Building a Pallet Wood Hen House Chicken Coop and Prototype Tiny House Part 1 Design & Construction

With our house up for sale, we have two main priorities, one is having all the hen houses upgraded to ones that can be easily dismantled and moved with the hens and the other is having a plan for the tiny house we are going to take with us when we move.

We've thought this over and decided that it will be more ecological, less costly and more permanent than buying an RV or caravan to live in whilst constructing our new Eco House. To this end we designed the hen house not just as accommodation for the hens but as a prototype for something we could build here in the workshops and then take in kit form to our destination. As you will see, when you watch the film on construction and assembly, this design can be made with an extra inner skin of cladding and the gap between filled with straw or hay for insulation. A couple of years back we built just such a tiny wood and straw house with a friend and his three boys, whilst they waited to build their own main house. The design of incorporating an insulating layer of straw and hay is often coupled with building the house on pillars. This latter, to leave an air-gap underneath, which can then be boxed in, is a popular way of building a tiny house both here in France and Quebec. It will be of particular use to us in moving to Brittany, where in the Winter months it can be 'slightly' damp!

The Hen House

As if to prove my previous statement, when we had constructed all the parts of the house we had to leave the assembling of it for a couple of weeks due to torrential rain. In the meantime, Sue made up this artist's impression of the final design!

 

This design was tried and tested. We had already had one up and running for two years and the hens loved it. The main cost (total of which is around  25 Euros (Dollars), was the price of the roof covering - a heavy duty tarpaulin. This is necessary if, like us, your hen house can be subjected to all types of severe weather conditions.

Materials

 

We used twenty-four standard (120cm x 80cm), untreated pallets in all. These included the four which were used for the base. Obviously, if you only have a few hens the base can be cut down but for ease of cleaning and access the height should be kept the same. 

To complete the complement of pallet wood, we also used twenty-four planks (1800mm in length and 23mm thick). These were cut down to a width of 40mm. These planks were obtained from the uprights of pallets used to transport furniture and can be found at most outlets selling sofas, beds and larger items. They are also used by companies making or transporting glass and double glazed window units - look around your area to see what's on offer.

The Base

 

Start by prising the planks from the four foundation pallets.

 
 







Then reposition and renail with additional planks.






 

 

 


Bend over nails. Using long nails is a secure way of anchoring the planks to the support frame.







 




Alternatively, if the planks are difficult to remove for repositioning and you have plenty of pallet wood available, nail a layer of planks on top of the pallet at right angles to the original planks.

Wall Panels and Doors

Each side has two panels of different lengths to avoid the wall joints coinciding with the base pallet joints, which would weaken the structure.

 



Use the pallet as a gauge to ensure the correct height of the wall panel frames (standard length of 120cm) is attained. In the film you will see that I chose one panel of 1.40m length and the other 1.00m.



 






Once made and checked for square, add cladding.

 

On both gable end walls, provision is made for a door. This is needed for a good through draught in hot weather and also for ease of cleaning and removal of perches.

Make door frame and check for fit.

 

Clad door and fit hinges.

 

 

Gable Ends

 

Cut base of triangle to the exact width of wall and cut a 45° angle at each end.

 

 

Mark and cut other two sides of gable end panel and screw together.

 

 

Clad

 

 Trim

Roof Panels

Make up four roof frames using foundation pallets as an assembly bench

Cover with tongue and groove cladding.

Sit back and watch the film..

Bob and friend looking forward to assembling the house. The assembly is shown in the following three part blog posts and includes the demolition of the old hen house and the laying of the new foundations - the first one can be found here

Thanks for dropping by and please feel free to share this article, comment, ask questions and if you'd like to be assured of getting the next post, then sign up to follow this blog.

All the best, Andy

© Andy Colley 2014

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Using Natural Earth and Mineral Pigments in the Home and Garden - A Veritable Feast of Colour

The Alchemy of Artists' Materials - So much more fun than opening a tin of paint

 

What are natural pigments?

Pigments as opposed to dyes are non-soluble powders which are crushed so finely as to make them usable as paints when mixed with different media such as egg yolks, lime, mortars and oils.They can also be used to create unique colours by addition to various white paints and clear varnishes.  Natural earth pigments, as the name suggests, come from naturally occurring clays and are specific to certain areas, where they have been used for decoration and adornment for many thousands of years. Often roasted to obtain a greater depth of colour they are known under the names of ochre, sienna, and umber and because of their very natural and harmonious palette they can be used to great effect in the decoration of eco interiors and recycling projects. Ochre, which takes its red, golden and brown colour from iron oxide, is thought to be one of the first ever paints used by man. Sienna, a limonite clay, contains ferric oxide, which gives its rich browns and reds. Sienna takes its name from the beautiful hill town of Siena from where it was first extracted. Umber, originally extracted in Umbria, contains iron and manganese oxides, which when roasted becomes burnt umber, the famous deep brown pigment. Other natural pigments I often use are the Ultramarines of the gorgeous purple, violet and blue shades. This mineral pigment, originally made from crushing lapis lazuli, at one time was more highly priced than gold, which is why it was used so sparingly by Renaissance painters. Nowadays this pigment is made by heating mainly kaolin clay, sulphur and charcoal. This brings me to an observation about pigments because you will find their price changes from colour to colour. This is particularly the case for the third group of natural pigments the exotic spinels, which are romantically comprised of crushed gem stones!

How to use and apply pigments

For water-based medium, I first mix my pigment with a little water 

and then add the medium.

For finer work and deeper colour, I would add the pigment directly into a minimum volume of medium. 

When using with a water-based varnish, I would always add a clear coat or coats over the top, in particular where there is heavy usage such as on floor boards. Some companies suggest that the ultramarine pigments are not suitable for exterior use. Our house faces full south and we get salt breezes from the sea and the window frames pictured below were painted some three or four years ago. For me also, I enjoy the fact that pigments may change with time and acquire a patina and sun-bleached look.  With impregnation oils, such as the hemp I used on doors, shutters and the hen houses, I first mix the pigments with a small amount of the oil. The shutters and wooden window frames I tinted some years ago on the North side of the house have not lost any of their colour. When using pigments on boxes, such as Andy's Candle Box Project I used pigment with an Eco water paint and then having decorated the box with découpage, applied a clear varnish. 

Freehold Accommodation and no mortgage payments

Latest project the pallet wood bird box:

Detail of design from the robin box we made: http://thegreenlever.blogspot.fr/2013/02/bird-box-for-blue-tits-chickadees-pied.html

Healthy colour for a myriad of uses 

Finding an alternative builders' merchant or organic shop which sells jars of these wonderful pigments is like being let loose in a candy store because how you use them is only limited by your own imagination. As you will have seen above, you can also now find these on line at Amazon. The Ultramarine blue and lavender I mixed together with an acrylic white and used on all the recycled windows we fitted at the front of the house. One interesting effect of using natural non-toxic materials is that you find that yourself in possession of the modern day Gingerbread House. Until it was fully dried both the putty and the paint were regularly consumed by snails and from the teeth marks, small rodents.

 

Finding a colour which would sit harmoniously with terracotta roof tiles and pink and grey granite is not easy but maybe by their very nature of coming from the same clays, the mixture of these two aquamarines seemed to work. Anyway they did for us, see what you think. 

We used a mix of ochres, sienna and umbras, five in all, to get a good 'aged' look to the floor boards. I mixed the pigment with an acrylic water-based varnish and then applied a couple of coats of clear varnish on top to seal in the pigment. The banisters and doors were tinted with the same pigments but I used an organic hemp oil as the medium. The linen and lime mortar on the walls had a rather cold grey look to it so I livened it up with the addition of two tablespoons of deep Sienna red per trug of mix. This gave it just the slightest hint of colour but it took the grey out of it. With pigments you really need to experiment and remember that the dry colour may be much paler. Your own unique colours do not come with a shade card but that is part of the fun. I always tend to do a trial demo on a scrap of wood or patch of wall where it won't be noticed!  Your pigments will also tend to follow the grain in wood so you can get some really lovely effects. 

The garden is a great place for natural pigments. We mostly use pallet wood in our various projects and it is not the most attractive of timbers. Pigments can be employed with great effect and of course you don't need to worry about them harming the environment, your livestock or wildlife. I've used pigments on the hen houses and greenhouses with organic hemp oil as the medium and I've used them in acrylic paints on the pergola, pyramids, plant supports and planters.

The Bee Cosy for overwintering and hopefully taking for a long let. Finished with a water-based varnish and ochre pigment. The article on how to make this is insect hotel is here

So many colours to choose from makes its easy to mix and match in the rose garden and then in the Winter the supports provide a welcome touch of colour.

Have fun!

If you enjoyed this article then please feel free to share it, comment and/or ask questions.

All the best and thanks for dropping by. 

Cheers, Andy

© Andy Colley 2014

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