Plywood alternatives

[3KillerBs]

Oops, forgot the close-up photo.

You can see the gaps between the boards, which is why it's all hardware cloth inside.

 

[3KillerBs]

Just beware the tendency of clear or translucent panels to turn a chicken coop into a rotisserie oven on even cool sunny days.

 

[WallyG74]

I've heard that works great, but beware,

The manufacturer of our roofing said specifically that doing that or using an angle grinder to make the cuts would void the 40-year warranty on the coating because of the heat it generates.

Yeah I totally get that. My metal was second hand that I used for siding. No warranty there. Very good point.

 

[mowin]

I've heard that works great, but beware,

The manufacturer of our roofing said specifically that doing that or using an angle grinder to make the cuts would void the 40-year warranty on the coating because of the heat it generates.

Not that it matters now that we sold that house, but when the contractor installed the metal roof, they cut the the panels with a circular saw, lol.

 

[Silexian]

This is a box store coop that I rebuilt. I used 3/8 inch OSB primed siding. About $24 a sheet at Lowe’s. The siding fit in the same dado grooves. That the original flimsy slats did. It only took one sheet of siding, two sheets of 1/2 plywood for the roof and four treated 2x4s. Around the bottom. Two 8 ft. and two 10 ft. Working by myself. It took me about 10 hours to disassemble and reassemble it.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Metal sides are popular here in the termite-ridden southeast. They have to be very well ventilated, but you were going to do that anyway, right?

This one was pretty easy. Birds did fine in the negative temps and snow we got this spring in Texas and do fine in the heat.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-ramblings-on-things-that-need-input.1293953/

And here was the build thread.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/nearly-done.1292803/#post-21005750

 

[Rangergord]

Keep in mind T1-11 is a convenience product. It can function as sheathing and siding. Ordinarily structures are sheathed with OSB or sheathing plywood and then covered with siding. Materials and labour can add up to more than the cost of using T1-11 to function as both sheathing and siding. I don’t know what a good price for it is. Where I live it’s rare because it’s expensive. Most people use sheathing plywood or OSB and sometimes paint it like it’s siding. It works. Rough cut lumber can be used but it’s not exactly a plywood alternative. It has cracks between the boards that have to be covered with tar paper or building wrap. It does not brace a structure diagonally, so diagonal braces must be added to a structure adding to labour and material costs. Nevertheless I do use rough cut wood for building you just need to be aware that it’s not all gravy.

 

[mowin]

Keep in mind T1-11 is a convenience product. It can function as sheathing and siding. Ordinarily structures are sheathed with OSB or sheathing plywood and then covered with siding. Materials and labour can add up to more than the cost of using T1-11 to function as both sheathing and siding. I don’t know what a good price for it is. Where I live it’s rare because it’s expensive. Most people use sheathing plywood or OSB and sometimes paint it like it’s siding. It works. Rough cut lumber can be used but it’s not exactly a plywood alternative. It has cracks between the boards that have to be covered with tar paper or building wrap. It does not brace a structure diagonally, so diagonal braces must be added to a structure adding to labour and material costs. Nevertheless I do use rough cut wood for building you just need to be aware that it’s not all gravy.

If the shed/coop is framed out in typical fashion, no other bracing is needed for ruff cut siding. As far as gaps, board and batten is a widely used method to cover the gaps, and it looks good to. Still alot cheaper than plywood, but agree there is a little extra labor as it obviously doesn't cover as quickly.

 

[Shadrach]

I would be reluctant to use pallet wood. Most are impregnated with some pretty unpleasant preservatives.
The more joins you have in your coop build the more places for mites etc to hide. I favour OSB or Ply builds whenever possible and affordable.

 

[mowin]

We will be hard pressed to ever get similar service out of plywood. It has its place, but it's not for exterior use. IMHO it has no business in a coop inside or out

What????
So where in your opinion can one use plywood?
If it can't be used inside or outside of a chicken coop, then it most certainly can't be used for roof or wall sheathing or subfloors in houses.....