Bentwood Birdhouse

Step 11 Ready for the Birds

You may want to modify the design to make one of the small end panels come off for cleaning between residents. You can also cut the square edges off with your rotary cutter tool. These structures are very fun to make and modeling them with cardboard can get you a neat lunchbox or a variety of other bendable composite creations.

Comments

[mikeh3k]

Whats really nice about all of this is the fact that (1) a "maker" has shared with us a great design and (2) "followers" can comment on needed design changes to complete the project, making it safe for our feathered friends.

I plan on using the design incorporating the suggested modifications. Thanks to all
Mike Henrichs

[gdelisle]

Unfortunately, this bird house should never be used to house actual birds! The epoxy sealing prevents the house from having proper ventilation, and that will cook your birds (or at the very least, their eggs) on a hot day. Furthermore, every bird house needs drainage to release condensation and waste produced by the birds inside, and every bird house needs a way for you to open it and clean out the trash at the end of the season. This is a lovely decoration and sounds like a fun project, just keep it far away from actual birds!

[Bright Shadow]

You could drill a couple of holes for ventilation, right?

[gdelisle]

Yes. A couple of half inch diameter holes somewhere in the upper part of the sidewall would do it. You don't want them in the roof, because rain will get in, but you don't want them where they'll get blocked by nesting material. But I'll echo what hands_on_man says as well, this box isn't predator-resistant. This box is meant for form, not function.

[Elkhound]

This is an outstanding bird house. The multiple curves make the light weight design incredibly stout, translating into security for the tender residents inside. The spaciousness allows for considerable nesting and insulating material. I share this craftsman's interest in West System epoxy. It has been used in many of my projects during the past two decades. The pumps are just as accurate in dispensing the resin and hardener as they are represented to be.