Sky high lumber prices = thinking outside the box.

[Bancm]

We recently got chickens and needed to build a chicken coop and run. Thankfully we had a TON of reclaimed wood from tearing down a shed on our property. We used all of that for the coop. The only thing wood wise we bought for the coop was 2 sheets of plywood siding that was about $80. We needed a cheaper option for our run since lumber prices are crazy right now! We will eventually upgrade to a bigger, nicer run when/if lumber prices ever drop. We still have some finishing touches to do on the coop but I wanted to share with those who needs cheaper option for a run what we did.

For the run we used 5 (6.5ft tpost at $4.50 a piece) and chicken wire. All in all we spent around $60 for the entire run which, not including the coop, is 10ftx4ft. We dug around the run and buried the wire about 6 inches to a foot. We secured the chicken wire to the tpost. We placed a piece of chicken wire on top and secured with plastic tie wraps. We will be placing pavers around the outside parameter in the coming week. Again this is a temporary options for us until lumber prices drop. It’s not the prettiest thing out there but all in all we have under $200 in the entire run and coop! Our girls love it and we are pleased.

We left the top open and the floor bare so that nature can take its course. It’s in an area that is covered densely by trees so they have plenty of shade. We hope this will be successful for us.

We repurposed some items to do a small coop for our new girls until we incorporate them with the others. Mostly pallet wood and some scraps of odds and ends

 

[Araucana1]

That chicken wire won't work well with predators. It's designed to keep birds in, not keep animals out

Raccoons can tear through chicken wire no problem.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

For those seeing plywood prices climb thru the roof (and who isn't) for a host of reasons I'll not start unpacking here - gets political quickly, but its also COVID for complicated reasons - I recommend considering Hardiepanels. Heavier - they are 4x8 sheets of essentially concrete and fiberglass - harder on your tools and you definitely want to use a dust mask when cutting them (NOT! with your favorite circular saw blade), but they are superior to wood in almost every respect. In normal times, a Hardieboard panel runs $35 near me, while 1/2" exterior Ply runs $28. Hardie is now $42 as of last week, but the Ply just hit $65. Makes it MUCH easier to justify the extra wear on saw blades and the heavier material haul to the job site.

Same dynamics going on with metal roofing right now. Requires less framing, no decking, and shingle prices have also climbed. Suddenly, a product that used to cost more (and is still less attractive) has a very nice cost advantage over traditional construction.

 

[Tristan und Isolde]

We recently got chickens and needed to build a chicken coop and run. Thankfully we had a TON of reclaimed wood from tearing down a shed on our property. We used all of that for the coop. The only thing wood wise we bought for the coop was 2 sheets of plywood siding that was about $80. We needed a cheaper option for our run since lumber prices are crazy right now! We will eventually upgrade to a bigger, nicer run when/if lumber prices ever drop. We still have some finishing touches to do on the coop but I wanted to share with those who needs cheaper option for a run what we did.

For the run we used 5 (6.5ft tpost at $4.50 a piece) and chicken wire. All in all we spent around $60 for the entire run which, not including the coop, is 10ftx4ft. We dug around the run and buried the wire about 6 inches to a foot. We secured the chicken wire to the tpost. We placed a piece of chicken wire on top and secured with plastic tie wraps. We will be placing pavers around the outside parameter in the coming week. Again this is a temporary options for us until lumber prices drop. It’s not the prettiest thing out there but all in all we have under $200 in the entire run and coop! Our girls love it and we are pleased.

We left the top open and the floor bare so that nature can take its course. It’s in an area that is covered densely by trees so they have plenty of shade. We hope this will be successful for us.

Sounds very nice. The only comment I would have is about the chicken wire. If you have predators around, especially raccoons, you'll have problems. Raccoons use chicken wire as an appetizer and dental floss. Chicken wire keeps chickens in, but will not keep predators out! For predators, you need hardware cloth. It's expensive, but it works.

 

[64peeps]

I built a coop from eight wood pallets (some cut and removed the slats to close up the sides) and some scrap lumber, and left over roofing shingles from our house reroof. Picked up the door (cut in half and mounted a bottom edge) and wood flooring panels (all free). Majority of the cost were the hardware cloth, screws, hinges and latches.
No plans, just looked at what I gathered for a couple weeks and started cutting and mounting.
I have nine birds total = 1-Jersey Giant, 1-Golden Creme Legbar, 4-Black Cooper Marans, and 3-Olive Eggers who call it home! Eggs should start arriving in July! This is my second build from scrap lumber.

 

[Ceakmama]

We did something similar for the run. The lumber prices are insane and we spent way too much building the coop. We had some tposts laying around though, so we used that for the run. We also had some hardware cloth (I think that's what it's called) laying around, so we used that and chicken wire for it. I hope prices go down soon!! We don't have racoons here, just dogs, cats, and moose.

Good work saving money!!

 

[3KillerBs]

Raccoons use chicken wire as an appetizer and dental floss.

I am laughing so hard!

It's so very, very true.

 

[saysfaa]

For those seeing plywood prices climb thru the roof (and who isn't) for a host of reasons I'll not start unpacking here - gets political quickly, but its also COVID for complicated reasons - I recommend considering Hardiepanels. Heavier - they are 4x8 sheets of essentially concrete and fiberglass - harder on your tools and you definitely want to use a dust mask when cutting them (NOT! with your favorite circular saw blade), but they are superior to wood in almost every respect. In normal times, a Hardieboard panel runs $35 near me, while 1/2" exterior Ply runs $28. Hardie is now $42 as of last week, but the Ply just hit $65. Makes it MUCH easier to justify the extra wear on saw blades and the heavier material haul to the job site.

Same dynamics going on with metal roofing right now. Requires less framing, no decking, and shingle prices have also climbed. Suddenly, a product that used to cost more (and is still less attractive) has a very nice cost advantage over traditional construction.

Would you use Hardiebacker for a floor? I'm not sure it is the same thing as Hardiepanel, I'm guessing not exactly because Hardiebacker is 1/4" thick and 3x5 and costs about $12.

My just delivered shed has a floor... plywood on top of 2x4 joists. I think the joists are too far apart for the strength of the plywood; the floor bounces and has broken in one place so far. I think another will break soon if it is walked on normally.

Last year, I would have put 1/2" plywood on top of the existing floor. Now, that would be $300. The hardiebacker would be $108 and I don't have to cut it.

 

[3KillerBs]

Would you use Hardiebacker for a floor? I'm not sure it is the same thing as Hardiepanel, I'm guessing not exactly because Hardiebacker is 1/4" thick and 3x5 and costs about $12.

My just delivered shed has a floor... plywood on top of 2x4 joists. I think the joists are too far apart for the strength of the plywood; the floor bounces and has broken in one place so far. I think another will break soon if it is walked on normally.

Last year, I would have put 1/2" plywood on top of the existing floor. Now, that would be $300. The hardiebacker would be $108 and I don't have to cut it.

If the product is what I think it is you're talking about the backer board for laying tile -- a link would be helpful.

Assuming that's the stuff, I don't think it has the structural strength for the purpose of reinforcing a floor. We put it down over a sturdy underlayment when we remodeled the kitchen in our previous home.

It's also VERY heavy and you said your joists are already inadequate.

 

[saysfaa]

If the product is what I think it is you're talking about the backer board for laying tile -- a link would be helpful.

Assuming that's the stuff, I don't think it has the structural strength for the purpose of reinforcing a floor. We put it down over a sturdy underlayment when we remodeled the kitchen in our previous home.

It's also VERY heavy and you said your joists are already inadequate.

Yes, that product. Thank you!