Wood choice for birdhouse

[Steven J Corpstein]

I'm going to build a bird house for Mom and wanted some suggestions on species of wood to use. I'm not building anything exotic, just a simple design. Thought about Cedar with an oil finish?

[Glenn Clabo]

Steven,
I've made a bunch of birdhouses out of cedar. Never used an oil finish but have left them plain and painted (exterior) some. Don't know if an oil finish would bother the birds.

[Jim Fuller]

Steven, I have made many bird houses for my wife, and the ones she likes best are made of old wood, such as weathered barn wood. No finish.
Are you making a real bird house, or a decorative bird house? If so you need to build it for the type bird you want to attract.
Cedar is good, but almost any wood, especially with finish, will last for years.
Good luck
Jim

[Herb Kelley]

If the houses are to be used by birds they need to be built with a specific bird in mind. Although other birds will use the box. I maintain a Bluebird trail. The houses I build for the trail are all made of cedar without a finish. They attract Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, House Sparrows and Wrens. I did do a few houses with painted roofs. Any wood will do but I would avoid treated wood and painting the interior for the health of the occupants.

[Chris DiCiaccio]

I've used western red cedar with good results for Bluebird Houses. Gave it a good two coats of clear poly on outside only.

<img src="http://members.aol.com/woodwk/BLBIRD1.JPG">
<img src="http://members.aol.com/woodwk/BLBIRDHS.JPG">

[Terry Quiram]

Steve

Any "weather resistant" wood will work. I prefer rough sawn because I DO NOT INSTALL A PERCH. The one way to ensure sparrows is install a perch. Some of your choices are Western Red Cedar, Southern Yellow Pine (barn siding), White Oak, Redwood. You can use Redwood and wire brush the surface to rough it up. Rough sawn gives the birds a surface to hold on to.

[Daniel Rabinovitz]

Steve
What the fellows above haven't told you but had alluded to is:
Different birds need different size holes for the entrance to the house.
Also different birds like the shape of the house different from other birds.

I personally prefer a 3 bedroom ranch style house but birds of a feather like differnet styles also.
Now, just being a little silly - I also want to mention that I am not a learned person when it comes to styles of bird houses, so maybe some of the other fellows can lead you onto a good book of birdhouse design or have that knowledge.

I know - I am no help
Best Regards
Daniel

[Earl Reid]

Steven, I'v made several bird houses over the years , and always used pine.some over more than 30 yrs old, painted.outsid and still being used by the birds. My son makes them out of cedar, that works good too. I'll try omiting the perches next time
Earl :)

[Lee Schierer]

I've used pine, cedar, maple, walnut, oak, hemlock, plywood and pvc to make bird houses. They aren't fussy if the house is sized right and in a suitable area. Just make sure the inside surfaces are rough too so the birds can climb out as well. Hardwoods that have been planed are too smooth for most of them to get a grip.

I've had pine birdhouses survive over 10 years with just an original coating of Thompsons water seal on them. The nails usually fail before the boards do!.

[Tony Falotico]

:) I have used some cedar but mostly cypress. Its easy to find in N. Fla, works well and lasts. I built several 5-6 years ago and they are still used every spring.

[William Gould]

For those who have used hemlock for birdhouse construction, does it need any protective finish or just left natural?

[Joe Hendershott]

I am no expert but have read that perches are often used by predators so not a good idea for a lot of bird houses,

[Stan Calow]

Our state wildlife office used to put out a birdhouse guide, saying that birds don't like finished or painted surfaces, as its not natural.

[Rob Luter]

Western red cedar. No exterior finish. Make sure the nesting cavity has a mesh or perforated bottom so it can breathe. The wood needs to breathe to prevent decay. I built a big feeder out of WRC 11 years ago and while gray as can be it’s still solid as a rock.

[Jim Becker]

Cedar is a good choice. I will admit that the most recent one I built was made from left-over ZipWall scraps. :) The birds don't care and it looks quite nice painted with that little bit of texture the material coating imparts.

[Robert Hayward]

I made four of these from western red cedar. A 2X6 off the rack at HD. Finished with boiled linseed oil. They were for the neighbors docks and have held up well so far in the Florida sun and humidity.

[Phil Mueller]

Years ago I made a few out of scrap purple heart. Darn if they aren’t holding up well. Weathered, but solid.

[mark kosse]

FWIW, I've gone to Trex type deck boards for both houses and feeders. I had a lot left over from a large deck. Machines nice, glues well(epoxy) and lasts.

[John C Bush]

I have used "repurposed" cedar fencing for bird houses- one of the advantages of living in the PNW-lots of 50 y.o. 1" x 6" rough saw pasture fencing-solid enough for adirondack chairs as well.
The new stuff is 3/4" or less but still works well for birdhouses and the fencing companies are happy glad to get rid of it.

[Warren Lake]

We have had a number of birds around town request Birds eye Maple.

Like Daniel im not much help :)

[Randy Heinemann]

I've used cypress and feel that it is more durable than cedar. Also, weatherproof decking is a good choice (not treated lumber but the plastic/wood version). It will last forever.

[Rod Sheridan]

I use cedar or pine, with the bottom in a groove so it can be removed every autumn to clean out the old debris.

I never use a finish on them, they seem to last 10 years or more without issue.

As others have said, dimensions and especially hole size are very important, birds seem to like a much smaller hole than I would guess is best.............Regards, Rod.

[Keith Pitman]

I use rough cedar fence slats I get inexpensively from Depot or Lowes. I also sometimes use old license plates for the roof. No paint.

[Phil Mueller]

Speaking of hole size, the local squirrels chew the holes wider and take over the box. So I started using a 1 1/4” diameter flange sink pipe to line the hole. I cut it about 1/4” longer than the thickness of the board, slide it in and bend over the back to hold it in place. Has worked great to keep the squirrels out. Looks kinda nice too.

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[Jim Becker]

Phil, I've made extension rings to help with that, but you have a great idea there!

[Stan Calow]

I epoxy large diameter bushing rings around the hole to protect it. Wren houses need no more than a one inch hole, no perch.

[Kevin Adams]

I epoxy large diameter bushing rings around the hole to protect it. Wren houses need no more than a one inch hole, no perch.

They don’t give them away, but LV sells nice copper hole covers in 2 or 3 different sizes that I’ve been using for my bird houses. Gives a nice touch and seems to keep the rude varmints at bay. And when I really want to get fancy, I bought some thin copper sheets and cut a small piece to make flashing for the roof peak with little copper tacks. They make fun little projects, esp with kids, and nice gifts.

Kevin