Birdhouses Made Of Wood, So What !!!!

These are some pictures of birdhouses in Sarawak that were made of wood. All of them stand on stilt like those Kampung houses in remote areas.

Based on the numbers, I am sure there are a few that are doing well.

The major point is that the total cost of its raw materials is much cheaper then those bricks and cement plastered.

As long as the micro habitats are within the range necessary to those birds I do not see any difference with those made of bricks.

My main comments are:

1) Termite love to eat the BH. Yes anything that are made of untreated wood with be their favourite. Well call Ridpest to bait those termites!!!

2) The building might not be able to stand for more then 20-30 years. Well 30 years is good enough for me!!!

3) In case of burglary those walls are easily broken into. You need to fence the building properly and perhaps place a "Jaga" to stay in the BH premise to look after the house.

4) In the event of typhoon the building can be easily be blown away especially the rooftop. There goes all your birdnests. The chance is slim but that can happen.

5) Those wood panel after some time will shrink those creating gaps allowing air to enter the BH? Well I am sure those owners knows what they are doing. From what I saw the walls are actually made of three layers of insulation materials: The plywood, the cement board, Styrofoam and hold by another cement board. To make the house cooler the Styrofoam thickness can go up to 4 inches.

6) Most of these BHs have their inclined roof made of metal sheet (mainly zinc). This is something that can cause the ceiling to be very hot. I normally prescribed the use of those cheap roofing materials made of clay or cement (asbestos) curvy type.

7) The rooftop air gap needs to be proper to minimise the hot air trapped in between the ceiling floor and the roof will not give to much effect on the nesting ceiling areas. I prescribed to increase the roof gap to at least 2-3 feet up. Allow some holes with wire mesh to allow free flow of air to cool these gaps.

8) The ceiling floor must be also be properly insulated. If possible makes sure to place at least one or two stack of insulation materials (either Styrofoam 4" or fibreglass wool 2" thick). This will prevent those heat from encroaching into the BH especially the ceiling.

9) Due to the current weather, most of these wooden BHs are covered with those orchid plantation plastic mats. I am sure those do brings some benefits in preventing direct sunlight onto the walls.

10) The floor of the BH are actually made of normal plank but covered with those plastic mat to prevent air from rushing in and to protect the floor from coming into direct contact with those ammonia laden Birdshits.



11)The BH that I visited seem to install a kind of air intake hole on the floor. This is something that can help to cool the BH but it should be controlled by a fan. Try to time the intake once a day especially in the early morning when the air is cool and rich with oxygen.