Bird House Kit Assembly

We hand out free bird house and bat house kits at fairs and events. These instructions are intended to help parents with no woodworking experience assemble these kits with their children.

The Bird House kit has its parts cut from wood recovered from pallets.

Two roof pieces. One is slightly shorter than the other.
Two matching sides
Matching front and back. You can tell which one is the front by the bird hole in the middle.
A bottom to use so the birds do not fall out of the house.

You will need two tools and some glue.

A drill with a 3/32 inch drill bit.
A hammer or a rock to hammer in the nails. I recommend the hammer option.
A drop or two of glue.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

The bird house is made from heat treated wood taken from pallets. There are no dangerous chemicals found in pressure treated wood. The wood is of varying type and quality and perfectly fine for a rustic bird house ready to be painted.

Pilot Holes

We are drilling pilot holes for the nails. This helps to stop the wood from splitting on these small pieces.

Assembly Steps

Step 1: Roof: Compare the two rectangular roof pieces and find the shorter one. Align them to be the same width. Then align the shorter one to thew edge of the longer. Drill two pilot holes through the longer board into the shorter one. Then hammer in a nail in each hole.
Step 2: Sides and Back: Take the back (again – the one without the hole) and align the sides to each vertical edge. Drill two holes through the back into each side. Then nail these pieces together.
Step 3: Front: Turn the house around and repeat the process from Step 2 for the front.
Step 4: Bottom: Place the house on top of the bottom. There should be plenty of room. Drill and nail from the sides into the bottom. It is okay that there are gaps. The birds will not mind. (I checked with the those that tested the design and they were fine.)
Step 5: Roof: Place the top on the house. Drill one hole on each of the opposite diagonal sides of the roof and nail. This just needs a couple of nails. Feel free to add nails if desired.
Step 6: Perch: Place a drop or two on the end of the dowel and insert it a little bit of the way into the small hole below the larger whole on the front to serve as a perch.
Step 7: Paint: Step back and admire your handywork. Paint as desired and place in a nice area for the birds to enjoy.

The bird house pieces laid out.

Place the back on the sides and drill the pilot holes

Remove the back from the sides and start the nails until they poke through.

Place the back on the sides and hammer in the nails.

Turn the bat house over and repeat the process for the fornt.

You may need to squeeze or push out a side when you drill to line everything up.

Find the small bottom piece.

Place the bird house on top of the bottom. There will be gaps.

Drill a pilot hole on one side of the bird house while it is upright.

Essential Blocks Slider Subtitle

Turn the bird house on its side and hammer in the nails. Do not hammer in nails without the bottom in place as the wood will split as it is not supported.

Turn over and drill a pilot hole on the other side.

Nail in the bottom

Turn the bat house upright and find the roof peinces

The shorter one goes agains the inside of the longer one