Bat house built from salvaged lumber
Bat house built from salvaged lumber
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There are bats living around my parent's house. I wanted to build them a house of their own. They seem to like the barn - we think the scratches on the wall below the eaves might be from bats landing and climbing their way up into shelter. They only seem to exist below the eaves, so I'm hoping that's a good sign that they'll notice their new house quickly.
If you've seen my other posts here, you'll know I try to make everything I build out of old materials, stuff I find on trash day, pull from construction debris, or get from my local Everything is Free page, so that was part of the challenge of building this one. I pretty much managed it - the only thing I bought new was the caulking I used to seal the joints, everything else, wood, stains, screws, bituthene, etc was all old stuff.
I started with a kind of motley collection of materials but I like the challenge of finding secondhand stuff that'll work. On the uphand, I didn't have to cut up bigger lumber just to make the spacers, they were all small scraps from other projects. I don't remember where I got the nice piece of half-inch cabinet plywood. The 3/8" plywood came from a fellow I met through Everything is Free, and the pine boards were found on trash day.
I followed this guide: https://www.mass.gov/doc/build-a-four-chamber-bat-house/download from the state of Massachusetts as closely as I could since we're in a similar region, though I had to make it slightly narrower than the specified 17.5 inches because of the dimensions of the 1/2" plywood. I also made the roof slightly wider, because the board was already that length and it seemed like it would offer additional protection, so no need to shorten it.
We had access to a laser cutter through a local makerspace, so my SO and I decided to burn a paisley pattern into the smaller panels just as a quick flourish. I'm actually very pleased with how that little detail looked on the finished version, and it's something I'll play with in future furniture building projects. The sides were slightly longer than the laser cutter's working space, so I had to carve a little of the pattern by hand, but once it was stained they blended in pretty well.
The instructions tell you to cut groves into the interior surfaces to make it easier for the bats to climb. For most of them I did regular horizontal lines, 1/4" to 1/2" apart, but I got bored a couple times and cut climbable murals instead. I tried to emphasize lots of horizontal handholds, and I made sure that each compartment got at least one regular 'ladder' too. Given that they seem to already be climbing the wooden siding of the barn, I think they'll still find this pretty usable.
The instructions all said to stain it with water based stain so the fumes/smell wouldn't bother the bats. I did all the interior surfaces with a can of expresso water-based stain and the outside surfaces with two coats of oil-based stain for improved water resistance (and because I ran out of the water-based stuff). I left all the panels leaning upright on our porch for several weeks so they could offgas with good ventilation, prior to assembly. All the stains came from Everything is Free.
I decided to stain the paisley panels with red mahogany stain and the rest with two coats of ebony to give them a little more contrast. This left the roof and front stained black for maximum sun-warming. On the front paisley panel, which had a frame around the pattern, I did my best to do the inside in red and the frame in black, to match the sides. It was all pretty much hidden by the very distinct grain that piece of plywood happened to have. A prestain might have helped, though I mostly wish I'd had more of the cabinet plywood I used for the upper front and back.
I started assembly by attaching the back to the sides, and started that by caulking the joint. The silicone caulking was the only thing I bought new for this project. I could probably have kept asking around until I found some, but I settled for giving the rest of the tube away on Everything is Free because I didn't think I'd use it for anything before it expired. The directions emphasized that you really want a good seal everywhere except the specified vents, because the bats need to be warm and dry, so I made sure to seal all the exterior joints well.
Once it was all assembled, I added a coat of oil-based urethane to the top and sides of the roof to help with water resistance. If it warped, that could allow drafts and additional moisture intrusion. I also added little bits of trim to the sides under the roof, after sealing that joint a second time.
We hung it partly using some metal strips my dad had from past projects, for attaching chimneys to the roofing around them. They were galvanized and a kind of corrugated pattern. I found two sets of two where the existing holes lined up, and drilled two new ones in each set so they all had four. Then I painted them and attached them to the back.
Another relative provided a scrap of bituthene which we stuck/stapled to the roof for additional waterproofing.
Once it was ready, I pushed it to the top of a tall ladder leveled it against the wall, and put two screws through each metal bracket, then two screws through the landing strip at the bottom, and two toenailed in through the vents on the sides. I'm told that was overkill but I really didn't want any bats we housed to fall off the wall someday. At this point, if it goes, it'll take the siding with it.
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OMG loved your project. Keep on sharing these experiences ! Hope to learn more about all this DIY stuff until I become a lot more self-reliant or collaborate with other people.
I'm so glad! Always happy to talk about woodworking/general DIY stuff if you have any questions. Or if you want any ideas on getting started, advice on tools or where to find them, etc, I'm happy to yammer on about it.
Either way, I'll keep posting stuff. I've got a mid-century desk almost fixed and ready to give away, and all the cast iron parts from one of those park benches, just need to fabricate a replacement wood seat and back because the old ones rotted. Once I can get the desk out of my workshop I'll have a lot more space (until I find another project to take it up).
Great! I'm mostly a computer nerd so, I haven't develop any woodworking skills to say the truth. It would really help me if you could share the "ABC" or "Woodworking 101" 🙂 that way we can help introduce most of the newbies of the DIY communities to the kind of work you do.
And please, do share your desk repairing process ! Love those before and afters.
Sure, I've never written a carpentry how-to but I'll try to organize this into a basic minimum -to-get-it-done and a what-you'll-want-after-doing-the-minimum-a-couple-times version:
So for a project like this one, you're going to need the following tools (these will also be good fundamentals for most basic projects):
The short list (the advice I generally got was start with basic tools, learn what capabilities you're missing out on, add tools as you get more into it.)
- Tape Measure
- Square
- Screw Gun (my family uses this phrase for a hand drill that goes both forward and reverse, older ones from like the 60s only went forward, I have one of them too)
- Drill bits (any time you're working with pine near the edge of the piece, or oak at all, you want to pre-drill the holes. Otherwise the screw will use its wedge-like shape and the power of the inclined plane to split the wood)
- Screw bits (there are some jobs, like fancy furniture or wood paneling, flooring, where nails are better, but screws are generally way more useful - they hold better and you can remove them without trashing the wood around them. before driving a screw, if you're using a Philips bit, poke just the bit into the hole and run it, creating a sort of pocket for the head of the screw so it doesn't split the piece)
- Saw (there are lots of saws for lots of jobs, definitely start with hand saws and pick up more as you decide generally what capabilities you want. This project is a bit more advanced because you're cutting up plywood and if you're following the plan, ripping boards lengthwise. A table saw would be ideal for that but they're a bit intimidating, bulky, and expensive. I used a skillsaw, same blade but portable. I also used a band saw when I cut the side vents, because it could turn to remove more material, and a bunch of hand saws.)
- Bar clamps (these are fantastically useful, and when you need them, it's usually urgent) -box cutter / razor knife - (these are kind of just good for everything, I do most of my carving with them because I'm a haaaaaack) -sand paper (always sand with the grain of the wood and start with rougher grits (lower numbers) and work towards finer grits (higher numbers)
If you're ready to really sweat for it, this could probably get you a bat house, it could definitely do basic bookshelves, or other furniture projects. TBH the big bat house might be a bit more advanced than a beginner project because of all the baffles inside and because the joints need to be tight. I might post a birdhouse, the traditional 'hello world' of carpentry at some point.
To do things the way I did, you'll want:
- A rotary tool/Dremel. (Again, fantastically useful, especially when you need to do something that should be simple but isn't like cut away material inside an awkward spot)
- A bandsaw -A skillsaw
- A belt sander (I'd recommend this for your first power tool if you don't have any, it was the first I was allowed to use as a child because it's compatibly safe - it'll only remove some skin, rather than entire fingers, before you realize you messed up.)
- A drill press (I didn't use it much for this project but very much recommend one)
I'll come back in a bit and do a more in-depth how-to, let me know if this is a good level of detail and if you have any questions
With this bat house all the pieces need to be stained, so I had to fabricate all the individual parts first, before I could start assembly (sometimes I make the parts as I go).
I started by finding plywood in the specific thicknesses, 1/2 inch and 3/8ths inch. Because I was working with old scrap, I found the straightest sides and measured everything from there. I like to measure six or more different points, use my level as a straight edge to draw the line, check that it's square, then measure to a couple different spots on that line to make sure it's in the correct spot. A friend I helped with a project jokingly rewrote the saying as measure twice, cut never, never stop measuring. I used the skillsaw to cut the plywood pieces to size, making sure to keep the blade on the outside of my lines. You could do this with a hand saw but it would take awhile. I then measured the pieces to make sure they were correct.
I measured 3" in from the top and sides of the baffles and drew lines parallel to the top and sides. Then I used thos to figure out how to position 1 1/2" diameter circles so their tops and sides were 3" from the edges. I used a hole saw (add that to the list) and the drill press to cut passage holes through the baffles. You can use a hole saw with a screw gun but they holesaws have a lot more friction and leverage so they have a lot more torque than a regular drill bit. That means if they catch hard and don't want to cut, the screw gun or work can try to spin instead. Using a drill press eliminates one option and gives me better leverage to hold the work by.
Next I used the Dremel to cut slots into the plywood for the bats to climb. Later on, I used the skillsaw with the blade mostly retracted instead. Either one seemed fine. You could use a table saw for the same task. Without those, I think you'd have to use a knife or try to score it with a hand saw which would be difficult. This step took a lot of time, you need to do both sides of the baffles, and the inside of the front and back.
Next I started the spacers between the baffles. I ignored the instructions to cut a good board lengthwise and just dug up lots of small scraps and sanded them on the belt sander until they were 3/4" on at least one direction (which would be the distance between the baffles). I didn't worry about getting the length right yet, just made sure there was enough for when I did assembly.
To fabricate the two sides, I found a pine board that was the correct width, measured out the angle I think using a little angle measure thing I found in a free stuff pile (you could use a protractor or printed paper template) and cut the diagonal which would become the top using a hand saw. I also cut one horizontally to bring the length down so they matched. I always try to check each board and identify the worst spots so I can put them in the part that gets cut off, if possible.
I ran it through a laser cutter at a makerspace for fun, but thats not necessary.
Then I cut the side vents. I used a hand saw to cut the horizontal parts of the cutout (the top and bottom), then used a band saw to cut in diagonally from one, curving to level out along what would become the vertical part of the cutout. Then I repeated the process going the other way to get a nice rectangular cutout.
You could also do this part using a hand saw to cut lots and lots of horizontal cuts, forming thin fins you can snap off to remove them. Or you could cut the top and bottom with the hand saw and use the Dremel with a cutting wheel to cut the vertical.
I cut the roof to length with a hand saw.
I stained everything on the inside of the house with water-based stain. Normally I use oil based stain, I think it works better, but it offgasses fumes for awhile and that would be bad for the bats. Normally I put stain on using paper towels, old takeout napkins, etc, but with all the slots cut, I found it was easier to use a brush. Normally I save my brushes for urethane (a friend would grind her teeth if she heard this whole process) because I don't like cleaning them, but with water based stains they clean up with soap and water. Definitely easier for a beginner. So I guess add paint brushes to the list too.
I did the outside with oil-based stain using my usual method.
The actual assembly was fairly quick, kind of like building something from a kit because I didn't have to stop and fabricate parts too much. I stood the two sides on the table, one front-up one front-down. The front-down one I laid a thin line of caulking on. Then took the back plate, faced it front-down, and I lined it up with that edge lined up well with the front-down side. I pre-drilled a hole, changed bits, chamfered the hole using the but, and drove in a screw. I repeated that process down that side. Then I flipped the other side, caulked the back, lined it up, and repeated the process. That was the hard part, especially working solo, trying to keep everything balanced. I flipped it over, put the front plate on to check the fit, and noticed that the sides were angled outwards and wouldn't have a good fit for the front plate. I grabbed a bar clamp and squeezed them together so until they lined up correctly. Then the fun part. I added some spacers along the inside of the walls, trying to get the best use of the available length. I cut them as necessary and used short screws to attach them to the back. Then I dropped in a baffle, screwed it to the spacers. Picked and cut more spacers, attached them. The next baffle didn't fit well so I used the belt sander to sand one edge and make it fit. If I hadn't, it would have caused the sides to spread, and would have acted as a fulcrum if I tried to pull the sides together later. Once it fit I screwed it in place. More spacers, next baffle for a test fit. This one seemed bowed, it didn't leave enough space for the bats to go between it and the front, so I sanded down the spacers a bit, until it seemed good. Then I put those together.
Then I put the front plate on. I actually had to clamp it more to get a good fit because it the sides had still spread. I screwed one side to the front so they lined up well, used the clamps to pull the sides together, and screwed the front to the other side. Then I did the lower front panel the same way.