More Space. More Style.

When it comes to home, there’s a fine line between cozy and crowded. 

Small families often grow into bigger ones.

Houses that started out spacious and roomy become cramped when the headcount spikes.

And Givens family found themselves in this very scenario.

At first, their spacious, Southeast Charlotte home - with generous outdoor living area - had plenty of room for mom, dad, four kids and the family dog.

And it still does.

It’s the Givens family’s backyard chicken coop, and the dozen hens that now call it home, that had become too cramped.

It’s not that the old coop wasn’t spacious. 

When the family’s backyard flock was smaller, the tidy looking, gable-roofed structure, with an extended run area, worked just fine. It even had a cool weather vane mounted on the ridge cap of the colored metal roof.

And so what if the coop it wasn’t exactly level. It was a used coop that they found online, and picked up at a bargain.

 

There was plenty of room for the family’s backyard hens to sit back, kick up their toes, and stretch out those wings.

But the Givens family loves their flock of backyard chickens.

And when their modest-sized flock soon grew, the once-roomy, practically-free, not-exactly-level-but-tolerable, backyard chicken coop was no longer up to par.

And not only was the old coop too cramped, but there were other factors at play that prompted the need for a roomier, and also much more attractive backyard coop design.

You see, a transformation of the home’s backyard had already begun before we arrived.

A show-stopping in-ground swimming pool was the centerpiece of the family’s new backyard landscape design, which also included features planned for the old chicken coop’s site.

Now, for her new backyard coop, Anna had already selected a more subtle site at the opposite corner of the backyard. This area of high ground was perfect for a backyard chicken coop ;   nestled into a grove of shade trees that would help keep the coop cooler during the summer months.

 

And, while this wasn’t exactly a rush job, there was some sense of urgency to build the Givens family’s new backyard chicken coop efficiently.

The swimming pool company’s crew had already staked out their area, and competed some of their initial site prep. The portable toilet and pile of muddy scrap lumber lying in the driveway signaled that something big was coming, and soon.

We needed to finalize the new coop design, set things into motion, and wrap-up our work before the really heavy digging on the swimming pool and other backyard enhancements started.

And the large swimming pool, with tiered pool decks and cabana weren’t B-list, straight-to-DVD actors, either. The sprawling pool design, and other upgrades included in the backyard makeover, set the bar for visual appeal very high, indeed. 

Our new backyard chicken coop design had to be just as chic as these A-listers.

So, with the new coop’s site site already selected, the next step was to choose the frame design. 

 

Anna liked the gable roof style of the old coop, but asked us if we could make the pitch of the new coop’s roof steeper - something like the two example photos she provided. 

“Of course we can”, we said and found that a 50 degree gable roof pitch seemed a close match to the gable roofs in the two example photos she provided.

The dimensions of the new coop would be 8’x12’ with a height of about 8’6” from the ground to the top of the ridge beam. This size and shape would give the family’s hens a more open floor plan with more interior height than the old coop - which was more narrow and not as tall.

Anna asked that we stain the new coop’s yellow pine frame to match the color of the existing fence that surrounds the backyard.

“Sure thing”, we replied.

And we’re always happy to accommodate requests to apply pigmented exterior stain or clear wood sealer to any of our backyard garden projects.

We framed the new coop’s gable roof with 2”x4” yellow pine rafters, connected with 2”x6” collar ties and a 2”x6” ridge beam - all joined together using a combination of structural steel screws and exterior deck screws.

Anna Givens selected 26-gauge metal roof panels, in ‘Burnished Slate’ color, that would blend well with the coop’s frame and siding stain color, and also harmonize with the colored metal chimney caps on family’s home. 

 

We built the coop’s 8’ wide gable walls and 12’-wide sidewalls with a combination of 2”x4” yellow pine sole and cap plates, and 4”x4” studs  that are spaced about 4’ apart. This wall frame design increases airflow though the coop and still delivers the required structural strength to shrug off heavy wind, snow and ice loads, not to mention large and determined predators.

The three roughly 4’x4’openings in the 12’-long front wall will also provide the Givens family a generous view of all the fun activity and antics up in their new coop.

And to help ensure that this coop was’t just big enough and sleek enough, but was also tough enough -  that it might also withstand the test of time and perform as long as the swimming pool and other cool backyard enhancements - we placed the coop's frame on a foundation of masonry pavers to prevent ground contact with the wood.

Anna felt that a 4’x6’ hen house built into a corner of the coop would give her dozen hens the right amount of sheltered space to settle in together at night time, and to lay eggs.

 

We agreed, and we framed in the 4’x6’ hen house portion of the coop using yellow pine 4”x4” for vertical wall studs and floor joists, and we chose a hefty sheet of plywood for the henhouse floor.

“After all”, we mused, “the family’s backyard flock will probably keep growing long after we’ve placed the final screw, and packed up our gear.”

“What if they add more hens?”

“Then ducks and turkeys?”

“Hmm.”

“We’d better go ahead and make that hen house extra, super-duper strong”.

Which we did.

After we attached a ‘3-seater’ nesting box that Anna had found online as a kit ( and had impressively assembled herself ), we installed T1-11 siding on all four sides of the henhouse.

We built three hinged doors on the outside of the back of the henhouse, to allow easy access for periodic cleanings. 

 

Inside the coop, we left about 2’ of space between the top the T1-11 siding and the bottom of the ridge beam to improve airflow through the coop, while still providing the needed protection from cold, wet weather.

As with all of our backyard chicken coop designs, we clad the open areas of the frame with 1/2” galvanized hardware cloth ; a burly steel mesh that’s strong enough to thwart the long list of predators - from falcons to foxes, rodents to raccoons - that are sure to put our new coop to the test.  And since we know how sneaky some of these furry little marauders can be, we always bury a strip of hardware cloth around the entire perimeter of the coop. This unglamorous but important step prevents predators from digging underneath - under the cover of darkness - and without it, the most stylish and spacious coop could be compromised on the very first night - rendering all that effort at form, worthless without the essential function.

And we can’t have that, now can we.

Anna requested a Dutch-style entry door for the front gable wall, and we were happy to make that happen. 

 

Decorative tee-hinges and sturdy, lockable latches.

A chicken-sized ladder leading up to the chicken-sized, arched hen house entry.

A touch up here and there with the stain.

This coop was finally move-in ready, and not a moment too soon, either.

As we loaded up our gear and prepared to head out, we’re sure we heard a sharp uptick in squawks and cackles from the dozen hens that were still huddled together in their old coop, on the other side of the backyard.

Was the family’s backyard flock excited about moving into their new residence, and trying to let us know about it with all that commotion? 

We’d like to think so.

After all, they say that chickens are smarter than people think.

And the Givens family's backyard flock certainly does have a smart-looking, new coop to call home.