Red Barn / Chicken Coop Project Update

So these last few days have been Red Barn days...  I spent all weekend and after work tonight working out there.  So just to recap the project was to build new chicken coop and tear down old one that took up the whole middle area of the barn.

Saturday my parents came over and Dad & I worked in the barn from 10:30am till after 6pm.  My main worry was the framing for the entry door.   I recycled the old solid wood door that used to be at the back porch.  Worked perfectly!  As with everything at this place - nothing is square or plumb so we had to make adjustments and MAJOR shims to get the door frame plumb compared to the board already there (like 3-4" shim at the base!).

Door Frame done & door functional! 

Then we worked on putting the bottom plate for the outside wall, this was also interesting and the boards were so out of whack - but my dad is a genius and he suggested using the circular saw and cutting down a little in the area that was high - then using chisels to notch the area out.  Made a huge difference for how the base plate laid.  He thinks some of those old floor boards were cherry - all I know when I was doing the chiseling - it was some hard wood!

Dad doing some chiseling

After the base was in we attached the studs which was easy as there used to be studs that someone cut out (from the corn crib that was there)  so we just attached the studs to the side of the old studs at the top attached to side of attic - not like we have to be 16" on center for a chicken coop.  =)  We put a few roof supports on - thought originally was gonna do chicken wire on top.   Then we started to build up the outside wall as you can see in this photo there are gaps in the siding so not so protective from the elements. 

Framing done and half of the outside wall filled with recycled boards.

Once we got all the outside walls lined with boards it was time to add the chicken wire.  We overlapped a few inches and then later I would add zip-ties every few inches along the seam so nothing could get in.  We also added a board over the bottom chicken wire so predators couldn't work the wire up at the bottom and get in. 

This is what the new coop looked like when my parents left on Saturday.

So Sunday I got up and got right to work after the sun came out...  8:30am.  I knew I had to rip down the old coop 1st as I needed the extra 2x4s from the upper wall addons as well as the OSB board.  Over night I decided to make the ceiling solid and not chicken wire.  So planned on recycling all the old stuff from the other coop to build the roof on the new one.  The new roof isn't pretty by any means - using scraps there are a lot of seams but it works...

Removed the door and the front top section - at this point there was no looking back and
had to finish new coop that night for chickens to have somewhere to sleep and be protected.

One wall gone, top of the one down and the wall is actually leaning in -
was stuck by an eye bolt sticking out of the front wall board. 

The new roof.

The only issue with the roof is that there was a gap between the barn attic and the roof that something could sneak in.  So we used some of the old chicken wire that was the roof of the old coop and I got up in the attic and stapled the wire to the roof and to the attic so entry point was lost.  Then we found another place under the attic where there was a small gap - so we gathered up all the scrap 2x4s we had around here and it was like the puzzle game on Survivor as we had already put all the saws away so Mo would hand me some pieces to see how it fit then she would keep working to get pieces that together matched the space perfectly - she did a great job!  I also used some of the spray expanding foam stuff to fill any gaps that might be big enough for something to try to enter.  The girls slept in their new house for the 1st time that night.  I didn't get back in the house till 11pm!  

So Monday comes and I was actually happy I couldn't go work on the barn and had to work so my lower back had a little time off!!!  I went out around 5:30pm tonight (Monday) with my Jeep and tow strap in hand... with notion on pulling out the corner posts.  Now reminder that the wood used for these stalls was Amish rough cut oak lumber - HEAVY!  The corner posts were 4x6 8 or 10' posts that were cemented in the ground.

1st post down - easy as pie!  =)

2nd post still easy to pull out but made a bit more mess
when the cement popped out.  That was one of the hens making
sure there wasn't any bugs that popped up from the hole. 

The 3rd and last pole I pulled with the Jeep was not so easy,
the cement stayed hooked on this one, so pulled it all the way out of the barn as
later this week I'll have to take the sledge hammer to it to pop off the cement.

The posts that I removed will all be reused out in the pasture where there were some kind of crappy posts used and the goats last fall broke a few - so these will be the replacement - they won't  be breaking these oak posts I know that!!!  Saves me from having to buy new posts for that project too.

So after I got the posts out I got to work on the final part that had to come out - the back wall.  That went pretty fast, as I was getting a nice flow going after doing so many of these these last few days.  I still have 1 more post I need to get out since I took the back wall out - I have it pulled to a 45 degree angle but just couldn't lift it up out of the ground - might have to bring out the Jeep again later this week!  I started to move things around a bit, got the shelf my parents gave me a month or so ago in its new place - put it on a rubber mat so the metal feet aren't on the wet ground.  the floor is very uneven so I have to figure a good way to even it out - might even try to scrape it with the snow plow to see what happens.  I'm just happy to have an open barn that you can see right thru!  Sooo much more space to do things and store all the yard equipment.

My view all the way thru the barn!  Could not see the other door when old coop was there.

We had to move all the dry firewood to this area - we used old stall doors
as pallets to sit the wood on, lots of future camp fires!  Also scrap lumber as well as
the rest of the old coop roof chicken wire that I need to roll up yet.

All my gardening stuff that needs to find new home.  This little area has a back wall still because the guys that came to straighten the barn last summer used the back of this wall to attach a base that goes to the barn wall - so eventually gonna use this wall for something like a gardening table (since I had to remove my old one at the start of this project).  The pile of wood on the right side of the photo is old bad lumber scraps that will be burned - have to move it but my back was too sore to do tonight.

Have a lot of clean up yet to do - once all those tomato cages get moved outside
that will open that space up a bit.

This was the lumber I took out tonight that will be used for the sides to my garden beds.  Garden was waaaay too muddy to try to carry out there tonight.   Thick 2x6 oak boards. I had taken the boards from the the sides of the old coop out to the garden already on Sun - so this is just part of the boards I removed.

So now what everyone has been biting their nails to see since I originally posted I was gonna do this project...  ha ha.   The (semi) finished new chicken coop!!! 

We stuck up some extra blue board we had around here to keep too much cold wind from getting in till the weather warms up for good.

Mo added the blue board inside to block the light from their nesting boxes since they like it darker for that.
I'll eventually build something with wood.

The other things left to do to the coop is:

• Put on some of this roofing tarp stuff I have on the top of their roof in case the wind blows snow up under the main roof (there is gaps) so the OSB doesn't get wet.
• Add inner door jambs with 1x2's just fill in any gaps.
• Add the hardware cloth we bought to the open inside wall as its more protective than just the chicken wire.  
• Add latch on inside of door so if we are in there working, the chickens can't get out.
• Not really coop related but clean out the barn attic - nasty varmint poo up there and  junk from the previous owner. 

The Red Barn Project Begins!

So today I decided to start jumping in on my 'redo' of the red barn.  I've had the idea of building a new chicken coop in the SE corner of the barn where there is a platform area from the previous corn crib storage area that was once there.  Currently the area the chicken coop is in now is an old mini-horse stall.  I made higher sides so we could enclose the top with chicken wire to keep barn cats and actual predators out.  The barn cats used to get in and sleep in the nesting boxes, guess they are warm.  Altho there is nothing 'wrong' with the current chicken coop its just makes the space in the barn a bit awkward.  You have a small area north of it where we have some firewood drying and the old mower and carts stored, then you have a small walkway between the platform and the coop and south of the coop I had most of my garden equipment/supplies.   So by building a new one off to the side it will open up the entire barn.  Right now I have some equipment stored in the big barn, some in the red barn - so it will be nice to just have everything in the one barn, and can be pulled in and out of either north or south doors.

General Plan

So today I started by clearing out the area where the new coop will go, and then pulling up the HEAVY rubber floor mats from my garden area (which also used to be a stall).  Those things have to weigh 100lbs... what a workout!  When I originally took out that stall I left the back wall and made a little garden work bench - well the rubber mats were sitting underneath the legs of my workbench so just decided to rip out the bench as well as the entire back wall.  These are 2x8" of rough saw oak lumber - HEAVY as well.  With the help of my handy-dandy sawzall I was able to cut right thru the nails attaching them to the posts and then out to the garden they went.  Was able to get enough boards just from that for about 4 sides.  Still have 8 more sides to get lumber for - but I have a feeling after I get the the old coop torn down that will be close to the amount I'll need and no need to buy anymore. 

Here are some photos of the red barn as it stands after the work done today.  Its a mess, I'm almost ashamed to post it but its just one big storage area right now and I have to keep moving things around as I work in different areas.

Where my garden workbench used to be.  All but the bottom
board removed, its down in the ground which is frozen, so will
have to wait till I can dig out the ground to remove it.

The mess that is my gardening supplies as of now.

The current chicken coop (plastic to help keep wind out in winter - they still have lots of holes for ventilation tho.

Area that will be chicken coop - rubber mats on floor.
Will have to add to walls (plywood & insulation) on left side. 
I will be building framing on the right side - this will be covered in wire fencing
for summer and then in winter will screw on plywood boards to close it up.

The narrow walking gap between platform and current coop.

North side of coop - equipment and firewood mostly.   All the wood boards
for the walls will be used in garden when taken down. Will be
so nice have this entire area opened up after its all done!
On the left side you can see a white door - this was our old door that was
replaced on our back porch - hoping the 'recycle' it in this project for the man door into the coop.

Some of the oak boards removed from garden bench area.

on sad note - behind the wall of the garden bench I found this on the ground.
We believe it used to be a cat.  =(   

Also started on my mini hoop house today. 

 You can also see the load of  cardboard I added to the one path.  This will help keep the weeds under control as well as keeping the mud off my shoes since the paths are lower and tend to stay muddier/water logged a lot longer.  I will also be adding newspaper on top of that and then a thin layer of straw to make it look a bit nicer.  The worms usually love the area under all the pathway mulch. 

I had the piping from when I tried to make a wooden structure for the hoops last year.  This year I've added 2' rebar into the ground, leaving a few inches above ground to connect the pipe onto.  There will be 8 hoops in total - putting them 2' apart (using one of the rebar as a spacer).  Mo bought me clips for Christmas that I just put the poly on the hoops and then the clips hold it in place and can be easily removed to get into the hoop house to work.  I plan to put the poly on soon so it can act as a greenhouse to warm up the soil - then start some greens in early March.  I will probably attach a 1x1" board to the top of the hoops to keep them from leaning one way or the other.

The rebar I used (3/8" x 24"), and one of the hoops attached to the rebar in ground.