What have you built recently?

[Lsbcal]

I had some old distressed redwood sitting around from a ricky old backyard table that was here when we bought our house. DW got me a birdhouse that we both agreed was a little flimsy.

While it was raining outside I got out my handsaws and built this rustic birdhouse. It has a hinged front door for cleaning out. I'm not what you'd call a wood craftsman, but this was fun to do. Put it up yesterday on an oak tree facing our window. It has a hole that is suitable for an Oak Titmouse (see picture of one) or even a Wren. It's now available for rent -- but you have to have feathers.

Here is a site for some birdhouse construction tips: How to build a bird house

So what have other ER people been building?

 

[Bestwifeever]

That birdhouse looks really nice on the oak tree--and great idea for reusing the picnic bench wood. Hope you get a sweet young family moving in soon.

 

[Ronstar]

I'm repurposing a cedar chest I built for my grandmother in 1970. I sanded off the old finish, added some trim to make it look like a storage trunk. I still have a little bit yet to go. Going to be a toy trunk for myself when I get done.

Also working on shelves and drawers for our master bedroom closet. This project is going on year 2.

 

[Lsbcal]

Bestwifeever, thanks.

Ronstar, hope you post a picture as you complete your toy trunk.

 

[calmloki]

I put three sticks together and attached them in a lower cupboard to give us a place for baking sheets. Was pleased to use a minimum of material and end up with something that serves the purpose well, keeping the sheets convenient, out of the way, and using dead cupboard space.

 

[Sarah in SC]

We built the back section of the stage for our St. Pat's party and moved the entire shebang under the house for the big night. The already built sections included the dance floor in foreground and the middle section (both had to be moved in pieces with a front end loader) and then the entire back part was for our friend the drummer. Needless to say, the band guys were thrilled!

 

[Ronstar]

Bestwifeever, thanks.

Ronstar, hope you post a picture as you complete your toy trunk.

Right now its in pieces, but I'll wrap it up in a few weeks and post a pic. I got the idea after I built one for my niece's baby boy last year - here it is:

 

[obgyn65]

We are building a free clinic in Guatemala. Will do VIAs there among other things.

 

[easysurfer]

Recently bought a mini-freezer. Since I didn't have a sturdy stand, I built my own. Here that is supporting the freezer:

 

[Ronstar]

We are building a free clinic in Guatemala. Will do VIAs there among other things.

Now that's impressive!

 

[Ronstar]

I had some old distressed redwood sitting around from a ricky old backyard table that was here when we bought our house. DW got me a birdhouse that we both agreed was a little flimsy.

While it was raining outside I got out my handsaws and built this rustic birdhouse. It has a hinged front door for cleaning out. I'm not what you'd call a wood craftsman, but this was fun to do. Put it up yesterday on an oak tree facing our window. It has a hole that is suitable for an Oak Titmouse (see picture of one) or even a Wren. It's now available for rent -- but you have to have feathers.

Here is a site for some birdhouse construction tips: How to build a bird house

So what have other ER people been building?

Thanks for the link. I have some pallets that have survived the winter outside, and I was looking for something to make out of them. I think bird houses would be excellent re-uses for the wood.

 

[Nodak]

That birdhouse needs a perch below the entry hole.

 

[Lsbcal]

Sarah - I'll bet you all had a fun St. Pat's day. Nice looking stage.

Ronstar - good photo of your other nicely made trunk. Glad that link came in handy. If you follow it up one there are links to other things to think about like bird baths.

Easysurfer - not sure that mini-freezer does your handsome looking stand justice. Nice work.

 

[travelover]

That birdhouse needs a perch below the entry hole.

Actually not, unless you want house sparrows and starlings.

 

[Lsbcal]

That birdhouse needs a perch below the entry hole.

If you go to this link: OakTitmousep
you'll see Oak Titmouse pictures.

Now scroll down to the 6th picture which shows a Titmouse flying out of a natural nest site in a tree. You'll notice there is no perch.

 

[Nodak]

Actually not, unless you want house sparrows and starlings.

You may be right. I'm no builder, just going by what I used to watch my Grandfather build. he built houses for wrens and always put a perch on them, but he also used an entry hole that was too small for other birds.

 

[Lsbcal]

You may be right. I'm no builder, just going by what I used to watch my Grandfather build. he built houses for wrens and always put a perch on them, but he also used an entry hole that was too small for other birds.

Your Grandfather was on to something. The hole should be just right and no larger for the bird species. The recommended diameter for a few types of Wren's and the Oak Titmouse is 1 1/4 inches. Regarding the perch, it might help preditors but maybe some (assertive) Wren's don't care. I'll have to go outside and take a survey .

 

[Nodak]

Your Grandfather was on to something. The hole should be just right and no larger for the bird species. The recommended diameter for a few types of Wren's and the Oak Titmouse is 1 1/4 inches. Regarding the perch, it might help preditors but maybe some (assertive) Wren's don't care. I'll have to go outside and take a survey .

If I remember right he always used a quarter to mark the size of the hole.

 

[RetiredGypsy]

I'm jealous of people who are good at building things with their hands. I can do 3D design and architecture in a computer, but in real life, it usually turns out like this:

 

[freebird5825]

I've built up my confidence lately but I haven't done any construction projects or hobby type things.
I have a DIY assembly wood bookcase in shipment transit right now.
I "build" things on a small scale to make life simpler and overcome the tendinitis and limited grip strength in my hands. Does that count?

 

[Lsbcal]

Hi Freebird, yes small is beautiful. My Dad used to build a lot of things and I've always been more mental then hands on. Most of my builds are spreadsheets. That bird house is not quite square if you look at it closely -- but I'm sure the birds don't mind.

 

[Lsbcal]

Yesterday a pair of bluebirds visited our birdhouse. Unfortunately, they couldn't fit in the hole as it was sized for a Titmouse or Wren. They tried to get in though but they needed a 1.5 inch hole. Then the male took a bath in the birdbath I built.

Here's a picture of that birdbath. You can see the male bluebird on the right splashing in the bath.

Some building details: I took some old redwood from a backyard table (same as birdhouse) and cut them in 3 pieces. Bolted them to an old oak tree stump. Had a glass bath from an old birdbath bought at Home Depot. Bought some brackets to extend the base and layed the glass on top. It's firmly anchored with some rocks and is fine in storms. Small birds will stand on the rocks too. Lastly I ran a drip line from our drip watering up to the bath. Every week during the watering season I dump the water to avoid mosquitoes.

P.S. I put in an order at Amazon for a bluebird house.