Coop construction

After a weekend of hard labor, I am relieved and happy to report that the chicken coop is well under construction. Our hope is to have it completed after one more weekend of work.

We started the weekend with high hopes (and a dozen Dutch Girl Donuts) but were quickly sidelined by a trip to Matt’s mom’s house to pick up a few last-minute essentials (including a ladder) and a stop at Menard’s to pick up a sheet of plywood and metal sheets for the roof. Needless to say, we didn’t even break ground until 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

I thought laying the foundation would be the easiest part of construction. I thought wrong. By 6:30 p.m., as darkness creeped in around us, we still had not completed the task. Pesky roots from nearby yucca trees and buried treasure (including a tire!) slowed progress, in addition to our desire to lay the bricks as level as possible. By dark it seemed an impossible task.

Sunday morning we all woke up refreshed, and ready to give the foundation another go. The rest served us well, and we finished up the task within two hours.

At this point, the rest of the project started coming together. We built the base to the coop, then the studs quickly went up, forming the frame to the coop. Suddenly I could see it. The coop was looking real, and within reach.

We finished the basic framing, with Matt and Eric drilling and cutting the 2X4s. I helped where I could, especially in laying stones on the foundation, and made sure they kept fuel in their bellies.

Here’s a slideshow of the weekend’s progress:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Stay tuned for Construction Part II. If schedules and weather cooperate, we should be able to finish the Wichita Cabin Coop by the end of next weekend!