SREHs on a T-14 style house?

[Guest]

I am building a new t-14 style house soon and I have a few questions about building the fronts and the SREHs

I am not sure what material I will use for the fronts/doors but I was
thinking about plywood or cedar in the 1/2 - 3/4 range.
Will I have any problems with those thicknesses of fronts? Any recomendations on the material/size?

How far should the porch and the inside floor be from the bottom of the SREH.

FYI - I am going to use Don Cartrights SREH design which is 3 holes overlapping with the center is 1 3/16" and the outer 2 are 1".
This design is so simple to build/cut out and it works well for Don so I thought I would give it a try.

thanks for you help
Kevin

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

The entrances should be made of very thin material, as the 1/2 or 3/4in wood will not allow the martins to enter, they sort of wiggle to get in, but they have no wiggle room in a 3/4in board, so it is not recommended to use such a wide board...Maybe you could attach a thin SREH plate to the front of it...

Some people have used thick wood, and filed and sanded the inside of the hole to make it thinner wood, but it is much more simple to attach a 1/8in or thinner plate.

In my opinion, have the outside floor about 3/16 to 1/4 inch below the bottom of the entrance hole.

Try to find a thin piece of signboard or some sort of sintra or plastic, and then use Don's example...I have been using that overlap style for many years, it works good.

[rdhd]

K

[Guest]

thanks for the replies thus far.

rdharlin - about how thick was the actual opening after you used the die-grinder on the holes?

thanks Kevin

[rdhd]

i

[bk]

Hi again Emiil ,
I've got the 3/4 inch doors, and routed some cutouts for sreh excluders for a few and wdc's for the rest. how secure do i need to attach these plates to the doors? Will a brad do at each corner or do they need epoxy or what? maybe a little silicon caulk? appreciate any help.
thanks
bill
rowlett tx

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

bk, they do not to be on very tightly in general...if you may have an owl pulling on it like a Great Horned Owl, they probably could break the entrance, they are so strong...

I would use 4 small screws at the four corners, or 4 brads, and not worry about the owls..