Waterproofing DIY-made bird house.

B0bbyEwing

I have a DIY-made bird house (not by myself) which has been made out of planed/sanded pallet wood.

So obviously it's not treated & I'd like to protect it somewhat against the rain.

I hopped on Google which mentioned Linseed oil but as I rarely insta-swallow the first answer I looked a bit further & it mentioned that this doesn't stay waterproof for long & would need regularly re-applying.

So can anyone think of something that'd tick the box?

I'd say it needs to be low or zero odour.

I wouldn't be planning on coating the inside, although if you think the inside should be coated & can explain why then that could be done.

And it needs to be waterproof for the fairly long term ideally. I don't want to have to re-coat it every other week.

teaselMay

I've used ordinary cooking oil, it will have been either rapeseed or sunflower. Works well. It will need redoing periodically but so will any treatment

stuart45

If it's for Blue tits you might need a metal plate over the entrance to make it Woodpecker proof. I've had a few houses up for years, but this year a Woodpecker has opened up the holes so he can get the chicks out when he's hungry.

B0bbyEwing

To be honest I'm not entirely sure it'll get used anyway.

A chap I know was offering a bird house as he'd made a few. I told my OH & she said yes because she'll always say yes to garden stuff.

But where we live we get starlings, wood pigeons, magpies & that's possibly about it. We do get the occasional tit of some description but that's all it is - occasional.

Unlike where we lived before this and there were all manner of tiny birds.

greyteam1959

Just leave it alone.

Heat treated pallet wood will last for years and years without anything painting on it.

WIAWSNB

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82080227#Comment_82080227

Do you want it bare wood, or a colour?

If the former, then a potential way to protect it could be silicone spray, as used for waterproofing clothes, or possibly even the 'release agent' or lube type.

Leave the box outside in this weather until it's bone dry, and give it repeated coats of sili as each layer is absorbed. Just the outside, of course, and focus on end grain and the drip-off points.

I'd have thought it would be safe?

I was going to suggest a building waterproof coating like Thompson's Water Seal, but - wow - that clearly has powerful and stinky solvents in it.

WIAWSNB

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82080378#Comment_82080378

Good point - timber kept away from ground contact will last years, and pallet timber is usually pretty tough stuff.

The weak points are the end grain, top and bottom in Stuart's example, so perhaps 'oil' these parts - get the timber bone dry, and then try and make the end-grains soak up as much oil as possible.

I guess even sunflower oil would work - certainly help - and should be safe.

p00hsticks

also make sure that you can get the old nest out once the birds have gone - a lot of these boxes I see look attractive but have no way of doing that - you should really either be able to slide the back off or have a hinged roof….

twopenny

Place in an open area where the birds can see around when they stick their heads out. No feeders nearby. No cover plants.

My friend had one on a long boarded fence open as could be and it's always producing bluetits despite several cats around.

bjorn_toby_wilde

Direction is also crucial. Site it facing North, East or NE.

Any other direction and the birds probably won’t use it because it will get too much heat from the sun and get hit by much more rain.

B0bbyEwing

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82080378#Comment_82080378

Dealing with pallets more than probably most of you, that is actually not correct.

Or shall I say, not in my decades of experience.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82080550#Comment_82080550

Either or really. Not overly fussed whether it looks natural or whether it's oiled.

Probably would prefer to not have it 'painted' as such but again I'm not overly particular.

Waterproofing is more important.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82080554#Comment_82080554

Without a moisture tester, I'd say it's pretty bone dry so should be good to go.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82080893#Comment_82080893

Yep it's DIY made so has been made in such a way that the front can be removed.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82081706#Comment_82081706

This could be a problem then. The whole area just gets blasted by the sun. There's very little shaded area.