u/OrganicLighthouse

I built this chicken coop recently and want it to look nicer around it. I know I need a walkway or something but besides that, what options do I have?

Should be DIYable, whatever it is, so like I can't build a giant pool or something, but I can do some shallow excavation and lay pavers and plant things and mulch and the such. I have a bunch of reclaimed brick pavers (around 300 4 by 8 by 2.5s) that I got from Facebook Marketplace for $25, can I use them here? What else can I add that increase curb appeal? I do really like plants, and would like to incorporate some fruit trees, and preferably I'd like a semi shaded seating area where I can watch the chickens while they free range.

Thank you!

25f, posted previously with my framing progress complaining about how damned slow I've been. It's now been 6+ weeks and it's finally getting there! I moved my five chickens in today and they absolutely love it, they've been foraging nonstop (and eating all the grasshoppers that have intruded the coop during the build). No chicken run because they free range during the day but might build one in the future. There is no floor, it's ground rated wood for base plates and studs and it's on top of pavers and 18 inches of compacted gravel. I know it isn't a conventional foundation but I'm confident it'll hold up; I've checked on it in the middle of a heavy rain and the framing is bone dry.

Used smart siding and still need to add cedar 1×2s to cover the seams. I haven't figured out whether I want to stain it or paint it white – I'm a sucker for stained wood but white paint will be easier and less maintenance.

Didn't go off a plan. Just read about the concepts of framing, waterproofing, sheathing, roofing, siding, and went for it. In hindsight probably should've looked at a plan. The one thing that really pisses me off is that the siding extends past the rafters on the window side and I think it looks so fucking stupid but I think I'll end up adding some thick trim to make it look like it's there. Dunno what that's called, fascia maybe? I fucked up a lot due to my ignorance.

The door and window are thrifted, $25 a piece on Facebook. I had my friend and her boyfriend help to put in the window as I couldn't lift it as a scrawny woman. The door, I could physically lift but I thought there were maggots underneath the first time I lifted it (they were just dead daisies) and screamed and instantly dropped it and broke the door frame lite. Turns out replacing a piece of plastic is like $125 so don't make the same mistake as me.

Anyways pretty damned excited to get this done, hoping by next week all will be completed and look absolutely beautiful. I know it isn't perfect by any means and I'm sure y'all have thousands of suggestions and criticisms but I'm very proud of the progress as someone who has never done anything handy in my entire life! Hopefully if I do something like this again, it'll go a lot faster and I don't make the same mistakes.

25f, been working on this for WEEKS and it feels like nothing's getting done. To be fair I have an infant daughter and I work full time so the only time I really have to work on it is when my daughter is asleep, my work day is over or it's the weekend, and it's not dark outside yet or raining. Which usually coincides with 95 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures, and I'm not used to the heat yet (just moved here from Minnesota).

It's not really a shed, it's a chicken coop, but close enough.

Spent like 3 hrs today just attempting to sheath the roof and I give up now. I have two out of the three OSB panels for sheathing halfway fastened but it's definitely not stable enough to climb on top. Decided I'm gonna sheath the walls instead first, hopefully that adds the necessary stability so that I don't feel like I'm going to die from a fall to finish the roof.

Finally bought almost all the materials, minus the materials for the brick veneer surround for my window and door. Just ordered an automatic chicken coop door to put on the side I'm excited about. The coop will have a full size exterior door and a full size fiberglass window I bought from Facebook for $50.

Construction is definitely not my forté, I usually just sit at a computer all day and I'm 97 lbs so everything feels so freakin' heavy. Like even an 8 ft 2×4 board feels heavy. Idk how y'all do this so easily. It's fun though!

25f just got my first pickup truck, second vehicle I've ever owned. Bought it sight unseen. 2019 Nissan Frontier SV 4x4 ​with 78k miles on it. One owner, serviced super regularly at the same dealership. Bought it at a dealership out of state and got it delivered, ​only paid 21k on it all ​​out. ​Sold my 2022 Toyota Corolla LE with 61k miles a​s a private sale for it for 16.5k and it feels like a huge upgrade. I still can't believe that this beauty only cost $4.5k more than the most basic sedan with (​roughly) ​s​imilar mileage on it. I always thought trucks were crazy expensive.

The thing feels like a utility tank. It's not fancy, sure the interior is ​kind of dated, but it feels like it will last forever. I hear that it's one of the most reliable pickup trucks out there, comparable with the Tacoma, and the '19 I hear is the last of its generation.

I think I need it. I just moved from a northern city to a rural area 700 miles south, and I bought a house on 12 acres of pasture​ off a sloped ​dirt road. Everyone around me seems to have 1 or 15 pickup trucks (my neighbor literally has 15, it's absurd).

My first project is building a 8 by 10 chicken coop and it felt so damned good to put 40 ​pieces of lumber in the truck from Lowe's rather than paying $70 for delivery. I also refurbish furniture​, but in the past I would only pick small things ​up like nightstands and side tables and whatever would fit in my Corolla. I'm excited to pick up large dressers and bed frames and buffets and dining tables and stuff like that.

My 8 month old daughter was hanging out in the truck bed last night and she was having an absolute blast.

I hope everyone else is also enjoying their Frontier! I love it so much so far.