Day 74

The task of creating a coop took on a life of its own. It became much more than a simple wood replacement. Replacing rotten wood with fresh wood was just the first step. Once we had a solid foundation of improved wood, we had to replace the uneven and unsecured door. It had clearly outlived its expectancy. Only being able to be closed with a strategically placed cinder block and having a sizable gap in the upper corner was not going to work for protecting the new flock, nor was it aesthetically pleasing. As aforementioned, measuring for the door made it clear the opening was not square. This made cutting the door even more of a challenge, but my friend and I were up to the challenge.

While I was historically impatient and inaccurate with all of my minimal handyman tasks, my cohort proved to be a stabilizing force. He introduced the phrase “barn grade” to me. In other words, it is OK if it isn't perfect, as long as it gets the job done. Considering we were doing our very best to repurpose wood as much as possible, the barn was not receiving improved wood, but some personality as well. A little part of me got giddy when my pal mentioned some of the wood he donated to the project was an old boardwalk from one of my favorite sections of the Ice Age Trail. It’s kind of cool to be able to say the Ice Age Trail is in our barn.

Over the period of a few days, we replaced a small cabin’s worth of wood. We also replaced the door to the outside. Inside, we closed off the previously open stall, so we closed off  much of the front with reinforced plywood and created a door out of old horse gates. 

Once again, I realized that having the right tools can make the most daunting job that much easier. It was a godsend to have my friend join me to share his tools, advice, and experience. After a few days, the woodworking aspect of creating a coop was done. But as I soon found out, the real work had only just begun.