PVC pipe

[tad and charity]

I was at Southern States the other day and the local FFA chapter was there raising money. One of the members came over and started talking to my fiancé and myself. She said that she had used PVC pipe for posts for her run. Has anyone ever done this and how well did it work out?

 

[Odelia]

I might use pvc pipe on a tractor. Otherwise it doesn't seem like it would fare well. Plastic gets brittle in the sun and I put a roof on my run. I don't think the PVC pipes could hold the weight of a roof. I wanted a roof so that they had protection from the sun, rain, and predators.

 

[tad and charity]

I was gonna use thicker heavy wall pipe and a good diameter. But it wouldn't be load bearing except for chicken wire for protection from Hawks. The coop will be raised off the ground so they can have shade under there

 

[PapaChaz]

you'll be replacing it every couple of years.

The sun will do a number on it and one day you'll come home to find it laying in a heap

 

[SunkenRoadFarms]

X2 on it getting very brittle. Even CPVC isn't as UV resistant as previously thought. It's a much better investment to stick with pressure treated lumber IMO.

 

[georgiagail]

Couple of our runs are made with PVC pipe (these are built on former raised beds for roses). Doing fine so far.

Picture of the latest one...

Our other runs are all dog runs....

 

[CrazyTalk]

I woudn't advise it - I built a couple of garden trellis stuctures a couple of years ago out of PVC - they flexed a lot in the heat, and were always a problem.

@aart does something similar in her coop/run but uses EMT conduit, which isn't really any more expensive than PVC - and is definitely more rigid. I'm about to build something similar, and am using her run as a basic plan. her coop: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/aarts-coop-page

You'll have to buy a $40 conduit bender tool, but that's not too bad.

 

[aart]

I woudn't advise it - I built a couple of garden trellis stuctures a couple of years ago out of PVC - they flexed a lot in the heat, and were always a problem.

@aart does something similar in her coop/run but uses EMT conduit, which isn't really any more expensive than PVC - and is definitely more rigid. I'm about to build something similar, and am using her run as a basic plan. her coop: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/aarts-coop-page

You'll have to buy a $40 conduit bender tool, but that's not too bad.

Was lucky enough to be able to borrow the bender.

 

[CrazyTalk]

Was lucky enough to be able to borrow the bender.

I think the tool was about 25% of my cost on a 30x8 run (that isn't built yet, but I've bought all the supplies) - so that would definitely help if someone is trying to save some cash.

I figured I'd use it for replacing the PVC garden trellises at some point, and I've still got a duck run to do, so it was worth buying it for me.