Mark Rayner builds a bird house.
You will need:
Also required: exterior PVA glue, galvanised or stainless steel hinge, drill with 1.5mm, 12mm and 40mm size bits, 40mm galvanised jolt head nails, 19mm galvanised flat head nails, circular saw, sandpaper, set square, tape measure, hammer, paintbrush, pencil, Resene Quick Dry waterborne primer undercoat and Resene Lumbersider tinted to Resene Colonial White and Resene Green House.
Top tip: To keep the house safe for birds we used untreated materials, so make sure the plywood is primed and painted thoroughly for maximum protection from the elements.
To get the look: Mark stained the background fence with Resene Woodsman Penetrating Oil Stain tinted to Resene Bamboo.
Step 1
Measure pieces of plywood to fit the above dimensions. Use the set square’s corner to mark the pitch of the gable roof on the front and back walls - the sides should each measure 250mm.
Step 2
Cut out the plywood pieces with a circular saw and smooth rough edges with sandpaper. When cutting out one side of the awning, the saw blade will need to be set at 45° so it slopes down when attached.
Step 5
Attach front, back and side walls, fixing along each edge with 40mm nails and PVA glue. With nails and glue, attach the base front shelf edge to the base and then the house to the base.
Step 6
Drill 1.5mm pilot holes and then nail, with 19mm nails and glue the awning in position. Paint the birdhouse interior with two coats of Resene Green House, allowing two hours for each coat to dry.