DIY Network

Copper Log Cabin Birdhouse Solder up a "log" birdhouse made of copper pipe. From "B. Original" episode DBOR-105

This cozy copper cabin is hip and homey at the same time.

Birdhouses let you channel your inner architect and—with help from B. Original host Michele Beschen—bring some sassy design to any outdoor space. Michele Beschen's log cabin birdhouse takes the basic log cabin design uptown by using copper pipe instead of Honest Abe's traditional timbers. So break out the soldering iron and start building something for the birds!

Note: Non-traditional birdhouses are a lot of fun to build and display, but they're not necessarily "up to code" for all birds. If you want to attract a specific bird species to your yard, do some research on that species or ask a local naturalist for tips. That will give you an idea how to best attract your desired birds while you B. Original.

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Materials:

½" copper pipe (32 feet)
¾" copper pipe for birdhouse pole
propane torch
solder
flux
carb cleaner
pipe cutter
circular saw with metal-cutting blade
hole saw suitable for metals
fireproof work surface
2 large L brackets
heavy metal weight
metal file
gloves
metal carpenter's square
ruler or measuring tape
marker
clamps
steel wool
metal bucket with water

	Figure A
	Figure B

Work Safe!

• Make sure you review and understand the instructions for your propane torch and any other tools used in this project.

• Work on a non-flammable surface: Michele Beschen used a piece of cement board on her workshop countertop.

• Keep your work steady. Michele Beschen created a jig to help hold her pieces still by sliding two L brackets under her cement board to give her a vertical support for her wor (figure A). She also used a heavy piece of metal on the opposite side of the work to help hold everything in place.

• Clear the area of flammable materials and make sure your workspace is well ventilated.

• Keep kids and pets out of the area when you're soldering.

• Have a metal bucket of water handy in case of fire and to cool down freshly soldered pieces (see below).

• Use gloves when handling cut pipe or hot metal (figure B). Wear eye protection when cutting or soldering metal.

Cut Your Pipe

You can use a traditional pipe cutter or a circular saw with a blade for cutting metals. Cutting with the circular saw is easier and a bit more accurate; but the variations you get cutting the pipe by hand won't make a difference in the structure.

The house design consists of seven panels: Two sides, two roof sections, two end caps and one floor. Cut your pipe to these lengths:

• side panels: 8 pieces of pipe 10" long

• bottom panel: 9 pieces of pipe 10" long

• end caps: 13 pieces of pipe 7½" long

• roof panels: 9 pieces of pipe12¾" long

Figure C

Build Your Panels

• Lay out the pipes for your first panel, pushing them flush to each other and bracing the group against the L brackets. Hold the pieces in place with a piece of heavy steel or non-flammable block. Michele Beschen also clamps a metal carpenter's square along the cut ends of the pipes to keep them lined up.

• Brush flux at all points of solder – all of the places where the pipes meet.

• Run a bead of solder down each "valley" where the pipes meet (figure C). The solder will mimic the look of the chinking done on real log cabins.

• Once your panel is soldered, drop it into the bucket of water to cool it down.

• Repeat for all other panels.

Figure D

Attach the Floor

• Hold a side panel against the L brackets with the panel bottom resting on your work surface. Push the bottom panel up against the bottom of the side panel so the side panel will be on the "outside" of the floor when they are attached.

• Line up the pieces and brace them together using the heavy piece of metal. Solder thoroughly down the seam where the panels touch (figure D).

• Solder the second side panel to the floor opposite the first, using the same technique.

	Figure E
	Figure F

Shape Your End Caps

• Measure and make a mark at the center of one of the end pipes of your end cap. This will be the top of your end cap.

• Counting from the opposite end of the piece, count up 8 pipes. Make a mark just above the 8th pipe at each end of that pipe. This will be the bottom of your pitch and will make the straight part of your end caps the same height as your side walls.

• Draw a line between the side marks and the one for the top of the pitch (figure E).

• Clamp the piece firmly to your work surface, using two clamps to brace the piece in both directions. (If you use just one clamp, the piece will move away as you cut.) Cut along the pitch lines using a circular saw with a metal-cutting blade.

• Repeat the process for the other end cap.

• Clamp one end cap to a piece of wood. Using a hole saw with 1½" a metal-cutting blade, drill a hole for the entrance. Be sure to file the cut edges down (figure F).

	Figure G
	Figure H
	Figure I

Finish Assembly

• Solder your end caps onto the rest of the structure
  (figure G).

• Place a roof panel on the work surface and flip your partially built structure on top of it. Position the structure on the roof panel and tack it down with a few globs of solder on each side. Use the same method to tack down the other roof panel (figure H)

• Flip the house upright and finish off the roof with a full line of solder.

• Use carb cleaner to clean your structure and remove all the flux. Use steel wool to clean up further.

• Solder a small piece of scrap pipe below the entrance hole for a perch. Make sure you file down any sharp edges.

• Cut two short (2"-3") pieces from the ¾" copper pipe and solder together in a T shape. Solder the flat side of this T to the center of the bottom of your birdhouse. Fit the T over the top of the rest of the ¾" copper pipe, which will be the pole for your birdhouse (figure I).

You can seal this cozy copper cabin with a couple of coats of polyurethane, or just let Mother Nature give it a beautiful weathered patina.