Making a Simple Bird Box from Scrap Wood

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21 Jul 2026

Making a Simple Bird Box from Scrap Wood

Why a Homemade Bird Box Is Worth the Effort

A great many garden bird boxes are bought, hung up in a flush of spring enthusiasm, and then quietly ignored by every bird in the parish. The reason is usually the box itself. Shop-bought boxes are often made from thin timber, daubed in varnish or wood preservative, and fitted with a little wooden perch below the entrance — three things that make a box less appealing and less safe. Building your own from scrap timber takes an afternoon, costs almost nothing, and lets you get the details right.

The three details that matter most are simple. Use untreated timber, cut a 32mm entrance hole, and build in a hinged side so you can clean the box out each year. Get those right and you will have a box that blue tits, great tits, nuthatches and house sparrows will happily inspect.

Choosing Your Scrap Timber

Any untreated softwood offcut will do. Aim for boards around 15mm to 20mm thick — thinner than that and the box loses its insulation, so it bakes in summer and chills in winter. Old shelving, a dismantled pallet, the side of a broken drawer or a length of floorboard all work beautifully, provided they are clean and dry.

What to avoid:

Treated or tanalised timber, creosoted wood, or anything that has been stained or oiled. Birds will peck at the inside, and the chemicals are best kept away from nestlings.
MDF and chipboard, which swell and crumble the moment they get wet.
Thin plywood, unless it is exterior grade and at least 12mm thick.

You will also need a saw, a drill with a 32mm flat bit, a screwdriver, and a handful of galvanised screws. Two small brass hinges and a hook-and-eye catch will complete the job — a decent ironmonger's or hardware shop will have the lot for a few pounds.

Cutting and Assembling the Box

You need six pieces: a back, a front, two sides, a floor and a roof. A comfortable size for a tit box is roughly 150mm wide by 150mm deep internally, with the floor about 200mm below the roof. Cut the back longer than the front so you can screw it straight to a tree or wall, and cut the roof with a slight slope so rain runs off the back.

When you assemble it:

Drill three or four 6mm drainage holes in the floor, in the corners.
Drill two 6mm ventilation holes high up in each side, just under the roof line.
Leave the roof with a 25mm overhang at the front, which helps keep driving rain out of the entrance.
Do not add a perch. It gives predators and cats a foothold and serves no purpose for the birds.

The Entrance Hole and the Hinged Side

Drill the entrance hole in the front panel, centred, with its base roughly 150mm to 175mm above the floor. A 32mm hole is the classic all-rounder: it suits blue tits, great tits, house sparrows and nuthatches, while keeping out larger, more aggressive birds such as starlings and jackdaws. If you want blue tits only, go down to 25mm.

For cleaning access, make one of the side panels removable rather than nailing everything solid. Fit two small hinges at the bottom edge and a hook-and-eye, or a single screw, at the top to hold it shut. The joint needs to be snug — a gap will let in rain and draughts. A slightly recessed panel, or a thin strip of rubber draught excluder, works well here.

Siting the Box

Position matters more than most people realise. Hang the box facing between north and east, so it catches morning sun but avoids the full heat of the afternoon and the worst of the prevailing south-westerly rain. A box that overheats can kill a brood of chicks in a single hot afternoon.

Other practical points:

Mount it two to four metres up, ideally around three, with a clear flight path to the entrance.
Tilt it very slightly forward so rain runs off the roof rather than into the hole.
Keep it away from feeding stations and nest boxes used by other pairs — tits are territorial and will squabble over close neighbours.
Make sure cats cannot reach it from a fence, shed roof or overhanging branch.
Put it up by late January, as blue tits start prospecting for nest sites in February.

Cleaning and What to Expect

Once the breeding season is over, usually from September onwards, open the hinged side and remove the old nest. It harbours fleas, mites and parasites, so it should never be left in place over winter. Scald the inside with boiling water, let it dry thoroughly, and leave the side open for a day or two before closing it up again.

Do not use disinfectants, bleach or commercial cleaners — plain hot water is enough. Give the box a quick check each autumn for loose screws, splits and damp, and repair anything that needs it.

The first year can be quiet. Birds need time to find a new box, and a pair that nests elsewhere one spring will often move in the next. Be patient, keep the box clean and well sited, and there is every chance that a few scraps of wood will be raising a family of blue tits before long.

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5 Comments

Robert Sonny says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am

I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
Reply
- John Abraham says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am
  
  I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
  Reply
  - Robert Sonnysays Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am
    
    I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
    Reply
Robert Sonny says Jul 21, 2024 at 10:00am

I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system
Reply

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