Which is better...wood or tin? *Pictures*

[havi]

We are using an old chicken coop that was already here when we bought the house. We're trying to redo some of it, but basically keeping the frame the way it is. My hubby wants to have the front and back made out of tin. I would prefer wood. What do you think would be better? Would it be okay for the front and back to be made out of wood?


His argument is..
-- Our huge garage is made out of tin(wood frame) and it doesnt get too cold for us. Its just fine. Warm in the winter and cool in the summer. So it would be just fine for the chickens.

Mine:
--I dont have one. I just think it would be better if it was made out of wood.


This is what it looks like now:

 

[wynedot55]

i would use the tin for the front an back.but as small as the henhouse is you can use either.the tin wont rot like wood will though.an youd have to keep the wood painted.

 

[arwmommy]

Here's my thoughts:

It depends where you live!

Tin: can get too hot and keep the heat in (this is good if you are in a cool climate, bad if you live in Arizona), can be loud when it rains (esp. the roof), can rust.

Wood: Rots, can be much heavier, can be more expensive, looks much better, IMO!

We were going to make ours with a tin roof (a custom colored nice barn type one) but decided that the heat and noise from the rain wouldn't be a good thing. It is now out of cedar and I think looks better and was a better choice for us! Good luck!

 

[SewingDiva]

Leanna, your coop is really nice. We have the same plans (Playhouse Coop right?), and can't source (too expensive) the metal roofing shown in the original. You cedatr shakes look really nice - how is the inside of the roof finished?

I have this fear that the roofing nails poking down would pose a hazard on the inside of the coop (to humans! Not to the the birds)

~Phylls

 

[arwmommy]

Yes, this is the playhouse coop. It cracks me up that even before you buy the plans, it says everywhere that the cost of materials is about $300. Ha! The cost for the roof alone would have been $275!

As it was, our friend who is a contractor, who got it at his contractors pricing, spent something like $700-800 on materials for it! (Granted, it is cedar, but that is what the plans call for!)

For the roof, he put down plywood, then the black paper stuff, then hammered in the nails. There is maybe a handful of spots where the tip of a nail has come through, but the top of the ceiling there is REALLY high-- its got to be like 7 feet at the peak, so there is no worries about anyone scraping their head on it (at least at our house! DH is 5'8" and I am 5'6")

I am so glad we did cedar, as the noise on the tin roof alone would have been loud, and the heat would have been stifling in the coop. My advice before you build it, though, is to make the egg collecting door huge and the bottom level with the bottom of the hen house floor, so you have a place to scrape all the shavings out when you clean it. I have to scrape them out through the door the hens go through and it sucks! We also made the house 4'x4' instead of 4'x2'-- more room for more chickens, and the builder said it was easier that way due to material sizes (I think the welded wire comes in 4' width).

Anyway, good luck!

 

[chickenbike]

arwmommy......fabulous coop! My husband and I will be building this coop this month. We have the plans, but would like to make some adjustments. I posted a thread looking for any advice with the playhouse coop design.

Some things we would like to add are:

- a slide-out poop tray
- possibly a wood slat floor above the slide-out poop tray (I'd like to keep their feet as clean as I can), similiar to the Eglu design
- the run will be 10' long
- a window that can be opened with a screen for better summer ventilation

When you mention having the nest box level with the coop floor for cleaning, is this because your nest box is attached inside the coop? The plans and video show the nest box as a free standing, moveable unit.

I love that you made the actual henhouse 4'x4' instead of 4'x2'! Can you advise any further do's or don't's?

We will be building this unit very meticulously. Each piece will be stained and water-sealed individually before any assembly.

Thanks for any help!


PS If you have the time, any further photos from multiple angles, inside and out would be wonderful!!

 

[Portia]

A good portion of the older houses around here in S central PA have tin roofs, and have held up for, well, centuries. Our pole barn has a metal roof and its just fine. Because our coop is in a sheltered area (below the deck), we are using clear polycarb on our roof to let light in, since it won't be in the sun & sheltered from any possible snow/ice build up.