How To Build A Rustic Birdhouse

Do y’all remember the Potting Table tutorial using old porch posts as legs? Do you remember that we cut the post legs off get the correct height? Well, guess what I did with the left over scrapes? Yep! I built a Birdhouse!

Okay, I guess that was a little obvious!! So today, I’m sharing How To Build A Rustic Bird House out of scrape materials that were left over from that project! I’ve been determined to find a use for those leftover posts because you know that “I’m a waste not kind of girl”!

Gather Supplies to make a Birdhouse

Let’s begin by gathering these simple supplies to build your rustic bird house.

• Scrape Porch posts
• Rusty tin
• Nails

If you missed the potting table tutorial, you can see it here.

Step 1 – Cut the Metal for the Roof

The first thing we did was cut the roof material using some old tin we had been saving for just such a project. You need to measure and get an estimate of the roof proportions based on the size of your posts. Once you determine the size for the roof, use a saw blade to cut the tin to the desired proportions. Note: Be sure to use a saw blade designed to cut metal.

Step 2 – Bend the Metal

We found that bending metal into a V shape isn’t as easy as it looks? Therefore, it may be necessary to score the metal or clip the edges. As a result, the metal should bend along a relatively straight line. I placed the bent metal on the posts to assure that the proportions were correct for our rustic birdhouses.

Step 3 – Cut the post top on an angle

Next, you need to cut the top of your posts to form an A line roof because you want to make yours posts look like a house. To determine the angle, use the metal roof as a guide and draw a line. You will follow the angle drawn and use a chop saw to remove the corners from the top section of the scrape post.

Step 4 – Drill the holes for the birdhouse

Next, you need to drill a hole in the center of the post at your desired height. Therefore, you will need a hand held drill and a drill bit the desired size of the hole.

After that, you will drill a small pilot hole just below the larger hole for your birds resting spot. We used some vintage nails that were pulled from reclaimed ship lap boards for the resting spot, however you can use a small dowel rod, nail or any items of your choice.

Step Five – Attach the roof

Finally, it’s time to attach the roof to your Rustic Bird House. First, you should drill a small pilot hole in the metal where it will be attached to the birdhouse. As a result, the nail can be easily hammered through the metal and into the wood of the birdhouse.

Ta-DA – A Rustic BirdHouse

What do you think of this trash to treasure rustic birdhouse project? I had previously dug the roof material out of a trash pile that we found on our property. I didn’t know what to do with it at the time, however, I knew at some point it would come in handy.

(Posts on The Ponds Farmhouse may contain affiliate links. You can see the full disclosure details here.)

The bird houses are perfect decor for the potting bench or the greenhouse. In fact, I will probably be use them to style the DIY Greenhouse for fall. If you’d like to see how to build a greenhouse, click here.

My husband and I were able to build both bird houses in approximately an hour and all the materials were Free. As a result, I am thrilled with how they look. I hope you are too.