What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[Shelley]

but anyone else on here put together a WiR? I've just had 20 panels delivered from Animal Bay Housing, but no instructions. It looks reasonably straightforward but I'm already anticipating problems with the six roof panels. Is it best to get the frame assembled first and then screw the roof panels into place? If so how do you support the panels as there is no middle beam to screw them into - they'e just screwed to each other and then into the outside frame. Would it be best to assemble them first and then screw them into the frame? Sorry I'm probably not making myslef clear

[sjp]

I'd have thourght put the sides up fisrt starting at a corner then work out from there

then one roof panel at a time

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I "supervised" the building of mine . It may be different as mine's a Tony, but the outside panels go up first then you'll find a little ledge all round the inside which the roof panels drop onto and are supported by.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Have you seen this thread? Might be of help to you .

 

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=64517&view=unread#unread

[atsw]

Hi Shelley - What's the overall size of the run (length and depth)? From the link ANH provided in the post above, I'm currently about to help a friend in the village build her 15' x 9' run. I've added a sketch to the original post to help.

 

For my own run (which was from Aviaries4U, not BAH) I put all the sides up first, then added the roof. My run is only 6' deep, so the roof panels all run front to back in a single length, therefore I didn't have the issue that I've just encountered with the BAH run.

 

If you'd like to see my run going up step-by-step, click here.

 

Andrew

[atsw]

It may be different as mine's a Tony, but the outside panels go up first then you'll find a little ledge all round the inside which the roof panels drop onto and are supported by.

After a quick measure up, I think the roof on BAH runs is done differently. From the measurements, I think the roof panels sit on top of the sides, and you then screw down from the top to hold the roof in place. This being the case, you'll need to be careful how you do the corners on the run. Check your overall measurements to see if the End Panels screw to the Side Panels, or the Side Panels to the End Panels - it makes a difference to the overall 'outside edge' dimensions, which is critical to ensuring the roof is a perfect fit when you get to that stage.

 

Andrew

[Shelley]

I'm glad someone else's head is aching! My dimensions are 12ft (l) by 9ft (w) so the configuration is virtually the same as you've previously indicated. I can get the length to work, but I'm over on the width. In cms the three-panel width is 282cms but the roof panel configuration is coming out at 291cms. I doubt that makes any sense at all so I'm phoning Chris, but I'm not happy!!!

[Shelley]

Ok, I'm blaming the sun and my rubbish maths teacher. Screwing the side panels to the outside of the front panels add another 5cms each side...and accounts for the 10cms I thought I was over on the width! So that's a relief. And now a really basic question. I've tried using my rechargeable cordless screwdriver but it just doesn't push the screws in. Do I need a better screwdriver or should I be pre-drilling? I'll post this as a newpost as I'm keen to know the answer!!

[Lewis]

After a quick measure up, I think the roof on BAH runs is done differently. From the measurements, I think the roof panels sit on top of the sides, and you then screw down from the top to hold the roof in place. This being the case, you'll need to be careful how you do the corners on the run. Check your overall measurements to see if the End Panels screw to the Side Panels, or the Side Panels to the End Panels - it makes a difference to the overall 'outside edge' dimensions, which is critical to ensuring the roof is a perfect fit when you get to that stage.

Thats how mine was too

The roof panels sit on top of the sides and then screwed them down, and also a couple of ups

[Plum]

How's it going Shelley. It took us 6hrs to fit a door yesterday Don't know if it was us or the timber.

[Shelley]

Six hours! OMG. I'm definitely not that patient. I gave it six minutes with a manual screwdriver and just gave up. Looks like pre-drilling is the answer in which case the question is how cheap can I find a handyman Someone has just quoted me £160 which is far too steep. With these additional costs it would have been better to go for a 'Tony' and get him to erect it

[Plum]

Definately pre drill. One piece of timber was exceptionally hard with lots of knots but most drilled fine.

 

Have you a relative with a drill and bit of time on their hands If so send him/her over