# 8x8 loft



## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

Ok im going to buy an old firework stand for 100$ includes delivery it is 8x8.
I was wondering if i can make three section out of it. One for breeders and 1 for young birds andthe other one i will put cocks in and hens will stay in breeding section. Will it be big enough for 3 sections?


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## First To Hatch (Jul 19, 2009)

Not really, you can obviously do 2 sections though.


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

Yea if i cant do 3 for sure im doing 2.


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## Zippy (Nov 20, 2011)

No more than 2. All my sections are 8 x 4 and I cant imagine one any smaller, it's pretty tight in there.


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

ok, i will only put 2 section thx guys


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## Zippy (Nov 20, 2011)

I want to see pictures when you get it!


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## nancybird (Jan 30, 2011)

Please share pictures.


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## hillfamilyloft (Jun 22, 2005)

you may be able to do it if you go from the center and divide the loft into three sections if you also add large aviaries.


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## hillfamilyloft (Jun 22, 2005)

Here is a basic drawing. I thought this design up for my 16x16 foot pen before I went with 4 sections. I would think this could work for say 6 pairs and 20 young birds if you had perches and nest boxes for all. I would make the walls mobile where you could move them to make 2 sections, 3 sections etc. When your birds are breeding you can split the loft into 2 4x8 lofts. I think with large aviaries you could get a way with smaller spaces. I had 24 birds in a 4x4 small loft when I was a kid. I flew them twice a day. Not ideal, but they loved the freedom.


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## hillfamilyloft (Jun 22, 2005)

If It were me I would make the stand my breeding loft and build a small flying sections using one side of the stand. Maybe 4x4 covered and a 4x4 aviary.


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## Roger Siemens (Nov 12, 2011)

Jasmeet 8x8 loft is a good size loft 3 parts is bit small its a good idea to give the birds room 4x8 is really as small as you want to go, have a good look at the loft zippy did really that is perfect.


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

I will post pictures when i get the stand getting it next week (friday). Thx for the design i may have to see the firework stand first to see is it will work. Thx all


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## Nkloft (Jan 24, 2011)

my loft is 8X8 and i only kept it one section since there is really not much room and on top of that divide it ? didnt think it was a good idea so kept it one secton.


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

Im only 14, So i can only get 1 loft =/


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## Revolution Lofts (Aug 7, 2008)

What you can do, is split the loft into 2 sections. 1 section breeders, 1 section ybs (during the racing season). During the off season, leave the cocks in the breeding section (nest boxes) and hens in the yb section (perches only).

Now this would only work if you only plan to fly young birds. Unless some of your breeders are also some of your old birds you want to fly. In which case you could have like 4 pairs of breeders and 4 pairs of old birds on natural? But flying 4 pairs on natural won't give you a whole lot of birds to send to races.

Best thing I'd advise is, until you can build an extra section, just fly young birds. You'll still get the experience and yb racing is fun too! Plus you could have a nice team of 20-25 ybs every year in a 8X4 section.


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## bhymer (Jan 8, 2008)

If it was me just starting out , i would divide into two 4 x 8 sections.. One for YB and one for OB. First don t get any breeders !!!!!! Start out with a team of youngsters, from your club members or from people on this site... Learn how to manage a race team first, you will learn a lot in your first year.. 

If you have to have some breeders use them, then replace them with the best flyers... Please take it slow and enjoy...


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

Im going to start making plans today i'll post the picture up


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## Pollo70 (Jan 3, 2012)

Jasmeet Singh said:


> Im only 14, So i can only get 1 loft =/


It's a good start way to go.


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

Here is what i have come up with. Thanks to ThaoLoft.

1. Every section will have an aviary
2.Red line means door
3.The door that split hens and cocks will be open during breeding section


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## Zippy (Nov 20, 2011)

The work area will be 2x2? That's way too small to be practical.


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

its not really a work space i just didnt know what to call it im just going to access the sections from there and put feed there thats all.


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## Zippy (Nov 20, 2011)

Lol, oh that will work. I was trying to picture you squeezing in there.


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

I would put an outside door in the section you can't enter from the work area. If you don't you will wish you did.


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

Im not going to race or anything like dat. so i dont really need that much space im probably going to have like 12-16 birds at the most


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

No one ever just has 12 to 16 birds. LOL If you breed 8 pairs you will have 32 birds after the first round 48 after the second 64 after the 3rd round, and that can happen very quickly. I would start with 2 birds and you will have the amount you want by the end of summer. That way you can enjoy all the aspects of breeding without worrying about over crowding. Just go slow and learn and have fun.


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

Shadybug Lofts said:


> No one ever just has 12 to 16 birds. LOL If you breed 8 pairs you will have 32 birds after the first round 48 after the second 64 after the 3rd round, and that can happen very quickly. I would start with 2 birds and you will have the amount you want by the end of summer. That way you can enjoy all the aspects of breeding without worrying about over crowding. Just go slow and learn and have fun.


i see what u mean but i will sell the extra birds to get extra cash for the birds


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

Jasmeet Singh said:


> i see what u mean but i will sell the extra birds to get extra cash for the birds


 Thats great if you have a place to sell them fast. I breed 7 pairs last year and i only have room for 30 and thats pushing it some. I kept the best 2 or so out of each round and took the others to the livestock auction, which is every Wensday. Thats the quickest way I could keep the numbers down and still have a lot of birds to choose from for the years birds I want to show. I could get 4 times the money if I sold them at the shows but then you have to have the space to keep them till the shows start. Once you get your system down, you will know what to do and when to do it, just keep good records, write down everything you do and when you do it.


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

I have a thing called craigslist


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

How long do you have to wait to sell them?


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## Dima (Jan 15, 2011)

Jasmeet Singh said:


> I have a thing called craigslist


When you sell on Craigslist, your pigeons may end up for dog training.


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

Dima said:


> When you sell on Craigslist, your pigeons may end up for dog training.


 I guess thats the chance you take, every bird I ever flew went for hawk bait. I took all of mine to the livestock auction last year. I figured thats where they went. Two weeks ago a guy called me from Virginia wanting to know abour 6 birds he bought from someone. He called the club secretary to find out who they belonged to. To make a lone story short my wife went to my daugthers in Virginia and took 6 more birds to him. He liked the birds so much from the sale he drove 2 hours to meet her and get the other 6.


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

Yes im aware, dog trainers only take 5$ birds i will sell my birds for atleast 40$


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

Shadybug Lofts said:


> How long do you have to wait to sell them?


When the babies start eating by themselves i will sell them


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## swagg (Feb 13, 2011)

Also dont forget if you are going to be flying the young you will have losses. its a part of this hobby we must all deal with when flying our birds. So you may not have as many to sell as expected. once you get to the number you want to fly( even just for fun) seperate the cocks and hens for the year..


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

swagg said:


> Also dont forget if you are going to be flying the young you will have losses. its a part of this hobby we must all deal with when flying our birds. So you may not have as many to sell as expected. once you get to the number you want to fly( even just for fun) seperate the cocks and hens for the year..


okadvise taken


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## 2y4life (Apr 5, 2010)

Jasmeet Singh said:


> Yes im aware, dog trainers only take 5$ birds i will sell my birds for atleast 40$


Lol, good luck Jasmeet. I've seen you around a bit and some word of advice and maybe caution; Chances of you selling your rollers for $40 is VERY SLIM. You may be lucky to get $10 or $20 but for $40, most buyers will expect to get excellent YBs or YBs that are from proven birds. I know you go on Rick Mee's website. Rick Mee has a very long track record and is a Double Master Flyer and he sells his young birds for $50. 

Jasmeet, one thing to consider is that you will probably only be able to sell birds for the price you purchased yours for. Example is if you purchased a pair for $40, that means you're probably only going to be able to get $40 back for a pair (two birds). 

If someone helped you out with birds (meaning they were given to you for free), I would say it's probably not the best practice to ask or sell bird for $40 a bird they were given to you. Just something in general to think about and not necessarily aimed toward you. 

Of course if you're going for homers, the chances of you selling young unflown homers for $40 is also very unlikely. You might be able to sell them for $20 but not much more. 

Anyhow, good luck in your pursuit of pigeons.


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## Revolution Lofts (Aug 7, 2008)

I really think you should reconsider your loft design. It may seem practical on paper but in real life you'll be working in a tight area. I would say build 2 sections and both have a walk-in aviary.

(You open the door to the aviary, and you're in the aviary. Close the door behind you and open the door for the YB section. You're in the yb section now.)

(You open the door to the aviary, and you're in the aviary. Close the door behind you and open the door for the breeding section. You're in the breeding section now.)

This way you have a very low chance of birds ever flying above your head and you losing them. Even if they fly out they're still in the aviary and can't get out. 

You could make the breeding section just an aviary, and the YB section could have a trap on the top. They enter through the trap and drop into the aviary, from which they can go into the loft.

Here is a picture of a loft I have right now (The blue one). The blue loft is 7 X 7, so it is not as big as your 8 X 8 one but just around the same size. All you need to do is, instead of my aviary that is just one section. Split the aviary into 2. And have 2 doors to the aviary, one for the yb section and one for the breeding section. You can have a wire mesh wall separating both sides of the aviary, and I can see it working out great! Build the trap for the young birds on top of the aviary, like a drop trap, so they drop into the aviary. You could build a nice size settling cage for the top of the aviary in which to settle the young birds with.


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## Revolution Lofts (Aug 7, 2008)

With the idea I'm giving you, you could have up to 8 pairs of breeders in the breeding section, and 20-25 young birds in the YB section. I wouldn't go over 20, but you'll lose a bunch in training/races anyway.


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

2y4life said:


> Lol, good luck Jasmeet. I've seen you around a bit and some word of advice and maybe caution; Chances of you selling your rollers for $40 is VERY SLIM. You may be lucky to get $10 or $20 but for $40, most buyers will expect to get excellent YBs or YBs that are from proven birds. I know you go on Rick Mee's website. Rick Mee has a very long track record and is a Double Master Flyer and he sells his young birds for $50.
> 
> Jasmeet, one thing to consider is that you will probably only be able to sell birds for the price you purchased yours for. Example is if you purchased a pair for $40, that means you're probably only going to be able to get $40 back for a pair (two birds).
> 
> ...


These are racing homers. They were given to me by my uncle who has excellent racers. They are all worth a lot of money.


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

Revolution Lofts said:


> With the idea I'm giving you, you could have up to 8 pairs of breeders in the breeding section, and 20-25 young birds in the YB section. I wouldn't go over 20, but you'll lose a bunch in training/races anyway.


Yea, im going to start out with 5 breeding pairs. I may breed my young birds when they get older.


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

Revolution Lofts said:


> I really think you should reconsider your loft design. It may seem practical on paper but in real life you'll be working in a tight area. I would say build 2 sections and both have a walk-in aviary.
> 
> (You open the door to the aviary, and you're in the aviary. Close the door behind you and open the door for the YB section. You're in the yb section now.)
> 
> ...


Yea i will see how it goes once i get it. Very nice idea


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## nancybird (Jan 30, 2011)

That is very nice.The birds look they are enjoying themselves.


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## Revolution Lofts (Aug 7, 2008)

Yup they sure did! It was my breeding loft for my racing pigeons. It was really convenient. Has an aviary on the right side too which gets hit by the sun directly in summer.


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## nancybird (Jan 30, 2011)

The birds must enjoy that!


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

I have not received the the firework stand yet...... But i have altered the plans for the loft... it will only have 3 sections... 4x8(half of the loft) for the young birds the other half im going to split in the middle so one 4x4 for the hens and 4x4 for the cocks and they will be combined during breeding season i will not have a work station anymore...


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## Revolution Lofts (Aug 7, 2008)

That sounds like a good plan. For a loft of that size (8x8) I wouldn't have advised a workspace at all. The more room the birds have, the better. At least with the plan you have now, you can fly a nice sized young bird team (at least 20 birds). But what I would advise is to make 2 sections only. 1 for ybs and 1 for breeders. In the off season, keep the hens in the young bird section (perches only) and cocks in the breeding section (nest boxes only). 

Having one 8 X 4 section is better than two 4 X 4 sections. It'll just be too cramped in the 4 x 4 sections when you're standing up in there, and having one larger section seems so much more logical.

Plus you'd never have a problem with split the birds up (cocks/hens).


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## Zippy (Nov 20, 2011)

I have to agree with revolution lofts. 4 x 8 is small once your in there with them I can't imagine 4 x 4.


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

ok i will make more adjustments


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## GrizzleMan (Jan 17, 2013)

Size of your loft is ok. Just keep down the population of birds. I have a 8 by 12 and I sometimes wish it was bigger. But you have to make due with what you have so I'm just going to keep 8 pairs in one section and 30 young in the other. At the end of the racing year I will keep my best 16 birds and give away the others...... I have no choice and can't keep them all.


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

Yea i will im probably not going to have more than 16-20 birds


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## TALON (Oct 29, 2011)

Good luck with your new loft, I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with it.


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## rpalmer (Mar 10, 2011)

My loft is 8x8 also ( built by swagg & TaylorBro). It is open as in no sections. Just one open space. There are times when I wish it were bigger but as an old hand pointed out to me... if it were bigger all I would do is fill it with birds. What this means is that it is better to have a few great birds than it is to have a lot of birds. With a small loft you have to set up your loft and management differently than one would with a larger one. And to have it open makes it even more different. DO NOT BE DISSUADED the rewards of a small loft can be great and a lot of fun.

You will want to make sure of the type of birds you want to keep if you do as I did. I also let my birds pick their mate. I believe that this strengthens the family bond. If you start small with the very best you can afford you will have the best young to work with. By small I mean like 3 pair. Get them one at a time if you have to but don't stuff a bunch of breeders in it just to have a bunch of birds to throw in the air. It is better for you, your birds and their family bond, to have all of your few return than it is to have a few return. 

I wish you all the best with your birds and hope you find as much joy with them as I have with mine.


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

TALON said:


> Good luck with your new loft, I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with it.


Thx and im sure i will have fun with it


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

rpalmer said:


> My loft is 8x8 also ( built by swagg & TaylorBro). It is open as in no sections. Just one open space. There are times when I wish it were bigger but as an old hand pointed out to me... if it were bigger all I would do is fill it with birds. What this means is that it is better to have a few great birds than it is to have a lot of birds. With a small loft you have to set up your loft and management differently than one would with a larger one. And to have it open makes it even more different. DO NOT BE DISSUADED the rewards of a small loft can be great and a lot of fun.
> 
> You will want to make sure of the type of birds you want to keep if you do as I did. I also let my birds pick their mate. I believe that this strengthens the family bond. If you start small with the very best you can afford you will have the best young to work with. By small I mean like 3 pair. Get them one at a time if you have to but don't stuff a bunch of breeders in it just to have a bunch of birds to throw in the air. It is better for you, your birds and their family bond, to have all of your few return than it is to have a few return.
> 
> I wish you all the best with your birds and hope you find as much joy with them as I have with mine.


Yea im all about the birds picking their own mate since im not going to race doesnt matter and it doesnt matter cuz all my uncle's birds are great birds. I plan on keeping 3 pairs of racing pigeons(if i find a pair in fresno,ca i want to keep 1 pair of indian fantail pigeons)


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## GrizzleMan (Jan 17, 2013)

I might attempt a 8 by 4 or 8 by 6 next year for old stock.... My loft is as close to the city bylaw as I can get without the permit...


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

i see keeping pigeons in crowded areas are tough u have neighbors and the city laws etc...But goodluck


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## GrizzleMan (Jan 17, 2013)

I enjoy having a small amount of racing pigeons. I get to know them better. Plus I name them, one we call Hydro because he hit a Hydro line and almost killed him... 

So for me tops 10 pairs....... figure close to 40 ybs ,,,, then with few loses say 10 after race season..... Then sell or give away the ones that were not in the loft fast enough... 

One thing I can't do is kill any of my birds.......


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

yea ik i would never kill one my birds...


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## Pip Logan (Oct 6, 2009)

Did you get the fireworks stand yet?


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## ThePigeonShack (Jun 14, 2012)

He never got it... my buddy who was the middle man didnt come through..

I apologize for this


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

Yea wat teo said i wqould have waited but it was getting cold outside so i needed to build a nice stable loft for the birds


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## Roger Siemens (Nov 12, 2011)

i ve got a smaller loft now to each side is 8x9 the roof is 6 feet, i think every one who has pigeons hates killing birds for any reason. i ve got a few that cant fly that live in the stock loft, the one never could fly but is healthy and tame. i have no bylaws to worry about and everyone here likes seeing the birds come to my call, i m blessed i guess.

jasmeetsloft, i saw your you tube video when you were painting the loft , NICE my friend just got mine done and every ones paired up


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

yep u r blessed lol and nice u should make avideo of ur loft would love to see it and yep i wouldnt kill any of my birds for watever reason


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## Roger Siemens (Nov 12, 2011)

i will soon as i get pinkies , i took a little video but i cant get it from my i phone to my email, i m always taking pictures


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

Alright cool Roger can't wait


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## polo963 (Feb 25, 2011)

did you get the stand?


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## Jasmeet Singh (Aug 13, 2012)

Nah the guy didnt come through as teo said so i just built a smaller loft


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