4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[chooklady]

Well despite the very hot weather all is going well.

 

We made 3 panels yesterday and also went to B&Q to get the corrugated stuff for the roof. We decided on dark green as we thought the see-through stuff might make the run very hot and this would give the chooks some shade.

 

 

We made 7 panels today plus the framework for the door, we are absolutrly shattered but it's been well worth it.

 

 

This photo gives you an idea of how it will look very soon. We have put gravel boards at the bottom of each section of frame so we can raise the height of the woodchip etc inside and hopefully when they have a good old dig it wont all end up outside the run!

 

Edited July 28, 2008 by Guest

[lisa33]

That's looking really great.

[Rona]

That looks great. Look forward to seeing it when its finished. Getting the roof on to something that size will be fun

[Yolky]

That is fantastic! How much was the corrugated stuff from B&Q please.

[BeckyBoo]

Wow, looking good. Spencer is a bit gorgeous! I won't let my Delilah see the picture, she might drool on the screen

 

Mrs B

[chooklady]

That is fantastic! How much was the corrugated stuff from B&Q please.

 

It came in green or black and was £7 something a sheet, we needed 5 sheets for ours and B&Q had 15% off everything this weekend.

 

Here's a better photos of Spencer for Mrs. Bertie

 

[Cooks]

that's looking good, it resembles my own run quite a bit

[BeckyBoo]

Awwwww, here's Delilah if he wants a girlfriend!

 

 

She's very friendly and kind, just a bit slobbery, and not very smiley

 

Mrs B

[clootie]

How lovely to see a possible romance blossoming! Could my Eric be best dog?

 

That run looks great but I suspect that with the smug look on Spencer's face, he did all the work. You can't fool us chooklady!

[Lapinou]

What a fab looking run! Well done you - can't wait to see it finished

[toastedblue]

congrats on your new run

seems to be a popular design amongst us self builders

I did exactly the same a few months back, cut the wood to size on day 1, built all the panels on day 2, then screwed them together and put the roof on on day 3

such a satisfying thing to do...

 

this winter I also intend making a concrete base

it's on decking at the moment and is hard to clean and stays wet longer when it rains... and it rains a lot here in Wales

[MedusA]

Your run is looking really good. It is so satisfying when it's all done and the girls are installed. Please post some pics when it's all finished.

[chooklady]

I will certainly keep you updated, it's been really good fun.

 

We looked at so many different runs on the run inspiration section and decided this was the design we liked most.

 

We have a few problems with the new concrete base not being perfectly level but I'm sure OH will come up with a cunning plan to sort that out, that is always going to be a problem with panels that are very square I suppose.

 

One question to the self builders out there, have you bolted the run to the ground in any way or have you just let gravity and the weight of the structure do that job for you?

 

I am going to put rush screening along the back, the land beyond the fence just behind the run is fox territory. I hope by putting the screening there that the chickens will not be too disturbed by any animal that may walk past. Having Spencer helps I'm sure as he has scared a lot of things away since he's been around.

 

I can't wait now, just want the nesx 2 weeks to go as quickly as possible.

 

Mrs B Delilah is gorgeous, I'm sure Spencer would love her to be his girlfriend, although she may have some competition from his friend Minnie

 

[MedusA]

We just relied on the weight of the run to hold it in place. There is no movement with ours, so IMHO I think it's an unnecessary expense to go to.

 

I love your dogs. My friend has 2 miniature Schnauzers and they are gorgeous dogs.

[Cooks]

as ours is surrounded my large heavy sleepers all the way around, hubby screwed into the sleepers from the inside, therefore making it impossible for a muscle building fox to move the sleeper and get in.... this inturn makes it more stable, not that it wasn't in the first place though..

Ours is covered witha metal corrugated roof, which I have been thankfull for in this heat as it provides much shade and protection for the girls. I have two hens in mine and they love it, well at least I think they do..

[Rona]

I'm afraid I didn't have much confidence in my building skills as I kept having to add bits of wood to stop the panels wobbling about. So, just to be on the safe side, it is attached to 4"x4"posts in metpost spikes at each corner.

[bokbokbok]

We are at exactly the same stage as you are - half way finished the frame and about to think about the roof.

 

We let gravity pull the thing down (no bolts through the bottom to the ground) but we have also screwed uprights to existing fence / shed and edging so it makes it all that little bit more secure.

 

(Our photos will follow later)

 

I have a question for YOU! Do you have a photo of the green roofing you are using? It sounds ideal but we haven't seen it on any trips to B&Q.. Do you have a link we could look at?

[chooklady]

It's dark bottle green on one side and black on the other or they did a black version.

This is the label on it. The size is 2m x 0.9m, this is the perfect size for our run, which gives an overhang at the front. don't forget the overlap, we are only overlapping by one ridge. We are putting some guttering along the back and having the roof on a slight tilt so we can have a water butt.

 

I think our base is slightly raised in the middle at the back which has created a slight rocking from side to side, I think OH will have to take some sort of grider to the concrete to sort it out, very frustrating.

[bokbokbok]

YAY! That is a great help - thank you. B&Q list the screws for this product but not the actual sheets I have contacted the local hardware store and am hoping they can *get some in for me* as soon as possible. This would be ideal.

 

We started off with an uneven surface (an old lawn) and were able to make it all level as we went along by lifting the bottom rail up slightly at one end and constantly using the spirit level.

 

I like your version much better and would have loved to have thought of concreting our area at the beginning. There are pros and cons no matter what way you do it I would think.

[bokbokbok]

Oooo another quick question: are you meshing the roof as well as this sheeting?

[chooklady]

No, just the sides and the corrugated stuff on top with beams across to support the roof.

 

As you say which ever way you go there will be some sort of problem. When you pre-make the frames they are rigid and there isn't much room for manoevre. Hubby will think of a solution by next weekend, 'cos he always does, he is very practical like that. He has put so much effort into this he will not be defeated by a bit of uneven concrete!

 

We reckon with all the money we've spent it will take the chooks about 5 years to pay us back in eggs!!!

[bokbokbok]

You are now the expert on this green roofing

 

We went and bought ours this evening as the trailer was still on the car after buying more wood this afternoon. (Note to self: work out how much wood you think you need and then DOUBLE IT!)

 

B&Q didn't have more than one packet of the expensive screws and caps available and try as we might we couldn't find alternate caps elsewhere in the building. It was getting late and we had to rush.

 

Did you buy the proper packets or did you use an alternative? Did you use the wee suction thingies?

 

(Thanks for your help!)

[chooklady]

This is what we have bought although as we haven't got to the point of putting the roof on yet we're assuming these are right!

 

This is the packet.

 

 

These are the components within the packet, hope they make sense to you!

 

 

You're right about the wood, OH calculated how much he needed but forgot about the roof supports. We have a brilliant local builders merchant and we got the wood for a really good price.

 

Thank god for digital photography, Can we see some photos of your run?Good luck hope this helps

Nicola

[bokbokbok]

Those were available to us too but there was one packet of the Coroline ones there (pack of 20 @ £3.69?) and we reckoned the Corolux ones were for a different system. The Coroline ones are black or green and looked slightly different without the spindle-spacer thing in the packet and had NAILS in them - not screws. All very strange!

 

I have checked on the internet and can only find the Coroline ones with Screwfix Direct (so far) but they seem to only do them in bulk : 400 of them for £35 - which OH reckons is double what we need. THAT may be just about right though!

 

OH is going to the local people today with the idea of seeing if the caps can be bought differently / individually / not in these small packets. Will let you know how he gets on. He may just end up buying them from Screwfix but £35 seems an awful lot for a few blobs of plastic

 

Photos WILL be forth-coming - I have taken them as I go along but there doesn't seem to be enough time in the day to get them downloaded and then sorted. I would prefer to do it on my much faster computer in work (I work for myself) but my assistant uses my good computer leaving me with the much slower laptop. It all just takes time . . .

[chooklady]

We saw the dark coloured ones with nails but hubby doesn't like nails!

 

We might have to look at the fixings again, I'll let you know how we get on.

 

Do you have chickens already? And do you have a cube or a different kind of house?

 

Best wishes

Nicola