Question about insullation

[AK Michelle]

Quote:
The plan was to lay sheets of plywood over the sheets of insullation. It is my alternative to jacking up the coop and crawling under it to add insulation under the floor. I figure the chickens won't notice if the loos a couple inches of head room since the coop has an 8' peak.

BUT, I will be checking the psi info. Didn't know it was on there but I guess I should have thought of that.

Thanks for your engineering nerdiness!

and I'll try to keep the jumping jacks to a minimum inside the coop.

Michelle

 

[CityChook]

Michelle - I don't live where it gets as cold as you, but it's still pretty darned cold here. We had about 2 weeks of -20F this last winter and the season lasts from November through March. My coop is on the ground, lifted up about 8 inches from sitting on a border of cement block. The ground actually does a pretty good job of insulating the floor and because it's raised up, it doesn't get wet. I vapor barriered and insulated my entire coop with the batting style insulation, but I did not do the floor. I think that if you put down two layers of plywood to give it a little more thickness, and then a good, deep layer of shavings, you would probably be okay. I was quite surprised this winter when the temp gauge said -5F in the coop, but it was actually quite pleasant inside. No draft makes all the difference. The important addition will be heat over their roosting area, a heated water dish (or base) to keep the water from freezing and sufficient ventilation. Even when it's cold, you're going to need to have some air exchange going on. Keep it up high and put baffles on it so that it can be closed up when the going gets tough. I hardwired my heat lamp fixtures so that I didn't have to worry about them falling down and starting the coop on fire. Helps me sleep at night. Also, any southern windows that can let in some sunlight will help.

Good luck!