Coop Construction Times and Experience Needed

Many have asked me to calculate the number of hours it takes to construct the coop. I frankly never know how to answer this. Even among skilled builders times vary. For the 4 x 8 coop, I think that amateur builder will need a couple of weekends to construct the coop. Planning is the key to making the most of your time. Spend some time looking over the plans with someone from you lumber yard BEFORE the building day arrives. Having all the materials at hand makes the job so much more enjoyable and certainly keeps the builders happy.

Another question is the skill level. I would say that overall this is a beginner to intermediate project. It would not be the first project I would recommend to first time- builders. There are too many moving parts involved! However, with the aid of a more experienced builder on engineer minded person, many have successfully finished this project with very little previous experience. Because a certain skill level is needed, you will notice that the plans do not take you through the construction stages in a step-by-step fashion. I don't want to discourage builders, but I neither want to pretend that I am able to guide you through the entire process. The plans are just that, design ideas that will allow you to put your creative problem solving skills to use on a basic design.

Tracking down the necessary materials takes time too, so plan to do some searching at a couple of hardware stores and lumber yards. I suggest you decide on and begin with the roofing materials as this is often the most difficult and expensive to find. There are less expensive alternative which I mention in the plans and are shown in some of the photos at the photobucket site.