Chickens, and things related

[bmac]

bmac,

The proper way is to run an stud on edge from the second rafter in so that it rests on the top of the outside rafter. This means cuttind down the outside rafter or notching it. This is code, and the strongest way to get a one foot or longer overhang.

Have fun,
Eddie

OK, Eddie. The above quote is from an earlier reply about framing out the gable end of the roof. Although it was too late to work on the coop when I got home this evening, I thought I'd make a test run of what I think you meant on some scrap wood.

The first photo shows the notches (the first set was too deep so I made an adjustment and cut another set).

The second set shows the assembled product. The edges actually are flush despite the appearance of the photo.

I asked the guy at the lumber yard what he'd recommend for fascia and soffitt. His reply was HardiPlank so that's what I bought. I think I should have researched this before buying. Had I done my research first, I would have known that the Hardie fascia requires a solid wood "subfascia" Which means I have to put up 2x6's on the rafter ends before I put up the Hardie fascia. I'm committed to this now as I've shortened the rafters enough to account for the extra thickness. It also now means that I'll have to shorten each end of my ridge board 1 1/2 inches. I can do this with a hand saw or a circular saw - either way I'm doing it while atop a tall ladder - not something I'm looking forward to.

As far as the Hardie soffit material, I think I'll be forced to install it horizontally and add some 2x4 framing from the walls to the ends of the rafters along with a nailer board running the length of the 2 side walls. Essentially, a conventional houe soffitt. With the 2x6's added to the ends of the rafters, I don't think I'll be able to fasten the soffit material to the underside of the rafters as there will be a large gap between the soffitt and the 2x6 subfascia. Am I making sense?

Oh well, I'm learning from my mistakes.

 

[EddieWalker]

Hey bmac,

You can do the gable ends a few diffrent ways. The way I do them is to cut the end rafter short and rest the 2x4 on top of it. Then I cut lengths of wood to fit between them to make it solid. Then I put my stud into the space under the rafter so that I can fasten my siding to them, and of course, so they help support the roof.

The notches look good and are better then nailing to the ends of the rafters. Just about anything is better then that. I've never actually done it that way, but I've seen it done by others. It's more labor intensive in my opinion, but the finished results are probably going to be allot nicer.

Your choice of Hardi for soffits and fascia is a suprise. Guess it was a suprise to you too!!!!!!

I might catch it for this but you really don't need backer for Hardi for your soffits and fascia boards. What you do need to do is rip them down to a reasonable size. 8 1/4 inches is WAY too big for a fascia board.

How big did you buy your Hardi for your soffits? Did you buy the vented Hardi designedfor soffits? It already has the holes in it with screen on the back of it. I don't remember the price of it, but it's rediculous high. You can also use the 12 inch Hardi, but again, it's too expensive. I like the smaller soffits that you can get with the all grained 8 1/4 Hardi. Of course, you need to like the look of a small soffit.

The house I'm working on now has 2 foot soffits. For this, I'm using an exterior grade 4x8ft sheet of luan that I'll rip in half. This is how most soffits around here are made. It's easy to add a vent to, it holds pain well and it's nice and smooth. For the fascia, it's going to be hard to beat Hardi.

How are you attaching it? I use a roofing coil nailer.

Eddie

 

[bmac]

Hey bmac,

Your choice of Hardi for soffits and fascia is a suprise. Guess it was a suprise to you too!!!!!!

I might catch it for this but you really don't need backer for Hardi for your soffits and fascia boards. What you do need to do is rip them down to a reasonable size. 8 1/4 inches is WAY too big for a fascia board.

How big did you buy your Hardi for your soffits? Did you buy the vented Hardi designedfor soffits? It already has the holes in it with screen on the back of it. I don't remember the price of it, but it's rediculous high. You can also use the 12 inch Hardi, but again, it's too expensive. I like the smaller soffits that you can get with the all grained 8 1/4 Hardi. Of course, you need to like the look of a small soffit.

How are you attaching it? I use a roofing coil nailer.

Eddie

Well, you won't catch it from me. I'll put the 2x6 subfascia on the rafter ends as I've already cut down the rafters I've installed to accommodate them. I may put the rake boards up without the backers if you think it will work.

You know, I'm not clever enough to check the width of the fascia I got - didn't really even think about it when I unloaded it. I assumed that it was 6" but because you brought it up I checked the Hardie web site and see they have 5.5", 7.5 " and something even wider. My guess is that it is 7.5". I really, really, really don't want to have to rip it down (I don't have a table saw or the Hardi shears - would have to do it with a straight edge and a circular saw).

I bought the Hardie vented soffit 12" wide. I was going to use my framing nailer with the same nails I used on the siding (2 3/8" or 2 5/8" galvanized - can't recall the exact length).

Eddie, I appreciate you and all the advice you share with me. I hope, at the very least, I am reciprocating by providing you with some comic relief in my misadventures.

 

[EddieWalker]

bmac,

Hardi cuts real easy with the right blades in a circular saw. The only drawback is how much dust is generated. Pay attention to the wind, wear earplugs and cut away. For ripping Fascia Boards, you really don't kneed a straight edge. I use the regular lap siding Hardi with the smooth 2 inch section on them. It's a natural line and you end up with a six inch piece when you cut off the smooth section.

If you don't have that type, or you want the width to be greater, just use a string chalk snap line. The cut will not be perfect, but that's the side you install in the up position. The uncut, perfectly straight side goes in the down position, where it will be visable. The flashing will go over the ugly edge, so the quality of your cut is not a factor.

When measureing and installing, I like to make my fascia boards hand dow abotu half an inch below my soffits. I do allot of repair jobs to homes with rotted out eves, so I've seen all sorts of arrangment. The fascia that hangs down below the soffit does a better job of keep the soffit dry since it becomes a drip edge for water.

Be careful with the framing nailer on Hardi. It's not very thick and you can easily nail right though it. You can also counter sink your nails, which is just as bad. Hardi wants the nail head to be flush and snug on the outside of it. You should never break the edge of Hardi, or counter sink your nails. Nail heads should be visable and on the outside of the material.

I use a roofing, coil nail gun. The nails have large heads on them and it sets the nails perfectly. Every now and then I'll have a nail break though into the Hardi, but I just put another nail close by to make up for the damage and keep on going. Since it's painted, it's real easy to fix with caulking.

On a side not, if you use Hardi Trim, which is one inch thick, then you use a framing nail gun to install that. It's way too thick for a coil nailer to get a nail through it.

Another side note, if you rip down the Hardi that you have for you fascia boards, you can also rip down another two inch strip to add some detail to the top of the fascia with a secon layer to build it pu a bit more. You don't need it, as it's just a nice touch to make it look nicer. It's also more work for you and will allow you to keep working on it that much longer.

Eddie

 

[bmac]

bmac,

Hardi cuts real easy with the right blades in a circular saw.

Be careful with the framing nailer on Hardi. It's not very thick and you can easily nail right though it. You can also counter sink your nails, which is just as bad. Hardi wants the nail head to be flush and snug on the outside of it. You should never break the edge of Hardi, or counter sink your nails. Nail heads should be visable and on the outside of the material.

On a side not, if you use Hardi Trim, which is one inch thick, then you use a framing nail gun to install that. It's way too thick for a coil nailer to get a nail through it.

Another side note, if you rip down the Hardi that you have for you fascia boards, you can also rip down another two inch strip to add some detail to the top of the fascia with a secon layer to build it pu a bit more. You don't need it, as it's just a nice touch to make it look nicer. It's also more work for you and will allow you to keep working on it that much longer.

Eddie

Can you recommend a good blade for Hardi?

I should be able to adjust the air pressure to get the proper depth of the nail. I planned on doing some tests on scrap pieces. Of course, my nails don't have large heads like roofing nails, but it should work.

My fascia boards are 3/4" thick, the soffit material is 1/4" thick.

And thanks for the tips on adding more work. If I plan carefully, I can probably stretch this thing out to the fall. Keep the suggestions coming.

 

[dooleysm]

bmac, you're going to have the most impressive chicken coop on the block, for sure. I was still pretty hobbled when we built my coop, but I kept saying, "it's just a chicken coop" whenever dad or grandpa started complaining about it not being totally square or plum or the metal siding not quite lining up. At 6x9 it's hard to get far enough off that the corners and trim pieces won't hide any imperfections. We used red siding and roof metal and had planned on white corners but they were out of white, so we went with red. Should have waited a day for the white, an all red coop is a bit much.

Anyway, my chickens are starting to eat me out of house and home. I was down to 24 7 week old chicks, 3 laying hens (1 bantam), and a rooster. I decided it was time to make some chicken soup, so last night the rooster had to go. He met a swift end with the hatchet. I decided to skin him instead of messing with plucking. I think it would have been just as much work to pluck though.

I have experience skinning doves and quail and figured a chicken would be about the same. I don't know if this was an old rooster (I got him at an auction) or if chickens just have tougher skin, but it was a bit more of a challenge than I was expecting. Not terrible, but enough to make me think that plucking would have been about the same amount of work.

I got him butchered up in short order though and I'm looking forward to eating him. My wife is going to turn him into soup on Wednesday, so I'll report back then on the flavor. He was definitely no great meat bird like you get in the store, but he seemed to be plenty meaty for eating. The way they talk over on the chicken boards I was expecting a scrawny mess. The fat he had on him was much brighter yellow than what you get from a store bird. The meat seemed a bit darker overall, even the white meat.

I hunt and fish and butcher everything I take and in general I'm not a real squeamish or emotional type, but I did pause for a moment when I had his head on the chopping block. It was an experience, that's for sure. A good one I think too, at least for me, probably not for the rooster.

 

[EddieWalker]

bmac,

I can describe what a good blade looks like. It's smooth with notches in it. There are other types, but the notches on the smooth blade really do a great job. You can use the same blade for bricks, cultured stone, rock and even concrete!!!!

As for brands, I don't know that one is all that much better then another with these types of blades. Hardi isn't all that hard a material to cut. The blades slice though it real easy and tend to cut pretty straight lines. I've bought $50 blades and I've bought $20 ones. I can't tell the difference. One blade will do an entire house of Hardi real easy. In concrete, they all fall apart fairly quickly. For cultured stone, they all seem to last a very long time too. Buy the cheapest ones you can find with the slots in the blade and you'll be good to go.

Eddie

 

[bmac]

You know, I'm not clever enough to check the width of the fascia I got - didn't really even think about it when I unloaded it. I assumed that it was 6" but because you brought it up I checked the Hardie web site and see they have 5.5", 7.5 " and something even wider. My guess is that it is 7.5". I really, really, really don't want to have to rip it down (I don't have a table saw or the Hardi shears - would have to do it with a straight edge and a circular saw).

Had to run home at lunch and my curiosity got the best of me. So, I went out to my stack of materials with a tape measure to see how wide my fascia is. 5.5". Yeah! No ripping.

Eddie, I'll check on what sounds like a masonry blade for the Hardie. I think I know what you're talking about.

Dooley, thanks for the kind words. I'm not sure I want the most impressive chicken coop, rather something that will hold up as a storage building when my daughter gets tired of the chicken chores. And I'm not bright enough to tell the lumber man that I really don't need HardiPlank for what I'm doing when he makes the suggestion. Were I smarter, I would have told him to just load up some 1x6 PT.

We've got one of the smaller bantam roosters that's pecking the other birds. He's drawn blood on one of the larger roosters such that we've had to put the injured one in isolation. Part of the problem is that its taken me so long to build the coop that the birds have outgrown the brooder and they are over-crowded. We converted a dog crate into a pen for 5 and put the injured bird in a small pen by himself. Hopefully that will reduce the pecking. I thought about butchering the aggressive one, but he's so small there would only be enough meat for a chicken biscuit.

 

[dooleysm]

I only have 1 hen of the 3 that I bought from the auction that really picks on any of the other birds, but nothing too bad. The bantam hen seemed to pal around with the rooster more than any of the other hens. Yesterday while I was butchering the rooster she was nearby and was making some really loud, odd crowing noises that I'd not heard her make before. I wondered if she knew what was going on?

 

[Tororider]

I was lucky in that the three I picked were all hens. If any of these eggs hatch I am sure I will have plenty of roosters to choose from for dinner. I hunt and fish so gutting a deer or cleaning a fish is no problem, but I have never cleaned a bird. I think I will try the first couple and then probably take them to the butcher when we get too many of them.