Tree Trunk / Tin Top Bird House

So I saw a bird house made like this so I gave it a shot. I liked the natural look with a little man made ( dare I say Steam Punk? ) look. It wasn’t that hard and I made it with stuff I had sitting around my garage.

A hunk of tree. I used a piece of wood that was basically unsplit firewood.
Chain saw or ban saw.
Forstner bit
Drill
Hammer
Wood chisels
Wood screws
Tin or aluminum ( or some other roof material option )
Pallet wood or some other flat piece of wood
Drill bits

Find the right piece of wood. It’s diameter needs to be enough so you can rip it, sawing off the back 1/3. I cut the piece of wood down to a manageable size before ripping the back of it. I used a chain saw to rip the back but depending on the size, a ban saw might work.

Now, you need to start “gutting” a nesting place out of the large piece. You’re cleaning the wood out from the back of the house. Before you clean it out, think about where your entrance will be coming in from the front and the size of the bird your trying to attract. There are plenty of web sites out there that will tell you what size bird house entrance will attract what species of bird. I used a Forstner bit to clean out the house.

I cut most of the house out and then drillled in from the front to make sure the living space was lined up with the entrance. The forstner bit is perfect for that.

So I cleaned it out. I made sure the entrance was not too long.
Now, I took a piece of aluminum pipe used for exhaust vents and cut a piece to cover the “roof”. I wanted to give it a little different look but was also hoping it would keep rain off the top of the house.
Attach the roofing material ( my roof didn’t look spectacular but again, it was the first one I made).

Now, how are you going to close up the back of the house? You can use the original piece you cut earlier. I used a piece of pallet wood and attached it with the wood screws. You may want to drill some starter holes to prevent splitting.

I forgot to take picture of a couple of the final steps. Sorry about that. But here’s the final product. I used the pallet wood on the back for a different look and so it would be easier to hang the bird house on my fence.

I’ll make a few more birdhouses soon and try to perfect the process. I may try cleaning out the birds living quarters with my chain saw instead of the forstner bit to see if it speeds up the build. But in the meantime, happy building!