John:
Your are showing a levelof bird house building that blows my mind. Are these for a specific type bird? I have seen Marten houses that were big, but nothing with the styling and size of these house you are building. I like the post also, the branches coming up to support each wing is cool. I built blue bird houses (80) of them one time, and then spent the next 3-4 years trying to sell them all, never did do that. But, they were just little wood boxes with one hole for a door.
Tell us some more about what is obviously a passion for you. What got you started, where do you get your design ideas, how to you get the reclaimed materials, what do the birds think, and more? I know I am left with lots of curious questions when I see your work. Thanks for sharing them with the rest of us,
Mark DeCou www.decoustudio.com
Thanks Mark
i used to build houses,decks ,fences and anything wood for over 20 yrs until an injury about 4 yrs ago. i decided to just build things from home instead of sitting around.
i also use to tear down old barns so i had a huge pile of barn wood. i started by building a 2 ft log birdhouse then i just got carried away. i have built 19 extreme birdhouses so far. largest being 9 ft wide .
i have won woodworking contest for them and also featured in local newspapers. i am also doing an article for a Canadian woodworking magazine.
i just recently learned that the size of the holes will determine the type of bird. i have 7 or 8 birds nesting in each of them now.
it takes me about an hour to mount the large houses with 2 men. i use a farm tractor with forks to lift them in place. i dig the holes for the post by hand 5 ft .i am also going to sell patterns and kits for them in the near future. www.cranbrookcreations.com
thanks again Mark
john
im sure all the birds that live around you are very happy! do you acctually use them for bird houses, and do birds live in them? it would be fun to see these in person!
The Panama Jack
I use a farm tractor to mount them.
It takes about an hour to mount one with 2 guys .
My neighbors 14 yr old boy drives the tractor and i do the bracing.
I will be mounting a 6 ft birdhouse soon and i will post some pics.
Thanks Douglas
I really like the old Victorian houses the most.
They had a lot more detail on the houses back then.
I also did a similar design on # 20
thanks again
john
thats insane. seeing that picture just took everything i knew about birdhouses and threw it out the window. you should try sending that into a magazine like fine woodworking. maybe they'll put it in the projects section.
Undoubtingly the biggest bird houses I have ever seen.
You are right about the hole size for birds although some birds dont much care. Purple Martins wont inhabit the apartment house if there is another specie already there. Contrary to popular belief, it is unlikely that Martins eat mosquitoes, choosing to eat the very bugs that eat mosquitoes.
Thanks roman and Bruce , I get mostly sparrows and swallows in these large houses. I do have purple martins but they are in some of the small houses and the holes are much bigger. They are set up far away from the big houses.