Roofing Material

[Chipper Chicken]

I love the your plan for all that ventilation too! And x2 kudos on reuse/recycle!!! Most of my plywood(all but the nest boxes) was off CL, as were my windows and doors.
I picked up some fairly dark paint for the insides of my nest boxes at a local ReSore yesterday for $5! Pretty happy 'bout that. Going over to your build page now......

 

[AlHawk]

Chipper, I'm glad you mentioned paint because I found an AWESOME program here in Brevard Cty, FL. Our waste management GIVES AWAY PAINT!! All you have to do is go to the collection center and they let you pick through the cans then give them your zip code. I picked out 4, gallon cans of "light" paint and mixed them. I got about 3 gallons of cream (maybe a bit darker) of exterior paint all free. I also had 3+ gallons of interior paint that I used/am using as a primer. The new plywood sucks up the paint and I only have 3 gallons of the cream exterior so am being frugal with it.

If in the market for paint check out your local waste management. They may have a similar program to take advantage of.

 

[Chipper Chicken]

Al,
That's great! I never thought of that, but there is a collection center not too far from me. Thanks!
Since you mentioned the ventilation on this thread, I thought I'd mention something here instead of your build thread. Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see if you said what you were going to cover the new vents with. Please use hardware cloth (not poultry wire). I'm sure you've probably read enough about this to know and you probably were going to.....but just in case I wanted to mention it. (Sorry for the delay...I had to shift gears and get to work)
Chipper

 

[AlHawk]

Chipper, actually no, I have used pvc coated chicken wire on those vents/windows. My thinking was "it's 5' off the ground and would be ok. The largest piece in the human door is nowhere close to any chicken elevated area (roost) so reaching in isn't a problem. The PVC coating gives it an extra resilliance too. Run is a different story (plan). But since Mary suggested a large window in addition to the vents looks like a redesign/adjustment is in order.

 

[Inspektor]

I didn't read all the replies. But I used a plastic roof that looks like a tin roof. Cheap and as long as it doesn't crack it's perfect. Just my $.02

 

[scratch'n'peck]

You could consider Ondura roof panels http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ondura-6...N5PGJhuGRqNWAg4UDI_Y0aAmc68P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

My shallow slope shingled roof was leaking, and these panels can go right over the shingles. The panels have worked well for over a year.

 

[AlHawk]

Thanks Scratch, those are similar to what I saw one time online but I couldn't find them again. My local HD doesn't have them in the store (neither does Lowe's). I hate buying sight unseen. I know those flimsy fiberglass & plastic panels last about year down here. They tend to get brittle and crack if you look at them. At least now I have a name and can search for local outlets.

 

[beccaWA]

I have the same problem with my coop. It's got black asphalt shingles on it. It's a single slope roof, shed style. It gets very hot in summer. It is now worn out/leaking so I am replacing it (laying over the top of the shingles) with metal roofing sheets. I don't think it's tin, I think it's sheet metal. I'm using white to minimize the heat. And the best part, I found them a year or so ago on Craigslist. For free.

http://www.hantekor.com/metal-roofing/corrugated/

 

[ArcticMermaid]

When I built my coop I put the roof on a 20* slope. I used marine plywood, tar paper, roofing tarp and then shingles on top. I didn't trim the tarp so it would hang down over the nesting boxes to give them more insulation. I tied pieces of fire wood to the corners to keep it from flopping around.

 

[dheltzel]

Thanks Scratch, those are similar to what I saw one time online but I couldn't find them again. My local HD doesn't have them in the store (neither does Lowe's). I hate buying sight unseen. I know those flimsy fiberglass & plastic panels last about year down here. They tend to get brittle and crack if you look at them. At least now I have a name and can search for local outlets.

I've used steel roofing panels and Ondura composites. The Ondura is a lot easier to cut but just feels flimsier. If I was hoping for hurricane-proof, I'd definitely use steel roofing. Being lazy, I'd put it right over the existing roof and use longer nails.