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Finally, I took the time to write down/draw the plan I used to make birdhouses that I posted here some time ago. I made another house from standard pine lumber leftovers and made this drawing. It is based on 3/4″ thick lumber, so you may have to adjust if you use something thicker or thinner. One thing absent from the drawing is a 6″ x 1 1/2″ piece of aluminum flashing that I nailed to the top of the roof to cover the gap between the sides of the roof.

I used pine this time, but I prefer using cedar or something more weather resistant. If you use pine, paint or stain it the exterior with a good exterior oil-based enamel or penetrating oil–preferably a penetrating oil. If you can use cedar, then no finish is necessary.

Unfortunately, I gave the birdhouse away as a gift before I remembered to take a picture of it. But it was similar to these.
Download birdhouse plan

I think my muse has returned. Busyness is the enemy of creativity. After an extremely hectic summer and fall things have slowed down to where my mind wanders to making things. This week I saw a pile of wood scraps and a broken shutter as what they could become. So I made a birdhouse for a friend as a housewarming present. The roof is made of the shutter slats–which were the perfect size and shape for overlapping roofing. The sides are made from cedar siding scraps—this I like because it should help the birdies with their parasites. Bugs do not like cedar, nor does fungus. The shell adornment was a souvenir of a trip to the coast and the aluminum flashing used to seal the top was purchased from a home improvement store for a weather proofing project around the house. This was a pretty quick and easy project and it made a fine gift for my friend’s new home. I intend to make a couple more as gifts.

Here is a second birdhouse I built as a gift. I am going to post a measured drawing here as well so you can knock one out at home. All you need is some wood, a saw, hammer, drill, and nails.