Anna and Chris’s Barrel Vault Chicken Coop from The Garden Coop Plans, Seattle, Washington

Anna and Chris’s modern Seattle home is topped with a striking barrel-vault roof. So why not build a chicken coop to match? After much research, a few sketches, plans and feedback from TheGardenCoop.com, the careful work of a local carpenter, and some personal touches, they got just what they wanted. The rest of this post comes from them. . .

Our Curved Roof Walk-In Chicken Coop

I bought The Garden Coop chicken coop plans several months ago and asked you for help in making the roof a barrel vault. Here are the results:

• We created curved rafters to match the roof style on my house. To make them, we joined two-by-twelves to two-by-sixes and hollowed them out to save on weight. I was not the carpenter, but the fellow I used scribed an arc with a string attached to a nail perpendicular to the rafter. Once he had the first cut, he then copied the remainders.

• For the roof panels, we went up to the 12-foot Suntuf panels and cut them to a bit over 9 feet. The manufacturer specifies a minimum radius for curved applications [download PDF]. I’m not quite sure how my carpenter decided the radius — we tried a few different lengths before I was satisfied. A neighbor who is an architect even complimented me on the curves!
• I painted the hen house the same color as my house.
• We got the raccoon window from a professional stained glass artist I saw on the Bainbridge Island chicken coop tour.

Again, I’m no carpenter, but I think I could build a coop myself now if. . . I had stronger muscles (I am 78 years old) and power tools. Your instructions were straightforward and logical in their progression. Thanks again for the plans.

Anna and Chris
Seattle, Washington

Many thanks to Anna and Chris for a wonderful example of how you can use our chicken coop plans to create a backyard coop that both stands out and fits right in. Like what they’ve done? Leave a comment below and let them know.