Offcut Stack Birdhouse

A bird house with a difference that does not conform to the standard convention of four walls and a roof.

I would make it out of offcuts stacked on top of each other with a central hole.

The offcuts are bolted together with threaded rod and the central hole capped at both ends to make a box with an access hole in the front.

All the pieces that make up the house are all exactly the same shape and size, meaning no odd shapes to contend with.

Its simply a case of drilling a large central hole in all but 2 pieces and aligning them vertically.

Decking boards H 9.5" (24cm) x L 9.25" (23.5cm) x W 4.75" (12cm) - Qty 10

Wood Screws 5mm x 50mm - Qty 2

M8 nuts - Qty 2

M8 T nuts - Qty 2

M8 Threaded Bar 10.5" (26.7cm) - Qty 2

M8 1" (25mm) plain washers - Qty 2

M6 1.62 (45mm) bolt

M6 plain washer

M6 nut

3mm drill

8mm drill

102mm Holesaw

32mm Holesaw

Cylinder pull latch

22mm flat drill

Hammer/Mallet

The bird house is designed for small birds such as chickadees and tits

The design has been created in Tinkercad and can be found here: Offcut_Birdhouse

The bird type defines certain design features.

Most designs are square and as such this defines a floor size of 4"x4" (10.16cm x 10.16cm), this design 2" (5.08cm) radius.

A height between 6"-10" (15.42cm-25.4cm), this design is 9.52" (24cm)

Hole diameter 1.125" (2.86cm), this design as specified

Hole above floor 8"-10" (20.32cm-25.4cm), this design 7.5"(19cm)

Box above ground 6'-15' (1.82m-4.6m)

Further details can be found at Birdwatching Bliss*

*Not affiliated to this site in anyway and you may have your own preference.*

The offcuts consisted of 10 rectangles of 24mm x120mm cut to 23.5cm.

I already had the offcuts available but if not these can be cut from a full size length which is 1.8M long.

Identify the centre (60mm x 11.75cm), and mark.

Fit a sacrificial plank beneath the plank to be drilled to protect the work area and clamp the plank to be drilled above it.

With a 102mm hole cutter drill out a hole in each of the eight planks.

Mark the block at (60mm x 45mm), from the end, do this at both ends and drill 2 x 6mm holes.

Do this on 8 of the planks.

The 9th plank is the bottom of the house and blocks the end of the hole created by the stack.

Take the 9th plank and drill 2 x 8mm holes at (60mm x 45mm), from each end.

These holes are to accommodate the T-nuts, tap them in with a hammer to force the prongs in to the wood to lock them in place.

Stack all nine blocks together and fit the 6mm threaded bar of length 27cm through both holes from the bottom and screw into the T-nuts.

Once these are attached fit a washer and nut on the bottom end and tighten.

This now holds the stack together.

Align the lid with the top of the main stock.

Mark at 60mm x 25mm and drill 3mm holes at both ends of the block in to the lid and through to the block below.

These hole will hold the lid in place.

Then with a 22mm flat bit drill to a ~5mm depth using the centres of the threaded bar as a marker. These holes are to accommodate the top of the T-nut.

Drill two 8mm by 10mm deep holes coincident with the centres of the 22mm diameter holes.

Turn the plank over and align with the tops of the threaded bar it should fit flush with the previous plank.

Fit two 5mm x 50mm screws to hold the lid in place.

Mark a vertical line along the centre of the stack.

Measure 50mm from the top of the stack along this line, this will be the bottom edge of the hole.

From this mark measure up 16mm this is the centre of the 32mm hole to be cut in the front of the box.

Drill the hole.

Dependent upon whether the planks where cut specifically for the task or offcuts. It may be required to trim the the edges of the house to level them up.

Mark the edges with a tri square to identify the material to remove, highlight with tape if required.

With a saw (hand, band or circular), trim off the excess to create straight sides.

To discourage squirrels from gnawing the hole wider fit a metal guard with a suitably sized hole.

I used a metal cylinder pull latch and fixed it to the front with a 6mm bolt.

A large washer could be used instead.

The bird house is complete.

So as not to discourage any birds with the addition of chemicals I did not add any preservative treatments.

The house can be mounted to a flat surface by L shaped brackets attached to the threaded rod at the bottom or by attaching flat brackets to the back that protrude beyond the lid or out to the side. Even a combination of both subject to the size of the brackets.

If mounting to a pole attach with u-brackets.

These are just a number of many fixing options subject to the mounting point.