Free bird house plans to make a rustic homemade log cabin style home for your birds. This diy birdhouse can be used to attract bluebirds, swallows, chickadees, nuthatches, warblers, woodpeckers, wrens, and other birds to your backyard or garden. Find more bird houses plans or discover more ideas on nesting boxes and bird feeders.

Make this rustic log cabin style home for your birds and they will want to stay in your backyard forever! This woodworking project makes a great a family activity. Let the kids help with gluing, installing screws, and finishing the bird house.

Materials and Equipment Needed to Build this Birdhouse:

• Wood (cedar, redwood, cypress, and pine would make good choices). Unless indicated otherwise, all wood in this project is 3/4″ (1.9cm) thick.
• Screws.
• Power drill.
• Saw (table saw or miter saw).
• Drill bit to match appropriate entrance hole size.

Step 1. Prepare the Floor of the Bird House.

Cut a piece of wood using a miter saw, table saw, band saw, or other saw as shown below. Drill several 1/4″ (0.5 cm) holes in the floor for drainage.

Step 2. Prepare the Walls (Logs) of the Bird House.

From a piece of wood 3/4″ x 3/4″ (2cm x 2cm) cut:

• A. Six pieces 5.25″ (13.3 cm).
• B. Six pieces 7″ (17.8 cm).
• C. Six pieces 8.25″ (21 cm).
• D. Six pieces 10″ (25.4 cm).

Step 3. Prepare the Gable Ends of the Bird House.

Cut two triangles for the gable ends. The width of the gable should be 6.75″ (17 cm) and the wood should be cut at 45 degrees.

Step 4. Drill the Entrance Hole for the Bird House.

Drill a hole for the entrance using either a spade bit or forsnter drill bit. A 1.5″ (4 cm) entrance hole is the optimum diameter for bluebirds and tree swallows. However, chickadees, nuthatches, warblers, woodpeckers, and wrens will also gladly make this their home. See Bird House Hole Size if you want to attract a specific bird.

Step 5. Prepare the Roof.

Cut two pieces of wood for the roof. One piece should be 10″ x 6″ (25cm x 15cm). The other piece should be 10″ x 5.25″ (25cm x 13cm)

Step 6. Assemble the bird house.

Altogether, you should now have six strips (labeled “A” on the image below), six strips (labeled “B”), six strips (labeled “C”), six strips (labeled “D”), the base or the floor (labeled “E”), two gable ends (labeled “F” and “G”), and the roof (labeled “H” and “I”).

Now, use a combination of glue and screws to attach the pieces of the birdhouse together. A waterproof wood glue is recommended to help extend the life of the birdhouse. Drill pilot holes to help prevent the wood from splitting. Ideally the pilot holes should be at least as large as the screw’s minor diameter. Attach one roof panel to the birdhouse using only screws. This way, it can later be opened for cleaning. Find other ways to add a clean out door to this birdhouse.

Personally, I recommend using stainless steel trim screws as shown below. The smaller screw head is less obvious and helps prevent the wood from splitting. If you pre-drill the holes, these screws will countersink themselves nicely because the head is not much larger than the pilot hole.

Step 7. Optionally, add a chimney, door, and bird perch.

Learn the benefits and drawbacks of adding a perch to your birdhouse.

Step 8. Optionally paint or finish your birdhouse.

In our case, we applied a linseed-oil. This finish helps accentuate the grain and helps make the wood more resistant to damage.

Step 9. Hang or mount your birdhouse.

Mount your birdhouse and see which bird will call your habitat home. See How to Hang a Birdhouse for the recommended mounting height for various birds. Your new birdhouse should provide you excitement for many seasons to come.

Building a birdhouse can be fun family project. Furthermore, a birdhouse will help encourage neighborhood birds to move in and raise families in your backyard. Hence providing you and your garden natural pest control.

Related Articles on Bird Houses, Bird Feeders & More

Use these free DIY bird house plans and bird feeder plans to attract bluebirds, chickadees, flickers, finches, house sparrows, hummingbirds, kestrel, nuthatches, owls, purple martins, swallows, thrushes, warblers, woodpeckers, wrens, and other birds to your garden.