Rock house for birds ??

[reible]

I can handle the woodworking involved in making a birdhouse but then comes the adding the rocks....

Details I know. The birdhouse in the area of 7"x9"x11"(peak of roof). The "building" except for the roof will need to be covered in rocks (from the shore of Lake Superior, pea size to walnut size). It will be outdoors spring through summer. The lighter the better. It needs to look like a stone building with mortar lines. Minimal off season care/refurbishment. Must be able to be cleaned out with minimum effort.

Hope to have a sample photo of a building it should look like later tonight or tomorrow.

Any one with art/craft experience have any good ideas on how to attach the rocks and get them to stay, and look like a stone building, and be good for months outside, for some years?????. Hardware cloth to get good attachment?? I was thinking maybe slate for the bottom rather then rocks if I can get away with it.

The only reward I can give is a few pictures of it when it is finished IF I am the one making it.

Ed

[Ed in Tampa]

I can handle the woodworking involved in making a birdhouse but then comes the adding the rocks....

Details I know. The birdhouse in the area of 7"x9"x11"(peak of roof). The "building" except for the roof will need to be covered in rocks (from the shore of Lake Superior, pea size to walnut size). It will be outdoors spring through summer. The lighter the better. It needs to look like a stone building with mortar lines. Minimal off season care/refurbishment. Must be able to be cleaned out with minimum effort.

Hope to have a sample photo of a building it should look like later tonight or tomorrow.

Any one with art/craft experience have any good ideas on how to attach the rocks and get them to stay, and look like a stone building, and be good for months outside, for some years?????. Hardware cloth to get good attachment?? I was thinking maybe slate for the bottom rather then rocks if I can get away with it.

The only reward I can give is a few pictures of it when it is finished IF I am the one making it.

Ed

Back in the 80's my step father in law came up with the idea that he wanted wall paneling with rocks on it. He used pebbles that were glued to the wood.
For the first year or so he was reglueing stones but that stopped after about a year.
Remember this was all inside.

HOwever on the outside of his home which was log home that had plywood that fit in slots cut in each log. There were two one on the inside and one on the outside with insulation in the middle between each log(sort of a chunking) he used the same idea and sprayed the ply with glue and then threw on sand. End result looked like cement chunking between the logs. For the first 5-10 years he sprayed the whole house with a wood sealer that was insect and mildew resistant. I don't think he has sprayed in the last ten years and all looks good. The home is 30+ yeears old now. I think the supplier of the Log Homes now offers the ply already coated with sand inside of suggestting stucco paint.

Where I see problems is with mildew and moisture. I would use a water proof tile mastic and then get one of the clear sealers that have mildew resistance built in.

[fiatben]

Well, what I meant is that there is an epoxy that they used to cement vases to tombstones, repair broken granite, etc. My folks used it to cement medallions to plaques, etc. for a non-profit. It is supposed to last "forever" haha.

[BuckeyeDennis]

If I understand correctly, you need to attach the rocks to a wooden substrate? Construction adhesive can do this for sure, and be completely weatherproof. A good example is Loctite PL, available at HD in caulk-gun type tubes. I first learned about such adhesives from watching our landscape contractor bond good-sized concrete paver blocks into walls, steps, and other such assemblies. They have held up well, except when subjected to extreme pressure from tree roots. Repairing that damage gave me some up close and personal experience with construction adhesives.

Here's a link to the product page: http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/12/34/ ... hesive.htm

That won't help you with the mortar lines, but you could point those later, after getting the structural bonding done. Or maybe even skip that step, and go for the dry-stacked look.

[db5]

Try this stuff. http://www.bestmaterials.com/detail.aspx?ID=11225

It is extremely durable. I have used it to bond things that would come apart with other construction adhesives.

[reible]

Below are some photos showing the general idea of what this will need to look like when finished.

I like the detail of the rock around the arch and frame of the door, I'd like to add that to the birdhouse if I can.

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Ed

[beeg]

What about using liquid nails to secure the rock?

[Ed in Tampa]

I don't know how liquid nails and construction adhesive is today but I used some to glue down pressure treated in my garage for cabinets, and shelves and such. That was 30 years ago.

I have to tear down the cabinet (long story don't ask but I feel really stupid now). I expected major problems with the construction adhesive.

There was none. In fact it appeared more as window sash putty than the glue I put up 30 years ago. There was no exposure to water but in florida the garage does get high humidity and high temperatures. I also air condition the space when I'm working out there.

The glue easily peeled or popped off the wall concrete block, using a putty knife I removed if from the wood and my shoe from the concrete floor. Basically after 30 years it has no structural support and may have been the reason I had to tear down the cabinet and replace it.

Epoxy is a great idea but I had a walk way done with creek pebble stone mixed in clear epoxy and poured like concrete. Looked fantastic for about 4 or 5 years and then the sun completely broke down the epoxy. I had tons of creek pebble stones everywhere.

Again if I were doing it I would do one of two things used the premix stucco cement that the big boxes sell or the premixed waterproof tile cement also sold at the big boxes. I would then spray two or three coats of clear sealers that has mildew protection built into it.

If you are going to that much work you don't want the glue to break down or the whole thing to look grotty because of mildew and fungus build up.

[K.s.]

Is this for birds to move into or decoration? Because we have a store here wild birds unlimited and I was talking about bird houses and told me that the stone one would get to hot for the birds. The wife wanted one

[reible]

Is this for birds to move into or decoration? Because we have a store here wild birds unlimited and I was talking about bird houses and told me that the stone one would get to hot for the birds. The wife wanted one

This is intended as a birdhouse.

I've started a ruff design and plan to add some under the roof air flow space as well as making the roof cupola vent functional. It will also have drainage holes in the bottom. The front door will be have the entrance as well as being the access for clean-outs.

The wood structure for the most part will be 3/4" (pine).

Bird house of this type would need to be in a shady area. So long as it remains in the shade the rocks will only act as a thermal mass of the air temperature.

Rock thickness would be about a 1/2" to 3/4" or so. This is only a guess as to what the rocks might look like. This is part of my collection of "special" rocks that the grandkids (when they are old enough) can look at, play with use a magnify on....

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Ed