Well, it's been a long road rehabbing an old structure that doesn't have a straight line left in it! We've gone from a run down piece of junk with a rotten floor, and roof, to a livable piece of not so junky junk
. 80% of the wood was either found, or given to me. The shingles were given to me from a neighbor, and I wound up with 2 different styles, and colors of shingles, but it gives it character. The hardware cloth was found in an old barn, with all kinds of other useful junk by my son. I've never done anything like this before in my life. I'm definitely no carpenter! I want to thank everyone on here who directly, or indirectly helped in this project with advice, and pictures, and the wealth of ideas available on this awesome website!
. Here's some before, and afters...
The outer shell was pretty strong to begin with, so not much needed to be done, except for some fixing on the lower part of the side I put the pop door on.
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
The roof was a disaster! Here's a before shot looking up:
After:
Inside was a wreck. Here's some before pics:
And, the after shots:
I put a partition wall incorporating 4 nest boxes, with access to them from the transition/storage area when you first walk in. This area is 7' x 4'. The living area is 12' x 7' I put in 14' of roosting space. The walls are 8' high, and the peak of the roof is 12' high.
The floor was REALLY BAD, as I found out when I put my foot through it! I had to replace most of the joists, and added a few pieces in between them for strength. Over top, I laid down some used 1" plywood from a neighbor. Had a lot of fun pulling nails
. I covered it all with a sheet of vinyl flooring from Lowe's that was less than $30. I nailed down 2x4's that I ripped in half around the edge of the vinyl to hold it down (no glue!). This way, when I need to replace it, I can pull up the edges, roll up the whole thing and get rid of it in one piece, then lay down a new one.
The pop door is a slider style I cobbled together that lifts with a rope, and I put a slide bolt on the inside for security:
I added a window that I garbage picked for light on the south side as is seen in the above exterior pictures. I still need to do the run, but I have the materials, including a free 50' roll of 2x4 welded wire, but I have my 10 week old bantams in there now. In a couple more weeks, the Ameraucanas, and Buckeyes will go in as well, and we'll be in business with 18 birds all together. For now, my Mille-fleur rooster Ralph is lovin' life, rulin' the roost
Thanks all, once again for all the contributions! Hope you all like it!
The outer shell was pretty strong to begin with, so not much needed to be done, except for some fixing on the lower part of the side I put the pop door on.
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
The roof was a disaster! Here's a before shot looking up:
After:
Inside was a wreck. Here's some before pics:
And, the after shots:
I put a partition wall incorporating 4 nest boxes, with access to them from the transition/storage area when you first walk in. This area is 7' x 4'. The living area is 12' x 7' I put in 14' of roosting space. The walls are 8' high, and the peak of the roof is 12' high.
The floor was REALLY BAD, as I found out when I put my foot through it! I had to replace most of the joists, and added a few pieces in between them for strength. Over top, I laid down some used 1" plywood from a neighbor. Had a lot of fun pulling nails
The pop door is a slider style I cobbled together that lifts with a rope, and I put a slide bolt on the inside for security:
I added a window that I garbage picked for light on the south side as is seen in the above exterior pictures. I still need to do the run, but I have the materials, including a free 50' roll of 2x4 welded wire, but I have my 10 week old bantams in there now. In a couple more weeks, the Ameraucanas, and Buckeyes will go in as well, and we'll be in business with 18 birds all together. For now, my Mille-fleur rooster Ralph is lovin' life, rulin' the roost
Thanks all, once again for all the contributions! Hope you all like it!
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Poor boy, he's out there, searching for his ladies.
