TJAnonymous
Enabler
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.
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.