Woods Open Air Coop Scaled Down (Can I do a 4 x 10?)

[jthornton]

I am going to get more pallet wood right now as I know that I won't be able to finish the base without more. As for the legs, I will probably stick with my 2.5' and raise them on cinder blocks which are about 6 inches tall so I don't lose my .5' at all. 3 feet would be nice but I have to keep this relatively small in terms of height profile so I don't need a building permit.

If your strapped with a maximum height requirement I would skip the under side and just build it on the ground. Much easier for you to maintain if you can just walk in upright. I have both and hate the raised coop every day when I clean it.

JT

 

[aart]

Much easier for you to maintain if you can just walk in upright. I have both and hate the raised coop every day when I clean it.

Raised coops can be walk in....just need some steps and landing to walk in.

 

[jthornton]

Raised coops can be walk in....just need some steps and landing to walk in.

But if you have a height restriction due to building codes...

JT

 

[aart]

But if you have a height restriction due to building codes...

JT

Well, yeah..but that's different than waht I was addressing, which was this:

Much easier for you to maintain if you can just walk in upright. I have both and hate the raised coop every day when I clean it.

 

[Coopin Is a Habit]

@Coopin Is a Habit

We all have our own approach and in the end something gets built.

My rough calculation above re side windows did not take into account sill plates (horizontal top & bottom piece on a stud wall fame). Your side windows will cause you grief if you try to use them. Guessing you will find another if you dig. Facebook market place, kijiji, etc are good places to check. In my area Habitat Restore always has lots of windows.

I use plate glass out of old slider windows for my side windows; just set them in the openings and use 1 or 2 screws to hold them in during the winter, pop them out in the Spring.

Good luck.

If you check out this picture in the book on page 130 it actually shows the Eastern Window on the scratch shed and the Western Window across from the door. I find it pretty peculiar, as I haven't seen any modern builds of this version. Most choose the front for both windows. I will make sure they both open or slide out, and you are right, the ones I found are too big. I think there is more variability in window placement design which will still result in ventilation function being sufficient. I plan to have a double door, one with hardware cloth and the other solid, but need to figure out easiest way to build that.

 

[Coopin Is a Habit]

Are you concerned at all with frost heave?
Might not fall down but could rack the structure enough that doors and windows might not operate as intended.


Hopefully you can meet the theory's height requirement.

Are you referring to the wooden legs flexing with the frost? Or the cinder blocks flexing/cracking? I know what frost heave is, I think... It's when the expanding freezing water pushes soil/material causing things to expand and shift, right?

 

[aart]

Are you referring to the wooden legs flexing with the frost? Or the cinder blocks flexing/cracking? I know what frost heave is, I think... It's when the expanding freezing water pushes soil/material causing things to expand and shift, right?

Yes.
It's why foundations and/or posts are to be anchored below the frost line.

 

[Ted Brown]

View attachment 3515090

If you check out this picture in the book on page 130 it actually shows the Eastern Window on the scratch shed and the Western Window across from the door. I find it pretty peculiar, as I haven't seen any modern builds of this version. Most choose the front for both windows. I will make sure they both open or slide out, and you are right, the ones I found are too big. I think there is more variability in window placement design which will still result in ventilation function being sufficient. I plan to have a double door, one with hardware cloth and the other solid, but need to figure out easiest way to build that.

I have seen one or two pictures of folks who have placed a window in the coop portion, can't recall where they were but I have seen it.

I see that heights are shown for the 6' by 10', useful information. If you elevate your coop 2.5" that mean the tallest point is 9" 7". Too tall?

Some cautions:

1. The pitch on the back roof is 35.294, the roof rises 4.235 inches every foot. If you have two roosts the 1st 12" from the wall and 12" from 1st to 2nd and drop board 6" from the 2nd roost your drop board will be 30" wide. The height of the roof will be 65.5875" or just over 5' 4" at the edge. Is this going to be tall enough for you to operate without banging your head all the time (don't forget you will need to bend over into the space where the roof is even lower).
2. If you use rafters for the roofs subtract another 4" from the roof heights noted above.
3. Having a window in the coop portion will reduce your available wall space meaning your nest boxes end up on the floor and you also lose that floor space. Remember that this is an everyday activity!!
4. If you have two doors remember that both must open to the outside given the bedding inside.
5. In theory a 6' by 10' coop area will accommodate up to 15 chickens if all of the floor space is open (eg your nest box footprint is subtracted from to 60 sq ft).

When I built my 10' by 16' Woods none of these considerations even entered my mind. Fortunately both floor space and heights are much bigger than a 6' by 10' so I got away with it. I currently have 20 chickens, when I bring food and water most or all of them come running. That many chickens around your feet get very busy!!

A last comment. The original Woods design does not use stick framing nor rafters. Given your height restrictions you may want to consider making the roof from 4 panels as is illustrated in the Woods KD diagrams in Chapter III.

I hope this helps and does not discourage.

 

[Coopin Is a Habit]

Yes.
It's why foundations and/or posts are to be anchored below the frost line.

I could dig around 4 inches down then lay gravel and sand and it would mitigate how much disturbance potential it would have on my structure, correct? There are plenty of posts of free crushed cement, gravel, and river rock and other things people are giving away for free in my area. I cannot do cement as I do not own the place, but my landlord was cool enough to give me the go ahead.

 

[aart]

I could dig around 4 inches down then lay gravel and sand and it would mitigate how much disturbance potential it would have on my structure, correct?

Not sure about that....but have dooubts.