# The start of a new empire



## 2TheWire (May 5, 2011)

you are now witnessing the start of a new racing empire,racers beware, there's a new flock in town.

Welcome Empire Lofts 

16Lx8Wx7ftH


----------



## Goingatitagain (Feb 5, 2011)

Looks like your off to a great start. That is a nice size loft.

Beautiful background scenery, where are you hailing from ??


----------



## 2TheWire (May 5, 2011)

and.. step 5

and the foreman letting us know how its really done..

this was all done in 1 day, next work day is on the 15th. stay tuned for updates.


----------



## 2TheWire (May 5, 2011)

Goingatitagain said:


> Looks like your off to a great start. That is a nice size loft.
> 
> Beautiful background scenery, where are you hailing from ??


Thanks Anthony! it was 90+ degrees outside alot of hard work and sweat put in for a days work.ive never drank so many bottles of water in my life.

Empire Lofts is located in Bloomington California, in the Inland Empire hince the name Empire Lofts.


----------



## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

You have a lot of electric wires close to your loft.


----------



## 2TheWire (May 5, 2011)

Shadybug Lofts said:


> You have a lot of electric wires close to your loft.


yup, unfortunatley i cant do nothing about that. 
im not worried about it either untill they give me a reason to be.


----------



## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

I was just thinking every one says birds fly into wires a lot. Are those wires over that house behind your loft?


----------



## 2TheWire (May 5, 2011)

Shadybug Lofts said:


> I was just thinking every one says birds fly into wires a lot. Are those wires over that house behind your loft?


yes there behind the loft..they will be trapping in/out from the front of the loft.


----------



## birdkeeper (Jun 24, 2009)

Your loft is looking great and can not wait to see the final results with the birds in it. In regards to the wires, I have the same situation having wires behind my loft and at first some of the birds hit the wires during loft flying but they eventually learn to navigate around them. but when they come from a toss or race they do not have to deal with the wires because they are coming from the south side where there's not wires. anyways, I think your birds will do just fine.


----------



## HmoobH8wj (Apr 7, 2011)

keep in touch with me i wanna see this loft =D nice

what did you use to hold down those rock to those wood?


----------



## blongboy (Nov 10, 2009)

HmoobH8wj said:


> keep in touch with me i wanna see this loft =D nice
> 
> what did you use to hold down those rock to those wood?


those rock should have a square for you to put a 4by4 in


----------



## 2TheWire (May 5, 2011)

HmoobH8wj said:


> keep in touch with me i wanna see this loft =D nice
> 
> what did you use to hold down those rock to those wood?


 they are called a"pier block" you can get them from home depot i paid 6.98 a piece. they come with 4inch straps that receive 4x4s as blong said..
put your 4x4 into the strap and secure it into the strap with either galvanized nails or a bolt. 

heres a link http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100676116/h_d2/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&keyword=pier+block&jspStoreDir=hdus&Nu=P_PARENT_ID&navFlow=3&catalogId=10053&langId=-1&ddkey=Search

@birdkeeper thanks for sharing your experience. its good to hear that others have worked around the power line issues.=)


----------



## 2TheWire (May 5, 2011)

a side view, this is where the door will be.

notice the floor..front half is 3/4 inch plywood back half will be metal grating below the perches.
there's at least a 2ft space for all around access to the loft to retrieve the droppings.


----------



## newtopidgeons (Mar 11, 2011)

I just have wire across the back, but I love it this way. Yb's that dont perch yet can sleep on the floor part and the droppings from perches fall to the ground.


----------



## Nomad_Lofts (Apr 12, 2011)

like What your doing beware!!! Nomads Loft is taking the ATL by flock lol! I like the half/half floor same thing I am going to do.


----------



## NayNay (Mar 16, 2011)

Looking good man- You are building as fast as I thought I would be- LOL. How big is that bad boy?


----------



## 2TheWire (May 5, 2011)

NayNay said:


> Looking good man- You are building as fast as I thought I would be- LOL. How big is that bad boy?



naynay i had a kick a** team helping me build, i owe alot of credit to them!

im a firm believer in taking time with things though, allows the mind to think things threw thoroughly..thats why we have paused the construction till next sunday/monday.. fine tuning the game plan,weighing the pros and cons of things.

enjoy your downtime with loft building its pretty fun day dreaming of what steps to take next! and may save you xtra work in the long run.

roman empire was not built in a day,neither did it fall in a day, and neither will empire lofts! ...take your time build a strong... its all about the quality of the finished product.


16Lx8Wx7ftH are the dimensions.. i will add on two aviary's on opposite ends..


----------



## NayNay (Mar 16, 2011)

2TheWire said:


> 16Lx8Wx7ftH are the dimensions.. i will add on two aviary's on opposite ends..


Nice- That is a nice size. I intended to rush it some, but couldn't, so I know what you mean re the fun of planning. Heck, I have pages and pages of ideas and sketches from before I started, and even as I have re evaluated along the way. Watching it all become reality is even better.


----------



## 2TheWire (May 5, 2011)

debating on running electricity to the loft.? 
it would be easy and not to much $ to do...

im thinking of dead winter the pigeons could use some heat lamps..what do you guys think? overkill or beneficial ?


----------



## sky tx (Mar 1, 2005)

2 THE WIRE--
Are you giving CBS & Ganus "NOTICE" and maybe several others ????--Just Asking


----------



## NayNay (Mar 16, 2011)

Electricity is your friend- lol. I use heat lamps for my chickens in the winter to keep their waterer from freezing. I run a seriously long extension cord. The pigeons are 10 feet from the garage, so, I'll be extension cording for sure. 

But, you are in California- not sure where Bloomington is, but unless you are at a higher elevation, I can't imagine that you would need it for that.


----------



## 2TheWire (May 5, 2011)

sky tx said:


> 2 THE WIRE--
> Are you giving CBS & Ganus "NOTICE" and maybe several others ????--Just Asking



not shure exactly what your implying.. 

@naynay bloomington is located in southern california between riverside/Fontana/San Bernadino. an hour from los angeles and 2 hours from san diego. bloomington is a lil rural town, it gets hot here highs in 100's/cold lows would be 40's.. just thinking about middle of winter when it does get cold.


----------



## Jaysen (Jun 21, 2010)

Sky is asking if you have let the current emperors of the sport know that you are coming to unseat them.

Laugh. It is humorous.


----------



## 2TheWire (May 5, 2011)

lol thats what i thought..wasnt shure though. ya this is a un official warning! 

they will get an official warning when the times come in! 

all in good fun though! i dont want to step on any toes or burn any bridges lol all in good humor..


----------



## honeyrobber (Apr 28, 2011)

No need for heat lamps if your lowest low is 40F. My fantails have no heat(not even water heaters) and our lowest lows are below zero. Our lowest low this year was only 6F. We water with warm water 2 times a day during freezing weather. They are 2 far to run power for heaters plus to many cages.


----------



## NayNay (Mar 16, 2011)

I have to put the heat lamps on the chicken water. We get these wicked arctic blasts coming down across the border, through the fraser river valley. It drops our wind chill pretty low, on top of whatever temp we have. It's always temporary- most of the winter is fairly temperate. But, when it is a big pile of snow, and 55 mph wind, I don't wanna slog down to the back 40 to thaw out chicken water. Sometimes even with the heat lamp I have to pour hot water on it to get the trough to thaw. The pigeons are gonna have it easy tho- for one, I deliberately positioned it so that my garage would block the wind from the north, and for 2, their water will be indoors, whereas the chickens is out in their run in the "chicken cabana"-lol.


----------



## honeyrobber (Apr 28, 2011)

Naynay- Yes but he is in southern Cal. I see not need for it since he does not get below 40F. I plan on my loft having power but it is for lights, heat pads(if needed) and for water when needed as my loft will be closer to power than my chickens. The roosters crowing made the pens get farther and farther away from the house. I have to say that one section of my loft will be for finches. They need SOME heat during winter. I doubt I will need water defrosters in mine with a heat source in a different section of the loft. In TN we rarely have over 3 days of freezing weather until this past winter.


----------



## Pip Logan (Oct 6, 2009)

2TheWire said:


> debating on running electricity to the loft.?
> it would be easy and not to much $ to do...
> 
> im thinking of dead winter the pigeons could use some heat lamps..what do you guys think? overkill or beneficial ?


Hey man I am in San Diego and I dont use heat lamps and the birds do fine. They have made it through two winters so far  I would still run power out there for lighting though! Good luck on the build!


----------



## 2TheWire (May 5, 2011)

Pip Logan said:


> Hey man I am in San Diego and I dont use heat lamps and the birds do fine. They have made it through two winters so far  I would still run power out there for lighting though! Good luck on the build!


thanks for the insight pip.! 

..hey do you know of any clubs in the area Or auctions/shows going on.?


----------



## rpalmer (Mar 10, 2011)

From http://loftone.net/Trentons/glenfield_lofts.htm


----------



## 2TheWire (May 5, 2011)

rpalmer said:


> From http://loftone.net/Trentons/glenfield_lofts.htm


wow i think Ive underestimated the pigeon..good reading material thanks rpalmer.


----------



## Pip Logan (Oct 6, 2009)

I dont wire I have not started racing quite yet. Sorry man.


----------



## swagg (Feb 13, 2011)

2TheWire said:


> wow i think Ive underestimated the pigeon..good reading material thanks rpalmer.


I def think everyone underestimates them. Think about a wild bird out there in the world. Most of them do not have a nice little loft for winter time, and they seem to do super. I think if you just have a place for them to get out of the wind they will do just fine over the winter


----------



## rpalmer (Mar 10, 2011)

2TheWire said:


> wow i think Ive underestimated the pigeon..good reading material thanks rpalmer.


Yeah they are hardy. One thing .. wait.. two things. One being that water heaters create a perfect breeding ground for bacteria that otherwise could not grow. And the other thing is that cold water takes longer to freeze than warm. I sold my text book on applied physics so don't ask me for the source. It should be on the internet though. Like warm water makes better ice cubes than cold.
Take care and have fun.


----------



## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

Quote: One being that water heaters create a perfect breeding ground for bacteria that otherwise could not grow

I don't think most heaters make the water warm enough to grow bacteria, my waters still get a skim of ice on the inside, so the water can't be much warmer than 32 degrees


----------



## rpalmer (Mar 10, 2011)

Shadybug Lofts said:


> Quote: One being that water heaters create a perfect breeding ground for bacteria that otherwise could not grow
> 
> I don't think most heaters make the water warm enough to grow bacteria, my waters still get a skim of ice on the inside, so the water can't be much warmer than 32 degrees


I stand corrected.


----------



## 4nursebee (May 27, 2009)

Looks great, keep up the good work. I hope it stays together better than that fenceline.

On the many wires in the way thoughts, can you just take your saw and cut down the poles holding them up?


----------



## 2TheWire (May 5, 2011)

Rain rain go away! dang rain put a damper on the loft build, looks like things wont clear up till Thursday..bummer.


----------



## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

They make rain coats. LOL


----------



## Nomad_Lofts (Apr 12, 2011)

Sorry to hear tha. The rain almost got me on my build but the weather man did not know what he was talking about . need to get the roof on soon. Check my build out Nomads Loft


----------



## 2TheWire (May 5, 2011)

Nomad_Lofts said:


> Sorry to hear tha. The rain almost got me on my build but the weather man did not know what he was talking about . need to get the roof on soon. Check my build out Nomads Loft


nomad ive been following your build! ive enjoyed your all your photos, you have a great team with you! 
keep up the good work, loft is turning out great.!

roof is next for me.
roof
paint
floor..

speaking of flooring..how do you think epoxy garage flooring stuff would adhere to the plywood flooring in the loft. seems it would make it a breeze for cleaning and create a non porous floor as well.?

also ive been looking into the wire closet shelfs at home depot, shadybug i think you used it as well in your build..i like how its coated and will not rust. hows that turning out for you?

i think ill pass on working in the rain. lol


----------



## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

Quote shadybug i think you used it as well in your build..i like how its coated and will not rust. hows that turning out for you?


I only have the shelves in the aviary, because there not strong enough to stand on, but they are working great in the aviary. All the droppings fall through and there's hardly any cleaning, just a light brush and its clean.


----------



## Jaysen (Jun 21, 2010)

I use them for our second story aviaries (also taking shady's lead on that one) and nest box floors. I went with the 1" spaced shelving. As shady says, cleaning is a snap. 

If you chose to use them for nest box floors you will want to put a sheet of paper (we use painters paper but newspaper works as well) under the nest bowl. If you don't, the box beneath gets ... crappy. I was going to put a plywood "try" under the wire shelving to catch the crap, but the paper is way easier.


----------



## Matt M (Mar 2, 2011)

2TheWire said:


> a side view, this is where the door will be.
> 
> notice the floor..front half is 3/4 inch plywood back half will be metal grating below the perches.
> there's at least a 2ft space for all around access to the loft to retrieve the droppings.


Nice looking loft! I also like the 1/2 wood, 1/2 metal grating floor idea. Was wondering where is the best place in California you found to buy the metal grating you will use for the floor? -- (Fellow Californian here, but North)


----------



## Nomad_Lofts (Apr 12, 2011)

Matt M said:


> Nice looking loft! I also like the 1/2 wood, 1/2 metal grating floor idea. Was wondering where is the best place in California you found to buy the metal grating you will use for the floor? -- (Fellow Californian here, but North)


you can get it at any metal fabrication company I paid 100.00 for 2 8x4 sheets then 10.00 per cut (2) check out nomads loft under construction. 

but take in consideration I live in ga atlanta


----------

