extreme birdhouses and more from recycled wood (pics) - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

cranbrook2 · 12-07-2005, 11:27 AM

hi everyone , i am john from cranbrook. here are some projects i make from reclaimed barnwood. thanks for looking and it is great to be here.

**Cole** · 12-07-2005, 01:07 PM

Where are the pics?

cranbrook2 · 12-07-2005, 01:34 PM

sorry the pics are in my link .due to size http://community.webshots.com/user/cranbrook2

DecksEtc · 12-07-2005, 04:49 PM

Nice work. What do you charge for those?

**Teetorbilt** · 12-07-2005, 05:21 PM

Very nice and original. Do they attract birds and how do you clean them?

I only ask the first question as I have 2 friends that live one house apart and they both have Martin houses in their back yards. One has full occupancy and the other just gets the occasional bird.

cranbrook2 · 12-07-2005, 08:35 PM

thanks guys for the compliment's i have built 15 so far .i kept 5 of them and gave the rest away as gifts.the birds love them . i see about 6 or 7 birds on them every morning . the roof unscrews and they have stack able walls and floors.same idea as a case of beer.i think thats where i got the idea. not sure. As for pricing i save money on using reclaimed wood but it takes much more work and time just to start. i am building a birdhouse now that is 9 ft wide by 6 ft high and will house 100 separate compartments and a fly through tunnel. i use a farm tractor with forks to mount them in the air. i am also building one to be in a Canadian woodworking magazine in the spring.i mainly do them as a hobby for now. thanks again john.

daveincincy · 12-28-2005, 02:31 PM

Now that's upper class livin for the birds.

Nice work.

cranbrook2 · 12-30-2005, 06:27 PM

thank you Dave. here is another extreme birdhouse i just built for my brother as a christmas gift.this one is made from 150 yr old barnboard.it houses 25 single units it measures 4 ftx 4ftx46" and can be cleaned in less than 10 minutes. it will be power washed and water sealed before it is mounted.

Mike Finley · 12-30-2005, 06:38 PM

If I was you I would hire a graphic designer to build very professional web site. I would have him/her design a big, glossy full color direct mail post card, then purchase a national list of household incomes over $200K or living in homes over $600,000 then send that direct mail piece out. I would charge starting about $2500.00 apiece for them. I suspect you might be surprised at the response.

cranbrook2 · 01-01-2006, 08:33 PM

thank you mike that is a great idea. i am now seeking some advise from a web designer to get a sight up and running this year coming.

Mike Finley · 01-01-2006, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cranbrook2

thank you mike that is a great idea. i am now seeking some advise from a web designer to get a sight up and running this year coming.

I wish you lots of luck with it. I'm thinking there are a lot of wives of families with large disposable incomes that are dying to find something as unique as what you are doing to spend their money on. I can see those things ending up all over the Hamptons and other affluent communities.

**Nathan** · 01-01-2006, 11:35 PM

You know, I went into a community with a lot of nice homes and they all had custom mail boxes made. All the mail boxes were little houses that looked like their own home.

Anyways, just an idea... maybe mailboxes too?

**Cole** · 01-01-2006, 11:39 PM

Federal Offense, lol

Cant say I used to beat them up

cranbrook2 · 01-02-2006, 04:35 PM

thank you again gentlmen.i have thought about the mailbox idea too but where i live they wouldn,t last a week without someone stealing them.it is a little harder stealing a 6 ft birdhouse when it is 8 or 10 ft in the air.

Mike Finley · 01-03-2006, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cranbrook2

thank you again gentlmen.i have thought about the mailbox idea too but where i live they wouldn,t last a week without someone stealing them.it is a little harder stealing a 6 ft birdhouse when it is 8 or 10 ft in the air.

I hear you.

But seriously don't limit your potential by considering your personal circumstances. There are plenty of the same people who are willing to spend big bucks on a bird house that will spend it on a mail box. What happens to it afterwards is their problem.

**Cole** · 01-03-2006, 01:57 PM

One more question, are you designing these with CAD or is it all in your head?

cranbrook2 · 01-03-2006, 06:12 PM

I am building all the houses by ideas i get in the head. no plans or measurements. i built real houses for about 15 yrs + so i use the same mathematics in birdhouses. i rarely measure and go by eye. i keep hearing about CAD and i would love to understand how to use it and where to find it.i would like to make new designs with CAD.

cranbrook2 · 01-24-2006, 05:39 PM

hi guys here is the next birdhouse i am doing now.
it is about half complete .i will post some better pics when it is finished and ready to mount.

jmic · 01-24-2006, 06:02 PM

Thats neat Cran, I used to love to put things together with my Lincoln Logs as a kid, but never came up with anything like that. That must be one big set you have there!

Looks Great!

cranbrook2 · 01-24-2006, 07:27 PM

thanks Joe
i keep hearing about Lincoln logs but i have never seen them..
it took me 8 straight hrs on a table saw to cut these logs from 150 yr old barn board.