converting my 20 room pm house

[Guest]

The pm house I have is the typical older style pm house. It has 20 rooms. How can I modify it to give them more room. Should I leave some of the dividers out? If so, then how would I plug up the holes on the other side of the house? Or would I have to?

This house I have also has an "attic" with one divider. The two rooms up there seem big enough, would they even use that?

Thanks again for help with my stupid questions

[apundt-TX]

Can you post a picture of it?

[John Miller]

birdlady

Glad you are moving in this direction. I'm not certain but fear the 20 room house is one of the octangular designs, probably from "Heath." These are not feasible to renovate to deeper compartments. Some of us have considered it. Some folks plug the holes and use them as small gourd racks. They are attractive. One that someone gave me sat around in my workshop awhile and finally netted $6.00 at the aluminum recycle place.

Take a look at the home page download sheet for "modifying Trio" houses. These common aluminum houses are modular and can be rearranged, with the back hole plugged or the door replaced with a blank door.

John Miller

[Dave S (Texas)]

Hi Barbara

If you can't post a photo of the house, please discribe it Brand would be good, but what it's made of/shape? Where did you get this house? Like I offered before, I'll be up there next Friday and can come by to look/see/help, if you want.

[apundt-TX]

Did your house come with the cresent door plugs. If so you can use those to plug up half the compartment. Go to this website and look at the left picture on the top for some ideas.
http://www.purplemartin.org/update/9(3)trio.html

[CUL Lou~Mich]

First off, I know nothing about this house. However, I'll give a try here. Does this house have long threaded rods going from one end to the other to hold the center wall in?? Is it Aluminum? If both are the case, then take the rods out, loosening the center walls. Then tip up and take the center walls out, also take off the doors. You'll want to block off every other door. This way, you will have a door on both right and left, and a back wall in the middle on the top and bottom floors. There will be a back wall on the left and right of the middle floor, and a door in the middle. The back side will be just the opposite. Put the center walls in where the back doors are going to be, and the doors in the center. If this house is made out of plastic, then you can still do it. Use a three inch hole saw, and cut through the center wall. Use pop rivets to secure the cut outs over the holes in the outer doors. Same configuration as I gave above. As for the top two, they look to be pretty fair sized, and I wouldn't worry about them. Good Luck. Oh one thing further. There is no such thing as a stupid question, except the one that's not asked. Questions are an attempt at furthering ones education, and that is NOT stupid. Okay, lecture over now. ;-) CUL Lou

[TreeGreenwood]

The S&K 20 is VERY easy to modify although it's easier to do during assembly. I've done both.

First, have a look on the PMCA home page's 'Download Center' and 'A Guide for Modifying Trio Houses' at http://www.purplemartin.org/update/9(3)trio.html. You want to create compartments in the same pattern on each level of your S&K house as diagrammed for the rectangular Trio. Alternate the pattern so you get a level with two open entry holes, then a level with only one, then another two on one side; the other side will be one entry hole on top and bottom and two in the middle.

Cut holes in the inside walls with a very sharp utility knife (use a new blade). I found that it's easiest to cust a tombstone-shape hole, flat on the bottom and curved at the top. Size isn't critical but about 2 1/4 tall and wide is about right. Do NOT cut all the way through or remove the inner dividers; they are part of the structure of the house. I obsessed about protecting the Martins and pressed caulk all along the edges of the interior openings but that probably isn't necessary.

Seal up the unused holes. I've used S&K hole plugs and scraps of plastic glued over the unused holes. I've also used duct tape, both inside and out and painted over it. A couple of those doors are still in use for a third year. While you have the doors off, spray the inside of the doors with flat black Krylon to darken the interior.

It seems that Martins instinctively like what provides the best protection. All of the cavities occupied in my house last year were the off-set, side-by-side. None used the straight through cavities.

One more suggestion: Wire (twist ties work great) a long bamboo garden stake to the top ridge using the same holes that the little plastic 'antenna' is stuck in now. The Martins will LOVE the extra perching space. The little plastic perches S&K sells are too short and seldom , if ever, used by the Martins.

Take care,

Tree

[Guest]

I modified two of these S&K, 12 apartment houses last year. On the side of the house facing away from our home, I used a hot glue gun and expired credit cards to plug all the entrances. I used a knife to cut doorways in the center inside wall of five apartments.

I was 50% full on my first year last season and all the nests were built in the 'back room'.

This year, I have plugged the remaining opening in the bottom middle apartment and installed a 40w light bulb thru the floor for "central heat" to the five remaining double sized apartments.

My tenants are now overdue and I worried whether Katrina is to blame.
(The houses were lowered to 4ft on S&K poles and went thru the eye of the storm undamaged.)

Looking to next year - Has anyone designed a PM apartment using a FEMA trailer ?

[Guest]

The house is not wood nor metal. It is some kind of thick plastic, I can't think of what they called it.

It has the pole that goes into the ground going up through it.

Yesterday, it was all cleaned and dried and I reassembled it. I am going to block 1/2 the doorways with something and all I need now is a new ground sleeve and a bag of quik-crete

I want to move it a little closer than the almost 200 ft away that it is


I don't have the money to order the one I want now in time, but if I can attract martins with this one, hopefully by next year, I can put another house up, the one I really want (with gourds)

Does anyone here have 2 pm houses? Or is it recommended to only have one and add on?

thanks for all the suggestions above :-)

[apundt-TX]

you can have as many houses as you can afford or space provides.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

It really matters none if you have 1 house or 2 houses. Since you have a wide open area, the next most important step is to keep away the starlings, sparrows, and snakes....

I definitely would put the house nearer to your home...If you have a single story home, then you can place it near the home...If you have a 2-story home, its better to put it an extra 20 - 30ft distance from your home..The hawks use the 2-story sto their advantage.

[Guest]

Hi Emil, yes we have a ranch house. I will go outside later when the rain stops and check for a good site. It was too far away before to watch anything

[klcretired]

birdlady58,
On your houseing that i saw a pic of ,You can block off all the Holes on one side of your houseing, cut a large hole thru the divider's thus making a deep cavity for the Martins to nest in and i think a Gourd Rack would go really well w/ your houseing that you have to attract more Martins.

[TreeGreenwood]

I'd never block off all holes on one side. ...

With the S&K barn, you can't make all the compartments straight through. The pole goes up inside the middle, strengthening the whole structure but blocking the back of the middle compartments.

In my houses, the Martins chose the offset compartments rather than straight through. Don't know if it's just darker or if they instinctively know that they're better protected from predators.

Take care,

Tree