Build a Midcentury Modern Birdhouse With Me
"Welcome back to the second Dunn DIY glamping workshop! Today we'll be making a modern birdhouse so you can enjoy birdwatching in your own backyard. "
Welcome back to Dunn DIY's glamping workshop! Today, we'll be building a midcentury modern birdhouse together. If you have questions when you're building your birdhouse, we'll have a chat feature available below from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. so you can get help from the Dunn DIY team!
Step 1: Design
If you want to work out your own design for the birds in your backyard, check out this site for all the necessary information!
Step 2: Cut wood
First, we’re going to cut three square pieces for the floor, roof, and back wall. I like to always measure the width first and then copy that measurement down the length of the board to get a perfect square.
After you’ve cut three square pieces out of the one-by-eight board, measure and cut one piece that's ¾” shorter than the width of the board—this piece will be the left-hand wall. Next, cut one piece to 5” and one piece to 5 ¾”, these pieces will make up the front and inner side wall of the birdhouse.
All of the pieces we’ll be cutting are fairly similar in size, so I’m going to be stacking them in groups and labeling them with sticky notes so I don’t get them confused. I stacked the floor, roof, and back wall together because they’re all the same size. Then I stacked the 5” and 5 ¾” pieces, which are the front and side inner walls, together. And then I put the left-hand wall in a stack all by itself.
Step 3: Measure and drill doorway
Now we’re going to measure and drill the doorway for the birdhouse.
Lay out the front wall on our work surface—this would be the 5 ¾” piece. We used our speed square to measure up from the bottom 4 ¾”, centered it side to side (2 ⅞”), and marked it with a pencil. Grab a scrap piece of wood (you should have some leftover from cutting) and place it under your board. Clamp down your board and drill a hole with a 1 ½” spade bit.
Step 4: Sand all the pieces
Now that all the pieces are cut and the doorway is drilled, it's time to sand. Grab a sanding sponge and run it over all of the edges and the cut ends of the boards. Our goal here is to eliminate any large splinters at the edges of the boards from the cutting process.
If you have a small piece of sandpaper, it will be easier to sand the inside of the doorway. But you can totally get away with just using the sanding sponge if that’s all you have.
Step 5: Choose board fronts
Before we start assembling, consider where you want the smooth sides of the board and where you want the rough side. I decided I wanted all the smooth sides to be most visible from the front of the house, so I kept the smooth side on the tops of the floor and roof, on the inside of the outside walls, and on the outside of the inner walls.
Step 6: Optional paint
If you want to paint some contrasting walls on your birdhouse, now is the time to do it. I find that when you’re painting and staining different sections, it’s easier to do it at this point in the process. That being said, you can always go back later after you’ve finished the project and tape off the section you want painted. And if you want to stain the whole project, you can do that after all of the assembly.
Step 7: Assemble front and side inner walls
The first step of assembly is to attach the inner walls together (these are the 5” and 5 3/4” pieces).
Pre-drill two holes through the front wall (the piece with the doorway) with a 1/16” drill bit. You’ll want to position these holes near the top and bottom of the piece and about 3/8” from the edge. You can eyeball this or use your speed square to be exact. Grab your 1 ½” nails and begin to hammer them into these pre-drilled holes. I like to hammer them over the edge of the table until I can just see the point of the nail coming through the other side. Then position the side wall (this is the 5” piece) in place and press them together so that the points of the nails make an indent in the edge. This will make the hammering process easier.
Step 8: Assemble base
Next, we’re going to pre-drill the bottom piece along two adjacent edges (about 3/8” away from the edge). You’ll want holes at either end of both sides.
Once the holes are pre-drilled, position the back wall on top of the bottom piece and nail together in the same way you did the inner walls. Then position the outer side wall and secure in the same manner. When both walls are secured to the floor, pre-drill through the walls and nail them together.
Step 9: Attach inner and outer walls
Next, position the inner walls inside of the outer walls. Line up the inner walls so that they're even on both sides and mark the placement on the base of the birdhouse with a light pencil line. Drill holes into the base from top to bottom on the inside of the markings (about 3/8” from the pencil line).
Get your nails started in the bottom of the birdhouse before repositioning the inner walls and securing them with nails. Pre-drill two holes through the side of the outer walls, into the ends of the inner walls and secure with more nails.
Step 10: Add roof
Place the roof on top of the walls, and position hinges along the seam between the back wall and the roof. Secure the hinges in place with the accompanying screws.
