Affordable Housing - Part 1

The bird house that you see here is of my own design.         

Sure, it's adapted from something else but it is unique. It is not patented but rarely imitated. It has a hinged roof for easy clean-out. A hook for locking the lid. And an entry hole too small for English sparrows.        

For more than a decade and a half we have been installing nest boxes here on the Platz to provide homes for cavity-nesting song birds.

You know - tree swallows, house wrens and blue birds namely.         

The first two boxes I made in 1994 were constructed of scrap plywood and lasted only a couple of years. Nevertheless, it was a whim that took root.

Since then I have eschewed nails and Thompson's Water Seal - although after decades a few of those boxes remain in use.                 

The box you see here is somewheres around the fourth or fifth generation prototype. It is made of pine and treated with a sealant/stain. It's design adheres to a standard template and it has a life expectancy of about a decade - more if I'm lucky..                

Because this latest iteration is assembled from standardized parts - Think Henry Ford - that means I can make multiple copies of this box and as the boxes are damaged or need components replaced.  A busted lid is the most common followed by the occasional split wall.  All I have to do is back-out the non-corrosive screws, slap-in a replacement part and we're back in business with a genuine factory rebuild.

Just like the new roof on this 2006 box      

There are about 50 these nest boxes (give or take) strategically situated on our 80 acres.          

I spent the last week strolling about with Jill and the dogs - cleaning out old nests, evicting mice and bringing damaged boxes to the workshop for servicing.                   

The old pine boxes holding-up reasonably well with some periodic maintenance while the cedar redesign deployed in 2013 are doing very well.  Another cohort of cedar nest boxes has been constructed and is ready to be deployed.

Check back in a couple of days for more about this story.....