Free birdhouse plans to make a DIY homemade wooden nesting box. This handmade birdhouse can be used to attract bluebirds, chickadees, nuthatches, sparrows, swallows, warblers, woodpeckers, wrens, and other birds to your backyard or garden. Find more free bird houses plans or discover more nesting boxes and bird feeders.

Materials and Equipment Needed to Build this Birdhouse:

• Wood (cedar, redwood, cypress, and pine would make good choices).
• Screws: Approximately 1.5″ (4cm) long.
• Power drill.
• Saw (table saw or miter saw).
• Drill bit to match appropriate entrance hole size.

Step 1. Prepare the “Front” and “Back” Sides of the Bird House.

Cut two pieces of wood as shown below (labeled “A”). Personally, I am using cedar wood. In one piece drill an entrance hole 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 2. Prepare the two “Sides” of the Bird House.

Cut two pieces of wood as shown in either B₁ or B₂ below. If you want to make this birdhouse quickly use B₁. If you want pieces that match perfectly use B₂.

While not visible, the angle cuts on B₂ will perfectly match the front and back pieces as shown in the red circle below.

Step 3. Prepare the first “Roof” Section.

Cut one piece of wood as shown below.

Step 4. Prepare the second “Roof” Section.

Cut one piece of wood as shown below.

Step 5. Prepare the “Floor” of the Birdhouse.

Cut one piece of wood as shown below.

Step 6. Consider Adding a Cleanout Door to Your Birdhouse

An easy approach to adding a cleanout door is by cutting the back of your birdhouse into two pieces. One piece is fastened permanently using regular screws. The second piece (cleanout door) is fastened using hanger bolts.

Hanger bolts have lag screw threads on one end for going into wood and machine screw threads on the other end. The lag screw threads go into the wood, and the machine screws and a wing-nut are used to attach the cleanout door. See How to Clean a Birdhouse for additional ways to add a cleanout door.

Step 7. Assemble Your DIY Birdhouse.

Use a combination of glue and screws to attach the front, back, sides, floor, roof, and optional bird perch together as shown in the image above. A waterproof wood glue is recommended to help extend the life of the birdhouse. Furthermore, 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.

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. Consider drilling several 1/4″ (0.5 cm) holes in the floor for drainage.

Step 9. 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 10. 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.

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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.