Our Shabby, Bird Condo--A Tutorial

For Rent--

One room, with bed, in three story condo complex. A little shabby in places, but big and roomy. Will make a nice, warm place for those cold winter nights. Straw is  provided. No pets or cats allowed...Call 870-birdhse

Okay. . . .We're having a little fun here at the farm this week. . . .
It can't be all work and no play, right?

I've had this shabby bird condo in mind for over three years now, but it seems there's been other things higher on the list. . . .And, I had to convince the inside-the-box guy that two large ammo cases would work for a birdhouse. . . .

As many of you know, I've been on a quest this summer to clean out and organize storage buildings and barns, as well as the house. When I found these ammo cases stored in the farm shop this week, I thought, "What better way to clean out than to finish a project that's been put off for years?"

So, I did ask the inside-the-box guy (John) for his help. . . I knew this was one project I could not do alone. . . .He graciously accepted the challenge, although he still didn't see how it would work. . . .

For Do-It-Yourselfers, here's what we did:

Believe it or not, I bought the ammo cases for $5.50 each--about 3 years ago. . . .

For this project, we used two. . . .

 The two were laid together on saw horses, with the doors opening on the sides. . . .

And were nailed together on the inside. . . .

A piece of scrap wood was centered and attached
on the outside for the porch. . . .

We found this baby bed in the trash a few years ago. . . .
perfect for the porch supports. . . .
and helps with the clean out, too. . . .

It's not a bird condo without holes. . . .

Wood from a palette was used for the porch roof. . . .

It was supported with more scrap wood. . . .

We used the cut off ends from the porch spindles for the two top condo perches. . . .

Driftwood, collected at the Mississippi River, was attached for the lower perches. . . .

A triangle cut from barn wood formed the roof line. . . .front and back. . . .

Trim was added from the baby bed headboard. . . .

More palette wood was used for the condo roof. . . .

If your bird condo is to function as a birdhouse, 

shelves should be inserted and nailed for the individual "rooms". . . .

I wanted outdoor storage, so we didn't add shelves to this one. . . . 

To bring it all together, I whitewashed the entire condo with latex paint and water, but leaving the porch floor, the porch roof, and the condo roof their weathered gray. . .It was at this point that John admitted, "Hey, that looks good!"

He agreed we should place the finished bird condo on our porch. . . .

for "rent". . . .

and for fall decorating. . . .

Total cost: $11, plus a few nails. . . .

Another re-purposing project scored a success. . . .


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