Hi all, Some days when I have nothing to do at lunch…… I tinker with things in the shop. A while back I saw someone either in "Grit" or "Mother earth news" magazine was making PVC bird houses. So today, one of our contractors was throwing out some scrap, 4" PVC so I grabbed it. Pulling from the memory banks.. I remembered these bird houses, so hope you enjoy. They are easy to make, I made the holes 1-1/8 so the starlings can't get in, no perches so the blue jays can't eat any chicks, they will mostly attract wrens, chickadees and finches. They are 9" long with a slice cut at one end for an over hang, the inside is just 5/8" plywood, it's what I had but 1/2" will be fine. You need something big enough to screw to. Don't glue it together because you want to be able to clean it out after the birds leave for the winter unless they stay, "some do".. and lastly you want a couple holes in the bottom for air and any moisture that may get in. You can sand and paint them, decorate or just leave them plain. Have fun, and if you got some old PVC and plywood, and some screws laying around it won't cost you but the price of some eye screws to make them, Basically they will last forever also
I saw this scrap pipe, and like my usual self I said, "what can I use this for"… I didn't want to just chuck it, I got enough for about 6 houses. It took about a hour to make. The hardest part was cutting the end pieces on the band saw, sanding them so they were snug fit in the ends.
Great idea. I got literally a thousand feet of that stuff laying around . Was gonna build some Blue bird houses this winter . Game Plan improved I likey
Great job WD! I like them, like you said they should last forever. I think I will try a couple of those.. Creative thinking for sure. Here's a few I made this year.
I'm sure you can use any size PVC you want, 4" will bring in the little guys. If I find some 6" I'll make a couple out of that. Make the hole opening proportionate to the bird you want to attract, I'm not sure but I think the blue bird opening is 1-1/4". I learned over the years that perches are a death sentence for most birds chicks if you have blue jays around. They are "extremely" carnivorous, my wife gets so PI$$@D!!! when she sees that. Most birds will hang on the hole or fly right in, especially the little ones. "I can't take credit for the design", I did modify it a little with the overhang and two hanging eyes. The ones I originally saw had one hook in the center and they would spin and blow around with the wind. This sparked an idea for a purple martin house…
Just looked up Blue bird house hole, I was wrong, it's 1-1/2" .. I'll bet 6" would make a nice house for them Fanatical1 I love the houses with the plate roofs! Did you hollow out that log?
Nice job, WeldrDave and I like yours too, Fanatical1 Hey Dave, could you size a hole saw to hit the ID of that PVC?
Yea I guess but I don't think one is that close except the 4", ? All I did was, cut off about al inch piece off the end of the PVC and put it on the plywood and traced the inside with a pencil. Used a jig saw and cut outside but almost on the line, then just sanded it with 60 grit till it fit snug. Prior to cutting it out I also used a paddle bit and made the entrance for the birds.
Sure! Thanks for the nice words. It's something for those even with kids can have fun with and mostly from stuff lying around.
It's a good idea to space thEm too. Bluebirds are quite aggressive. First few years I think I had them too close and other bluebirds would cause chaos when checking out another's house. I read something about facing the entrance to the east also but don't remember the benefit. Love watching thRough the summer. I had one house produce 3 sets of babies this year. Don't know if it was the same pair of bluebirds .
Thanks Dave, No Mother Nature hollowed that white oak log for me. It was good and solid, had it sitting around on my workbench for a while, unsure what to do with it and showed it to my buddy and he said "make a bird house out of it". Why didn't I think of that... Used a thick piece of oak bark for the roof and polyurethaned everything. I've gotten quite a few birds, mostly finches, this year in all the houses.. Always looking for a few new ideas for bird houses and liked yours a lot.
Cool ideas, guys! I built this one with my daughter... I'm not sure what kind of bird will like it, but she wanted to build a 'big' one! We used cedar shims for the roof, and I think the hole is around 1 1/2".
What a "SWEETIE" she is! HD is so right… Those times are very special! That size box could bring a big wood pecker, screech owl, or Flamingo's … It's awesome! I'll bet she loves it!
