Bird House Plant Stand / Lawn or Garden Ornament

Phillipcardjr
by Phillipcardjr
Recently I saw a plant stand on Pinterest that I thought looked sharp. There were angled side arms and places for three small flower pots. I had purchased some white wood a few months back to make bird houses but had held off building any since nesting season was a few months away. The design I came up with is dissimilar to the one mentioned and also provided a re-purposed food grade bucket for additional plants or vegetables.
These are the plant stands I have finished so far. It is too early in this part of the country to add the potted flowers, though I may purchase just a few so I can take some photos of what the stands will look like when placed.
The bird house was made with new wood. The posts are either a used piece of 2 by 4 , or a sturdy tree branch I got out of my parent's woods. The buckets are from part of a collection used to harvest potatoes by members and volunteers of Southerntierantiquetractor ( .com/ if you want to see what the NON profit group does). There were more than enough buckets for the plant stand project, and my starting a container garden behind the garage ( but that will be another post hopefully).
This shows the two types of posts used in the project. The wood in the previous photo is for the bird house,and the top and bottom of the post. 2/ 1'' by 6'' by 12'' for front and back. 2/ 1'' by 4'' by 11'' for the sides. 1/ 1'' by 4'' by18'' for the floor. 1/ 1/2'' by3 1/2'' by12'' pallet wood piece, and 1/ 1/2'' by 3 1/2'' 9'' piece. 1 /1 by 6 by 7'' piece. If you don't have pallet wood to work with simply use the 1'' by 4'' wood and those same lengths. You will also need some gravel or rocks for a base support. I used creek gravel.
You will also need a piece of 3/8'' dowel rod,or as I did use pieces of branches that fit snuggly into the hole. Dry wall screws needed and other items needed are listed in the posting at my site. You can paint the bird house whatever color you desire but lighter colors will soak up less heat. Rustoleum clear gloss was used to protect the paint. The rest of the project doesn't make sense without the other materials needed added here. Drywall screws sizes 1 1/2 '' and 3'' and 2''. 4d finishing nails , some rubber silicone or flexible caulk. A hand or power saw, measuring tape and ruler. more materials are listed as well as tool further in the post.
Once all the pieces of wood have been cut to size take the 1 by 6 by 12s and on the long sides measure in 3/8''and draw a light pencil line down each side , then from the top measure down 1 and 1/2'' 5 and 1/2'' and 9 and 1/2'' mark these spots and drive the 4d finishing nails in them till they just reach the otherside. Take a 1 by 4 by 1'' and place it along the edge and flush with the top and pound the top nail in then the bottom nail then the middle one. Do the same with the other 11'' piece, turn the entire thing over and nail the other 12'' 1 by 6 in place.
Now it is time to secure the floor piece. Take the 18'' 1 by 4 and in from the end 6 and 1/4'' mark the spot and center the house on the board. You will need a drill with a 1/32 nds bit a 3/8'' bit , a 1 and 1/4'' or 1 and 1/2''wood hole bit or hole saw bit. and a philips head bit. With the small bit drill two guide holes 1'' in from each side and 1/2'' up from the bottom only through the front and back piece then with the floor piece centered and using the 2'' screws fasten it in place. Next drawing a light vertical center line and marking a spot for a single opening 7'' up from the bottom drill the hole size you chose. 1 and 1/2'' down from the hole drill a 3/8'' hole for the perch. If making two holes use the 1 and 1/4 '' bit and make one hole 3'' down from the top and the other up 6 and 1/2'' from the bottom. The top perch hole is down 1'' and the lower perch hole 1 and 1/2''.
For the top , the front should overhand about 1 and 1/2'' with 1/2'' over the back. What I am testing so that the roof is fairly water tight is running a small bead ( so far using silicone window sealer ) then taping the under-side edges with masking tape or duct tape, to find out later if this allows the use of the 1 by 6 instead of needing to use a wider piece to keep the rain out. The top needs to be easy to remove to clean out old nesting before the new season starts. If your finished piece is purely decorative simply cover the holes so birds can not use it and fasten the top securely.
I do not have any photos of a stand being painted , so now is as good a time as any to show the backs and the different colors of paint that were used. Only 3 of these have been glossed yet. The weather has been quite rough latley and I just recently made these stands. To secure the bird house to the 2 by 4s I centered the 12'' l. pallet wood piece then drilled guide holes in three spots and using the 3'' screws fastened it to the post. The 9'' bottom piece was fastened the same way. I placed the post in the bucket and added the gravel to stabilise it. Leaving lots of room for the future potting soil. Then centering the bird house on the top piece Two 1 and 1/2'' screws were screwed in on each side of the floor piece.
Here is a close up of one. The yogurt containers are from another project and there is a post featuring the re-purposing of the containers here on Hometalk. I neglected to mention that 2 or 3 vent holes using the 3/8'' bit should be drilled just under the front of the roof.
Last Fall I painted scenes on a few of the buckets. Since this post is long I thought I would respectfully show off three of them.
Even though the paint sticks to the plastic fairly well. It does scratch of due to being moved around . so where I would have added other types of embellishment to other buckets this style hides the marks a little better .
I am hoping to sell some of these locally and will soon have them displayed on the front lawn. It was an interesting experience getting these things built but even if only a couple sell, I can certainly have a bird sanctuary in the back yard. I hope you have enjoyed the post. and maybe are inspired to do something similar. The plant stand I pinned at Pinterest was from Cabinfield .com I can't find anything at there sight though they feature many other items.
Phillipcardjr
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  2 questions
  • Keri Keri on Apr 04, 2016
    I love your birdhouse idea! What kind of paint do you use for the buckets? I am new at creating things and learning the basics. Thanks!
  • Madonna-Jerry Neal Madonna-Jerry Neal on Apr 04, 2016
    Will birds nest this close to the ground?
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  • Sandy Hartnett Sandy Hartnett on Apr 06, 2016
    What a beautiful idea...very nicely done! Good luck! Hugs
    • Phillipcardjr Phillipcardjr on Apr 06, 2016
      @Sandy Hartnett Hugs are good. Thanks! I was at Walmart yesterday picking up potting soil and other items , and passing some potted flowers so wanted to buy three so I could take some new photos with everything in place. But I held out since there was 3 to 4 '' of snow on the ground yet. Soon I hope.
  • Carol Seibel Laufer Carol Seibel Laufer on Apr 06, 2016
    Way to go Phil! Love them! Carol
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