Free Bird
With a good glue and UniBond’s straightforward guide, making a birdhouse and bringing nature into your garden has never been easier.
Plans for building a birdhouse
You’ve got the wooden decking, the outdoor furniture, the flower beds and the pond – but what can really make your garden the ultimate sanctuary of tranquility? Yes, it’s the sound of birds chirping and singing, nature’s most calming ambient soundtrack.
How do you go about attracting birds into your backyard? One is a birdfeeder, but that requires constant refilling. Better yet, a birdhouse is something you can mount and leave for an avian family to discover and take residence in. With the right glue and the following plans for building a birdhouse, you can discover how easy it is to make your own.
Choosing the best glue for making a birdhouse
Given the birdhouse’s location in a British garden, at the mercy of summer heatwaves, autumn storms and freezing winter temperatures, you’ll need a glue that can stand up to all three. UniBond’s One For All range utilises Henkel’s patented Flextec technology to make it resistant to shocks, extreme temperatures (-30°C to + 80°C) and have superior elasticity. This extra strong and waterproof construction adhesive provides high strength and long-lasting bonding for wood, as well as for glass, plastics, brick, tile, stone, ceramic, concrete, metal and mirror.
How to build a birdhouse out of wood
Panels. Begin by cutting (or having them cut for you) the seven panels of wood you’ll need for making a birdhouse out of wood, measuring as follows:
- Two 5.5 x 7.25-inch panels for the front and back of the box. At 4.5 inches up both of the 7.25 inch sides, cut diagonally towards the centre of one of the 5.5 inch sides for a basic house shape.
- Two 4.5 x 6.5-inch panels for the sides.
- One 5.5 x 8.5-inch panel for the floor
- One 4.75 x 8.5-inch panel and one 5.5 x 8.5-inch panel for the roof
When choosing the wood, if possible go for a hardwood like oak or beech, as these are more hard-wearing. If you do select a soft wood like pine, be sure to treat it before assembling, in order to make it more weather-resistant.
- Entrance. Cut (or have cut for you) an entrance hole with a 1.5-inch hole saw bit in the centre of one of the 5.5 x 7.25-inch panels. Smooth its edges with sandpaper.
- Paint. If you want to paint your birdhouse, do it at this stage, before assembling the panels. Don’t use any bright, vivid colours that might actually deter birds from approaching it. Leave the interior and all joint surfaces unpainted.
- Assemble. Apply a line of glue along the 5.5-inch base of the front and back panels and glue them to the 5.5-inch front and back sides of the floor panel. Now apply a line of glue to the base and sides of the 4.5 x 6.5-inch side panels and gently slot them between the front and back panels to create all four walls of the birdhouse. If any glue seeps out of the joints, wipe away immediately with a damp (not wet) cloth.
- Roof. To assemble the roof, apply a line of glue to the 8.5-inch base of the 4.75 x 8.5-inch panel, then glue it to the top of the 5.5 x 8.5-inch so that they form an L-shape. When the glue has set, apply glue to the diagonal edges of front and back panels and place the roof on top on them to set it in place.