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A raised backyard coop on 4x4 legs with a wire run below, a slide-out clean-out tray, an external nesting box — and a planter box built into the roofline.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L | Material | ✓ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legs | 4 | 3 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 33 1/2" | 4x4 | ☐ |
| Base 2x8s, sides | 2 | 1 1/2" × 7 1/4" × 58 1/2" | 2x8 | ☐ |
| Base 2x4s, sides | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 58 1/2" | 2x4 | ☐ |
| Base 2x8s, front/back | 2 | 1 1/2" × 7 1/4" × 59 1/2" | 2x8 | ☐ |
| Base 2x4s, front/back | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 59 1/2" | 2x4 | ☐ |
| Center 2x8 | 1 | 1 1/2" × 7 1/4" × 56 1/2" | 2x8 | ☐ |
| Door divider | 1 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 33 1/2" | 2x4 | ☐ |
| Base door frames | 8 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 22" | 2x4 | ☐ |
| Floor supports | 5 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 33" | 2x4 | ☐ |
| Side panels Jigsaw to the profile; nest the layout to save sheet for the roofs. | 2 | 3/4" × 48" × 59 1/2" | 3/4" plywood | ☐ |
| Coop framing, 33" | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 33" | 2x4 | ☐ |
| Coop framing, 30" | 3 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 30" | 2x4 | ☐ |
| Coop framing, 43-1/2" | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 43 1/2" | 2x4 | ☐ |
| Roof supports 45° angles, long point to long point, ends NOT parallel. | 4 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 29 5/8" | 2x4 | ☐ |
| Large roof panels | 2 | 3/4" × 36" × 31 3/4" | 3/4" plywood | ☐ |
| Small roof panel | 1 | 3/4" × 36" × 16" | 3/4" plywood | ☐ |
| Small wall | 1 | 3/4" × 7 5/8" × 36" | 3/4" plywood | ☐ |
| Nesting box door | 1 | 3/4" × 12" × 32 1/2" | 3/4" plywood | ☐ |
| Clean-out doors Measure and cut to fit your openings. | 2 | 3/4" × 16 1/4" × 23 3/4" | 3/4" plywood | ☐ |
| Clean-out tray sides | 2 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 46 1/2" | 1x3 | ☐ |
| Clean-out tray ends | 2 | 3/4" × 2 1/2" × 32 1/2" | 1x3 | ☐ |
| Clean-out tray floor | 1 | 1/2" × 32 1/2" × 48" | 1/2" plywood | ☐ |
| Planter frame 2x2s 49-1/2" and 56-1/2" — cleats and rim; planter bottom from scrap. | 2 | 1 1/2" × 1 1/2" × 56 1/2" | 2x2 | ☐ |
| Item | Qty | ✓ |
|---|---|---|
| 4x4, 6 ft, cedar or treated The legs. | 2 each | ☐ |
| 2x4, 10 ft, cedar or treated | 2 each | ☐ |
| 2x8, 10 ft, cedar or treated Base frame — the 2x8 depth doubles as the planter box walls. | 2 each | ☐ |
| 2x8, 8 ft, cedar or treated | 1 each | ☐ |
| 2x4, 8 ft, cedar or treated The base doors. | 2 each | ☐ |
| 2x4, 8 ft Inside-coop framing — plain lumber is fine here. | 7 each | ☐ |
| 2x2, 8 ft Planter cleats and frame. | 2 each | ☐ |
| Plywood, 3/4", 4x8 sheet, exterior Side panels, roofs, nesting-box door, base doors. | 2 each | ☐ |
| Plywood, 1/2", 4x8 sheet, exterior Coop floor and clean-out tray. | 1 each | ☐ |
| Cedar fence pickets or 1x3s for trim Ripped to 2-1/2" and 1-1/2" widths for siding trim. | 6 each | ☐ |
| 1x3, 8 ft Clean-out tray sides. | 2 each | ☐ |
| Chicken wire, 24" x 20 ft, and staples Hardware cloth at reach height if raccoons are local. | 1 each | ☐ |
| Exterior hinges, set Base doors, nesting box, clean-out access. | 5 each | ☐ |
| Latches Raccoon-resistant style — the kind that needs two motions. |
Tools: Drill / Driver, Level, Speed Square, Tape Measure. Materials: 4x4, 6 ft, cedar or treated, 2x4, 10 ft, cedar or treated, 2x8, 10 ft, cedar or treated, Deck screws, 3", self-tapping
Build the two side frames first: 2x8 up top, 2x4 below, screwed to the 4x4 legs with 3" deck screws, squared by diagonals. Join them with the front/back 2x8s and 2x4s and square again.
The 2x8s aren't oversized whimsy — their top edges become the planter box walls later. Cedar or treated everywhere on this level; it lives in the splash zone.
Tools: Drill / Driver, Staple Gun. Materials: 2x4, 10 ft, cedar or treated, 2x8, 8 ft, cedar or treated, Chicken wire, 24" x 20 ft, and staples, Deck screws, 3", self-tapping
Add the center 2x8 and the 33-1/2" door divider with 3" screws. Then staple the chicken wire around the run NOW, wrapping the legs — the source's timing, because stapling wire inside a finished coop is a crawl you only volunteer for once. Hardware cloth at ground-predator height if your neighborhood has raccoons; it does.
Tools: Circular Saw, Drill / Driver, Jigsaw, Pencil, Tape Measure.
| 3 each |
| ☐ |
| Roofing, 80" x 36" Cut to match the roof plywood panels. | 1 each | ☐ |
| Deck screws, 3", self-tapping | 100 each | ☐ |
| Exterior screws, 2" | 100 each | ☐ |
| Landscape fabric Planter liner, punched for drainage. | 1 each | ☐ |
Overall cost: $$$$. Lumber varies by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure.
Screw the five floor supports across the base with 3" screws — spaced to leave the clean-out tray's slot between two of them (check your tray width against the gap now, not in step 8).
Lay out both side-panel profiles on the 3/4" sheets, nesting the shapes so the roof panels come out of the remainder, and cut with the jigsaw. Attach the panels to the floor supports.
Tools: Drill / Driver, Miter Saw, Pocket Hole Jig, Speed Square. Materials: 2x4, 8 ft, Deck screws, 3", self-tapping, Exterior screws, 2"
Build the upper floor framing section flat on the ground with 3" screws, then lift it into the coop and attach at the top; add the nesting-box floor piece with 2" screws through the 3/4" side panels into the 2x4s. Then the four 45° roof supports and remaining framing with 2" screws.
Building the frame on the ground and lifting is the source's order and the right one — screwing framing overhead inside a 3-foot box is the alternative.
Tools: Brad Nailer, Circular Saw, Drill / Driver. Materials: Plywood, 3/4", 4x8 sheet, exterior, Cedar fence pickets or 1x3s for trim, Roofing, 80" x 36", Exterior screws, 2"
Rip pickets (or use 1x3s) to 2-1/2" and 1-1/2" widths and trim the outside with galvanized brads or 1-1/4" exterior screws — this is where the coop gets its cottage face. Cover the roof areas with the 3/4" scraps, 2" screws into framing, and lay the roofing over.
Remember the planter sits in the front roofline: dry-fit its 2x2 frame before the roofing goes on so nothing has to come back off.
Tools: Drill / Driver, Tape Measure. Materials: 2x4, 8 ft, cedar or treated, Plywood, 3/4", 4x8 sheet, exterior, Exterior hinges, set, Latches, Exterior screws, 2"
Hinge the nesting-box door in its opening with a latch. Build the two base doors from the 2x4 frames and 3/4" ply to fit their openings, hinge and latch them. Cut the clean-out access doors to fit and hang them too.
Use two-motion latches everywhere a raccoon could stand — a simple hook-and-eye is a puzzle they solve on the second night.
Tools: Drill / Driver, Staple Gun. Materials: 2x2, 8 ft, Deck screws, 3", self-tapping, Exterior screws, 2", Landscape fabric
Screw the 2x2 cleats inside the planter area to the 2x8 walls with 3" screws, drop scrap 3/4" material on the cleats as the floor, and screw down with 2" screws. Line with landscape fabric, stapled, with drainage holes punched — it drains onto the roof below, which is what roofs are for.
Fill and plant. Trailing things (nasturtiums, sweet potato vine) earn their keep here.
Tools: Circular Saw, Drill / Driver, Random Orbit Sander. Materials: Plywood, 1/2", 4x8 sheet, exterior, 1x3, 8 ft, Exterior screws, 2"
Build the shallow tray — 1x3 sides and ends around the 1/2" ply floor, 2" screws — sized to slide through its opening between the floor supports. Slide it in, bed it with shavings, and enjoy the best feature of the whole build every single week: pull, dump, hose, return. No shovel, no crawling, no regrets.