PVC PANELS FOR COOP WALLS

[Rose Acres Farm]

I’m in the process of building a new chicken room in my pole barn; it will have a concrete floor and plenty of windows and a cleanout section in the wall. My question is I want to install a product called ag-tuff pcv panels for my walls. This will allow me to power wash the coop and is chemical resistant to poop and antibacterial washes has anybody ever used this type of product? Will my chickens peck through it? Looking for advice before I build… thank you

 

[warhorse]

Interesting. I had to google to find some information on it:

http://www.northbrookfarms.com/store.asp?pid=16432

I'm curious to hear anyone who has used it and I might go looking to find a local supplier.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

They should work just fine.

 

[crazyhen]

They should work but it will be more cold in cold climes and hotter in hot climes. Are you going to insulate it? On the outside it would be great as sheathing. jean

 

[patandchickens]

I haven't used it but I've worked in a lot of horse barns where it is used for drop ceilings.

I don't know about using it for walls, I guess you could (not for the wall structure, or for the sole wall of a building, but as an overlay on the inside). But if installed with the usual gasketed roofing screws I would *suspect* that sooner or later the chickens will discover that the exposed parts of the gaskets are peckable. I guess you could glue it to the walls, but then removal would be a serious issue; also I don't know whether there are compatible glues that would be strong enough. It is kind of flimsy stuff, it needs lots of attachment

If you *do* want to use something like that, how does it compare in price and characteristics to Palruf, which is available OTC at most big chains like Home Depot etc.?

Finally, bear in mind that a (mild) disadvantage of using plasticky stuff inside the coop is that there's less capacity for the structure to absorb moisture to buffer temporary spikes in coop humidity. This is more an issue with a concrete slab floor, too. OTOH as long as you can have PLENTY of ventilation I wouldn't expect it to be a real problem.

Good luck, let us know if you do it!,

Pat, with a different sort of plastic (solid, flat, maybe 3/8-1/2" thick) on the lower 4' of pen walls but with no idea whatsoever what it is - it was there when we moved here. You might look at what's sold for dog kennels/runs, as it's that sort of product.

 

[cmom]

My husband wanted to use it to build a coop. Instead I went out and bought a shed and converted it. We built the first coop out of wood. In the spring I will be building another coop so I'm very interested to know how it works.

 

[Rose Acres Farm]

Thank you for your input. I never thought about the gasket problem; guess I could use large S.S. washers instead. If not your suggestion of the lower 4 ft using flat material is very pauseable. Palruf is the same basic material which is corrugated pvc. On the bottom I will use ½” polyethylene sheet. The walls will be insulated. I will have a ceiling powered vent available if condensation becomes a problem. Inside height will be 8 ft and a 10’x12’ room. There are 2-24”x24” windows on the West side and 2- 24”x24” windows facing the south side. The run will be 12’x25’ on the south side of the building with a clear polycarbonate roof to allow sun warming in winter and keeping wild birds from entering. The run will be screened covered with additional 12” in the ground around the perimeter for varmint’s protection

 

[Opa]

The Agri-panel is corrigated. If you check at Home Depot in the paneling aisle you will find a flat white 1/8x4'x8' plastic sheet that would work very well for interior walls. It's a little pricey, about $25 a sheet, but it could be glued to the studs with minimal fastners.

 

[patandchickens]

I like opa's suggestion, it sounds like the most practical way to go if you want plastic on your inside walls.

If you substitute ss washers for the neoprene gasketed screws, put a good blob of silicone caulk in the assembly before screwing it tight, otherwise water will leak in and start rot. (Which is of course why the roofing screws have the neoprene washers in the first place, to avoid that <g>). You can wipe off any protruding caulk while it's still wet.

FWIW I don't know what climate you are in, Rose Acres Farm, but if it's somewhere that gets down to freezing or lower in the wintertime, I STRONGLY STRONGLY suggest not relying entirely on the windows for ventilation, but making a bunch of dedicated ventilation openings high on all the walls (with flaps or sliders to cover when unwanted). If you try to ventilate the building using just the windows, in cold winter conditions, you will have real problems with cold drafts on birds.

For the ceiling vent, if you are talking about one of the turbine-style ones powered by the wind, make sure you have a way to close off the opening, as you will sometimes want to. If you are talking about a powered vent e.g. attic or bathroom fan, remember these are not designed to operate in super high dust environments like a coop and are really not such a great idea. You will spend all your time cleaning or replacing it as dust gums up the work, and they are a bit of a fire hazard. Also really unnecessary, as well-designed *passive* ventilation is quite adequate for virtually all noncommercial coops.

JMHO, have fun,

Pat

 

[Rose Acres Farm]

Pat, I’m in Northern Michigan, it sounds like the windows are not going to provide for proper ventilation, The fan was an ag type using a drive belt without the motor being exposed to the dust of the coop. Knowing this and the basic size of my coop what would you suggest as size, amount and basic locations of vents? The coop will only have the South and West walls exposed to the outside. The washers were in lieu of using gaskets that the chicks would be attracted to pecking.