Tunnels added to Heath house

[Keith]

I make these wood tunnels from western cedar fencing material and plane down to 3/8 inch thick; [ very light weight ]. Reducing this house to 6 compartments would likely be better but I have had much success the last 2 yrs. with 100 % occupancy. Matt, I hope you are able to see this thread and give me some coaching here. I will try to show with pictures how we modify. First thing I do is cut house entrance large enough to put my hand in, drill holes for venting, and put foam board insulation underneath the roof. Second, we build the tunnels using the Clinger entrance that I really like, and you will see the metal angle at the top back to hook to the house. Note the picture where I tilt the tunnel to set in place. To further stabilize, one can always add a small screw up through the porch into tunnel.
Keith

[Dave Reynolds]

Keith ... Good looking job on the Heath House... Is this your first year with, the new design..? Or have they used the new designed house before.. Just wondering

Dave

[Keith]

Dave, used this modified house two years now and it was fully occupied both years. Started using tunnels to help with Owl problems and it was successful. I really think the Martins feel safer in the house with tunnels, and they are. Another thing is that I have never had a Starling breach the Clinger style entrance. One drawback to this house is that a clutch of 5 or 6 offspring may be somewhat crowded. In driving around I sometimes find these houses just falling apart and the owner usually wants to get rid of it. We offer to repair for them but I find many people not interested or know what a Purple Martin is.

Keith

[Matt F.]

Fantastic work Keith!
Thanks for posting!
There are some folks I know that are hosting Martins in some Heath aluminum houses, and I've been looking for some ideas for them to modify the houses.
I'm going to show them this thread.
Thanks again!

[MartinStudent]

Nice job on the Heath house, Keith! Thanks for sharing the photos and information. I have two Heath houses that I plan on modifying and was actually looking into adding tunnels to them, too. One is so old it still has round holes. As a newbie wannabe landlord, it is always interesting to see how others are modifying PM houses.

[Keith]

Martinstudent, the ones I worked on were older with round holes also. Some added information as to what we usually do is make the cut-out even with the top of original hole and also leave 3/4 to 1 inch up from the porch for bottom of opening just to help keep nesting material confined to the compartment.
keith

[bobeteb]

Very nice

[Dave Duit]

Awesome craftsmanship Kieth. I enjoy seeing what other landlords can create. I too make modifications to many of my houses. I added Troyer tunnels to my Grandpa style metal houses, complete with hinged doors and latches. Almost all gourds and housing can be modofied to meet the needs or refurbish old housing. I think it is important to always think safety for the martins while making changes to the gourds and houses. You did a great job. Congrats.

[bobeteb]

Kieth, very nice looking modification to the heath house, i would be interested to try this if you would be inclined to post some measurements. the fact that your martins have accepted and were successfully raising young makes me want to give it a try. Also what did you use to make those nice clean cuts to the metal on the original house entrance?
Thanks Bob

[Keith]

In reference to some information requested to go along with this thread I will try to add another picture with dimensions. You may still need to refer to an earlier picture. Since I do the modifications to older houses, the roof and porches are usually removed to begin the project. Leaving all 6 sides of the entrance panels attached together, mark out the larger openings starting at top edge of round holes. The bottom of the openings are 1 inch from porch which leaves 1/4 inch to fold a hem to rid a sharp edge. Sides can then be marked having 3 1/4 inch wide opening. Cut out with tin snips and file and sand all rough edges. Assemble the tunnels with glue and small brads. Fasten angle bracket as shown to the tunnel with 3/8 inch screw. Tilt the tunnel up in front and hook the bracket in place behind the top edge of cut-out in house. Note: I usually put a 3/8 inch screw up underneath for stability. Easy to remove for clean-out. Demensions given for the tunnel parts are based on 3/8 inch thick material.
Keith

[Dave Reynolds]

Keith . .. Nice Picture... Well Done.... Thanks for the dimensions.

Dave

[bobeteb]

Thanks for the dimensions Kieth, very helpful
Bob

[Fireflyfisherman]

Really cool! I will be looking for old run down ones that need a good fixing up. Thanks for the dimensions.

[KaraInTexas]

Love this! Amazing job!! Looking forward to pics of babies in there safe and sound!