After doing some routine, internet recon of the various Martin house manufacturers, I noticed that Heath is about to release a new model house.
It's very much like their conventional, green & white, hexagonal house in appearance, however, this one features SREHs, removable doors for nest checks, and interior room dividers already equipped with holes, for easy conversion to larger compartments (much like Nature House now offers with its MSS-12).
The new house is called the "Premium Convertible Purple Martin House".
It's nice to see Heath offering some "updated" housing.
Heath - big improvements
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John Miller
- Posts: 4866
- Joined: Mon Mar 22, 2004 9:11 pm
- Location: St. Louis, MO
Matt
This is encouraging.
The Heath house is attractive in appearance. I surely hope their crescent entrances have nice rounded corners. With the thin aluminum, it would otherwise pose great risk of wing hang and death of some martins. Also wonder if they've closed up the open attic.
Thanks for alerting us to this the modifications they've made.
P.S. Looking at the photo on their web site, looks like the crescents may be in a plastic plate; not sure.
This is encouraging.
The Heath house is attractive in appearance. I surely hope their crescent entrances have nice rounded corners. With the thin aluminum, it would otherwise pose great risk of wing hang and death of some martins. Also wonder if they've closed up the open attic.
Thanks for alerting us to this the modifications they've made.
P.S. Looking at the photo on their web site, looks like the crescents may be in a plastic plate; not sure.
Last edited by John Miller on Tue May 27, 2008 8:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Guest
Matt, I was doing the same yesterday and came across their new design on someone's website, and was going to post the same thing today. I was delighted to see it. That's the same things I have done to my Heath to make it safer and easier to access. I'm thrilled to see it, even if it took them way too long. I know many martin lovers will still have disdain for the Heath, but it's an affordable house for those who can't spend big bucks to have a hobby they love.
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TrkrBob1949
- Posts: 100
- Joined: Wed May 17, 2006 7:20 pm
- Location: Louisiana/Belle Bower
I had to go look at the Heath, too, because I owned a 24 room unit back in the mid 1980s and I was curious to see if they finally made some improvements to it. I was so unimpressed with that house that I eventually threw it away.
After enlarging the picture on the website, it is still hard to tell if there have been any substantial modifications to the current outmoded design. The new house does have crescents, but the bottom of the holes are awfully high from the floor of the house. That could present a problem by making entry by the starlings easier. And it is really hard to tell if there are easy opening doors that allow access to the nesting compartments. The lack of the ability to gain access to the compartments is a feature I have always hated about the Heath houses. And, to me, it looks like they retained the feature of the removable--more like collapsible--floors. In my opinion this is a serious design flaw in the Heath house and one that should've been eliminated years ago.
It would be nice if Heath would design and build a modern aluminum house that incorporates the features that purple martin landlords find desirable, because their houses are pretty inexpensive. And their houses are made by Americans so it would give the consumer the opportunity to support the American worker for a change. I would buy one and use it at a satellite colony, but I wouldn't use it here at the house because it doesn't have the features I desire in my own personal colony housing. But then a lot of people aren't as picky as I am.
After enlarging the picture on the website, it is still hard to tell if there have been any substantial modifications to the current outmoded design. The new house does have crescents, but the bottom of the holes are awfully high from the floor of the house. That could present a problem by making entry by the starlings easier. And it is really hard to tell if there are easy opening doors that allow access to the nesting compartments. The lack of the ability to gain access to the compartments is a feature I have always hated about the Heath houses. And, to me, it looks like they retained the feature of the removable--more like collapsible--floors. In my opinion this is a serious design flaw in the Heath house and one that should've been eliminated years ago.
It would be nice if Heath would design and build a modern aluminum house that incorporates the features that purple martin landlords find desirable, because their houses are pretty inexpensive. And their houses are made by Americans so it would give the consumer the opportunity to support the American worker for a change. I would buy one and use it at a satellite colony, but I wouldn't use it here at the house because it doesn't have the features I desire in my own personal colony housing. But then a lot of people aren't as picky as I am.
Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Heath has come out with a new Premium Convertible Martin House with crescent entrances that lets you convert a 12 unit single compartment house into a 6 unit double compartment house.
There is a 2" hole in the inside wall that lets them have more space and the protection of a double compartment. Also there is an blank inspection plate that comes off easily to do a nest check. Also the crescent entry plate can be removed for inspection. Really, I think this set up is similar to a modified treo but at a pretty inexpensive price. I know Heath has a bad reputation among professional purple martin landlords but this newly designed house may help people that don't want to pay bid bucks to be a PM Landlord.
Heath did not fix the top compartment open ceiling problem. I remedied that with a corrugated plastic campaign sign. I took the roof off and traced the cut out then cut out the center peice and cut the edges about 1/4" longer than what I traced. This way it could kind of snap in the edges and remain stationary. I drilled a lot of 3/4" holes for ventilation.
This solves the nestling cross-over problem.
Also, while not completely necessary, I also made some porch dividers out of aluminum metal with tabs that slip in the sides of the house and between each porch. I only put the white plastic perches in front of the 6 crescent hole compartments and not the blank inspection plates.
You can cheaply order the parts direct from Heath Manufacturing to replace all the the outside fronts & entrance plates and half the enterior walls to make your old house a lot better that would be starling resistant and solve the problems most people dislike about the Heath house that you now have.
There is a 2" hole in the inside wall that lets them have more space and the protection of a double compartment. Also there is an blank inspection plate that comes off easily to do a nest check. Also the crescent entry plate can be removed for inspection. Really, I think this set up is similar to a modified treo but at a pretty inexpensive price. I know Heath has a bad reputation among professional purple martin landlords but this newly designed house may help people that don't want to pay bid bucks to be a PM Landlord.
Heath did not fix the top compartment open ceiling problem. I remedied that with a corrugated plastic campaign sign. I took the roof off and traced the cut out then cut out the center peice and cut the edges about 1/4" longer than what I traced. This way it could kind of snap in the edges and remain stationary. I drilled a lot of 3/4" holes for ventilation.
This solves the nestling cross-over problem.
Also, while not completely necessary, I also made some porch dividers out of aluminum metal with tabs that slip in the sides of the house and between each porch. I only put the white plastic perches in front of the 6 crescent hole compartments and not the blank inspection plates.
You can cheaply order the parts direct from Heath Manufacturing to replace all the the outside fronts & entrance plates and half the enterior walls to make your old house a lot better that would be starling resistant and solve the problems most people dislike about the Heath house that you now have.
Last edited by Dennis F. on Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.
See attached pictures of New Premium Convertible Purple Martin House with double sized rooms, removable crescent entrance plate and removable inspection plate. (I made the porch dividers and bought the top perch at Nature House)
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- porch dividers I made
- MVC-006S.JPG (38.16 KiB) Viewed 7595 times
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- Removable inspection plate
- MVC-005S.JPG (37.94 KiB) Viewed 7609 times
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- removable crescent entrance plate
- MVC-004S.JPG (38.39 KiB) Viewed 7645 times
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- picture with inspection plate removed showing double size rooms
- MVC-003S.JPG (36.37 KiB) Viewed 7657 times
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- New Heath Premium Convertible Purple Martin House
- MVC-001S.JPG (37.28 KiB) Viewed 7712 times
Hmm i like it, i might order one for a friend interested in being a landlord. They are quite reasonably priced 
"We can judge the heart of man by his treatment of animals." - Immanual Kant.
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Donnie Hurdt MN
- Posts: 1723
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- Location: North Prairie, MN
Dennis, I am assumeing you asembled your Heath house when you got it, how easy did it go together? Did all the pieces fit together nicely and were all the seames between the doors and walls tight and even?
The reason I am asking is last fall I bought a Nature House DH-12N houuse for my daughters new place,(she liked that style of house) and when I put it together the other day I was VERY dissapointd with the way it went together. A lot of the pieces just diddent fit right there was uneven gaps along most of the doors, and I could go on. Maby this house was manufactured before ERVA Tool took over, I dont know. I used almost a whole tube of clear silicone to seal it up and drilled a bunch of holes in the outside porch floors so it would drain water better. I am hanging three gourds under it I hope those will be better homes for the martins if they choose to come to her new place.
The reason I am asking is last fall I bought a Nature House DH-12N houuse for my daughters new place,(she liked that style of house) and when I put it together the other day I was VERY dissapointd with the way it went together. A lot of the pieces just diddent fit right there was uneven gaps along most of the doors, and I could go on. Maby this house was manufactured before ERVA Tool took over, I dont know. I used almost a whole tube of clear silicone to seal it up and drilled a bunch of holes in the outside porch floors so it would drain water better. I am hanging three gourds under it I hope those will be better homes for the martins if they choose to come to her new place.
PMCA member and Martin fanatic....
2011 A pair of subbies fledged three young but none returned in 2012
2015 One Pair of subbies came and stayed a few nits but got chased away by Bluebirds and Tree swallows.
2017 0ne pair of subbies nested and fledged 4 young
2018 Tree Swallows AGAIN chased away any martins that wanted to nest
2019 Same old story................
2011 A pair of subbies fledged three young but none returned in 2012
2015 One Pair of subbies came and stayed a few nits but got chased away by Bluebirds and Tree swallows.
2017 0ne pair of subbies nested and fledged 4 young
2018 Tree Swallows AGAIN chased away any martins that wanted to nest
2019 Same old story................
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John Miller
- Posts: 4866
- Joined: Mon Mar 22, 2004 9:11 pm
- Location: St. Louis, MO
I'm glad they have made some improvements.
I wish they had rounded the corners on the crescents. As is, the risk of wing entrapment is greater. In a busy colony in this house, some will get hung up and die. Some of the weather stripping ideas we've discussed may help...but might not stick to this plate if it's plastic.
One could leave the crescent plate off. Then you'd have a round hole 6 x 6 compartment, but set back further out of the rain. Would still be vulnerable to starlings -- those might peer in a move on as it's not a deep compartment -- and owls..but would be fairly well back from wind and rain. If I did this, I'd at least correct the attic. I know starligns would enter with no attic, as they do now. They peer in and see darkness up there and go looking for it....which I know they find at RC's place. (grin).
John Miller
I wish they had rounded the corners on the crescents. As is, the risk of wing entrapment is greater. In a busy colony in this house, some will get hung up and die. Some of the weather stripping ideas we've discussed may help...but might not stick to this plate if it's plastic.
One could leave the crescent plate off. Then you'd have a round hole 6 x 6 compartment, but set back further out of the rain. Would still be vulnerable to starlings -- those might peer in a move on as it's not a deep compartment -- and owls..but would be fairly well back from wind and rain. If I did this, I'd at least correct the attic. I know starligns would enter with no attic, as they do now. They peer in and see darkness up there and go looking for it....which I know they find at RC's place. (grin).
John Miller
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Guest
Two years ago I revamped a Heath castle attacking all the problems and concern noted about it's short-comings.
1. replaced the hub with one of my own designs so it will transport up and down a steel pole using a winch system.
2. intergrated a gourd rack under it and perching ronds over it.
3. eliminated the continuous porches and replaced with porched cresent entrances
4. converted to double sized rooms and added access in the nesting areas
5. added flashing between floors and completely rivited and caulked everthing together. It's a one unit, dry house, no drop floors.
6. added a sintra ceiling on the top floor
here's a photo
1. replaced the hub with one of my own designs so it will transport up and down a steel pole using a winch system.
2. intergrated a gourd rack under it and perching ronds over it.
3. eliminated the continuous porches and replaced with porched cresent entrances
4. converted to double sized rooms and added access in the nesting areas
5. added flashing between floors and completely rivited and caulked everthing together. It's a one unit, dry house, no drop floors.
6. added a sintra ceiling on the top floor
here's a photo
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- heath1.JPG (24.47 KiB) Viewed 7459 times
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Guest
Then last year converted another one for a friend down the street. We got it up in March and it hosted 4 pair the first year. Two story instead of three so I added a layer of gourds by extending the hub system.
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- heath2.jpg (38.63 KiB) Viewed 7465 times
LRL,
Great job on the Heath conversion/enhancement.
You did a superb job!
The Heath houses, despite needing some serious mods to make them Martin management friendly (aside from the new "Premium Convertible" model) do have the benefit of bring made from aluminum - giving one a main structure that will last indefinitely, with little or no maintenance.
Great job on the Heath conversion/enhancement.
You did a superb job!
The Heath houses, despite needing some serious mods to make them Martin management friendly (aside from the new "Premium Convertible" model) do have the benefit of bring made from aluminum - giving one a main structure that will last indefinitely, with little or no maintenance.
