In this article we will feature on the types of lumber used in building a chicken coop. The reasons we use certain lumber rather than others will also be explained in this article to give you better insight of why we do things rather than just do it.
Lumber
With lumber you can choose what is called select lumber or common lumber. First select lumber is Grade A lumber and it doesn’t matter if it’s pine, redwood, oak, ash, fir. It is still considered select lumber if it has minimal amounts of knots and has a tight grain. This lumber is usually used for finish work projects like furniture, cabinets, finish molding, you get the idea. Common lumber can be of any wood type but it is usually a non-finish grade quality. Common lumber is the framing type lumber you will most likely be using when you’re building a chicken coop. There are 5 common wood classifications and the first three are available in your hardware stores.
The No. 1 are the better quality stock with minimal knots, No.2 are a little less in quality but are still useable and No. 3 are a little less in quality and can still be used, but I would recommend going through the lumber pile yourself before settling on the lumber you are going to use. The surest way to get the best lumber in the pile is by hand picking the lumber yourself. This will allow you to get the best lumber for building a chicken coop.
Checking Your Lumber
When you’re a first time buyer, or anytime you buy lumber when your building a chicken coop, you need to check your lumber for bowing. Pick up your piece of lumber from one end and look down to the other end and you will see a bow like a bow and arrow it’s a curve that you don’t want when building. A twist is checked for the same way. Pick up your piece of lumber and look down to the other end and you will see a twist in your lumber. A twist is not a good thing; you don’t want that piece. A crown is a little different than a bow, because the curve you will see when you look down your piece of lumber will be from the grain side, which is the thinner side of the lumber, not the flat wider part of your lumber like the bow.
Pressure Treated Lumber
There are different types of pressure treated lumber. The most common are Waterborne, Creosote, and oil-borne. By putting the lumber through a process which forces the chemicals into the wood that will help protect the wood from termites and various types of insects that can destroy the wood when used outdoors.
When using pressure treated lumber when building a chicken coop, I would recommend only using the pressure treated lumber at the base of your coop where it will get damp and be food for termites. Using these tips, you can now pick good lumber for your coop, making sure your project will go much smoother.