S&K B12 house

ltwalsh · Thu Mar 15, 2012 8:29 pm

I am about to install this house and was wondering if anyone has experience converting this house cutting down on the nesting sections, and making more space for the PM's who do next there.

jr 2 · Thu Mar 15, 2012 8:37 pm

i have an older s&kbarn[b12];;i heard on here that the newer ones have a knckout for the walls inbetween too make the compartments bigger;mine is still in my building and i will use it if i need too;;if i remember mine had like white stryofoam on the interior walls and i just removed it and made the compartments double;jr2

Waydog · Thu Mar 15, 2012 9:04 pm

Im a first year noob, and did that to both my sk B12's that recently put up. The material easily removes. I plugged one end of the "end" rooms with the sk SREH plugs. So i have 4- 6 x 12 rooms in each, with the middle rooms still 6x6, due to the tri tel pole going thru the dividers of these 2. We'll see how it works out for my 1st year. The cutouts are large enough also so there shouldnt be any issue of the birds getting hung up so to speak between the 2!

RC Moser · Thu Mar 15, 2012 10:16 pm

One compartment on end each floor needs to be straight through to use all the cavities. Even straight through with srehs this would be 400% more safe than single compartment (6x6x6). Even on the straight through cavity you can plug both ends and install tunnel entry on the side of the barn making it L shaped entry also. I have 10 year old barn with plastic cardboard type dividers which was easy to cut out. I made the cut outs 2" by 3" square and cut plastic tubing glued to the bottom cut out Leaving about 1" at the bottom for higher entry into the nest chamber with 1/2" nest elevator. I have never lost pair in that house. I even expanded the attic with tunnel entry but never open them up thinking OKC summer heat would be way too hot up there.

Tom Christian · Fri Mar 16, 2012 6:53 pm

I have three of these houses. They work great and my martins love them. Convert them as S-Ks says.
It will give you one apartment with rooms end to end and two apartments with rooms side by side per floor level
The knock holes are 3x3 inch so are plenty big.
My birds will fill these before going for my T14 and and BO-11s with tunnels.
$29.99 at the local Wally World
Good Luck
Tom

Dave Reynolds · Fri Mar 16, 2012 7:42 pm

ltwalsh -- here is a photo from an earlyer post on the changeing of the floor plan.

Dave

Dave Reynolds · Fri Mar 16, 2012 7:56 pm

Sorry --- that didn't work, will try again later
Dave

Dave Reynolds · Fri Mar 16, 2012 8:04 pm

ltwalsh -- Here is the picture of the floor plan ,,, again.. Maybe I got it right this time..

Dave

Hanover Bill · Sat Mar 17, 2012 6:50 am

Hi ITWalsh;

I just converted my S&K house per the instructions S&K were nice enough to e-mail me. This will give you 2 straight through 6x12's, and 4 sideways 6x12's. My house has the knockouts already marked and perforated.

I was slightly concerned about the size of the cut outs being too small but I see others feel they are plenty big enough so I will go with that. This definitely should make the accomodations both more attractive to the Martins and far safer.

Best of luck this season.

Hanover Bill.