Showing posts with label diy chicken coop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diy chicken coop. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Cheap Twin Bed Chicken House, part 4


Remember that I had a plan for the mattress support? Here it is with the paper cloth torn off. Two of the boads were removed so I could saw this into a right and left door...I screwed the wood pieces back onto each door once I measured the size.
After that, I pulled out that free shower board and placed it along the bottom half of each door, then hid the seams with some tiny wood scrap and teeny nails. I caulked all the seams, front and back, and painted. The top halves were turned into windows the next day by pre-drilling some plexiglass and carefully screwing it in place--yes I cracked a corner somewhat!

Later, I cut some styrofoam down to create a bit of insulation, then tacked it in place--some more masonite went over the top. More rectangular masonite scrap went into the inside, to hide the curvy headboard space.  I'll explain that roof later...sometimes I work on many parts at once. Here is the side shutter attached with the hinges.



Lastly, here is a view with the doors hinged on.




Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Twin Bed Chicken Coop--Nearly Free!



Alright folks, I am a scrounger. A finder of treasures and a keeper of assorted junk. Out on a walk one day, I had a friend slap a rusty washer out of my hand because I “didn’t need any more crap”! Now, I’ve been inside a hoarder’s home years ago, so I do my best to NOT get myself into that state. But I’m also an art teacher and I appreciate a good find, recycled objects, and anything with an old texture. It’s fun to make something from nothing!
Here’s a brief ‘tutorial’ on how to make a (nearly) free chicken coop…
My son had the bottom half of a wooden bunk bed upstairs AND a wooden futon. Needing to get rid of one (in order to store 2 recently acquired dressers!), I opted to take apart the twin wooden bed. Once apart, I hauled the pieces to the back yard.

First, I decided to staple in some hail screen. I'd bought a couple items at a garage sale across the street and the nice lady threw in a partial roll of hardware cloth for free. I also had some window screen in the garage, but it wasn't as coon-proof or sturdy.

 
Thinking that the length of a twin bed might be too long for my yard, 16” were cut off the side pieces and then I screwed it back together; pre-drilling seems to work better for me, so I pre-drilled almost everything. I had a box of long screws and a box of drywall screws from other projects.  I then screwed the left-over pieces to the ‘back’ of my envisioned chicken house, standing them on end to form a low wall.