Pictures of new hutch

I wanted to share pictures of my new hutch. It's 8' x 7' with 7 holes (width by depth): (2) 30"x42", (2) 36"x42", (2) 30"x24", and (1) 36"x30".

Front and side:



Eave-side door opens downward (36"x30"):



I chose these latches over a barrel-bolt or a hasp. I'm really liking them so far. $4.50 for a pack of two. The loop offers some "slack," which I think will make it easier for my kids to operate and will be more accommodating of misalignment/swelling/warping, and I can still lock it (similar to a hasp):


-- Mon Jul 14, 2014 10:47 am --

It's situated on the north side of my shed, so it gets plenty of shade (which is in important for the hot, Virginia sun):


Still need to shingle the roof, affix all the internal dividers, and set up permanent water and food.

Old hutch that I got for free. Beggars can't be choosers, but it's hard to imagine how it could have been much worse:
<br /><br /> -- Mon Jul 14, 2014 10:48 am -- <br /><br /> I know that the wood is going to get chewed on, and it already is a little bit. Such is life.

Onto my question:

So do I need baby-savers in the door frames themselves? That is, is the 2" rise of the door enough to keep the babies safe?

Looks great!

Babysaver goes up at least 4". I would not count on the door frame to keep them in.

You may need some additional bracing for the legs? Or do they go all the way up to the roof? I can't quite tell.

Miss M, glad that you like it.

The legs go all the way up and there's diagonal bracing at the top. It's essentially balloon framed. I was trying to avoid bracing at the bottom because I didn't want to provide anything for raccoon's, etc., to stand on.

I have been waiting to see how this went. It looks fantastic! The buns are gonna love their new home.

If you notice that it starts to rack at all, I might add some small diagonal braces at the point where the legs hit the bottom of the cage. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother. I do have a question: how do you reach the back of the 42" holes? Are the doors for those on the long sides?

Ooh..and raised beds! They look great, too. I have a feeling you and I are a lot alike Rabbits, gardens, Virginia...

With the narrowest door opening at 27" wide and 25" tall, I can get my shoulders in without any problem, and the bottom of the cages at 30" to 36" means I can just bend over at the waist and reach. If it ends up being a problem I can always block off the back of the cage, but I don't think that it's going to be.

The legs seem sturdy enough so far. Time will tell. I was rather sensitive about predators since I suspected that I had a problem with raccoons (though I'm now suspecting the fatalities were due to an untreated botfly infestation--I'm still trying to figure all this stuff out).

Marinea, I'm in Centreville, VA, just north of I-66. Do you happen to homeschool, as well?

I have big doors on my cages too, and I love them. It makes it so much easier.

I am right near where the VA/TN/KY state lines come together. I was not blessed with children (ovarian cancer survivor), and I am older now, but if I had been, I would have homeschooled.

Do you save seeds? I have a feeling that veggies that do well for us would do well for you too. We should swap some.

Sorry to hear about your cancer, but glad you made it through.

This is our first year with a vegetable garden. I'm active duty Air Force and we've been moving a lot, a lot, a lot. We've been here a year now, and that's almost the longest time we've been in one place in the past six years; first time we've hung pictures in that time, as well. We haven't been saving seeds. Everything was started from seeds, bought from Home Depot or Lowes. Baby steps.

mystryda":1doogpuy said:

Miss M, glad that you like it.

The legs go all the way up and there's diagonal bracing at the top. It's essentially balloon framed. I was trying to avoid bracing at the bottom because I didn't want to provide anything for raccoon's, etc., to stand on.

Click to expand...

Totally understand. Sounds like it should be okay. If it ever needs bracing, maybe you could do L brackets, which would provide nowhere for anything to stand on.

It looks great!

Wow, that hutch is absolutely beautiful! Can you make me one?! Ive been looking all over for a nice hutch. Do you have the plans for it?

Sorry, sungura, there aren't any plans for it. It was done on the fly.

If you're handy and understand framing then you can replicate it just by looking at the first couple of pictures. A couple things to note:
--It's 8' wide (eave side), and 7' deep (gable side). If I were to do it all again I would make it 7 1/2' wide because 1" x 1/2" wire comes in 30" x 10' rolls, and then I could do the whole thing with 2 rolls without having to cobble together a center section out of slats. Plus the resulting 3" overhang on the gable would be nice.
--The 2x4's for both the base and the top are notched into the 2x3 legs/uprights. I would use 2x4's next time, but it's what I had on hand.
--The doors are put together with a half-lap joint. See http://www.provenwoodworking.com/woodwo ... oints.html
--The pitch of the roof is 4 in 12. This gives me an eaveside overhang of a few inches.

Good luck!

Fantastic job on the hutch! Really looks great!