Pallet coop project, suggestions and opinions welcome! update p.3

[NurseELB]

Since my family went on vacation without me, I have decided to start on our summer project now. The 4 week old chicks in my living room were a good incentive. This morning I found them on top of the baby gate that divides the room from the rest of the house. Time to move!

I decided to place the coop in the back corner of the yard (suburbia, .12 acre lot), with the intent that by the end of the summer we will have the retaining wall for the slope installed (see pic, 3' slope about 3' in front of coop).

Today I dug the footers, will place cinder blocks on top of the paver substrate tomorrow. The twine is the level line for the blocks:

Size is 6'x 10', I plan on giving the girls half of the shed, and use the rest for gardening tools and chicken food/supplies. We'll have a total of 5 birds. After the coop is in I will wrap the sides out 3' and back to the fence in hardware cloth for the run.

I am somewhat limited by my lack of endurance/ health issues so I'm trying to do a little bit each day with lots of recoup time in between. Those gravel bags are heavy!!

I have minimal construction experience, so bring on the construction ideas! The roof will challenge me the most, I think. Plus eventually I want to bring electricity over to it (about 30 feet from the house.) Sigh, that's far down on my list.

I've been collecting pallets and other wood over the last month, and I'll be going to the restore place tomorrow to see what I can buy on the cheap.

Suggestions?

eta: removed "insulation suggestions", added *pallet* to title

 

[3goodeggs]

good luck! Don't over do it!

...and have fun!

 

[NurseELB]

Thanks 3goodeggs! I'm sitting in my recliner with the baby chicks asleep in my lap. Too bad they can't just stay in the house! They are so cute when they're asleep. Messy little poop machines when they're awake, though.

Tomorrow I have to rake and level the ground around the footings, put down the cinderblocks, and then hopefully build the floor. Probably too much, I'll be happy with getting the footings down and marking things for square.

Here's hoping I can move tomorrow~

 

[MotherJean]

Howdy neighbor! At least it sounds like the weather is going to cooperate with you for the weekend. Building in rain and wind is awful. I love the ReStore. We also have a Habitat for Humanity resale store that gets great building supplies. Bet there's one in or near Olympia, too. I wanted a good, solid, easy to clean floor for my coop. I got a great deal on mismatched ceramic tile for $9. I had the thinset and grout leftover from a bathroom project, but the ReStore also had those supplies for cheap. I'm lovin' that floor! My plan is to use shavings for litter for half the year when it's cold - sand the other half when weather is warm. I prefer the sand. So easy to scoop the poo. A 5 min. job. Looking forward to seeing your progress and finished product. Good luck with your project.

 

[3chimama]

So glad to hear that you are recycling....I believe we have a place like that close to where I live, I will have to check it out...great idea!!

 

[HelenB]

Nurse, you are so brave! It looks great so far - way to go! I struggle with health/endurance/strength type issues as well, and I've also been collecting pallets. I have been thinking about using the better intact pallets as structural components, and filling in the gaps on them with pieces salvaged from the less beautiful ones. Have a good time, I'm going to subscribe to your thread to follow your progress,
Take care of yourself,
Helen

 

[Eberak]

So I built my coop out of pallets and I have very little experience with these things as well. Also I was worried about the roof just like you. I posted a picture so you could see how I built mine.

(Ignore the power cord, that was only temporary) For the roof I went out and purchased some corrugated roofing material from Lowes, a bit pricey but way simple! I think for an 6' x 4' piece it was something like $25, I bought 3 of them. Other then that though it worked like a charm and was super simple to install and looks great with a pallet coop. For my coop I spent just over $100.00. Anyway just my two cents. I would love to see how yours turns out! Keep us posted!

You can also check out the link below to show the building process I took to put this together. Anyway just another idea to help out.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=341628

 

[NurseELB]

Thanks for the support and suggestions! I'm pretty sore this morning, togh to get started. I'm gonna stretch a bit and then head out. I'll post more progress tonight when I stop for the day!

 

[bnentrup]

Well, although not a coop.. I did use wood from pallets, wood laying around the garage, and wood in my burn bin! I did not purchase any wood for this project. You should note that I used fence scraps for the roof (offset) and fence scraps for the ramp (3 pieces) -

Total cost for construction: About $15 in fabric, $4 for a pack of hinges, and that is it!

 

[Bleenie]

I love this tractor! so cute and i love reusing wood & scraps!

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