Creating a birdhouse is a great way to awaken a child's love for their smaller brothers, and also spark an interest in work and creative fulfillment. By the way, the skills once acquired in making birdhouses are useful to many in adulthood. We are talking about summer residents trying to protect their lands from the attacks of pests. Starlings help to cope with this problem, which mercilessly exterminate not only caterpillars and beetles, but also their larvae. To attract winged orderlies, special huts are made. For the edification of caring parents and land owners, we will give the answer to the question of how to build a birdhouse with your own hands.
The classic wooden version of the structure
It's no secret that in the wild, many birds settle in the hollows of trees. Starlings are no exception, often living in spacious hollows created by woodpeckers. Therefore, when making a birdhouse, you need to strive to achieve maximum similarity with the natural environment, which means that the housing should not be too spacious. The choice of material is also of great importance. The best solution would be to use hardwood boards: alder, birch or aspen. Whereas other materials have significant drawbacks. For example, conifers tend to release a lot of resin, causing the boards inside the house to become sticky. Fiberboard and particleboard are considered toxic, and plywood has poor heat and sound insulation.
Of course, before you start making a birdhouse, you should stock up on the necessary materials and tools. First of all, these include untreated hardwood boards, thin nails (at least 4 cm long), odorless paint or special impregnation. Of the tools you will need:
- jigsaw or hacksaw;
- a hammer;
- pliers;
- roulette;
- pencil;
- tassel.
It is better to build a bird house according to a previously created drawing with the designation of all future blanks and their sizes. This advice is especially relevant if you plan to make several birdhouses at once. Such foresight will allow not only to make the correct cutting, but also to reduce wood consumption. After creating the drawing, you need to transfer the markup to the blanks. A standard birdhouse includes the following parts: front, back and side walls, bottom and lid. In addition, you need to prepare in advance a perch on which the birds will sit before entering the dwelling. Its length should be 4-5 cm, and its diameter should be about 10 mm. A worthy alternative to the perch can be a small shelf. As for the approximate dimensions of the main parts of the structure, they are presented in the diagram.
Now it's time to describe in detail how to build a birdhouse with your own hands. First of all, you need to cut out all the details, relying on the drawing and the markings applied. It is important that the boards are finished only on the front and sides, but on the inside they must remain rough. When dealing with the front wall, it is better to immediately drill a hole (tap hole) in it. This can be done using a brace, an electric drill or a jigsaw. The hole diameter should be no more than 5 cm. After connecting all the parts, you need to equip the back wall with a special bar for attaching the house, and the front one with a perch or shelf. In general, the reliability and strength of the structure largely depends on the assembly method. The correct algorithm for creating a birdhouse was reflected in the video material:
It is also worth mentioning that work should be done with gloves in order to protect hands from injuries and splinters. In addition, it is important to check that all parts at the joints fit together as tightly as possible. To do this, instead of nails, it is recommended to use self-tapping screws or screws. If there are gaps, it is better to cover them both from the inside and from the outside. The roof of the house can be gable or pitched with a slight backward slope. As a rule, the bottom of the finished product is covered with sawdust. When choosing paint for covering a birdhouse, it is recommended to give preference to calm tones, since too bright colors can scare away birds.
House made of cardboard
If the issue of settling birds needs to be resolved in record time, you should think about making a birdhouse from unnecessary boxes. Although cardboard is significantly inferior to wood in terms of strength and reliability, such a house may well hold out for one season. But this is only on condition that the material for the product is chosen correctly. The optimal solution would be corrugated cardboard, the hallmark of which is the presence of several layers. In addition to the main material, you will also need laminated self-adhesive paper, twine and starch to create a house. The list of tools required for work will include:
- scissors;
- cardboard cutter;
- pencil;
- square;
- ruler;
- compasses.
The first step is to mark the workpieces. After that, all the parts are cut in pairs and connected using a paste made of starch. The result is a double wall that is strong enough to be a bird sanctuary. In the front part, a small hole is made for the notch, and four holes are drilled in the back. They need to thread a string for the subsequent fixation of the birdhouse. Further, the parts are glued together end-to-end at a right angle. After completing the assembly, you will get a neat house, which must be wrapped with threads during drying for a more reliable hitch. The product will last much longer and will look much more attractive if it is pasted over with laminated paper from the outside. If the dwelling will be located on a tree, then it is better to mount it with clamps. A birdhouse made from durable materials needs regular cleaning after the warm season. Therefore, when creating it, you should provide for such a possibility.
Thus, there are many options for making birdhouses. Some of them will require a sufficient amount of free time and some effort from a person. Others are implemented in the shortest possible time using a variety of materials at hand. It doesn't matter what the idea behind the item is, the main thing is that it is made with love and a sincere desire to help the feathered brothers.
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