Reducing "For-Sale" Coop weight without compromising Quality

[BaaKaaawk]

I've recently found out that I really enjoy building custom-style coops, but I keep building them just wayyyy tooooo heavy! This is because I'm using all heavy materials like treated posts and treated 2x4's.

I figure @aart and @DobieLover you two may have some suggestions for how to reduce weight? This one pictured below I already sold but I kid you not it weighed like 500 pounds. We had to put 2x4's under the base to act as handles and then lift it like the Ark of Covenant! Took 4 guys to get it into the back of the pickup truck.

Any ideas? One concept I had was rip the 2x4's into 1.5/1.5" boards and use those as the primary frame. That would eliminate 50% of the frame weight. I also framed the boxes using 2x12's... which weighed probably 50 pounds in itself. So I need a better box framing method, although that was super nice for long-term use. The braces on the legs were irrelevant, I made those for looks, so probably just ditch those. And the doors I framed with 2x4's to make them super strong and long-lasting, but appears that also just adds a ton of weight.

Open to anything you two can think of! (And anyone else who wants to comment for that matter).

 

[PennysHennys]

How adorable! A Fort Knox chicken coop! I personally like the supports on the legs, sort of balances the whole look! Maybe leave the "heavy" wood on the bottom frame for stability? Great job!

 

[aart]

One concept I had was rip the 2x4's into 1.5/1.5" boards and use those as the primary frame.

I've built a lot of stuff with these, they will actually be 1.5 x 1.75, so keep that in mind while planning. My local lumber guy, now gone , used to rip high quality 2x4's for me.

No need to use treated for everything, just what touches the ground.
What's the siding? Could use 1/2" ply and still add the battens.

And yeah, use 1x's wherever possible, like the nests.
Smaller lumber might not satisfy your aesthetics,
but....I've always been one to favor function over form.
Speaking of which, those roosts are not suitable for such a small coop.
It sure is purty tho!

 

[humblehillsfarm]

After building what was supposed to be a chicken tractor that ended up weighing 500 lbs, I've decided next build I'll cut the 2x4s in half (to save money) and make them 1x2s for all except the frame that is sitting on the ground. Also I'd add a 1x2 as a ridge beam and use different materials for the roof, like clear plastic to cover the roof instead of shingles. Your coops are lovely! Good luck.

 

[BaaKaaawk]

I've built a lot of stuff with these, they will actually be 1.5 x 1.75, so keep that in mind while planning. My local lumber guy, now gone , used to rip high quality 2x4's for me.

No need to use treated for everything, just what touches the ground.
What's the siding? Could use 1/2" ply and still add the battens.

And yeah, use 1x's wherever possible, like the nests.
Smaller lumber might not satisfy your aesthetics,
but....I've always been one to favor function over form.
Speaking of which, those roosts are not suitable for such a small coop.
It sure is purty tho!

Thanks. Ok good to know on the 1x's I will start ripping those down. I like using treated everywhere... but yeah maybe that's overkill if the wood is not going to get "wet". My concept was to build a forever-coop.

The siding is 5/8" fence posts (also treated lol). They are super cheap and fun to work with. They're not as stable as a 1x though so I don't think I'd be able to use them for the boxes... but maybe I could get some 1x's (which would also lower cost). The 2x12 boxes is definitely over the top and needs to be changed.

And what is wrong with the roosts? I've done those a lot and they work well for me? The top one has 12" on both sides and even more above, and then the bottom one is a little tight on one side at 9" but 20+ on the other side?

 

[BaaKaaawk]

After building what was supposed to be a chicken tractor that ended up weighing 500 lbs, I've decided next build I'll cut the 2x4s in half (to save money) and make them 1x2s for all except the frame that is sitting on the ground. Also I'd add a 1x2 as a ridge beam and use different materials for the roof, like clear plastic to cover the roof instead of shingles. Your coops are lovely! Good luck.
View attachment 2115368

Awesome. You should go to metal roofs- they're cheap and super easy and super light (that's the one thing I did do right ha). They're also pretty cheap when you are doing such small coverage.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Awesome. You should go to metal roofs- they're cheap and super easy and super light (that's the one thing I did do right ha). They're also pretty cheap when you are doing such small coverage.

I was considering metal. I have not yet worked with metal roofing material and hadn't guessed at or researched the weight. I thought of plastic simply because I recently used it on my greenhouse roof. Thanks for the tip! It would look a whole lot better than plastic for sure.

 

[BaaKaaawk]

I was considering metal. I have not yet worked with metal roofing material and hadn't guessed at or researched the weight. I thought of plastic simply because I recently used it on my greenhouse roof. Thanks for the tip! It would look a whole lot better than plastic for sure.

You can buy it at a metal fabrication shop- and best of all they can cut it to the lengths you want. So you can say "I need 4 panels at 32 inches" and they'll cut them for you. Then you can just screw through the top with a screw with washer into your rafters. Then you just toss a bit of the ridge cap on (if you have a ridge, if you do a shed you don't need it of course) and screw that to the ridge support beam and you're done! The biggest thing is you need to plan the width of your coop to match the width of the metal panels because you don't want to "rip" those... that's bad. There are some standard sizes though and you can play with the overlaps and overhangs so it is pretty easy.

 

[aart]

And what is wrong with the roosts? I've done those a lot and they work well for me? The top one has 12" on both sides and even more above, and then the bottom one is a little tight on one side at 9" but 20+ on the other side?

Landing space....and even tight to get up there.
But you seem to like less space for your birds, so <shrugs> I won't go there.

 

[BaaKaaawk]

Landing space....and even tight to get up there.
But you seem to like less space for your birds, so <shrugs> I won't go there.

You love to poke me aart!

In my main coop, I built them in a "stair" format. I will get you a picture tonight so you can see them in there, they just love it and have their own hierarchies on the roosts already figured out.

Agree with you on this one, they'd be forced to go from lower roost and hop to the upper roost- it would be hard for them to hop up there / fly. This coop can only handle 6 birds or so though, so they would all in theory fit on the lower roost if needed.

But point taken- I will try to get them more space going forward. An aart bird is a happy space bird.