roofing the run?

I also live in New England, so I am anxious to see what you get for a reply. My 6 girls are 3 weeks old and still in my den in their brooder. The coop is up but not complete. Living in this climate makes you really think long and hard about how to build a safe home for them. Best of luck

 

To roof a run, you are basically constructing a shed with no walls.

It needs rafters AND purlins, the one at right angles to the other, both of which will probably be spaced at 2' (altho it depends on your exact construction). (There is another way of doing it, but it doesn't save you THAT much lumber since it all needs to be bigger)

The manufacturer of Suntuf and Palruf has a brochure that details the support specifications needed for their products, and presumably mfrs of other plastic and metal roofing materials do too -- CONSULT THEM AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS. The stuff is pretty saggy, and expensive enough you don't want to ruin a whole roof's worth by incorrect construction. (I really LIKE it, you just have to use it as intended)

There is no issue of strength of the roofing panels, only the issue of strength of how you've got them SUPPORTED. So, see above paragraph

If the roof is flat, you will need to use *approved* sealants at all seams, and the roof will still probably leak, plus you will spend MUCH more money on lumber constructing a stronger supporting structure; thus it is smarter to have some reasonable pitch like at least 2:12.

The supporting structure needs to be built to withstand your local snow loads, so do not just happily go off building plans designed for, like, Alabama

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

I was going to cover my run too because of the heavy snow load..

can I just use the metal sheeting roofing that they have at lowes or home depot?

 

Quote:Yup, certainly.... but all the abovementioned stuff about making sure you've got appropriate supporting structure still applies

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

Here's my covered run:



Nothing fancy. It is metal siding off a friend's barn (hail damaged so the insurance replaced it - I don't think the chickens care). It is framed with supports every 24 inches and screwed down. We put a little dollop of silicone over each screw to keep the leaking to a minimum. Pitch isn't very steep, but snow simply slides off. Keeps the majority of snow out of the run, but I still get some that blows in. Sounds great in the rain.

 

Here is mine I live in northern CT and my coop is 5x12
I'm using galvanized steel and I have supports every 3' with boards (purlins) running the entire length.