Siding for a box blind?

[zuren]

I have aspirations of building a box blind on the back side of my property for hunting and general wildlife observation. I have a 2 year old son who loves spending time outside with "da-da" so a place to go hang out would be a lot of fun.

I already have ideas about size, design, and location but I'm trying to figure out what to use for siding. My neighbor has offered me a giant stack of vinyl siding that was left over from their house renovation. It isn't enough for a house but plenty for a couple sheds or blinds. The idea of something that won't rot and is lightweight is attractive. Any materials used must be transported by hand to the build site. My idea is to construct the stud walls and only attach the siding to the vertical uprights (no sheathing) OR sheath it with something thin and light (1/4" plywood). The location is tucked in the woods so their is minimal wind.

I hunt at a friend's property who used wood for siding blinds (plywood and T-111). Every one of them is musty, rotted, vermin chewed and infested. Has anyone tried using vinyl siding?

Thanks!

 

[rocksnstumps]

Free is good... I would still use some sheathing to give a little more support and something to hang the siding from. I use 1/2" CDX plywood if I have to buy new but have repurposed a bunch of old plywood also. (would be ok with 3/8" but the 1/2" is usually the same price anyway) and cause I dont have any free siding I use roofing paper strips on corners and around windows and than cover the sides and roof with roll roofing. I would think that with just siding the bugs can get underneath fairly easily.

I have a buddy with a vinyl sided ice fishing shack. It is heavier than you would think.

 

[Booner21]

We have used regular osb coated with 2 heavy coats of exterior paint. They have only been out for 2 years but no signs whatsoever of swelling. We also made the roof overhang a foot to help keep water off.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

Siding be good. Be a lil weird if it was white. Guess you could paint it. Barn metal works well too

 

[yoderjac]

My latest stand is here: http://www.habitat-talk.com/index.php?threads/foodplot-stand-transfered-from-the-qdma-forum.5529/. I find 6x8 is the best for an adult mentoring a kid. I've used the regular T-111-like panels in the past and they worked fine. They went up in price making the delta between them and the SmartSide 38s less. I decided to try the 38s this time. There is a link to these on my stand thread. I think I like it a bit better. It is already primed so I use much less paint. I'm only worried about dulling the color rather than protecting it. My oldest stands are over 7 years old now and I've seen no degradation.

I looked at vinyl siding very closely because of the durability. I was concerned about the noise it would make in the wind because it is so thin and flexible unless it was backed with sheathing or something. I could not make the cost work so I abandon the idea. If the siding is free and you think you could use cheap OSB to back it, it may make sense. We are also in different climates. I build my blinds to keep them cool. I don't use 2x4 walls or insulation. I design mine for air-flow and cooling.

As for vermin, insects, and animals, I've had my set of challenges. Here is what I found works best. For insects (wasps seem to love them), I buy permethrin concentrate for my tree seedlings. I mix that up and spray it in the blind. It is the same ingredient they sell in the best tick repellent that is not approved for contact with your skin, but your clothing. It bonds to the clothing and lasts for a long time. I spray the inside of my blinds with this once or twice a year. The smell does not seem to have any impact on deer. The other thing I do is buy a bucket of rat poison. I pour a handful into an lid or something like that and leave it in each blind. That takes care of mice and squirrels that decide they want to nest in it.

The one issue I'm still working on is buzzards. Some of my older blinds did not have closable windows. Buzzards seem to love to get into the blinds. I'm now retrofitting those older blinds to include push-out windows that can be closed in the off season.

Thanks,

jack

 

[Boll Weevil]

We use corrugated metal just like you see on a barn roof, then shoot insulating foam on the inside to seal any gaps + improve thermal qualities and contain scent. Windows by DeerView, airtight, watertight, vermin-proof, and will outlive me with minimal (if any) maintenance.

 

[yoderjac]

The problem I find with metal is the noise created in the rain. I use Ondura for that very reason for roofing. The engineered wood panels I use for siding add structural integrity. Since I don't use 2x4 walls, these panels add the final structural stability. It is always a cost tradeoff and as I said before, different regions have different challenges.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Boll Weevil]

The problem I find with metal is the noise created in the rain.

Interesting. Our box blinds have been in place so long deer don't even pay any attention to them...just like and old dilapidated barn that's been there forever. I've seen old bucks laying in an abandoned, thick, grown up feedlot near a collapsed barn during wind and rain and they seemed perfectly content. Although we have metal blinds deep in the woods, maybe a deer's tolerance of structures/noise varies in farm country vs deep in the timber?

Question: Is the issue your inability to hear with the pattering rain, a deer hearing the noise and avoiding the area, both or perhaps neither? Just trying to better understand.

 

[yoderjac]

Actually there are a number of issues with a blind that has even been in place for a long time. It is true that deer will acclimate to about anything. I've watched deer in the suburbs tease a dog after figuring out the exact dimensions of an invisible fence. They would stand just outside it and drive a dog crazy.

On the other hand, deer have unique personalities and some deer will avoid things they are unsure of. One example of this is red-blob trail camera flash avoidance. I found that I was only getting one or two triggers of a mature buck and he would avoid triggering the red-blob cameras. I would still get pictures of him in the fringe of the flash when the camera was triggered by young deer. He had not left the area, he just stayed far enough from the camera so he would not trigger it and kept younger deer between him and the camera. The old adage holds, "I don't have to out run the bear, just my buddy". More mature bucks tend to be more cautious. This applies to blinds as well. They seem more confident at night than during shooting hours.

For gun hunting this makes no difference at all. However, for bow hunting where I'm limited to about a 25 yard ethical shot, every couple yards counts. Rain on metal is just one more thing in this equation, but it is not the major factor. Over time, I'm working on blending these blinds into the environment more and more for this reason.

As for rain on the roof, you nailed it. I have a barn with a metal roof. When I'm in the barn I can hear it raining but when I go outside, there is hardly a mist. From in the barn, a gentle shower sounds like a downpour. There is no way I could hear from a blind with a metal roof (my hearing is degrading anyway).

Deer keep a greater distance from my box blinds that are in the open. I have some along a pipeline where I grow soybeans. There is clearly less browsing pressure in close proximity to the stands than there is in the field in general. Again, for firearm hunting this makes no difference, but for bow it does.

This is not to say that mature bucks will not get close to a structure. They clearly will but with unique personalities and with as rare as mature harvest opportunities are, I don't want to miss any.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[NWWI]

I keep a good roof overhang on my blinds and stay away from metal. Acorns, branches rubbing and rain will drive you nuts. I buy a 50' roll of asphalt roofing material and put that on the roof. It's a lot quieter.

 

[yoderjac]

I keep a good roof overhang on my blinds and stay away from metal. Acorns, branches rubbing and rain will drive you nuts. I buy a 50' roll of asphalt roofing material and put that on the roof. It's a lot quieter.

Are you talking about the tar paper material they lay under shingles or something else? Have a link?

 

[Boll Weevil]

Gotcha Mr. Jack. We only rifle hunt out of ours so noise on (or inside) the box in close proximity generally isn't an issue. I agree with you 100% about mature bucks and unique personalities...fascinating really.

 

[Booner21]

I use rubber roofing for our roofs

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[yoderjac]

I use rubber roofing for our roofs

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That is interesting. Have a link to the product your using?

 

[NWWI]

Are you talking about the tar paper material they lay under shingles or something else? Have a link?

It was a roll of asphalt shingle like material about 2.5' wide by 50' long. I put tar paper under it. It was cheaper than rubber roofing and easy for one guy to put on by himself. I got it at Home Depot. I couldn't figure out how to post the link.
The rubber roof works good too.

 

[rocksnstumps]

Here is what it looks like when you use roll roofing all over. There is some tar paper under the corners to help seal/round over as well. I did add some flashing over each window later since with no roof overhang some moisture was getting behind the window frames



A later pic with all the brush growing back...

 

[WTNUT]

I have had more than a few buddies run into some free or really really cheap metal siding that was ordered in incorrectly or extras on jobs and I would think it would be hard to beat for longevity. Disclaimer: I have never built a tower or ground blind :)


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[yoderjac]

It was a roll of asphalt shingle like material about 2.5' wide by 50' long. I put tar paper under it. It was cheaper than rubber roofing and easy for one guy to put on by himself. I got it at Home Depot. I couldn't figure out how to post the link.
The rubber roof works good too.

To post a link, look at the ribbon above the box you are typing in. It starts with "B" for bold. The 7th symbol from the left is an infinity symbol (or link of chain). Click it and a box will pop up that you can paste a link into.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[rocksnstumps]

how about this...
https://www.menards.com/main/buildi...-roofing-covers-108-sq-ft/p-1444430930605.htm

 

[yoderjac]

how about this...
https://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/roofing/low-slope-roofing/mineral-surfaced-roll-roofing-covers-108-sq-ft/p-1444430930605.htm

Interesting....I wonder how long it lasts. I presume you need something like plywood under it; right?