The first thing we had to do this morning was to make a trip to the hardware store for some lumber. Since I already had some wood, I only needed 18 2x4's and one 12-foot 4x4, which ran me about $55 total.

I started with the frame for the front of the coop, which is the most complicated. My carport provided the largest flat area in which to work, so after cutting the wood over on my patio with a circular saw, I carried it over. Here, the frame is just about done and I am in the middle of putting in the final screws.

The frames for the side walls are much smaller, so I was able to assemble these on my patio. This was nice, because I got tired of carrying my tools back and forth to the carport.

Once I had 2 of the frames assembled, I went ahead and set them up on the foundation and screwed them together. This was nice to see, because the coop was starting to take shape! But the sun was going down, and I got a late start because the trip to the hardware store (2 stores, actually) took longer than expected. Can I get 1 more up before dinner time?

Yup! Just as the sun was about to settle beyond the horizon and the mosquitoes came out looking for victims, I packed up my tools and washed up for dinner after getting three of the frames erected. I'm hoping to finish the frame for the rear wall during the week and get started on the roof. It took me all day Saturday and Sunday to get this far, but I definitely could have gone faster had I ever done this kind of work before. I also wish I had purchased the lumber and other supplies during the week so that I hadn't wasted precious weekend hours aimlessly wandering the aisles of the hated Home Depot (start selling 4x4's that aren't pressure treated, OSH!) I also need to take the frame back down and replace the bottom plates with redwood 2x4's to prevent rotting. This is what happens when you don't do enough homework first!

Download the plans for the frame here: Coming Soon!

Continue on to the roofing section: Coming Soon!