use isolation because if any mites get in the isolation I can no longer, clean or steam the coop. I had to do this once before I was using DE.
• I like the idea of keeping things naturally. If the wood is dry (ventilation and a good roof) it doesn't rot. And if the coop is getting crappy anyway, My neighbors can use the wood in their bonfire kettle. No chemicals get in the air.

 

[Folly's place]

Have you tested that old paint for lead?!? Until that comes back negative, don't mess with it! Lead test kits are available fro home testing, get one first.
Mary

 

[Cchurchill91]

• I don't believe a paint wil help much with the odeurs. You need a good ventilation for that. Keep it so much ventilated that the inside of the coop is dry. The wet poop smells, the dry poop doesn't. I see you are working on creating a good ventilation..
• I do 'paint' the inside of the coop with diatomaceous earth (mix it with water). Especially around the roost and cracks in the wood. This is not for preservation, but against bird mites. If the young bird mite comes out of there eggs they get killed by the DE (I hope).
• I don't use isolation because if any mites get in the isolation I can no longer, clean or steam the coop. I had to do this once before I was using DE.
• I like the idea of keeping things naturally. If the wood is dry (ventilation and a good roof) it doesn't rot. And if the coop is getting crappy anyway, My neighbors can use the wood in their bonfire kettle. No chemicals get in the air.

Thanks for all your info. I actually just ordered an 18 kg bag of DE. I wasn’t aware you could mix it with water and put it on the walls. Very good to know. What are you using to steam the coop? I have a household steam cleaner here and was wondering about using one of the attachments I have on the coop.

 

[RiverOtter]

Oooh, listen, about the pressure washer. A lot of people are saying that it's really wet, so a quick note about that. It really depends on the pressure washer.

A friend of mine loaned me their "pressure washer" when mine broke (ancient and second hand). It was this cute little thing with container for soaps and it was barely stronger than the strongest setting on my hose nozzle and everything got SOAKED.

A real pressure washer costs at least $4-500 and requires the use of safety gear. Boots, heavy jeans, safety glasses because the water comes out with enough pressure to cut you like a knife. If you can wash your car with it = it's not a pressure washer because the real thing will find that rust flake and start stripping off paint.

And they actually leave things pretty dry, just a little more damp than a good quality steamer.

 

[Cchurchill91]

Have you tested that old paint for lead?!? Until that comes back negative, don't mess with it! Lead test kits are available fro home testing, get one first.
Mary

We haven’t tested it. The previous owner came by and let us know the coop went up in the late 1980’s and that the interior was painted even later than that. There’s actually a year written on each of our buildings here in the concrete. The barn is the oldest. Wouldn’t hurt to still go get a lead test though before sanding it off. He also told us they kept Emu‘s in the coop!

 

[BDutch]

I have a simple household steam cleaner too. I bought it for another reason (dust mite) , but had in mind it is the best way to eliminate the bird mite too, if I ever get a lot of them in my coop.

I didn't get an infestation of bird mite in the coop after using DE. So I never actually used it. I check regularly on bird mite from spring until end of autumn. If I find a few mites or something that looks like mite : I put some extra DE in the sand bath, under the shavings/hay in the laying nests (mixed with sand) and paint the inside walls and roost once more with this DE-'paint'.
But keep in mind my method doesn't seem to work for everybody. Maybe you have another type of bird mite in the States?

BTW, I love you're coop-to-be. Its so spacious with beautifull windows.