I have built an insulated room in the barn for the chickens, and now I'm at the ceiling. Above is a loft with plank flooring resting on sturdy beams with centers around 80 cm with some variation. Standard-sized building panels will meet roughly in the middle of a beam and have support at the ends. I would prefer not to add noggings because I plan to fill in hay as insulation between the plank flooring and ceiling, and I'm under quite a time constraint. Would 12mm plywood fastened directly to the beams work well? A better panel choice?
The disc should be completely OK, but hay as insulation? Isn't there a risk that it will become a haven for a lot of insects and maybe also mice? Why not loose-fill à la Rockwool?
Thanks for the input! I had originally planned to just store hay in the loft, but now that the rest is so well insulated it feels wasteful. I'll try with plywood on the ceiling and leave it uninsulated for now, it's open and accessible so it might become a headache later on. This little project has blown the budget but will likely provide good lessons for the next bird group.
But it is wonderfully fun to have some chickens.F faf said:
There probably aren't any animals that are easier to care for.
Our latest batch with 8 newly hatched chicks, one day old. (The ninth egg was not fertilized)
Have you checked out sk lantbruksplywood? Perfect for all kinds of animal stalls. Available in various thicknesses. It has a surface that is pre-treated.
No surface treatment is needed, right?J justusandersson said:
In our little "stall," which functions as a woodshed/chicken coop, the interior walls and ceiling are made of untreated standard 22 mm raw planks, the kind used for roofing, but with the planed side inward.
Yes, there's not much else on my mind than the little ones now, we're finally going to have chickensKnockOnWood said:
I think I've overbuilt for them, but better too good than the opposite. After a while, when we see what works and what was unnecessary, we can build the next coop, hopefully cheaper, faster, and better Great that you've shared your birds here in the forum, it was fine inspiration when I was looking for information. Do you have yours uninsulated?
Yes, I think they are such lovely pets. Compared to all the poorly trained dogs that some neighbors have.F faf said:
But the "chicken coop" is indeed insulated. It was actually built as a stable for two horses, but our horse passed away, so it became a chicken coop and wood shed instead. The stable is built with 120 mm stud wood and is also insulated with 120 mm rock wool. But it does lose quite a bit of heat at a large sliding door (where the horses were supposed to go in and out), so sometimes in the winter, the water in the bowls freezes. But we have a little heat on so it doesn't freeze in the tack room. One of the first winters, we got a heat lamp and hung it above the favorite perch. But no one wanted to sit in the warmth; they moved to the sides, so the middle of the perch was empty
You've probably already seen this article: https://www.byggahus.se/bygga/bygga-honshus-regler-utformning
The agricultural plywood is coated with phenolic film on both sides. It otherwise resembles formwork plywood and costs about the same. Available at www.bonnet.se.