Introduction: Making a Birdhouse

By FS Woodworking

There is nothing like a family of birds moving in and building their nest. Building a bird house will definitely help them and it is also a good opportunity to work with our kids and teach them how to love and protect nature.

This was an easy build, not many tools needed and it was a lot of fun.

So lets get started to see what we need and how to build this birdhouse.

Tools And Materials:

  • Sliding miter saw
  • Router
  • Straight router bit (any size)
  • A few 25mm nails or brad nail gun
  • Hammer
  • Pencil
  • Tape Measure
  • 6 16mm screws
  • Drill
  • 45mm hole saw
  • Screwdriver
  • 12mm plywood (I used baltic birch)
  • 6 mm plywood (also baltic birch)
  • 8mm wooden dowel
  • Wood glue

This is a video of the building process ,step by step:


Step 1: Left and Right Side

First we need to make the sides of our birdhouse. Those are made out of 12mm thick plywood, and they have a 6mm deep groove on either side, 8mm in from the edge. The grooves must be 7mm wide. Those grooves will hold the front and back sides of the birdhouse. We can do that either using a mitre saw with a depth stop like mine, or a table saw, or by using a router with a straight router bit and a guide.

So we just cut two pieces 17 x 20 cm and we make the two grooves on each one of them. In the end we should have something like this.

Step 2: Bevels on the Two Sides

Then we set our mitre saw or table saw at 42 degrees and we cut two bevels, one for each side. At this point we need to make sure that the grooves are facing down when we cut the bevels because we want our pieces to match.

Step 3: Front and BackSide

For the front and back sides we start by cutting two pieces of 6 mm thick plywood (18 x 27 cm).

Then we set our mitre saw on 42 degrees angle and we cut out two triangles from each side. Once we put all the pieces together we should have something like this.

Step 4: Bottom Side

Now for the bottom side we need one more piece of 12mm plywood. We cut a piece (20 x 17 cm). Here we also make two grooves for the front and back panel to fit in. Again the grooves must be 8mm from either side 6mm deep and 7mm wide.

Step 5: Assembly

We assemble the birdhouse using some wood glue and some nails on the bottom.

Step 6: Roof

The roof is quite easy. Just two pieces of 12mm thick plywood. One piece (16 x 21) and one more (14.8 x 21).

We glue them together forming an L shape with some wood glue and some 5cm wood screws. Them we add some glue on the top of the front and back sides and on the bevels of the left and right sides and with some 25mm nails or a brad nail gun we secure the roof in place.

Step 7: Hole and Perch

The birds must have access to the inside of the birdhouse obviously and for that we are going to drill a 4.5cm hole on the front of the birdhouse around 12cm from the top.

For the perch we drill a 8mm hole 2.5cm below the first hole and with some wood glue we secure a 8mm wooden dowel.This dowel should be 6cm long.

Step 8: Removable Floor for Cleaning

Now we need to make a removable piece at the bottom of the birdhouse for easy cleaning. Mark 2.5cm from each edge and cut with a jig saw as pic3. Then with a router and a straight router bit make a rabbet on each side inside the hole you have just made with your jig saw.

Finally cut out a piece of 6mm plywood to fit the hole and secure it with some screws. You can also use hinges and a latch for easier access.

Step 9: Trimming (Optional)

At this point you can start painting your birdhouse the way you like it but I decides to use some scrap pieces of window trimming to make it a bit more pretty. Cut four pieces and glue them around the bottom part of the birdhouse and also use some nails to secure them in place.

Step 10: Holes for Drainage and Ventilation

Drill two holes on the bottom, for drainage and ventilation. Use a 8mm or 10mm drill bit for that.

Step 11: Finish

Paint your birdhouse the way you like it and also apply two coats of spray lacquer to waterproof it. Make sure that the paint and the lacquer are completelly dry before you hang the birdhouse on the wall or on a tree.!!

Have fun!!!!