WORK IN PROGRESS—LAST UPDATED 3/2/20
My first coop came to the end of its 50 year tenure in 2017, after several years of dealing with problems ranging from a tree smashing the roof in to the floorboards rotting out. I had bought it in 2014 and dragged it home with a tractor, accidentally ripping the back wall off in the process (which didn't do its structural integrity any favours.) I was tired of patching up new holes every week and wanted something truly nice that could give me some peace of mind about my birds' safety, which was practically nonexistent; there were rotted-out places in the ceiling and floor large enough for a blind, arthritic 'coon could shuffle into backwards. They couldn't be repaired completely due to the spongy quality of the surrounding wood and the irritating angles they were at. From that necessity was born the idea for this; a 12 x 12 coop of glory with an attic space for hay and other supplies. Unfortunately, the building process was rather disorganized and mostly done from mental plans, so I have no supply lists or diagrams with sizing, only the pictures that I took throughout the process. As such, this is not meant as an instructional manual.
After tearing the old coop down, the first step was to level the ground that it had been on as much as I could before positioning the concrete blocks that would make up its base. Three years on, they have sunk into the ground significantly, but it doesn't seem to be continuing and the coop is still level and dry.
While the base was yet incomplete, I used the concrete blocks to hold the edges of the floor joists together long enough to fasten them with a nail gun. I would not have wanted to attempt this build with a hammer alone.
I am missing some images here. The joists went in at the same spacing as the second floor joists did, which I photographed and have inserted later on. Plywood was then fastened over the top. The frames were assembled on the ground and then raised with the help of several other people and nailed together with the aforementioned extremely useful nail gun.
Closeup of the base, floor, and framing edge.
My first coop came to the end of its 50 year tenure in 2017, after several years of dealing with problems ranging from a tree smashing the roof in to the floorboards rotting out. I had bought it in 2014 and dragged it home with a tractor, accidentally ripping the back wall off in the process (which didn't do its structural integrity any favours.) I was tired of patching up new holes every week and wanted something truly nice that could give me some peace of mind about my birds' safety, which was practically nonexistent; there were rotted-out places in the ceiling and floor large enough for a blind, arthritic 'coon could shuffle into backwards. They couldn't be repaired completely due to the spongy quality of the surrounding wood and the irritating angles they were at. From that necessity was born the idea for this; a 12 x 12 coop of glory with an attic space for hay and other supplies. Unfortunately, the building process was rather disorganized and mostly done from mental plans, so I have no supply lists or diagrams with sizing, only the pictures that I took throughout the process. As such, this is not meant as an instructional manual.
After tearing the old coop down, the first step was to level the ground that it had been on as much as I could before positioning the concrete blocks that would make up its base. Three years on, they have sunk into the ground significantly, but it doesn't seem to be continuing and the coop is still level and dry.
While the base was yet incomplete, I used the concrete blocks to hold the edges of the floor joists together long enough to fasten them with a nail gun. I would not have wanted to attempt this build with a hammer alone.
I am missing some images here. The joists went in at the same spacing as the second floor joists did, which I photographed and have inserted later on. Plywood was then fastened over the top. The frames were assembled on the ground and then raised with the help of several other people and nailed together with the aforementioned extremely useful nail gun.
Closeup of the base, floor, and framing edge.
