The Blue House Coop

The coop took me all summer and all fall to build, because I had to squeeze it in between having a full time job and two young children. I kept chipping away, and by the time it got too cold to work outside, it was done enough to overwinter (all but a couple small details). I finished the remaining details the following spring, just in time for the chicks to move in! So, busy working people (especially parents) - don't despair, it can be done. It will just take a loooooooong time, so plan far ahead.

First, I gave it a cinder block foundation. Cheap and easy, and good enough. Underneath the blocks there's a layer of sand, for easier leveling of the ground. I also had to pour concrete inside and between some of the blocks to secure them better.



Next to the coop is where I have my compost bin and compost pile (covered with a tarp) with two stages of compost going on. The idea is that the coop will have a "poop flap" at floor level facing the compost area, so that when the time comes for the big coop clean-out, I just open the flap and push all the bedding out of the coop and then rake it over to the compost pile.




The floor, which is basically a torsion box. I built the frame with half lap joints. A bit of extra work, but easy to make and very sturdy. All the frame joints of the whole coop are half laps, actually. This thing was built to last.



The half lap joints, up close and personal:







I used pressure treated 2x4's for all frames, and OSB for all flat surfaces (floor, walls, roof etc.) My coop is 5'x7' because of space constraints (tree, bushes, fences etc.) which is inconvenient because OSB and other sheets are sold in sizes of 4'x8'. To extend the 4' to 5', I had to join two pieces of OSB one foot from the frame, so not over a 2x4. To secure the floating joint, I used biscuits.

Here are some biscuits:



And here's how I used them. I cut the slots for the biscuits with a router.



Lots of wood glue:



I stained the OSB with Behr's Waterproofing Stain and Sealer (solid color stain). I read that stain performs better than paint, because it penetrates into the wood instead of sitting on top of it like paint does, thus offering better protection and durability. It doesn't flake off like paint does. And, to refresh it you can stain on top of it - unlike paint where you have to first scrape the old paint off.



Reverse side. I had a bunch of junk foam I had to get rid of, left over from packaging and other projects. I "hid" it in the floor. This way I get free insulation in the floor, and I don't contribute to the landfill!



Closed it up and stained it with the same stain, and that's it for the floor!