Another view of the Simpson
Strong-Tie FB24 connectors attaching a 2x4 to the 4x4 corner post.
The location is first measured and marked, and the connector is attached
to the post with 2 screws, then the 2x4 is "dropped" into the connectors
and fastened with 3 screws, one on each side and one in the bottom. |
Now the sides of all the
pens are fully framed. The plywood 4 feet up in each pen keeps roosters
from fighting between pens. We'll put two widths of 36" wide chicken
wire above that, the top piece is also stapled to the trusses. The
trusses are 10 feet high, so this makes it come out even.
4ft plywood + 3ft + 3ft
= 10 ft. |
The first row of 2x4's
in the front of the pens is now up. They are mounted 68.5" up from
the top of the floor 2x6 to allow room for the door. Each is leveled as
it is mounted. The ground wasn't perfectly level, so by the time we got
to the North end of the barn they are 72" off the 2x6. |
Another view of the lumber
connectors. This is the horizontal 2x4 attached to the vertical door
frame. Each was measured and mounted 39" down from the 2x4 that goes across
the tops of the doors. We measured DOWN because the upper 2x4 was leveled
and the floor wasn't. |
The pens were fully framed
by the end of the fourth day and we had started to cut the lumber for the
doors. The door openings are 68.5" tall by 32.5" wide, allowing for
a 68"x32" door with 1/4" clearance all around. The ends of the first and
last pen will be solid plywood to cut down on dust in these storage areas. |
It took almost a whole
day to cut the lumber and then dado cut it to fit together tightly to make
the final doors. We then stapled the chicken wire to each one and
hung it with two 3 inch brass hinges, a handle and 4" latch bolt.
Only five of the 8 doors are up so far. The last 3 are assembled,
but haven't had chicken wire or hardware attached yet. Next weekend...
See next page for details of the door construction. |
Barn
Pen Construction - Page 2
