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Post by WildlifePaul on Jun 23, 2020 12:13:33 GMT
Well pretty much all mine our gardenature ones Matt, So they have that little plastic thing in the box to hide your wires behind. I always put the led light on the roof and the camera on the most used "flat roof" boxes is at the side i'll show you picture off gardenature website now. My sparrow box and swift box I just have the wires outside the box both boxes are right under the eves of the house so rain never gets to them so its fine for me to do that.
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Post by matt on Sept 16, 2020 16:24:00 GMT
Right Paul, I've started on the lids - yours first! I must admit this was a lot more complicated than I was expecting, mainly because I was trying to maintain a slope from front to back of the box for water runoff. This is made a bit harder by the fact that there is half an octagon at the front, so you have to work out the mitre angles for the angled bits! Anyway its not great and it looks quite abit more ugly than I was hoping for, but here is a sneak peak. I haven't glued it together yet (just cut the wood), but the idea is that the lid will have a hinge against the backplate and then you can sort out the interior. I can cut an extra bit of wood to put inside if it helps. Hopefully after gluing and a bit of sanding it will look a bit better - you might want to give it a lick of paint tho! So the lid just slots over the top of the box, and is (will be) attached to the back plate: Inside - nothing there. Can you mount your camera to the lid or do you want another bit of wood inside resting on top of the box?? I think for the rest of the boxes I am not going to worry about the slight slope on the lid. Water will find its way off somehow, and if the top has an overhang it should be OK I reckon.
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Post by WildlifePaul on Sept 16, 2020 17:42:01 GMT
Oh that will look fine with a lick of paint Matt, I actually like the look of it! I didn't know what to expect but I think looks good to be honest. Send us a message when you want my address and how much I owe you etc Cant wait to see what the birds do next season
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Post by matt on Sept 18, 2020 8:53:26 GMT
Thanks Paul - functional, at least, and I don't think the birds really care what it looks like! Hopefully get it more or less finished off today and in the post early next week. I've drilled a single hole in the bottom for drainage, which I hope will be enough.
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Post by WildlifePaul on Sept 18, 2020 10:49:43 GMT
That should be fine Matt, Mine won't be exposed to any major rain anyway its going on the house wall which the over hanging eves give protection against the rain.
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Post by sammi on Sept 25, 2020 17:26:08 GMT
Matt I love the new design. Such a clever idea🙂
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Post by greatbluehopeful on Oct 2, 2020 8:58:23 GMT
Well done Matt.
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neil
New Member
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Post by neil on Oct 7, 2020 23:27:05 GMT
Hi, I've been reading your posts with interest, having searched on google for how to make woodcrete nest boxes. I look after a small wood in the Yorkshire Dales which I manage for nature, but have had almost all of the wooden boxes damaged by woodpeckers. I put the metal plates on the front, but they just hack around them or in the sides or underneath, so have decided concrete of some form is the way forward. I like the schweigler box I bought, but far too expensive to replace all of the boxes I have up with them. I tried making a woodcrete box earlier in the year, but I think I got the mix wrong, so will have a go using your recipe. Just out of interest, what's the drying time? By the way excellent designs and great photos. Neil
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Post by matt on Oct 8, 2020 7:54:52 GMT
Hi Neil, Too early to tell how well they hold up or whether the birds end up liking them, so I won't make any claims on those counts (yet), but happy to share what I learned so far when making them. The mix I ended up with was about 3-1-1 perlite/sand/cement, with addition of fibreglass strands for strength. No idea whether the fibreglass make much difference, but couldn't hurt I guess - I used some of these: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sika-Cim-No-Crack-Fibre-FIBRE-ADMIXTURE-FOR-ENHANCING-THE-STRENGTH-OF-CONCRETE/303315388429?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649Perlite is a bit pricey from garden centres, but quite cheap if you buy a hundred litre bag from eBay, which is what I did (also finds plenty of use in my garden so won't be wasted). The mix is not strong by concrete standards (very easy to drill, for example, even a few months after making), but should insulate pretty well, and perlite is inert so should be safe for the birds. I was leaving them 48 hours in the mold before removing, and didn't have any casualties, and concrete will continue to get stronger for a while after. One of the key things with concrete is not to add too much water, as that weakens the final product. Mixing can be hard work to get everything evenly distributed when it is not too wet - I was using a paddle attachment on an SDS drill and it seemed to go OK. I'll post some pics of the molds I made if you are interested.
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neil
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Post by neil on Oct 8, 2020 12:37:15 GMT
Thanks for the information l will have a go at that and maybe experiment with a few different mixes.
Much appreciated
Neil
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Post by matt on Oct 8, 2020 14:03:02 GMT
Good luck Neil - please post your results!
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neil
New Member
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Post by neil on Oct 9, 2020 22:45:39 GMT
Thanks. Will do.
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neil
New Member
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Post by neil on Oct 10, 2020 11:35:30 GMT
Hi Matt
Please can l take you up on your offer to share pictures of your moulds.
I've ordered a bag of perlite and the fibre you suggested from eBay, so looking forwards to starting experimenting soon.
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Post by matt on Oct 10, 2020 21:56:22 GMT
No worries Neil, but molds are in a bit of a mess now! Go back to page 2 of this thread to see a simpler mold for a single hole box. Below is the three hole box, which involved quite a bit more farting around (to put it mildly). The basic principle is to have a section of drain pipe (110mm diameter) in the middle of a wooden box, with the entrance hole formed by drilling a hole in the drainpipe and the box, and connecting with an appropriate sized plastic tube. I had some 28mm plastic tubes handy, but also have noticed a few other things come in a good size - e.g. Berocca vitamin tablets. I also wrapped the drainpipe in thick carboard (from a cardboard box), to make the cavity a little wider, and to make removing the pipe easier at the end. I used foam board to cap off the pipe (heavily taped to keep concrete out) and pour the box upside down, with an inch or so of concrete over the top/(bottom) of the capped pipe, which you can then smooth quite nicely. To get the box out of the mold, you then unscrew the top piece of wood (which was the bottom during the pour), slide out the drain pipe and unscrew the sides to release. Note that before pouring the concrete I sealed all edges with silicon and oiled everything (just vegetable oil). Came out easily enough. If that all sounds like a massive faff, that is because it is! The 3 hole mold without the pipe or one of the mold sides: 3 hole mold with pipe. Note that the pipe is turned around so you can see the way the holes are drilled. It would be facing the other way, with 3x plastic pipes all connecting to the holes you see in the mold. For your application a one hole mold would be much easier, especially if you need to make a lot of them! I would recommend reading up on concrete mixing etc and practicing a bit. Don't use too much water, and vibrate or hit with a rubber mallet as you go - you'll still end up with bubbles on the surface but I don't think they are a big issue. Here's the single hole mold from page 2. This is ready for concrete - hope this makes the explanation above a little clearer. 3 hole mold is basically a more complicated version of this. You'll have to decide how you want to make the lids. I inset the top sides of my boxes by about 1/2", and have made some 1/2" ply lids that fit snugly on top with cameras in - will post some pics of this when they are done. Good luck!
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neil
New Member
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Post by neil on Oct 11, 2020 7:37:17 GMT
That's great Matt. Thanks for sharing the pictures. I have some 100mm pipe but hadn't thought of increasing the diameter by wrapping it round with cardboard.
I'll let you know how it goes.
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