what to do about the gaps in corrugated roofing?

[Hopeful Peacock]

Hi, I am building my first coop and plan to use metal corrugated roofing. I am concerned about the small gaps left in the corrugated "bumps."

I know they sell wiggly, adhesive, foam strips to put in there. Has anyone used them? Do the chickens peck them or do the strips deteriorate in time?

If you have left the "bumps" unblocked, have you had any problem with that?

Also, has anyone who has used corrugated roofing without insulating undeneath it had problems with condensation in the coop?

Thanks in advance!

 

[dirtybug]

I used corugated plastic roofing, its basicaly the same shape. Bought it at home depot, they had the wiggly foam stuff for it but also had wiggly plastic supports, I used the plastic.

 

[DawnSuiter]

We use the roofing everywhere on all our coops, and no we didn't by the foam strips, frankly because I'm toooooo cheap.

I have no problems with it, but mice CAN get in, so could other small birds, etc. I keep my eyes out for anyone who might try nesting in there, but other than that, if your worried abou the space, use caulk or expanding foam to fill the gap, or the foam strips.

I wouldn't worry about it honestly, and I don't.

Greetings btw from the FAR right (E. Tennessee)

 

[balticbabe]

We just overlapped the panels a bit and screwed them together.

 

[lavacaw]

Have corrugated tin roof and sides on mine...no problems with condensation and anything larger than a field mouse getting in.

 

[patandchickens]

Anything that can sneak through the corrugation gaps at the eaves can also sneak through any one of probably a dozen comparable-sized openings elsewhere, so honestly I would not worry about that aspect.

Yes, you will have condensation/frost problems with a bare metal roof in a climate that gets any meaningful cold during the winter (that includes TN, albeit not for *much* of the winter <g>). Because you are in a sort of 'borderline' climate, you *could* just plan on having *lots* of ventilation and having an not-heavily-populated coop with very good sanitation and no waterer spills, and sit tight and hope the condensation does not cause too much of a problem. It would be smarter to insulate however. In TN even just plywood screwed up there would be sufficient.

If you find yourself wanting to close up the corrugation gaps, you can use spray foam, or just wedge scraps of old feedbags in there. T'aint elegant but it *works*

The storeboughten filler strips are fine but usually need to be installed when you're putting the roofing ON, also you ahve to get a filler strip that matches the particular brand of roofing you're using as they don't all have the same profile.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Hopeful Peacock]

Thanks so much for the feedback. I'll watch for more posts too. I think I will leave the small gaps and watch for issues with them. I like your suggestions for blocking them later (spray foam, old feedbags, etc.) if necessary. As long as I can do that, I'll just wait and see. (I'm too cheap to buy the strips too if it can be avoided!)

I am leaning toward insulating if I can get a piece of the thin insulation usually used under roofs in a small enough size. If not, I'll probably use luan (sp? - thin plywood). Its wet here in winter, so. . . probably need to keep it as dry as possible.

Greetings from (south of) Music City!
Thanks again everyone!

 

[dirtybug]

The plastic closure strips are only $5 for a pack of six, each is about 18-24". With the plastic roofing I used they are mandatory to prevent damage.

 

[patandchickens]

Yup, you have to use the closure strips with plastic roofing, but with metal roofing it is totally personal choice (the metal is strong enough not to deform, plus there is a large school of thought that sez the metal roofing should be screwed in the valleys not peaks, I am NOT opening up that can of worms again, just mentioning it

). Realistically very few people use the closure strips with metal roofing, IME.

Pat

 

[spottedtail]

Screw metal roofing panels on the peaks!
Not the valleys..No no no!

Can of worms?

spot