When to paint wood for coop. Confused about when can I primer/paint.

[Lynn0284]

This might be a silly question, but I am genuinely confused.

I have all the wood we need to build the coop. We cut them to the appropriate sizes yesterday. I told my DH I wanted to paint the coop before assembling it.

So here is the question. When do I primer and paint? Can I primer all the wood now, on both sides. And paint after we start putting the walls together. Or do I wait until the walls are kinda constructed before priming/painting at all?

 

[Kwehme09]

In the world of carpentry, almost everything gets primed and painted after all the building is done. Only surfaces that are exposed to the weather need primed and painted. The rest will be cosmetic. That's not to say you shouldn't paint in advance, but most carpentry projects don't go as expected, so don' be surprised if you need to replace (and repaint) one of the wood pieces if you paint them in advance.

 

[Tweakster]

I have to agree, paint after it is together. What this does is gets paint into the joints, helping seal them from water. The large wood joints won't get sealed unless you caulk them first. Best to paint after the coop is done.

 

[Lynn0284]

In the world of carpentry, almost everything gets primed and painted after all the building is done. Only surfaces that are exposed to the weather need primed and painted. The rest will be cosmetic. That's not to say you shouldn't paint in advance, but most carpentry projects don't go as expected, so don' be surprised if you need to replace (and repaint) one of the wood pieces if you paint them in advance. 

Thanks, I guess my DH was right. He will be happy to hear that. I guess I can wait until the coop is done. My coop isn't big so at least it won't be too big of a job to paint after.

I have to agree, paint after it is together.  What this does is gets paint into the joints, helping seal them from water.  The large wood joints won't get sealed unless you caulk them first.  Best to paint after the coop is done. 

That makes sense. Does that mean I won't have to caulk?

 

[fillmore]

paint doesnt really seal visible joints and cracks well unless there are decades of coats, even then it shrinks and cracks. if you want to seal joints, youll need something flexible like exterior grade sealant. i always paint afterwards, unless dealing with something elaborate where it makes more sense. then you dont have to worry about banging up the paint and touch up painting.

 

[PAChickenChick2]

I can agree with what most of the poster's here are saying...but just to offer the flip side of the coin....

I built my coop...thought I'd paint it afterwards...and here's what happened....

1- my BF was sick and tired of the chickens inside the house in the dog kennel when there was a perfectly functional coop built outside. (because chicks stink to high heaven...lol) So he was pressuring me to move them in.

2- I was so tired after all the planning, building, ect...that I just wanted a breather...plus I was anxious to see my fuzzbutts in their new coop.

3- once it had the sand in it, them pooing in it, ect...it was a done deal. The coop stayed unpainted for three years until I just recently tore it down to rebuild (since I had improvements I wanted to make and wanted to have a "cute" coop)

So while I do understand what others are saying ...I know me...and I know that I have a much better shot of a "finished" coop if I paint it before hand and then have to do small touch ups later. Just my opinion

 

[canesisters]

LOL PAChickenChick2 - sounds like we could be related! However, I'm HOPING that I will defy my usual habits in this case. I got the top edge of the walls and part of the rafters painted before they moved in - only because I was still attaching wire and pred-proofing and didn't want to try and paint over/around/through wire. I have found that I can easily spend hours down there just watching and listening to them so maybe I can use some of that time to get the rest of the painting done...

 

[Lynn0284]

Thanks for everyone's advice.

I think I will primer majority of the wood before assembling. Then paint majority before all the walls go up. Then when the coop is almost complete I will caulk the inside and then paint again.

I can't wait for my chicks to arrive!