Bird Condominium
joecool Jun 23, 2017
I had a post in a flower bed with a bird feeder on top of it. The post fell over and the (ancient) feeder broke into pieces. I replaced the post and decided a bird condo would be a more appropriate solution than another feeder. I found a metal design that I liked at a local shop but figured a pretty cedar version would be nicer for the birdies.
It's built from cedar I got about a year ago from a local sawmill. One piece of each roof is screwed on to allow me to clean the houses out each winter. The taller 2 houses have raised floors in them so the houses aren't abnormally tall on the inside.
We plan to paint the houses in a college motif - Clemson orange (for me), East Carolina purple (wife), and UNC blue (mil). The roof will be grey and the base will be green. The paint's going to wait a while so it can be fully dried out in the weather for a bit. And finally, the open "common area" at the bottom will probably get a bird-sized picnic table or jungle gym - the extra amenities will allow me to get more rent!
The inspiration. We found a shop where a metalworking dude makes all sorts of things - cows, chickens, bulls, etc. We saw this house and thought it would be perfect on the post! However, it's rusted pretty badly from being in the elements, it's not much more than a metal box which might deter some tenants, and it was $55. I used this picture as an inspiration though, and tried to design my condo to match it.
Precarious dry fit of the final product after cutting everything. I used a cedar shingle for the 2 larger roofs since I had one laying around. I wish I had enough of that left to make the bottom roof, but oh well.
The only design issue I found was that my 2nd tier roof peak was ever so slightly bumping into the lower end of the upper roof. No problem though - I squeezed it a bit and the thin, soft cedar was dealt with.
All the houses are individually glued and on the base for a final dry fit. I was going to put a dowel-shaped perch but decided a few of my offcuts would make a unique "nose" shaped perch. The base is a glue up of 3 pieces giving me about 15"x16". I knocked the corners off to avoid someone getting maimed since this will be near eye level in the yard.
The houses are glued together and on the counter to figure out the ideal placement on the base. I havent yet bought any screws for the removable clean-out roof pieces so the tape is still holding those pieces on.
Fully put together and the roof pieces are screwed on. Stainless screws should last a long time.
Sitting in its final home on the new pole at the lake. That's an Osprey nest on the post in the background - hopefully mama bird doesn't mind new neighbors!
A shot of the house on the post complete with flowers in the waning light at the lake!
A shot of the house on the post.
A shot of the house on the post.
Lynda - my mother in law - painted the condo! Orange for Clemson Tigers (for me), Purple for East Carolina Pirates (for my wife), and Blue for the North Carolina Tarheels (for my MIL). And bonus tiger paws on the Clemson unit!
Lynda - my mother in law - painted the condo! Orange for Clemson Tigers (for me), Purple for East Carolina Pirates (for my wife), and Blue for the North Carolina Tarheels (for my MIL).
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