Welcome to the Duck Disco House

[Knighstar679]

So now we have a roof, and the framing for the walls. It just has to now be Enclosed to keep the weather out, and the ducks in.

So we moved on to the plywood. When we did this we noticed that no one piece was going to cover the 9 foot sides all at once. So we split it up into 2 4.5 pieces. across the bottom. Then we had a bit at the top where the roof wire met the frame that we wanted to cover to try and give it a more finished look and give it less of a chance to catch on anything if the wind caught it.

The first side we did it ended up even with each. Which would have worked great but the wire pushed it out where all for pieces of wood met.


That wasn't an overly great idea and we really wanted a back up plan just in case of water seeping. So we had to come up with another idea for the next side.

On the next side we decided to over lap the top board with the bottom board like one would do with a roof so that any water that would come down onto the boards should there be a leak would hopefully run off and down onto the ground below. This seemed to work really well for an idea for the other side and the back.

The side came out pretty good over all.

The back we left open at the top for ventilation. The idea is to cover the opening with hardware cloth before we put on the tarp roofing.



We are also thinking about adding in a top open window in this spot that can be completely sealed up in the winter but opened in the summer to add in the chance of a cross breeze.

Its coming along next will show the front enclosing and the hardware cloth being appiled.

 

[Knighstar679]

The disco duck house is moving right along. Granted very slowly. The last progress that was made was putting front plywood on. This was tricky.

So it took four 4.5 foot boards to do. We set the lower boards secured them with screws then I used a sawsall to cut the door out so that it was as flush as I could get it with the frame. Again likely not the easiest way to do it but worked with what I had avialible to work with. Then we took the top pieces and had to cut off corners until we had a simi curved form that wasn't an extreme space.

The wind and rain will come from this direction and I wanted that side to have some ventalation but nothing as big as the back side by a long shot. So it was a lot of cuts to get a curved form. Then we pressed it hard against the wire frame of the roof and secured it in place with 2 1/2 screws. Again I cut the door out with the sawsall to get the door size right. In the end we ended up with a 28" by 5 1/5' door. Not as big as it could have gone but it should be big enough to work with over all.

 

[Knighstar679]

So we got to have two nice days here. Granted today wasn’t one of them. But we got to work on the disco duck house. Which I am now happy to say has a roof and hardware cloth cover on the openings at the top.

Working the tarp over the top took a bit of work. It might have been easier with a taller person than me trying to wield it but we made it work.
First we worked it over and the. In slow measured amounts made sure it didn’t find anything sharp or pokey on its way across the roof. Once it was over we evened it up on the sides. Sadly the plan of it being long enough to go over the OSB board all the way to the ground didn’t work out.

So we stapled it into place for the moment so the wind couldn’t blow it away. How did we finish up the rounded edge with the over hang. We folded it around and stapled it in place much like one would do an odd shaped Christmas present. It’s not super pretty but it looks like it will work.

Next thing to worry about is securing the edges of the tarp so that the wind doesn’t catch it and blow it away, or tarp it up. Staples were clearly not going to be the tool for the job. So looking around we didn’t have any big boards that would fit the 32 inch space from the ground to where the tarp stopped. Plus it would have looked a little silly to just put a random boar in the middle of the wall on the outside.

We did have however about 8 of these very long boards that had at onepoint been used as the garden beds that I cut up. So we grabbed a bunch of them and cut them to size and layered them up the wall until it covered the tarp edge securely. It took three of these re-used boards to get the height we needed.



We still have to secure the front and back with 1x4 framing around the edge but over all it does look planned even through, it was all done as an oh crap mistake.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Such cuties. You house looks great. Why are you using a tarp for the roof? that will deteriorate pretty fast in rain wind and sun.

 

[heathersuzanne72]

I did think about that but wasn’t sure what type of wire to use/ would be best. I know for sure that the metal in the panels won’t break as we tried once it wouldn’t break or snap with the tools we had.

One of the best tools I have found for putting panels together has been hog ring pliers! And hog rings of course. These are amazing. The rings don't break yet will still allow you to move the panels as needed. So for future reference if you can get a set of these it makes things alot easier.

 

[Knighstar679]

Only thing I would do different, Is use wire instead of zip ties to connect the paneling, changes in temperature throughout the year will make the suckers bust right off. I speak from experience. Besides that it looks good!

I did think about that but wasn’t sure what type of wire to use/ would be best. I know for sure that the metal in the panels won’t break as we tried once it wouldn’t break or snap with the tools we had.

 

[Isaac 0]

Something like this would work-

https://www.abirdtoy.com/Stainless-Steel-Wire--12-Gauge--10-Feet_p_1336.html

Those hog panels are strong, I've used them as trellis's in my garden for the last few years and they're still going strong.

 

[Knighstar679]

Are you covering the OSB with anything?

Right now the plan is just painting it... At least on the front and the back. The sides are going to be covered in the tarp and framed in wood 1 by 4.

 

[Isaac 0]

I think they are setting boards over the tarp, the tarp is basically just acting as a waterproof barrier because there is going to be some cracks in the wood when they bud it up to each other.

At least that's what I'm getting from the photos.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Oh okay just thought wow such a nice coop and then a tarp roof?