Restoring An Old Hen-house

[perchie.girl]

The trunks of hers are about six inches in diameter its probably fifty years old. Chopping it down after defoliating then using something to kill the roots is what she needs to do. Thanks.

 

[griffinkid02]

Oh, wow. I stand corrected then. Esmerelda is NOT the south's healthiest poison ivy vine, she's just has the best skill at picking her home. lol. I wouldn't even know where to begin on one with a 6" diameter trunk, lol. Probably with the calamine lotion,

 

[Stumpy]

What a fantastic chicken house to refurbish. I love the stacked stone foundations! I have found that the clear wood preservatives don't work nearly as well as a paint-like wood stain. We've used both on our deck and won't go back to the clear stuff. They are water-based, available at Lowe's, and come in a variety of colors, so a nice gray or brown won't change the look of your building too much.

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

[Red Barn Farms]

really it's great the ivy does not shed it's leaves in winter. Now i'd just get some ivy killer poison and spray on those leaves. A week to kill it out then your're left with just the vines. I had this to clean up once on the back of a house. I finally bought some long plastic 'kitchen' gloves and started pulling it up by the roots. That's the only way to get rid of it for good! Good luck. It will make an awesome chicken coop!

 

[Ole rooster]

To kill the roots after the tree is cut, drill a hole, something like a half inch hole down as far in the remaining trunk as you can go. Use a wood bit. Pour regular Roundup into the hole. The tree will never come back. I've killed numerous stumps like that.

I love the building you have to work with also. That hickory is some fantastic wood. If you want to keep the patina of the wood and just put a preservative on it, I would use lindseed oil. I've put it on outside steps, siding, window frames, screen frames and most any other wood I want to leave natural. It seals the wood and still turns color with age.

 

[Joe.G]

lindseed oil is a good idea, Do a google search and you will come up with lots of ideas, If it were me I would replace the boards with Hickory from a local saw mill if you are still able to get it, Or at least with some other type of board that they use to make barns with in your area. IF the wood has lasted 50 Years as it is and is still in good shape I am not sure if I would treat it with anything, At least not the new boards intill they age and match what you got some what.

That is a great coop and I don't think it will take you long or very much money to get it in to shape, the clean up will prob be the worst part.

If you plan on leaving the roof I would try and pressure wash it and if not either replace it with a tin roof or replace it with the same kind that is on it, It seems that the roof that is on it though would bake the chickens in the summer. The stacked stone should be fine as long as there arent big gaps for stuff to get in, if that is the case you could use hardware cloth on the inside to keep the old look on the outside.

I love the old looking buildings and any new buildings I build on my Property will all be build to look old, I have a Sawmill right up the road from me and I use Rough cut lumber on all of my projects.

Good luck and please keep us posted I like the project you have going and would love to have it here.

 

[Stumpy]

You may already know this, but just in case you are considering burning the vines after you have cut them out, I have heard that you should never burn it because the smoke can have the same effect on your skin as the leaves.

That's great to know about linseed oil! It's amazing what you can learn on this site.

 

[perchie.girl]

To kill the roots after the tree is cut, drill a hole, something like a half inch hole down as far in the remaining trunk as you can go. Use a wood bit. Pour regular Roundup into the hole. The tree will never come back. I've killed numerous stumps like that.

I love the building you have to work with also. That hickory is some fantastic wood. If you want to keep the patina of the wood and just put a preservative on it, I would use lindseed oil. I've put it on outside steps, siding, window frames, screen frames and most any other wood I want to leave natural. It seals the wood and still turns color with age.

You know the wood may be pretty good if its heartwood originally. Good for repurposing within the coop at least. And I can double that with the Linseed oil. I built my Road Cart out of hickory and only used linseed oil on it.... no stain just oil and its been eight years now the cart looks find it is darkening a bit but The nice part is the oil potects the wood while still allowing it to breathe. So even if it gets soaking wet the finish will not bubble. And if you want to stain you can still stain first then coat with linseed.

deb

 

[Loghousemom]

I am excited for you to get this finished! What a fun project.

I am trying to fill up an old coup on our property too, though ours was not as overgrown as yours. We had a grass fire last year that removed most of the brush around mine so I think it is time to fill it up with hens!

 

[Jubilee1111]

I got shivers looking at all that poison ivy! Yuck!

I've had amazing luck with a product called Remedy. You can mix it with water OR you can mix it with a distillate and spray right on woody stems. The distillate carries it through the outer layers and Esmerelda will be totally brown within two days. It's almost $100 a gallon but that's a concentrate and so worth it.