Ways to build and save money

[TJAnonymous]

Hey everyone! I've seen several posts by BYC'ers who are trying to build new coops only to feel the pain of extremely high prices for materials. I wanted to start this thread as a way to share ideas on how we can get lower priced materials or even just share ideas that might help reduce some of these costs.

I have a few pieces of wisdom to share....

1. Pallets are usually free. I know there are a gazillion threads about building coops from pallets. I actually used free pallets as a flooring structure in a new coop. This seemed like a good idea at the time, but since then I've discovered I now have a mouse & rat problem UNDER my coop. What do mice & rats bring you in the south? You guessed it - snakes. In hind sight, this money saving idea has ended up costing me additional problems that were probably NOT worth it.

2. Free siding. I went to a local siding company and asked if I could go through their scrap & discard pile. I offered to buy the scraps at pennies on the dollar, but they told me I was free to simply take whatever I wanted. I have built 2 coops and a doghouse with free siding. The colors don't always match so I simply painted all the siding with whatever color I wanted and let it dry before using it.

3. Scratch & Dent construction items. I went to our local Lowes & Home Depot and ask if they have any damaged shingle bundles or even 2x4s, etc. They usually do and are willing to sell them to me at 75% off or higher. Sometimes this works out great for smaller projects.

4. Helping out a neighbor. I live in a rural area where there are a lot of properties with run down, old barns, sheds, buildings, etc. I've stopped by a few places and asked if they would be willing to allow me to clear away those old buildings for free or even be willing to allow me to salvage materials off the old buildings for $50 or so. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.... But I've managed to get building materials that way extremely cheap.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Btw, here's the doghouse I built. All the materials were gathered for free from throw away materials at various businesses. The only thing I had to pay for was the foam and a box of screws because I ran out. Just giving you a sense of what is possible.

 

[Sally PB]

Don't forget repurposing things. We used the frame of an old trailer as the base of our coop. We still had to buy lumber, but had a solid foundation to build on all ready.

We also repurposed the metal frame from an unused greenhouse. I happened to mention to my neighbor that it "would make a great chicken run." She asked me how soon I could get "that junk" out of her yard.

Also, remember that chickens do not subscribe to Coop Beautiful. As far as I'm concerned, it's all about function. I paint it all the same color, and I think it looks like it was meant to look that way.

 

[Sally PB]

Depending on your relationship with your neighbors, consider just telling them what you're looking for. If I hadn't made the comment to my neighbor about her (unfinished) green house frame, I wouldn't have know she wanted it out of there.

The same neighbor had a roll of 3' hardware cloth in her garage. I'd seen it there before. We were chatting, and I asked her what she was going to do with it. It was for building a compost bin, but she wasn't sure how to do it, and her husband was too busy. I asked her where she wanted the bin built. I told her I could do it easily that afternoon. I did it, and she asked, "what do I owe you?" I said I'd take the rest of the roll of hardware cloth, if she didn't need it.

She got her bin, got some stuff out of her garage, and I got 2/3 of a roll of HC!

 

[mowin]

Every area is different. What you can get for I might have to pay double for.

But your basic theory is spot on. Check local builders.
I just missed out on 16' metal roofing that was 25 yrs old and replaced. Little do people know, that the rubber washer screws don't last as long as the roofing, and when the rubber washer degrades, the roof will leak. Client had 2500 sqft replaced. Company meticulously removed the metal roofing and wouldn't part with the old.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Great ideas ! We also dumpster-dived our neighbor's dumpster (with their permission) when our neighbor had a new deck done. Kept quite a few good pieces of wood from the dive.
I wish we had saved our swing set wood pieces when we got rid off our nice red wood huge swing set! So pay attention to neighbors when they have construction in progress!

I had some remodeling done inside my house this winter. I've saved a bunch of lumber scraps and hardwood trim so I can repurpose it!

Also along those lines, there's a restaurant supplier business that sells things like refrigerators, shelving, tables, etc. As you can imagine, they get big shipments of their products that are secured with thick pieces of particle board, plywood sheets, 2x4s, and oversized heavy duty pallets. This business is located in a warehouse district so a little off the beaten path but I've gotten a LOT of great wood scraps from them and even perfectly good 8' and 10' 2x4s! All for free.... They actually love giving it away because then they have less trash pickup.

 

[vall]

There is a tool called a pallet buster I will invest in if I ever go the pallet route. Busting up a couple pallets with a crowbar and sawsall was difficult.

Cattle panels are still pretty inexpensive as far as building materials go. I believe you can get them home by folding loosely into an arch and strapping into the bed of a truck or trailer, but I have neither. I cut mine in half with bolt cutters and slid in the back of the SUV, since it was for a trellis instead of a coop.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Craigslist and yard sales! I see windows and doors for cheap on Craigslist all the time (just gotta make sure there's no lead paint).

 

[Krugerrand]

There is a tool called a pallet buster I will invest in if I ever go the pallet route. Busting up a couple pallets with a crowbar and sawsall was difficult.

Cattle panels are still pretty inexpensive as far as building materials go. I believe you can get them home by folding loosely into an arch and strapping into the bed of a truck or trailer, but I have neither. I cut mine in half with bolt cutters and slid in the back of the SUV, since it was for a trellis instead of a coop.

I successfully got a pair of cattle panels home by first strapping 12' 2x4's to the cargo rack on the minivan. then, I secured the cattle panels to the 2/x4 and the cargo rack.

It also works to discourage people from driving too closely behind me.

 

[TJAnonymous]

@RiverOtter - I had a horse who decided to butt rub on my garage door. Literally ripped the entire garage door from the frame and out of the wall. When I went running outside to see what the heck was happening, he was standing there with his head poked through the big gap between the framing and the garage door like "hey! what's going on in here?"