Recycled Owl Houses

While cutting some trees, I found some that were hollow.  I set them back thinking I might use them.  I later rebuilt a fence, and found a post that was hollow.  Inside the post, I found left over bird nests.  This gave me the idea.  Use these as owl houses.  I will show the  way I built the small owl house.  The large hollow logs are going to take a little more effort, but I think they will work.  I'm not sure if owls will build, or some other critter may move in.  Nevertheless, some creature should make use of the home.

To build a recycled owl house, you have to find logs or posts that are hollow.  The following is a list of items I used:
Hollow post
2 x 8 board ( I had some laying around)
1 x 4 board ( this should be about a foot longer than the cut post for mounting)
8-12, 3" wood screws
3' piece of all thread
4 nuts and washers to fit the all thread

Putting it together just takes a little time and maybe some patience.  I cut the post at 10", making sure I got use of holes already in the posts.  This makes for more natural appearance than a drilled hole.  I cut the top at a slight angle so that when the top is attached, water will run away from the nest.  Next, I cut the 2 x 8 big enough to cover the bottom and top.  Then I painted the boards to add some protection to the wood.  I used the wood screws to attach the boards to the post, after the paint dried.  To make the box more stable, I used the all thread to tie the top to the bottom.  I used one piece in the back corner, and one in the opposite front corner.  Once all of this was done, I attached the painted 1 x 4 to the back, screwing it into the top and bottom board.  The reason for this back board is to mount the owl box to a tree.  The only thing left is to find a good tree to mount it to.  Be careful if you have to climb or use a ladder.  

The large hollow logs I found will have to be modified a bit.  As you can see from the size of the logs, it would be very hard to mount an original piece to a tree.  My plans are to cut them down, or in half.  If it works out right, I should have two houses, maybe three from each piece.