For your inside ceiling and walls you should cover them with a number 4 mill poly as a moisture barrier.
In finishing the inside ceiling the material I suggest is to use 4 x 8 sheets of 1/4 inch hemlock plywood. The reason why is because it is lightweight and the least expensive. You can go with a heavier material if you feel that you need more strength but generally speaking the hemlock plywood should do the trick.

For your Walls -the least expensive material is 4 x 8 paneling. Incidentally although its the cheapest it will still look the best. Now you may want to consider wood paneling which is much stronger. There is a draw back to being much stronger it by far more expensive. To combat price in this area you may also consider 1/4 inch Masonite which is the next best bet for your money.

Now there is a catch with Masonite. The problem is Masonite will expand on you in humid weather, so don’t fit it tightly t, gap it an eighth of an inch or more for expansion. Also I would suggest using a very light possibly cream colored paneling with a light brown grain look. If you do this it will allow the pigeon dust which is bound to accumulate very little and has been proven easier to keep clean. As a note do not use any particleboard or chipboard material, as this stuff will not stand up to anything.

For more on your pigeon loft needs there is a great book you can pick up here.

A) For the Floor you can use and builders grade option it really dosen’t need insulation especially in warmer climates.

B) For your Walls they should be built with 2 x 4 studs you will also need 3 and 1/2 x 16 inch fiber glass bats for an insulation value of R-ll.

C) Finally your Ceiling You should put in at least 12 inches for an insulation value of R-40. Another thing to consider is Blow-in which works best in these small areas. You can’t have too much of this just fill the attic if your budget allows. Also Use gable end vents and ridgeline vents to allow the moisture to travel out.

Again remember its up to you I just providing some measurements for you to consider. However I can’t stress enough getting help from the experts I am enclosing a book you must have in your loft endeavours.

You can get it here by just clicking on the picture.

I would suggest building a 7-inch platform to slip over the bottom frame of the windows and wall. You will use this as a place as a pigeons landing board and protect the window bottom from the pigeon’ s feet. I would suggest having an outward slant on this surface which will also keep all rain water running outwardly. Try to leave any extra landing board surface to the outside. For safety it is always best to close the windows at night and open them in the day for ventilation and to let the pigeons enter the fly pen area for sunshine and exercise.

Roofing Material - Use motel gutter apron on bottom edge of loft, another point I recommend is to use D-style metal on gable ends and #15 felt on roof. This should also be applied to shingle starter and shingles so they too will match the house or surrounding area.

Outside Walls - It goes without saying but I will siding needs to match the house and out buildings or at the least blend in with the surrounding area.

Doors - In this case your best buy is to pick up a 36-inch insulated metal embossed door with a 22 x 36 inch window at one of your local discount stores. I woul recomend having the 36-inch door on the back of your loft as well as on the front. You can leave these two doors open and it gives such great ventilation for working in the loft or just plain enjoying the pigeons that much more.

Again I highly recommend this book for you to increase your knowledge from A-Z by and expert.

WALLS: The walls you should consider using -2 x 4 studs 16 inches on center. The ceiling height should not really be more than seven feet high. This is my opinin because you really do not need your pigeons flying over your head. But on the flipside you should not have your ceiling any lower than seven feet or your door(s) will not have sufficient headroom for installation.

RAFTERS : Your rafters should follow these measurements 4-12 pitch, 2 x 4 material, two feet on center. You can either make your own or buy pre-built ones your choice.

Outside wall and roof rough covering should be or use ½ inch plywood.

Again here is a great book by a pro in the business you can pick it up here:

This of course depends upon how you run your roofline. If you do it This way you will not have to change the roofline when you add on and your loft and you can still maintain that one building look. As and added benefit if you decide on remodeling if you do it this way will it cost you less money. If you are even a halfway serious pigeon person you will eventually add on, we all seem to. 

FOOTINGS: When it comes to footings you should set three rows of cement blocks flush with the ground approximately 6 to 8 feet apart this should all be done at the same height. Next you shoul lay treated 4 x 4 posts on the cement blocks the depth or length of the loft. The posts then can be cut off after the floor is framed in. 

FLOORING: Here are some meausurements you can go by start with 2 x 6 or 2 x 8 joists, 16 inches on center. The flooring can be 5/ 8 or 3/4 -Tongue and grove plywood depending on how much weight you plan to put on it. You should Box your floor in with 1/2 inch treated plywood buried 6 inches in the ground so that nothing can make its home under the loft.

Now if you are visual person I have included a book that I would highly recommend by an expert in the field of pigeons. His name is Elliot Lang. He provides excellent diagrams of lofts and also how to breed, race them and make money on them. I would highly recommend his book. Here is where you can get your hands on it.

If the south is not an option the second best direction for the front of the loft would be to the east.  This is beneficial for two reasons you will be able to take advantage of the warm morning sun and even more importantly this would leave your insulated backside to the late hot afternoon summer sun.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you may like to sit in your house and still be able to keep tabs on all of the activity that goes on around the pigeon loft.  For instance you may like to view your loft from a dining room table or your favorite chair in the living room.  Its nice to have a birds eye view of your lofts and pigeon even if your not taking care of them at the moment . 

If by some reason these two directions will not work for you then you may have to consider using some taller shrubbery and trees to give your pigeons the protection and shade that they need.  This may not be neccesary to say but be sure to not block the view from your house, only the view from the neighbor’s houses.

Landscaping is your friend it is  a great way to dress up any loft even if your just starting out and have the basic structure.  You already know the benefits that landscaping brings to any home this is the same for the area of the yard your loft is on. Flowers and shrubbery around the loft are spectacular and will do amzing things in bringing out your lofts overall appearance.

The right kind of flowers can really spice up the lofts look and may even provide an added benefit for your pigeons diet.  If you are able to have your pigeons get out for some free flight time in the yard you will soon find out that pigeons do like a certain amount of greens in there diet.

As you allready know having green in your pigeons diet is healthy. There are two flowers in particular that you may find your pigeons really could go for. The flowers are mums and moss roses.   As a note to understand if you are going to plant these flowers if you don’t allow these plants enough time to have a real good start in the spring growing season your pigeons may eat all the blossoms off the mums and the moss roses right down to the ground.

 So it may be wise to take some care in selecting the flowers that you plant.  Again it all depends on your feelings or should I say likes in feeding your pigeons greens or not.

The book is called  Pigeon Racing Formula.   As the title indicates it gives you the winning formula for racing pigeons.  But as I indicated in the paragrah above:   It takes the long ardous process of how to design your lofts.  As and added bonus it also gives you the expert knowledge on the Top Fanciers and champion lofts so you can duplicate their success.

The greatest additive in addition to showing you a list of other benefits on loft cleaning, proper maintence , pigeon care from diet to eyes and a host of other topics including pigeon loft templates.  It also has a 60 day money back gurantee if you are not satisfied.  This is a no brainer since you cannot loose anything if you do not like it.

This is a must have:

Here is an example of what I mean lets take the floor of  a 5.5m x 1.8m (I8ft x 6ft) loft.  This loft could well be made of three sections 1.8m (6ft) square.

Portability is of key importance, in fact it applies to all parts of your and every loft built.  The construction of the loft should be in sections, and the sections should be joined only with nuts and bolts so that,  if the loft needs to be moved, the job can be easily done.