Building a new run
- Thread starter Castara
- Start date
chrismahon
Well-known member
Chuck is absolutely right. The headless bolts have a dome on the outside with no driving feature. Under the dome is a square which locates in the drawbolt or hinge and then they are tightened from the inside. The only way to take them off from the outside is with an angle grinder or brute force. This changes the crime from simple theft to criminal damage (and breaking and entering?) and theft and carries a heavier sentence if caught. Plus it makes a lot of noise and starts the chickens off. Chicken theft is a big problem in this area. Can buy them from B &Q -they have a selection and call them 'coachbolts' I think? Something that can be added after completion.
Castara
New member
I'm using M8 120mm coach bolts to hold the run panels together.
Man, I tell ya , no one better thief my chickens :evil: , Shhhish!!!!
07 And I thought it was the foxes I had to worry about . Do you live in the country ??? I've heard its dangerous out there 
Man, I tell ya , no one better thief my chickens :evil: , Shhhish!!!!
07 And I thought it was the foxes I had to worry about . Do you live in the country ??? I've heard its dangerous out there
chrismahon
Well-known member
We're in a small hamlet sandwiched between the A38 and a large village in what was Countryside. But we have ever more industrial units and more gravel extraction and ponds so there isn't much Countryside left!
Surrounded by townies who complain about everything and are not happy until all that they can is covered in block paving. Thefts are high in this area and its a combination of 'water gypsies', down and outs living on canal boats (moor up, steal and move on), and migrant workers in the industrial units who steal carp from the ponds and stuff (anything not nailed down).
Surrounded by townies who complain about everything and are not happy until all that they can is covered in block paving. Thefts are high in this area and its a combination of 'water gypsies', down and outs living on canal boats (moor up, steal and move on), and migrant workers in the industrial units who steal carp from the ponds and stuff (anything not nailed down).
Castara
New member
Sorry to hear that, Its a sad world sometimes
chrismahon
Well-known member
Staffordshire has always been a lawless place Castara and hasn't changed much. The Staffordshire 'knot', the symbol of Staffordshire, was actually a way to speed up executions. Took too much time hanging one person at a time on the scaffold so the knot allowed them to do three!
How's the run and coop doing? I'm building some new coops at the moment and so far it's been a nightmare! These have to be built in pairs to use all the material. Except the floor which makes three from one sheet. So the optimum build quantity is 6, which is how many I am doing. Probably won't complete the last two until we are in France. I have struggled to get decent exterior grade plywood for these -the last lot had good surfaces but was full of internal holes and warped all over the place. Pity I didn't spend a few quid more at the time! This lot I've checked all the external edges and the sheets are a lot heavier.
How's the run and coop doing? I'm building some new coops at the moment and so far it's been a nightmare! These have to be built in pairs to use all the material. Except the floor which makes three from one sheet. So the optimum build quantity is 6, which is how many I am doing. Probably won't complete the last two until we are in France. I have struggled to get decent exterior grade plywood for these -the last lot had good surfaces but was full of internal holes and warped all over the place. Pity I didn't spend a few quid more at the time! This lot I've checked all the external edges and the sheets are a lot heavier.
Castara
New member
'Hang um 3 at a time'! :shock: I'm from the US originally , thet'd be impressed with that
Tell me about cheap crap chinese ply :evil: , My Old man whos helpin me is a general builder of 40 years , says hes never seen the like ! Had nothing but problems and I know that it will be the undoing of the coop in the end , I bought mine from 'Builders depot' £ 23 a sheet said WBA external on the packet 'BUT :evil: ' We've had to use a ton a 2 pack wood filler just to make it sound , If I'd cut it up the day I bought it in one go, I'd a taken it back, but I bought it , waited a couple a weeks then cut some , then more , so by the time it realized it was a duff batch it was too late, without going through a load of grief. So I curse um n get on with it . Funny the first sheet I bought way back in December was fine.
Tell me about cheap crap chinese ply :evil: , My Old man whos helpin me is a general builder of 40 years , says hes never seen the like ! Had nothing but problems and I know that it will be the undoing of the coop in the end , I bought mine from 'Builders depot' £ 23 a sheet said WBA external on the packet 'BUT :evil: ' We've had to use a ton a 2 pack wood filler just to make it sound , If I'd cut it up the day I bought it in one go, I'd a taken it back, but I bought it , waited a couple a weeks then cut some , then more , so by the time it realized it was a duff batch it was too late, without going through a load of grief. So I curse um n get on with it . Funny the first sheet I bought way back in December was fine.
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chrismahon
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It's looking great Castara. I've had to seal the holes in the ply as well with filler. But I don't use that much exposed edge ply in the construction (just in the nest box) so its not a huge job. Some of the 'exterior grade' stuff in the Orchard is breaking up because the glue has failed, but it's only on linking panel bracing so easily replaced. Perhaps I should go for 'marine' ply next -I had a boat built from it.
Margaid
Well-known member
I'm still dithering about whether to buy one of the recycled plastic houses (like the Solway Ecohouse) or whether to build (OH to build) my own. If the latter then we'll use Eco Sheet which is a recycled plastic "chipboard". it's 18mm thick and pretty rigid. Although the edges look open, the holes don't penetrate into the board so no frost damage. Sqaure sections are available for making corners - they aren't necessary but make it look nicer. OK, it only comes in a flecked grey - no pretty colours and is £36 + Vat for an 8' x4' sheet. 12mm marine ply is £26.75 a sheet - didn't get a price for thicker stuff as the enquiry was to do with our building project which only needed 12mm. You can get Eco sheet from Wynnstay if you have one near you, or from one of their distributors - I went to www.heritageandsons.co.uk just off the M6 near Coventry to look at the hen house and the various boards (Paul Heritage was really helpful - and it was Sunday morning!), or you can look here www.solwayrecycling.co.uk/agricultural/ecosheet. Although it is expensive it is so easy to clean - can be steam cleaned or washed down, and it means far less nooks and crannies for redmite etc. Even with marine ply you still have the problem of expose edges which can delaminate. If we do the selfbuild on the hen house in addition to our own I'll try and post some pictures - but don't hold your breath!
Castara
New member
Hmmmm , Can you paint it?
Castara
New member
Ahh Marine Ply, Good stuff , I missed out on 25 sheets last autumn , Got a mate at pine wood studios , he couldn't shift it or find me so guess what they binned itchrismahon said:
. I did hear the other day of a new product 'Water proof MDF ' ???! Yeah that's what I thought , But apparently its on display in a bucket of water , comes with a 50 year guarantee 'Apparently'??? . I will research it furtherCastara
New member
I'm a bit confused with the idea of recycling (not that I'm against it') plastic to make something that can all ready be made with a sustainable product like wood , shouldnt we use less plastic and use what we got for what we cant make with any thing else ?Castara said:
Margaid
Well-known member
Don't think you can paint it - I didn't ask because I'm looking for low maintenance. I agree with you about recycling as I am appalled by the amount of packaging used in the retail industry. The plastic used for the recycled products from Solway comes from farms - it's mainly sileage wrap or covers, polytunnnels and crop covers which farmers used to bury or burn (both now illegal). It would be difficult to find alternatives to plastic for these - and yes it is possible to farm without them going back to 100 year old methods but production would drop and food prices rise astronomically. Also think about the resources used to produce a sheet of plywood; a tree somewhere has to be harvested and the resulting timber transported eventually to some sort of factory where it will go through an industrial process to produce the boards, then into a distribution network (and at least one of these stages will be overseas from the UK), stored in a timber yard or builders' merchants and finally distributed to the enduser. It then needs some sort of preservative. I'm not thinking of using it because it's "green" but because I think it will be good for the birds and for me - if things are easy to do (as in cleaningthe coop) they get done!
