DiY Bird Bath

2 Materials
$10
2 Days
Easy
Other than some bits & bobs, such as parts of the lighting and yard decor items, we are finally done with our pond makeover. Greg will soon be publishing the “Reveal” post, but he was waiting on me to finish the final touches on the landscaping, such as my DiY Bird Bath.
You might have seen the pictures of this metal one in our Pond Project Part 1 and Part 2 posts on the blog. It is a broken bird bath+water feature which was left behind by the previous owners of our house. I bet it made a great water feature and bird bath back in its heyday, and hopefully I will turn it into something good and useful when I get to it. But now it serves no purpose other than a space filler, since the seal of pump’s housing is broken and thus doesn’t hold water at all.
As I am not sure if I’ll be able to fix it, I thought instead of spending time trying, I should check our basement for something that could be quickly turned into a birdbath. Last summer I bought this big pan-ish thing for 2 dollars from Mom’s shop (aka Second Chance Shop). It was marked as $4, but the household items were 50% off. Although I didn’t know right away what I could do with it, I really liked its shape. Yes, unfortunately, I am a sucker for anything ornate or with nice curves. Anyway…
Last summer we also found two beat up garden columns at the Put & Take.
A normal mind would have put 2 and 2 together right after finding the columns. But I must have had beach fever last summer, as it never occurred to me that I could match these things together and turn them into something useful. Duh…Well “Duh” at least till last week :-)
Having found these guys laying around, I got on with the work.


I grabbed some spackling and started filling all the sides. And with that, what I thought would be a one-afternoon project turned into a four-day project!
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And here is our new bird bath! If you visit the blog post, I'll show you my little trick for keeping our bird bath algae free. ;-)
Other than the fact that it matches our garden theme perfectly (which you’ll be able to see in Greg’s “The Pond Project: Reveal” post), the whole thing cost me less than $10, and for that price I know I couldn’t have gotten a better one. Hence I couldn’t be happier with the result.
For more details and pictures please visit our blog post. If you are interested in similar crafts & DiY projects, click here to see more crafts & DiY projects from The Navage Patch. Thanks for reading! Handan, xo
Suggested materials:
  • Column
  • Paint
Handan & Greg @ The Navage Patch
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
3 of 5 questions
  • Materials:Are you aware that metal is bad for bird baths and feeders, because summer heat and winter cold make the temperature painful and dangerous for the birdd?
  • DORLIS DORLIS on Jun 18, 2016
    In the photo where you are spraying, how did you get the handle to stay on the spray can? Igot one and could nont get it stay on so pitched it, got at Walmart. Where did yo get yours?
  • Bay8640909 Bay8640909 on Jul 29, 2016
    What did you do with the old birdbath?
Comments
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  • Nancy Nancy on Aug 16, 2016
    This is lovely! I also didn't know that putting pennies in the bird bath would fight the algae! I will have to try this with mine!
  • Lesley Brough Lesley Brough on Jul 06, 2017

    The top of my birdbath had broken but I kept the pedestal, now I know how to recycle it. Thank you. It was an old birdbath of my late mother and I couldn't part with it.

    • Ginger Ginger on Jul 13, 2022

      I found one with the top broken for $5 in Hobby Lobby last month and need to sand the broken edges, so I can attach a square piece of wood on top. I already have a ceramic bowl to put a solar fountain in.

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