Salvaged Junk Birdhouses ~ #trashure Fun

Having a junk stash is rewarding many times over. It never fails I’ll need some scrap of wood or bit of metal for something and I always find what I need. I’ve been kinda anxious to refresh my stash, so I thought I would take on a project that would not only help me use up some of my #trashure, but also benefit some feathered friends too. Stick around and we’ll create some salvaged junk birdhouses together.

What you see above is a smidgen…I mean a SMIDGEN of the stuff I have stashed in my workshop just waiting for new life. When I see a pile like this I get so absolutely giddy because it’s time to create. Anyone else feel like that when you spy potential? I know I’m not alone.

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I also have a wood stash that is in need of purging so I can get more. Yes, we use up to make the adventure of the hunt begin again. It’s a vicious cycle of create and hunt. I LOVE IT because you never know what you’ll find. Up above is a perfect pile of cabinet grade ply just waiting for new life.

For my salvaged junk birdhouses, I had 3 different designs in mind. To get the look of a barn for one of them, I used a piece of the dog-ear fence panel off a fence gate I had JC bring me from the neighbor’s curb down the street. Ya know, one of those times you beg your husband to drag a really heavy piece of the neighbor’s house down the street. He’s so good to help me on my adventures, isn’t he?

I would have made it all from the weathered fencing, but I didn’t have enough. BTW, you should stick to only using non-pressure treated wood anyway. Just like us, our feathered friends don’t need chemicals either.

I simply traced the board, then cut the corners with my jigsaw and the length with my miter saw. Once I had my end pieces, I decided the depth I wanted and cut two pieces for sides. Using my clamps to hold it all together, I then used my nailer to tack on three sides. The fourth side would get two holes pre-drilled and then nails added in to make hinges so that side can be opened to clean it out the old nesting material annually. If you’re interested, you can take a peek at my tool arsenal HERE.

For my barn roof, I found pieces of ducting leftover from our kitchen remodel. That gray metal was perfect for my mini barn, don’t you think? With my tin snips and jigsaw, I cut it up into several roofs.

For my next two styles of salvaged junk birdhouses, I wanted to make a farmhouse and a church. Since plywood alone would not hold up well in weather unless protected, I intended to add a sort of siding to my salvaged junk birdhouses. I turn to my stash of garden picket fences and start to dismantle them. You should have seen JC’s face when I had him help me pull a whole stack of fencing off the curb and stuffed them into our vehicle. haha! Gotta love me!

It took a bit of doing to take them apart,  and then just had to remove the staples. The time consuming, but fun. The hard part was cutting them all to fit with angles and all.

After all the siding is added, making sure to cut and attach it so the sides can still open, it’s time to add my scrap fun. Plus, I needed to pick what size hole to drill since each bird likes a certain diameter. I decided to use a 1 ¼” spade bit and my drill to accommodate many species.

Here are my feathered friends new custom homes. Now…I’m curious as to which one is your favorite?

I have 6 different salvaged junk birdhouses in 3 styles. Each has unique designs and is a one-and-only because of the salvaged parts. Of course, I asked my family which was their favorite and they each picked a different one. Fun!

If you look close, you can see that each one has unique knob on the door that allows you to access and clean it out yearly. That keeps the birdhouse a healthy spot for babies to be born. Plus, their perch is a hand-forged square nail out of the 1800’s reclaimed hickory wood we used for our kitchen counters. Yes, I asked JC to save them all as he pulled them out.

Don’t they look cute nestled in on my garden shed? Every item on this porch, aside from the plants and tools came from the curb or was retrieved for free. You can see the stories about them here:

• changing table potting bench
• barn beam bench
• my seed store sign

These little houses are suited for functional homes for birds in your yard and around your home.

However, they also look cute indoors as decor too. Gotta love some junk fun, right?

These salvaged junk birdhouses are a limited time offer in my shop as I won’t be making more like this since I ran out of these exact materials. Grab one while they last! They are created to rest on a surface, but a hanger or post mount can be added at your request.

My hope is that you not only enjoyed my little creating adventure, but are inspired to give DIY a try too. There’s much fun to be had in making use of unwanteds.

Do pin and share to inspire others too. It makes life more fun!

Up next, this curbside find mirror is getting a new look and new place in my home.

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