Siding the coop: anything cheaper than plywood?

[amk3000]

I trying to keep my costs down as much as possible.
Is there any siding material cheaper than plywood that will keep out drafts and predators and can be attached to a wood frame?
Thanks.

 

[StrawberryHouseMouse]

I use a type of plywood that is very thin. It costs me $10 a sheet. (4x8)

 

[cassie]

Go to the building supply store like Lowes or Home Depot and look around. Check out the house siding. I guess that's what it's called. You put it on the outside of the house, it comes in 4X8 panels. Some of it looks like boards and it is fairly thick.

 

[Whispering Winds]

Quote:
I think this is what my husband was thinking about for our Alpaca shed/chicken house, but metal went down quite a chunk, so we got white metal for the roof and the siding. The wood looks so nice though, and he was going to take a wood strip, like a 1 x2 and go down each seam on the outside . . .check out Craigslist too, its amazing what you can get on there cheap. The countyI live in has a freecycle website that I get emailed to me every day, and sometimes you find stuff on there like that. Not often though, or at least not around here. Tearing down old sheds is another good way to get really cheap and good used lumber if you have the time and energy!!

 

[cherig22]

My hubby calls it OSB, it is very strong. $5 or less a 4x8 sheet, paint with a Wagner power painter and it is done. Protected and strong.

Course my way would be pallets torn up for the wood, lol. Free is better than $5.

Cheri

 

[farmerboy]

i live in sw ohio and theres a community of amish near me and theres a couple of them that make things out of ceder they sell there scarp in large bundels that are about 5x4x8 theres more then enough to do board and batten sideing and them some i covered my coop thAT IS 6x8 and 7 foot at its highest point and only use about half of the bundel since i built that coop my other half has "surpriesed"

me with 6 ducks and we now have 18 hens and 3 roos so its time to build a new super coop and ill use the rest of the ceder and get another bundel

 

[ript]

OSB is very cheap and comes in 3/8, 1/2, etc. this wood is made from chips, pressed together and held with glue. It MUST be kept dry, either by paint, and then more paint each year as the chips will 'flake off'. OSB tends to absorb moisture very readily, and then expands and 'flakes'. The glue is not overly strong. it's meant to be used in non visible places, as shearing or sheeting, protected from moisture. If you dont mind it swelling and flaking, osb is fine. Expect 5-8 years tops out of OSB with exterior exposure with nothing but paint on it.

If you are looking for a more lasting, even surfaced presentable material, spend the extra on 1/2 plywood, t-111, or siding. 1/2 plywood is still cheap (10$-14$ range) but you get a lot more out of it if you take care of it. much stronger as well, as it is made of laminated sheets of thin wood, not just glued together chips.

my .02

 

[rittert3]

A few years back we built a hutch (basically a 5 section rabbit hutch we were going to use for quail and ended up keeping pigeons in) and used old concrete frames 2x4 ripped down to 2x2 for frame and 1/2" ply for boxed in back end.

 

[coffeelady3]

some people have torn apart pallets and used the wood for siding. You can usually find them for FREE!!!

 

[BFeathered]

We used 4x8 sheets of ply that looks like bead board- and paints up really nice with el-cheapo red barn paint. Let's face it, the only reason to make it pretty is for us, not the birds!