How to Make a Bluebird House

Bluebird House Making with Uncle Dan Bates

Mini Mack subscribers might remember last summer’s post from Weedsport with the great Uncle Andy. A lovely time during breakfast at Great-Grandma’s in Weedsport, NY where I harassed an uncle with endless questions. I figured the tradition should continue and being that Uncle Dan pretty much threw himself in the line of fire…uh, um, honorary interviewing time… he was my latest victim, I mean honored guest.

Uncle Dan arrived with wood and nails in hand. He had decided to hire the Mini Macks and Mini Mack cousins for the day to build bluebird houses. Nearly losing his gumption to move forward with the build, my sister in law, Angela, and I gathered the eager crew for their first on-site build. Drum roll please…

How did you get started in carpentry?
There’s an easy answer to that… I come from many generations of carpentry. I am actually the black sheep plumber. Grandfather from the other side, Grandpa Watrous, was a big influence as he was a carpenter-painter.

So you worked with him?
Worked and watched. Mostly watched, but had some chances to work in the shop he oversaw. Never got to use a table saw much without him being right there.

 Favorite tool?
A noisy one.

 What was your most memorable build?
A good build is the satisfaction of doing a job well done and the people that share it with me. My most memorable was with Uncle Matt building his parents’ house. It was fun. I enjoyed that. Plus it was for family. I was allowed to wear my hunter’s hat on the hottest days – like Elmer Fud.

I had a lot of fun in school too. We had a shop teacher three times my size, Mr. Graham, who we called Bear. His wife was my fourth grade English teacher and he was my high school shop teacher.

Half the fun is just using what you got. The birdies don’t care. They don’t usually go around with a real estate agent – usually. I don’t think I used all the correct nails or properly sanded wood. But I haven’t had a complaint from the birdies yet.

Best memory with Bear?
Some of the guys would glue and nail down workbenches, but I remember building shelves and step stools. We would turn bowls and vessels – centrifugal art with wood. We didn’t do any metal work, mostly wood.

Why bluebirds?
Because in my early days, DDT (the poison that was trying to combat bugs), Orioles and Bluebirds were hit and it seemed like a good thing to help them along. I have one family out where I am, maybe two. I am trying to get one here at Grandma’s. Not sure what attracts them.

What makes it a house unique to bluebirds?
The holes are an inch and a quarter which helps keep predators out, but still big enough to let bluebirds in. I cut kerf lines in it to help with footing and climbing. Not sure really. I just like it.

So you pre-drill the holes before you nail in the nails, what’s the reason for this?
To help keep the wood from splitting when you build it and it helps as it ages. It helps the nails embed. It is only pine, which is some of the palette wood you will find. It is a good source of stock for me.

Do you paint or stain the birdhouse after its done?
Not usually. It weathers on its own. Cedar is also great for that.

The birdhouse template sketched on the cardboard is a piece of work in itself. Is this how you plan out all your woodworking projects?
It is nice to have a plan – although free-form is nice too – to work within some parameters. I remember having a piece of paper in my wallet for years with the measurements. The purpose of the template is much like a lady’s dress pattern.

How was it working with the Mini Macks and Mini Mack Cousins?
It was like trying to take the bass guitar to my daughter’s class when she was a kid. The teacher was like “these are only kids,” as I tried to explain how music came from a guitar and all those details. So working with the Mini Macks (laughs)… Who would get to nail first was the biggest challenge. I finished pre-drilling the holes and then I just tried to stay out of the way.

You mean because their skills weren’t, um, professional?
I am sure they were expecting to work with a professional. I didn’t want to bring them down too fast, too hard. I was just a stand in.

For who?
The real guy was on vacation.

Did you have fun?
Of course, I am still having fun. Some say I work best by myself, but I don’t agree. I enjoyed working with the kids. It would be crazy not too (and because their parents told me too…that it was a great idea (smiles broadly)).

Do you agree that it was a “great idea” after experiencing it?
Do I have ‘Fourth Thoughts’? (laughs) Yes, I still think it’s a good idea. Cody will back me up.

Without Further Ado…

Weedsport Bluebird House with Uncle Dan
(Printable Supply List, Instructions, and Template here)

Supply list:
Cedar or pine 6’6” x 8”, cut to size per the template instructions (click here for printable template and instructions)
17, 2’’ galvanized nails (helps protect it form the weather)
1, 2’’ galvanized finish nail (hardly a head on the nail is the difference from the above. Easily embed into wood and covered if you want to hide them.)
2, 1 ½ inch galvanized finished nails
1, 1 ½ counter sunk wood screw (It is for the door, but really I just made another hole and put a nail in it to help hold the door. This is to open it to clean it, look in, observe. They tend to have two nests a season. Their nests are picture-perfect. Round precise well built nest. So I don’t like the idea of cleaning them out, but that is what’s recommended).

Building Instructions:

• Size and cut boards to the template
• Sides and Backboard: gather sides (#2 and #3) and backboard (#1). Align the sides’ edges flush onto the backboard’s face. Pre-drill nail holes through rear of backboard into sidepieces. You should have three predrilled holes for each side. Then nail through holes.

• Floor (#4):insert between sides and flush with backboard. It should recess within the sides by one inch. Predrill two holes through rear of backboard into floor piece. Also, predrill two holes through each side into floor. Follow with nails.

• Door (#5): The door should now lie between sides and against front edge of floor. Be sure door is low enough within sides so as to not hit the roof when opening (about a half inch below the wall’s (sides) height). This spacing between the door and roof also helps with ventilation. Predrill hinge holes, half inch from the bottom of each side. Follow with nails. Test door to be sure it opens and set roof piece on top of house to see it clears the roof. Tap with hammer if aligning needs adjusting.

• Roof (#6): Now, align the roof with the sides and back. Roof could be flush with outside of backboard so as to not interfere with mounting. Or, our preference for “cute factor”, is to allow the roof to overhang the back of the birdhouse by an inch. Predrill four holes, one on each corner, followed by nails.

 Now go hang it in a spot in the yard for all to see!

Pictured above: Paulette Mack, a.k.a. the best mother-in-law a gal could ever have and the most fantastically-creative-energizer-bunny-top-of-the-list-Grandma to the Mini Macks and Mini Mack Cousins; Ethan Mack (Jon and Angela’s youngest, 16 mo.); Cody Mack (19 mo.), Ryder Mack (5 yrs); Eli Mack (Jon and Angela’s oldest, 3.5 yrs); Aurora “Rory” Mack (3 yrs)