Pull down nesting box door

[GApeachmama]

I have an external nesting box that I want to amend. The door is pull down and not quite ready. It’s super heavy. Everything my husband builds is heavy. He builds it to be manageable for a 6’4” 280 lb man. I’m definitely not that size nor that strong.

Below are pics of the door and inside the door. Any suggestions? Do I need the part where he put to seal the door? Can I move the hinges down?

 

[perkolator]

What do you mean by “the part he put to seal the door”?

The only way to make this lighter is to remove material, or add a lift assist mechanism.

A simple counterweight system might be quicker/easier than rebuilding the door to be lighter. Simplest way I’d attempt this, is by adding eye bolts to the top edge of the door and the nest box, then add a string and counterweights. A spring and chain could also work, but spring loaded things might not be a great fit.

To reduce weight of the door I would likely reframe the back side of the slat siding. Such as swap the 2x4 lumber with smaller dimension lumber (like using only 1x2 lumber) or lighter-weight pieces instead of what looks like heavier reclaimed old-growth wood.

Might even be able to remove most of the 2x4 frame and go minimal - like just fix the two slats together with 3 vertical braces, and either hinge directly off the siding or on the braces where it’ll be strongest. Minimizing the internal frame will also give you more accessibility

An observation of having a heavy flip-down nest door myself - the design of having a horizontal brace inside the door frame along the bottom, adds a potential issue of nest bedding getting sandwiched between the door frame and nest box frame, when you open/close the door. I left a finger thick gap in that location to accommodate buildups of bedding, I do have to clear it out every now and then to close the door smoothly

 

[GApeachmama]

What do you mean by “the part he put to seal the door”?

The only way to make this lighter is to remove material, or add a lift assist mechanism.

A simple counterweight system might be quicker/easier than rebuilding the door to be lighter. Simplest way I’d attempt this, is by adding eye bolts to the top edge of the door and the nest box, then add a string and counterweights. A spring and chain could also work, but spring loaded things might not be a great fit.

To reduce weight of the door I would likely reframe the back side of the slat siding. Such as swap the 2x4 lumber with smaller dimension lumber (like using only 1x2 lumber) or lighter-weight pieces instead of what looks like heavier reclaimed old-growth wood.

Might even be able to remove most of the 2x4 frame and go minimal - like just fix the two slats together with 3 vertical braces, and either hinge directly off the siding or on the braces where it’ll be strongest. Minimizing the internal frame will also give you more accessibility

An observation of having a heavy flip-down nest door myself - the design of having a horizontal brace inside the door frame along the bottom, adds a potential issue of nest bedding getting sandwiched between the door frame and nest box frame, when you open/close the door. I left a finger thick gap in that location to accommodate buildups of bedding, I do have to clear it out every now and then to close the door smoothly

Thank you! I’m not 100% understanding what you’re saying but my husband will. He’ll be able to break it down for me so I can build it. I’m learning so much about building things but I don’t have the full vocabulary yet.

 

[perkolator]

Thank you! I’m not 100% understanding what you’re saying but my husband will. He’ll be able to break it down for me so I can build it. I’m learning so much about building things but I don’t have the full vocabulary yet.

The door is made of 2 main components - the 2pc of exterior slat siding, and the big chonky lumber frame on the backside (which is way overkill and probably heavier than the siding). A lot of weight can be reduced by simply using less mass on the door. The wood slats are likely strong enough to use with minimal structure holding them together, such as only 2-3 pieces of lumber going perpendicular on the back

In regard to the door function and bedding- because the door swings down, nesting bedding can deposit at the hinge area/pinch point, basically every time you open it, and obstruct closing. Not having a big chonking piece of lumber across the bottom of the door will have significantly less surface area to get hangups with bedding getting squished between.

Hopefully that clarifies.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Everything my husband builds is heavy. He builds it to be manageable for a 6’4” 280 lb man. I’m definitely not that size nor that strong.

Sorry, I had to laugh a little at this. With all the 2x4's, you could definitely do some reps with the door to build muscle! Honestly, it's always a toss up between building something sturdy (with 2x4s) or building something lightweight with furring strips. Hoping you can find a nice compromise as a solution.

 

[GApeachmama]

The door is made of 2 main components - the 2pc of exterior slat siding, and the big chonky lumber frame on the backside (which is way overkill and probably heavier than the siding). A lot of weight can be reduced by simply using less mass on the door. The wood slats are likely strong enough to use with minimal structure holding them together, such as only 2-3 pieces of lumber going perpendicular on the back

In regard to the door function and bedding- because the door swings down, nesting bedding can deposit at the hinge area/pinch point, basically every time you open it, and obstruct closing. Not having a big chonking piece of lumber across the bottom of the door will have significantly less surface area to get hangups with bedding getting squished between.

Hopefully that clarifies.

This helped a lot. I’m getting enough sense of what’s needed to develop a plan. Thank you!

 

[GApeachmama]

Sorry, I had to laugh a little at this. With all the 2x4's, you could definitely do some reps with the door to build muscle! Honestly, it's always a toss up between building something sturdy (with 2x4s) or building something lightweight with furring strips. Hoping you can find a nice compromise as a solution.

It’s such a blessing to have a handy husband. Nonetheless I have to rebuild the coop door too. He struck again.

 

[thecatumbrella]

It’s such a blessing to have a handy husband. Nonetheless I have to rebuild the coop door too. He struck again.

Hey, he over engineers. This is never a bad thing! You can always scale back.

 

[GApeachmama]

Hey, he over engineers. This is never a bad thing! You can always scale back.

Here’s my end result without the roof.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Very nice! I know that hens appreciate having it open from the side, rather than overhead. Probably makes it more weather protected as well. And I love the hardware you picked out!