Prime AND paint interior of coop? Or just Prime?

[surfchicken72]

I have FINALLY reached the Painting point of my coop. (never thought I'd get there...)
Anyway... for the interior, should I Prime AND paint it? Or is Primer enough??

Thanks for any help/suggestions...

 

[JimWWhite]

I'd prime and paint it. And I'd paint it with a gloss white so it's easy to clean. Teresa insisted on doing this to our coop when I built it last year and I'm glad she did. One thing I noticed was that chickens generate a lot of moisture when they're locked up for the night, and we lock ours up every night. Too many varments around at night. Well, with that much moisture comes a lot of mildew on the walls and if the walls weren't 'slick' they'd be a lot of trouble to clean. So I'd paint it and use a gloss enamel paint on the inside. Also, we put down linoleum tiles on the floor and that makes it easier to clean too.

 

[floridaquilter]

Prime and paint. it is easier to clean. I was told to use semi-gloss or high gloss because you can scrub it. (I didn't though..used flat barn red) and primed first with Kilz

 

[turtlebird]

Ditto....prime and paint (high gloss). One more step, and a little more time, but it is worth it. Don't forget the pics when you are all done!

 

[elmo]

Quote:
If you're getting mildew inside your coop, I'd be concerned that this is proof your ventilation is inadequate. If you live somewhere it gets below freezing in winter, the moisture inside your coop might lead to frostbitten combs. Generally, though, inadequate ventilation is hard on chickens' efficient respiratory systems, too.

A good rule of thumb is to build 1 square foot of vent for each chicken. Chickens need way more ventilation than you'd imagine!

 

[Gold Griffin Chicken Mom]

Says the former Public Works painter from Charleston Naval Shipyard:

Prime and PAINT. You are attempting to protect the wood. One coat of anything will NOT do the job. The surface of the wood on the microscopic level looks like hills and valleys. First coat of paint fills most of the valleys. The hills will wear through first and allow moisture inside the wood. You end up with peeling paint.

If you have enough time, use a brush. The brush pushes the paint into the wood pores (valleys) better. NEVER spray paint something that needs to last. Unless is has been thinned super thin and you use many coats of paint, spray paint lays on the surface and doesn't get inside the wood. That's why spray paint comes off house siding in large sheets (compared to "normal" tiny strips). If you want to or need to use a roller, be sure your roller nap is fluffy. The fluffy nap gets into the wood pores better. I refuse to use those skinniest roller naps for inside my house. They don't hold enough paint and I need to use too many coats to make it look right.

Thus ends this edition of Painter Wisdom from Gold Griffin Chicken Mom, the Mom that used to do other things prior to becoming a Mom.

 

[CityChook]

Quote:
excellent advice!

PS - I see that you live in MA -- I'd recommend an exterior paint over that primer (BTW, I like to use Kilz oil based primer and then exterior latex paint, any gloss choice). Exterior paint will handle the temperature fluxuations better than an interior paint will.

For what it's worth, I put down 2 coats of primer and three coats of paint. Walls and floor. Time consuming? Sure. Have I had to redo it yet? No way. Worth every minute of effort.

 

[PatS]

Another vote for prime and paint. I think sealing all those little cracks helps stave off bugs. Fewer hiding places for the little guys.

 

[amsunshine]

Great question, I had been wondering about this. I saw one coop that had white shiny laminate panels on the inside and that was nice too, but I'd been wondering if you could paint if you chose not to do the panels.

 

[MrChicken207]

One coat of primer and 2 coats of paint. the sheen shouldn't matter all that much. oops paint is perfectly fine. VENTILATION is very important.