License Plate Birdhouse
The license plate birdhouse is an easy-to-build bird house design that can be a home for wrens, titmice, finches, sparrows, chickadees, bluebirds, and other small cavity-nesting birds. If you don't have an old license plate, you can substitute the license plate roof with a piece of 12" x 6" galvanized metal.
This license plate birdhouse can be constructed from a single 1"x6"x6' western red cedar fence board, an old US standard-sized license plate (6" x 12"), seven 1-1/4" galvanized wood screws, and about twenty 16-guage galvanized finish nails.
License Plate Birdhouse Plans
Cut the front, back, sides and base of the bird house to the sizes indicated in the drawings. Assemble the front, back, base, and left side together, as shown in the diagrams, using 16 gauge galvanized finish nails.
To attach the access door, drill a 3/16" diameter hole located 4 1/2" from the bottom of the bird house and 3/8" from the right-side of the birdhouse through the front and back panels (see diagrams).
Position the access door in place and drill smaller holes, through the 3/16" diameter holes, into the access door. These holes are for the 1-1/4" wood screws that will function as the door hinges.
Finally, with the access door shut, drill a small hole through the bottom-middle of the door so that you can use one of the 1-1/4" wood screws to secure the access door to the base of the bird house (not shown in the diagrams).
Drill the 1-1/8" diameter entrance hole in the center of the front panel, centered 5 inches above the base. Drill another 1/4" diameter hole 3 inches above the base (this is for a 1/4" dowel that will be used for the bird's perch).
Cut a 2 1/2" section of 1/4" dowel and apply a small amount of wood glue to approximately 1/2" of one end of the dowel. Insert the glued end of the dowel into the 1/4" hole until it is flush to the inside of the front panel of the bird house.
Attaching the License Plate Roof
To shape the license plate for the roof, find the center of it, then hold the bending-point of the license plate on the edge of a table or workbench and carefully bend it.
Bend the license plate to the desired angle and attach it with four wood screws through the existing holes in the license plate to the assembled bird house frame. If the holes don't line up perfectly, drill new holes in the license plate as needed.
I hope you enjoyed building this license plate birdhouse. It is one of the easiest bird houses to build and has an access door on the side for cleaning it out after nesting season is over.
More Information About Birds and Bird Houses
- Check out the other bird house plans available on mycarpentry.com
- Visit The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and eBird to learn more about birds and birding.
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