Sealing OSB floor

[tinakevin]

I have osb on the upper part of my coop. I am a painting contractor and believe me with all the paint we have left over from customers it is easy for us to use. I have painted my coop 3 times inside already and we have never had a problem with the chickens or the wood. If u use a good gloss finish on your floors you will be fine. It's easy to clean. Just make sure when u paint it that you get all the nooks and crannies that osb has. Latex paint will not harm the chickens. I did paint the underside of my coop floors as well just for precautionary measures because we did not use pressure treated wood as this is def toxic to chickens. Using poop bards under the roost helps with the moisture on the floors as well. I hope this helps a little

 

[jvls1942]

The main reason that vinyl in a new home gives off odor is that they are glued down. the glue is what people smell. the smell goes away after awhile.

On another website, Homesteading Today, a similar problem came up.

one guy used a liquid roofing compound. another tried it on concrete but it didn't bond. I think it would have had he scrubbed it good first..

I personally would use liquid bedliner that I used in one of my pickup truck beds.

It stinks like heck until it sets. and after that it is almost indistructable.
I did the roof of one of my tool vans with it over 10 years ago and it is still good to go.

If it is toxic, I don't think a chicken could peck at it long enough to get enough to do any harm..

just my humble opinion..

Vinyl would be your next best bet I think. I would glue it down.
the only thing I would consider is that vinyl might get slippery if wet ..

If you use vinyl, get a very smooth surfaced one. one with any pattern the high points will wear off eventually.

......jiminwiscretiredcontractor......

 

[PD-Riverman]

the only thing I would consider is that vinyl might get slippery if wet ..

If you use vinyl, get a very smooth surfaced one. one with any pattern the high points will wear off eventually.

......jiminwiscretiredcontractor......

Everyone I know that uses vinyl in their coop----put the vinyl down to protect the wood then put bedding on top of it---so if it is slippery, it doesn't matter. Hopefully it rarely see's water.

 

[blackdog043]

Black-Jack Rubr-coat #57 is my suggestion. It is a rubber roof coating. Paint smells worse than this stuff when applying it. I used a 4 inch paint brush to do my 8 x 12 floor and about 1 foot up the walls, I did 2 coats. If you do a search at the top of the page, it will bring up a thread, where others have used it in their coops. It is not going to be scratched up by the chickens, it is very durable stuff. You can buy it in one gallon or five gallon size. Turn the container upside down the day before you use it and it will mix a lot easier.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/BLACK-JACK-4-75-Gallon-Fibered-Waterproofer-Roof-Sealant/3043257

 

[ewerbos]

So many suggestions! I find paint rather confusing. Maybe just looking in the store will be helpful. What about Fence & Barn paint for the interior/exterior walls (http://www.homedepot.com/p/BEHR-1-gal-Red-Exterior-Barn-and-Fence-Paint-02501/100132971), then the exterior gloss latex paint as others suggested (whatever that is, I'll find it? no idea how to select paint) for the floor (top and underside)? That Rubr-Coat stuff looks interesting, but there are a lot of reviews on the Lowes site that say it cracks, which seems like it would be a bummer. I'd look at deck paint but I've no idea how to look for it or select it, or how to figure out which kinds might be ok for chickens.

(Also it's good to hear that people are successful with OSB... I am glad it's not totally a horrible mistake. Advantech sounds like a good suggestion, but unfortunately, I already bought my OSB and started installing it...)

 

[blackdog043]

I saw the reviews about Rubr-Coat coat also on lowes but I went with it, after reading about the people using it on here. I would use it again, it works great. I think the cracking comes from the surface not being clean, before applying it.

 

[jvls1942]

that roof rubber coat does crack,,
on a roof. but you have to take into consideration the extremes of weather beating it up.

I will tell you right now. Paint is not the way to go...

the little bit of cracking of the roofing tar is nothing compared to what damage will come with using paint.

I still stand by my recommendation of using the liquid bedliner product.

it sounds like you have already made up you mind..

before I would use paint, I would glue down linoleum ..

.........jiminwisc.......

 

[ewerbos]

Well, I started to research the bed liner, and then talked to my husband... I thought he'd given up on finishes, but apparently he was also thinking about it, and wants to go with shellac. So, I guess we're doing that... I'm ok with it, but it may not be 100% waterproof, though it *is* 100% baby safe. I guess it's not the end of the world if we have to replace the floor (or maybe just redo the finish if it starts to go).

 

[jvls1942]

by "shellac" you do mean polyurethane right ?

 

[PD-Riverman]

by "shellac" you do mean polyurethane right ?

Shellac and polyurethane are not the same.