Things You'll Need
- Circular saw
- Folding rule
- Carpenter's pencil
- Box of 16d nails
- Box of 8d nails
- Six joist hangers
- 10 pairs of metal gate hinges
- 16 screen door latches
- Eight small metal hinges
- Eight cup hooks
- Four feet of small chain
- Eight fence staples
- Two sliding bolt latches
- Two 4-by-6-inch timbers, 19 feet long
- Six 2-by-6-inch boards, 10 feet long
- 12 2-by-4-inch boards, 10 feet long
- Two 2-by-4-inch boards, 20 feet long
- 10 2-by-4-inch boards, 8 feet long
- Two 2-by-4-inch boards, 7 feet 2 inches long
- Two 2-by-4-inch boards, 9 feet 3 inches long
- Two 2-by 6-inch boards, 17 feet 4 inches long
- 14 2-by-4-inch boards, 10 feet long
- 11 2-by-4-inch boards, 12 feet long
- 29 1-by-3-inch boards, 20 feet long
- Two 2-by-6-inch boards, 20 feet long
- Four 2-by-4-inch boards, 6 feet long
- Two 2-by-4-inch boards, 4 feet long
- Eight 1-by-2-inch boards, 3 feet long
- 288 square feet of 1-inch thick Styrofoam Tongue &Groove
- 288 square feet of aluminum roofing
- Five 4-by-8-foot sheets of 1/2-inch exterior plywood
Instructions
Framing
Cut two 4-by-6-inch timbers 19 feet long with a circular saw to serve as the skids. Place the two timbers on edge five feet apart on a flat area.
Nail joist hangers to the top edge of the 4-by-6s using 16d nails. Fasten a hanger one foot from one end of the two skids and two feet from the other ends. Place a folding rule on the skid with the "0" end touching a hanger. Mark two 3 foot 2 inch long segments with a carpenter's pencil. Repeat this process from each hanger. When finished, the space between the two inside marks on each skid should be 3 feet 4 inches long.
Saw six 2-by-6-inch boards to a length of 10 feet to use as floor joists. Fasten the joists into the joist hangers leaving the skids five feet apart. Nail 2-by-4s cut 20 feet long as sill plates across the two ends of the floor joists. Use 16d nails.
Cut two 2-by-4-inch studs 8 feet 3 inches long. Attach a stud to the floor sill on each front corner of the farrowing house with 16d nails. The front of the house is where the first joist is fastened two feet from the end of the skids.
Cut two 2-by-4-inch studs 7 feet 2 inches long. Attach a stud to the floor sill on each back corner of the farrowing house.
Saw two 2-by-6-inch beams 17 feet 4 inches long. Nail the beams to the top of the studs on the two sides of the house using 16d nails.
Measure and cut the eight remaining 2-by-4 studs to the proper length. Fasten these studs four feet apart (center to center) to the floor sills and the roof beams.
Building the Roof
Cut 11 2-by-4-inch rafters 12 feet long. Fasten a rafter on each end of the roof beams. Attach a second rafter over the stud at each corner of the building. Attach the remaining rafters to the roof beams on two-feet-outside-center spacings.
Nail 1-inch thick Tongue &Groove Styrofoam sheets to the rafters. Connect the sheets together by fitting the tongues into the grooves.
Cover the Styrofoam with aluminum roofing by interlocking the pieces together and securing to the roof with roofing nails.
Floor and Walls
Cut two 2-by-4-inch boards 8 feet 2 inches long. Attach one stud between the floor joist and ceiling rafter on the back of the house two feet from the right-hand corner. Install the second stud halfway between the newly attached stud and the left-hand corner of the house.
Saw two-by-4-inch studs 9 feet 3 inches long, and install on the front of the house in reciprocal positions from the added studs on the back of the house.
Attach 1-by-3-inch slats 20 feet long across the floor joists on 5/8-inch spacings to build the inside floor.
Cut eight shutters 4 feet 10-inches by 3 feet 4 inches from 1/2-inch thick exterior grade plywood. Saw two 2-by-6-inch boards 20 feet long, and nail to the sides of the house with one end just below the junction of the roof beam and the back corner stud. Nail the other ends to the front studs while keeping the board level. Fasten the shutters to the 2-by-6s at each corner of the house halving the width of the studs. Attach with metal hinges.
Fasten 2-by-2-inch boards 3 feet long to the bottom inside corners of the shutters with small hinges to serve as prop sticks when the shutters are open. Attach small chains to the upper end of the sticks with staples. Put hooks in the shutters in which to fasten the chains to hold the sticks in an upright position when not in use. Install screen door latches on each side of the shutters to keep them secure when closed.
Cut four 2-by-4-inch boards 6 feet long, and nail them to the inside middle studs on the two sides of the house. Saw two 2-by-4s 4 feet long, and nail them across the tops of the four newly installed boards. Fabricate two doors 3 feet 10 inches wide by 6 feet high from 1/2-inch thick exterior grade plywood. Hang a door on each side of the house with metal hinges. Install screen door latches on the inside and outside of the doors.
Finish covering the sides of the house with 1/2-inch exterior plywood.
Cut two 2-by-4-inch boards 10 feet long, and nail one on each end of the house across the studs 2 feet 6 inches from the floor joists. Cut two pieces of 1/2-inch exterior plywood 2 feet by 8 feet 2 inches, and nail a sheet to the bottom of each end of the house adjacent to the door opening. The space above this wall is left open.
Saw two doors 1 foot 11 inches wide and 2 feet tall from 1/2-inch exterior plywood. Fasten a door to each end of the house with metal hinges and attach bolt latches on the inside and outside of each door. These two doors are for moving hogs in and out of the house.