Using this as a coop... conversion?

[CHlCKEN]

Throwing this out there so peeps know.....

Most shed kits do not include shingles or a floor.

Read that fine print and price those items not included so you don't go "top budget" to get the shed kit then find you need another big chunk of cash before you can build it.

Yup, I noticed that. I personally don’t want to go much more than 1,200 dollars, but if it’s under 1,400 that’s probably okay.

 

[ChickensForEggs2500]

If you get a shed that doesn't include a floor, it's not impossible to lay some cement. That won't fall apart from moisture! I just laid a 5x6 slab and it doesn't require expertise, too much knowledge, or fancy tools. Good luck!

 

[CHlCKEN]

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Heartland-...-Gambrel-Engineered-Wood-Storage-Shed/4460103

This would be good to split in half. About 100 square feet, so 50 on each side.

 

[aart]

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Heartland-...-Gambrel-Engineered-Wood-Storage-Shed/4460103

This would be good to split in half. About 100 square feet, so 50 on each side.

Don't get a gambrel roof, they are ridiculously hard to ventilate.

 

[CHlCKEN]

Don't get a gambrel roof, they are ridiculously hard to ventilate.

Makes sense. I’m thinking out loud here , but that is helpful.

Woulda plastic shed be easy to ventilate?

 

[21hens-incharge]

My advice is to shop around. Lowes tends to be higher on just about everything.
ANYTHING that has a "Tuff Shed" brand is very expensive.

https://www.homedepot.com/b/Storage...Outdoor-Storage-Sheds-Wood-Sheds/N-5yc1vZbu93

 

[aart]

Makes sense. I’m thinking out loud here , but that is helpful.

Woulda plastic shed be easy to ventilate?

Material depends on your building skills.
I would rather work with wood.
What makes a shed easy easier to ventilate is the roof overhangs.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Two things about converting plastic sheds (no, I've not done it).

One, the walls tend to be hollow, and few people have tools specifically for cutting plastic, so most wont get clean neat edges AND there's no structural strength once you punched your holes - its like a hole in a hollow core door, the skin on either side just sort of flops around, with little to affix to. Cant use nails, can't use screws for anything with weight or tension, have to ether add a backing material or use machine bolts, nuts, and washers.

Two, some of the plastic sheds are "metal reinforced", essentially injection molded around a metal skeleton. The good news is the metal can be screwed into, the bad news is that on top of cutting plastic, you might also need to cut metal.

and unrelated, on those gambrel roof designs, if you slide the panels down some, you can create some sheltered overhang where you can place ventilation, then just add material at the crown. But its ugly, nothing supports those "floating" roof edges, so they will fail in time, and you still have to shingle the dang things. If I absolutely had to use one, I'd repurpose the roof plywood for almost anything else, extend the roof rafters to create an overhang with new lumber, then put metal on it. But at that point, you may as well do the whole thing from scratch on your own, because the roof is the most difficult part of framing the whole structure.

Also, the gambrel is for overhead storage space, which is likely wasted in a chicken coop.

 

[CHlCKEN]

I’m beginning to think this was a bad idea

 

[U_Stormcrow]

It wasn't a great idea, but it wasn't a bad idea, either. It's "complicated" - as is usually the case when trying to modify something purpose built to do something else. I think all of us understand the attraction - I'd never buy one, but that doesn't mean I don't walk thru them in the parking lot sometimes, looking at the framing, seeing where they cut costs, and what they consider structurally critical.