Ugh!!

[sueche]

So like I said before, I have no construction experienced. I am trying to build a 4x8 coop. I just built the floor. I used (2) 2x4x8 and (2) 2x4x4 attached to posts (4x4 i think) its raised off the ground bout 2'. I was so proud of myself drilling and using a square ( I prob did use it right) then when I placed the 4x8 plywood ontop of the frame.....and the frame was to big!!

I called my brother who live states away from me and he said i have to compensate for the width?????/ I need to subtract 1 1/2 inch from each end.

is this what I do???

So now I just took apart the whole thing and i will wait for some feedback before i start again.

please help

 

[elmo]

Welcome to the forum.

Congratulations! You've made your first building mistake. Now you're officially a builder.

You know that saying about "measure twice, cut once?" It's good advice. Measure everything, even dimensional lumber. A 2" by 4" by 8' board is not 2 inches by 4 inches, and sometimes it isn't even exactly 8 feet. That last little detail is why my run is out of square because I forgot to measure all the board lengths before I used them. Sigh.

Your frame is about 3 inches too large on the length and width, right? That's because the boards themselves are each about 1 1/2" thick.

It sounds to me like the easiest fix for you is to take apart your frame (I hope you used screws rather than nails), measure again, and rebuild. I like to lay the frame pieces out right on top of the plywood so I can see how it's going to fit before I screw it together.

 

[sueche]

Ah lay it ontop of the plywood, now that's smart....

 

[wolfandfinch]

yeah you always have to take into account the length and or width of the lumber or ply etc that you are using...

 

[elmo]

Quote:
Naw, not really smart. Just learned from a mistake I made similar to yours!

 

[WhySayWhat]

Who said the sides have to match?

Here's how mine looks...of course, it's stuffed under the deck of our house, so no one will really see it besides us.... (and it isn't finished yet..)