# Extreme Birdhouses



## cranbrook2 (Oct 14, 2006)

Hi everyone , It has been a busy year for me . I moved from my old location to a new one and i now finally have a shop . :thumbsup:
It took a while to get set up but now i am back to work building more of my Extreme Birdhouses . 
Here are a few !! 

This first house is made from 90 year old reclaimed barn wood .It is 6 ft wide 45" high and 54" deep .














































This house is over 4 ft tall with a roof top pool . 





























I just finished these smaller houses as Christmas gifts . 



















I gave this house to my son and his new bride a few months ago as a wedding gift . Last week we put it up !


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

I was impressed with your other posts and I remain impressed with these new ones. Fantastic job. I'm glad to hear that you got your new shop in order and I see that you didn't lose your touch during the time that you were "shopless". Looking forward to some more posts from you.
Ken


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## cranbrook2 (Oct 14, 2006)

Thanks Ken for the nice comments . It is great having a shop now especially in the winter . My shop is 2 story,s 1,300 sq ft . 





































I have a pile of birdhouse pics here !! 

http://cid-69bce320c6d8b119.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Extreme Birdhouses


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

cranbrook2 said:


> My shop is 2 story,s 1,300 sq ft .


Okay, now you're just showing off!!! :laughing: Nice shop. :thumbsup:


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## Tony B (Jul 30, 2008)

*Truly Awesome*

Nothing else to say.


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

CranB,
Those are some pretty wild bird houses. What part of the country do you live in and what kind of birds frequent these lavish digs? Do you have to clean them out occasionally, and is room service included in the rent?:laughing:
Mike Hawkins


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## cranbrook2 (Oct 14, 2006)

Thanks everyone for the great comments . I live near Goderich Ontario , I get a lot of sparrows and Purple Martins i my area . They fill them up fast . The insides are all removable for easy cleaning . 

Here are a few videos i did earlier this year . 





 
5 th segment on the list . (Bird mansions ) 

http://animal.discovery.com/videos/most-outrageous-pet-digs/


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## Ella Menneau P. (Jun 7, 2009)

Holy cow, those bird houses are beautiful! Judging by the platform and the tractor, they must weight a fair amount too. 

Really impressive!


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## cranbrook2 (Oct 14, 2006)

Thank you Ella ! The heaviest house weighs about 500 lbs . 
They go up pretty easy when you have a tractor . :laughing:
It takes about 45 minutes to mount one securely once the post is in . 

Anything this size or smaller i put in without a tractor .
It weighs about 50 lbs .


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## Big Dave (Sep 16, 2006)

Wow John. Some nice looking bird houses. You just keep getting better and better. Keep it up.


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## cranbrook2 (Oct 14, 2006)

Thanks again Dave !


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## del schisler (Nov 5, 2009)

cranbrook2 said:


> Hi everyone , It has been a busy year for me . I moved from my old location to a new one and i now finally have a shop . :thumbsup:
> It took a while to get set up but now i am back to work building more of my Extreme Birdhouses .
> Here are a few !!
> 
> ...


hi john I wonder were you went Used to post when are you going to put power and water in ?? from the router form's have a good yr and enjoy the new shop Sure is good to go in and turn of everthing you need del


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## Streamwinner (Nov 25, 2008)

Wow, those are fantastic.


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## bnew17 (Nov 10, 2009)

wow thats nice!


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## cranbrook2 (Oct 14, 2006)

Thanks again everyone for all the very nice comment .
Today i put 2 more houses up and the birds wasted no time checking them out .
I still want to put up 6 more very large houses in the next few weeks .


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## Allthumbs27 (Dec 25, 2008)

You should build me a stadium style birdhouse with an octagon in it. These Mockingbirds around my house would go nuts for it.
Very cool stuff.


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## cranbrook2 (Oct 14, 2006)

Thanks allthumbs ! I am always looking for new ideas and designs .

This past week i have been busy digging holes and setting post for some of my largest birdhouses .They range from 5 ft wide up to 9 ft wide and weigh 500 lbs .They are all mounted 9 ft in the air .


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## del schisler (Nov 5, 2009)

*no snow ??*

hi John No snow in the back ground?? I bet they look good with snow in the back ground ? No heat installed yet ? all the best for the holladay's 



cranbrook2 said:


> Thank you Ella ! The heaviest house weighs about 500 lbs .
> They go up pretty easy when you have a tractor . :laughing:
> It takes about 45 minutes to mount one securely once the post is in .
> 
> ...


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## cranbrook2 (Oct 14, 2006)

Thanks Del and happy holidays to you . We have been very lucky this year not to have snow yet . Last year we had about 4 ft by now . :thumbdown:


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## JohnK007 (Nov 14, 2009)

Fantastic looking birdhouses!! What are you using for the metal roofing? It scales to the structure very well.


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## cranbrook2 (Oct 14, 2006)

Thanks John ! 
I got lucky as far as how the steel looks . It,s called Barn Master steel . 
So far i haven,t found anything else that works as well as this stuff and of couse to scale. 
I use a skill saw with a metal blade to cut it .


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## cellophane (Oct 6, 2009)

those are pretty sweet! what kind of birds live in condo's like that? when i was living in dallas we used to have purple martin houses that were multi-unit like that but i haven't heard of any other type of bird living in a community setting.


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## cranbrook2 (Oct 14, 2006)

The large houses are designed mostly for sparrows , they will fill them up no problem . Some of the smaller houses are designed for purple martins .


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## aggreX (Aug 14, 2008)

John
The bird houses are absolutely beautiful and demonstrate your expertise and craftsmanship. I like the single post mount you displayed in your pictures but I have a concern about the stability you may or may not have experienced with mounting a 500lb birdhouse nine feet up on a sturdy post. The stormy weather and high winds in my area can be fairly destructive and I just wonder about the stability of such a large wind blocker.


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## cranbrook2 (Oct 14, 2006)

Thank you agreeX , I am also concerned about the high winds coming from lake Huron . I have had one up now for 5 years and no problems whatsoever .
I have lost large trees but no birdhouses . I also use metal brackets to connect the base to the post . They work like hurricane ties . I do check them periodically just to be sure . :thumbsup:


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## GnarBucket (Apr 5, 2010)

Super inspiring! Thanks for posting.


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## Lola Ranch (Mar 22, 2010)

*too much fun*

I think you are having a lot of fun with your bird houses. Good for you!

Bret


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## kjhart0133 (Feb 4, 2009)

Awesome! What do they look like in the inside? Are there separate compartments for each entry hole? Or is it one big space inside? Do you have a picture of the interior?

Again, just beautiful.

Kevin H.


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## cranbrook2 (Oct 14, 2006)

Thanks again everyone for all the great comments . :thumbsup:

The insides are all divided up with thin plywood . Everything is removable for cleaning . The walls are all notch together and each floor floats inside .



















I just did a big wood show a few weeks ago and it went very well .


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