Yesterday afternoon we finished work at lunch time so decided to get on with fitting some more roof panels.
Because of the way the beams run we could only overlap the two centre strips. The outer strips couldn’t overlap and the water from the current panels would pour into the centre of the run. To get round this my husband came up with a plan to use corrugated plastic panels over the outer strips and leave them in place permanently. There will still be plenty of open space to the run when the other panels are opened up.
We fitted these outer panels first which wasn’t the easiest of jobs to do. They needed to be cut to fit around the wooden posts.
We then fitted two overlapping panels in each of the remaining two centre strips. My husband thought duck tape over the joins in the wooden beams might stop water dripping in but we soon found that it wouldn’t stick to the wood. Since I took these photos I have peeled all the grey tape off again.
The roof panels are completed
The run is dug over
I then dug over the entire run as it was really compacted from us standing on it while working and also I thought it would help it to dry out. The girls had a great time as there were lots of worms and they each got a share. It was hard work as it’s now a big space to dig over.
Today my husband has decided to try sealing the joins in the wood with silicon sealant. It is a clear outdoor sealant and says it can be used on damp surfaces so we are hopeful this will work. It is forecast to rain all week so we should soon be able to see how dry the run stays.
Topaz likes to get into the new little tree in the run and snack on the leaves. Usually I don’t have my camera with me but just as I finished taking the photos of the roof panels she got up into the tree.
Topaz in the tree
Topaz is the only one of them that does this.
Finally I can never resist a perching photo and just had to take this one of the little girls together.
The little girls perch together
From the left we have Sparkle then Topaz then Amber and Honey on the right.
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A job well done! I would have suggested sealant as it is used for bathrooms so it must be waterproof. I know that people use it to seal up the gaps in chicken coups where red mite get … So you won’t get red mite there .
Great photos as usual.
I wouldn’t have thought of sealant but luckily hubby is good at problem solving. We are so glad the run is done so that tomorrow we can have a day off of run improvements. It has been a never ending project but hopefully we are done now and the girls have an amazing run. I wonder if they know how lucky they are!
I reckon they need to be told next time you have a chat. They are very lucky. The run looks great and I know you have worked extremely hard.
Thank you. I will tell them during our next chat.