Extreme birdhouse # 9

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

-- Mark DeCou - American Contemporary Craft Artisan - 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

-- John in Belgrave http://www.extremebirdhouse.com ....http://community.webshots.com/user/cranbrook2

I think this is my favorite of what I’ve seen so far. I can just imagine what it’s like to see one of these in person!

-- ~ www.darrylmasterson.com ~ www.darrylmasterson.etsy.com ~ www.woodworkingdungeon.blogspot.com ~

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!

-- "What one can make with good tools is limited only by one's talent" (lucius-hill@comcast.net)

they sure are impressive creations.

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Thanks Lou and Debbie
Almost all the houses are full now.
The birds are moving in faster then i can build them.

-- John in Belgrave http://www.extremebirdhouse.com ....http://community.webshots.com/user/cranbrook2

Did you have to use a crane to mount this on the stump?? This is a masterful job. Besides being the largest Birdhouse I have ever seen!

-- Carpe Lignum - Seize The Wood,

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.

-- John in Belgrave http://www.extremebirdhouse.com ....http://community.webshots.com/user/cranbrook2

Just fantastic. The scale alone is impressive, but the joinery and design really catapult this into orbit. I especially like the mansard roof.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

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

-- John in Belgrave http://www.extremebirdhouse.com ....http://community.webshots.com/user/cranbrook2

wow!! can you make me full sized tree house like that

-- dave m

I never get over how cool these things look!

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Thank you Dave and Gary

-- John in Belgrave http://www.extremebirdhouse.com ....http://community.webshots.com/user/cranbrook2

Does it have heating? If so, I’m coming to Canada to move in! Awesome birdhouse.

-- Max the "night janitor" at www.hardwoodclocks.com

Thanks Charles , it doesn’t have heat but then again my house doesn’t have much heat either . lol

-- John in Belgrave http://www.extremebirdhouse.com ....http://community.webshots.com/user/cranbrook2

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.

Thanks teenagewoodworker. The birds sure like them

-- John in Belgrave http://www.extremebirdhouse.com ....http://community.webshots.com/user/cranbrook2

Maybe they can see that from the space station?

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.

What specie of birds are nesting there????

-- http://www.furnituremann.ca/

Fantastic house. Makes mine look tiny.

-- Bruce from Central New York

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.

-- John in Belgrave http://www.extremebirdhouse.com ....http://community.webshots.com/user/cranbrook2

John, your extreme houses are awesome! I’ve also checked out your web site and there is even more fantastic pictures. For a total extreme birdhouse newbie like me, how long would you estimate one of these would take to build?

-- Paul D, Atlanta GA

Thanks Paul I guess it all depends on the size and style . Most of the time i don,t always know what i,m building at the time so they take a bit longer the first time .

I usually spend 1 day to clean up the wood , pull nails and then rip into logs .Once i have the logs ready to go they go pretty fast after that. This wood is 80 years old and i ran it through the planer.
I started this one yesterday and spent 6 hours on it so far. I am building 11 of them all at once now.

-- John in Belgrave http://www.extremebirdhouse.com ....http://community.webshots.com/user/cranbrook2

Thanks for the follow up John. I may consider doing one of the plans you have posted on your site. It would make for a fun weekend project.

-- Paul D, Atlanta GA

Thanks Paul , There are a couple of guys on this site that have done the cape cod . I am hoping to have 10 more plans by summer time.

-- John in Belgrave http://www.extremebirdhouse.com ....http://community.webshots.com/user/cranbrook2

Thats very nice of you to create high class living spaces for our foul friends, and mabe an occasional bat.

-- another tip from cooperedpatterns

Thanks Randolph , the birds are still nesting in them now getting ready for winter .

-- John in Belgrave http://www.extremebirdhouse.com ....http://community.webshots.com/user/cranbrook2

holy moly

-- Vroom! Vroom!

great job John
The wisconsin woodchuck

-- Chuck, wiswood2 www.wisconsinwoodchuck.com