Starting a coop build, it is my first build and first chickens so feedback is very welcome

[3KillerBs]

The residents had a REALLY lot to say about it, though. They didn't seem bothered (harmed) by it, just bothered (gossipy) by the differences.

My birds hold me PERSONALLY responsible for the weather and complain if it's not to their liking.

 

[Sally PB]

@3KillerBs, those pictures help explain a lot. Thank you.

 

[aart]

Opps, I guess I lost what I was writing.

Lots of notes in the post before.....good to keep notes in a word doc instead of here.
I even write long stuff in word first than paste here.

 

[aart]

before it occurred to me that I may have missed the purpose of primer. Maybe it is just to provide a layer of something the top coat will stick too better it would to the bare wood.

Yes, primer seals the surface(especially bare wood) and helps the paint stick.

 

[saysfaa]

Ten minutes into painting this morning, I knocked the full gallon of paint off the ladder. It fell about 5 and a half feet. Sigh.

Thankfully, it landed directly upside down. That kept it from splashing out (much) on the way down and when it landed instead of doing something like this: https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=E/fBmpne&id=C11557C935970EED1A9720F1800781B3F9AA31CD&thid=OIP.E_fBmpneFnuJy6HL1JjtqgHaFj&mediaurl=https://th.bing.com/th/id/R13f7c19a99de167b89cba1cbd498edaa?rik=zTGq%2bbOBB4DxIA&riu=http%3a%2f%2fwww.dumpaday.com%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2013%2f01%2f2-paint-spill-accident-having-a-bad-day.jpg&ehk=iaKEaDfNrpytoikXwpo0NL5ImHeljgKKwj8P4Zxt3Hk%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw&exph=465&expw=620&q=Paint+Spill+Accident&simid=608004602845802909&ck=770FF5831926D850301409A47350C1B8&selectedindex=40&form=IRPRST&vt=4&sim=11

and it stayed contained while I went for materials to clean it up. I scraped it up with two trowel-like things and ended up losing only a half inch or less of the gallon. I hope black jack sticks to paint.

Most of the priming of the inside and underside of the roof is done.

As for the mesh for across the south door... I'm on plan D (I think, unless I forgot one we abandoned). Plan A was framing squarish sections like we did the windows. That seemed like too much work and not enough stability. Plan B was Plan A except vertical seams so with the same problems. Plan C was bolting two pieces lengthwise. We started that one. It didn't need washers; I overlapped the pieces by two holes. It went well enough as long as I was close enough to reach the bolt and the nut at the same time. As I waited for a second pair of hands, I moved it around and decided I don't like the weight or look.
Plan D is running a wire rope through the holes. I haven't started yet so don't know whether to try straight up/down or to try a hemstitch of some sort.

For the dividing wall inside, I found a screen door from a sliding glass door (door wall, patio door, whatever it is called) at the nearest Restore yesterday. And four wheels. Two are from a crate, I think. They will go wheel side up under the door. The other two are double wheels from a kitchen chair. The wheels on each are just far enough apart that the screen door fits between them. They will be mounted on the beam above the door as guides. It isn't what I envisioned but I think it will work. The window screen might need some reinforcement to hold the chickens. It doesn't have to keep out predators.

It has been very hot (for around here)... and it is delightful in the shed with the doors open... cool, airy, dry when it rained. I thought it might get hot with the black roof but since it doesn't now, with the longest days, and so on, I have nothing to worry about on that aspect.

 

[aart]

The most used half of the main door doesn't close anymore but we can rehang it or sand it or take it off, cut some off the top, and rehang it. I didn't think to open the other half of the main door.

Need to re-level that side of the coop.
You can do it.

 

[aart]

That is what the builder did. It does make the doors work. But then the floor doesn't work.

Wasn't that before you got the center blocks in place?
Might have to rehang the doors then, eh?

 

[saysfaa]

The center cement blocks were in place - leveled, centered, packed in, ect.. The skids didn't touch them after the builder raised the one corner to make the doors work.

 

[aart]

I'm going with Plan C... square the walls to the floor.

I only need to move the top of the walls about an inch and the walls are board and battan so should shift easier than if the walls were panels like plywood.

Then add some diagonals to hold it.

Theoretically, the handiman jacks should work but I think the come-alongs and/or ratchets from load straps will work better.

Sounds good....so if the wall is racked(I didn't even think of that),
my suggestion of adjusting the level won't do much diddlysquat.

 

[saysfaa]

Foundation

... Each block is exactly level with the plane that slopes just barely from north to south and from west to east. ...

We think this was a mistake. That the "just barely" is about how much the top is leaning. It was half a bubble on the level but a tiny bit off on an angle is a noticable difference 10' away. That isn't the only issue or the builder would have lifted the south west corner rather than the north west corner. And the lift he did and then the weeks it stayed cranked wrong before we lowered it contributed to the skew. I don't think it will settle back much more than it is now but it might help it move back with persuation and stay there.

We haven't tried yet. We laid all the tools out, thought through the options, looked for anchors, went and bought new anchors. We expect to try tomorrow.

While looking for info on how to keep it in place once we get it there I found this
https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/192635/why-does-my-shed-door-expand-shrink - I hope it will help when we fix the doors after squaring the walls.

References for the diagonals in the wall... https://www.familyhandyman.com/project/building-rock-solid-exterior-walls/

https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.co...tallation-of-metal-strapping-as-shear-bracing

https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.co...onal-bracing-and-other-lumber-reduction-ideas This one has great links in the comments and a good point "your square length width ratio and small footprint makes an inherently strong shape unless you have a bunch of large door openings." Emphasis mine.

Ah, this is what I was looking for. Although, we've been planning to to it all internally... from the floor plate on one side to the top plate on the other. Similar sites say temporarily reinforcing the corners with lumber, angle iron, toe hooks, ect. But my shed is small and probably pretty easily shifted compared to the garages/sheds they are talking about.
https://secureservercdn.net/166.62....tent/uploads/2012/07/GARAGE-STRAIGHTENING.pdf

And this is not relevant to this project but is interesting... https://www.homesteadingtoday.com/threads/straightening-old-shed.328461/ especially the old barn hit by a tornado then straightened and repaired with 40 tons of hay in it. My brother has been straightening the farm's big old barn with floor jacks mostly so far. And the tool shed (think smaller old barn) leaned by many feet. My dad slowed it with a cable so it didn't fall on his house. He built the house expecting to tear the tool shed down soon after (just didn't get to it for 60 years). Anyway, the longer the building has been leaning, the slower you need to pull so that ig has time to adjust instead of breaking.