Cast Hypertufa Birdhouse

 Amazon Prime Cast Birdhouse 

 

Here is a project that uses some of the many boxes one begins to accumulate when shopping on Amazon.  You can already recycle the boxes conventionally, but they just happen to make great re-purposed molds for this bird house project.  It is not the type you hang in a tree, but mount on a fence or a post instead, since it is cast using a mold made from a reconstructed Amazon shipping box and of course has a bit more weight.

 

What You Need:

 

Plastic covered worksurface

Mud gloves

i-3 assorted Amazon shipping boxes

Box knife

Scissors

Hot melt glue gun and plenty of extra glue sticks

Sharpie

Masking or duct tape

One or two 1” lengths of 5/8” PVC pipe

Pile of straight twigs

Any color latex paint

Mixing bucket

Trowel

Brick

Hypertufa recipe ( Here’s mine: http://fromthesummersgarden.blogspot.com/p/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-ja-x_10.html)

 

What You Do:

Select a shipping box that is a good size for the birdhouse you’d like to make and carefully take it apart where it is glued or stapled together.

 

If there are staples, remove and discard them.  Use the box as is if you want a flat roof. If you’d like your roof slanted, cut two opposite sides on a slant. Reassemble the box inside out using a hot glue gun 

 

Glue the flaps down on the outside of the box to serve as reinforcements.  The inside should be completely smooth with no flaps. Use masking tape to cover all seams on the inside. 

Glue the PVC pipe section(s) onto the inside of the box where you’d like the hole to be.

 

I used two to make two holes, one on either side. Use pieces cut from another box to make relief designs on each of the four sides.  I used arches inspired by gothic architecture for mine.  

 TIP: Whatever you decide to do design-wise, keep it simple and repeat your shapes. Glue the pieces onto the inside surfaces of your mold using the hot glue gun. Finally, run a border of masking or duct tape around the perimeter of the box mold at the bottom and again at the top.  This will prevent the box from sagging out of shape as you construct the birdhouse. 

Cut and glue together a cardboard tray with a bottom and one-inch sides.  This will serve as the mold for the roof.  It should be 1-inch larger both ways than the dimension of your box mold. This will ensure that the roof overhangs the birdhouse.

 

When both the birdhouse and roof molds have been constructed, paint them inside and out with a coat of latex paint and allow to dry. Coat the inside of both molds liberally using a paintbrush and vegetable oil. Mix up a batch of your favorite hypertufa to a clay-like consistency. Pack the mold by handfuls, firmly pressing the material against the side of the mold and forming a smooth inner surface.  Be sure to apply ample material across the top edge, smoothing to create a firm, durable edge.

When the birdhouse mold is cast, move to the cardboard tray and fill it with hypertufa using a brick to evenly tamp the surface smooth.  Lay twigs into the soft hypertufa and tamp into the mold using the brick.  

TIP:  Cut twigs the same size as your roof mold and have them ready to add when casting the roof.   They lend a nice natural look as a surface texture for the roof. 

Allow both molds to cure and harden.  This may take two to three days.  Remove the mold and

allow the birdhouse and roof to cure further for one week out of the sun.  Because the roof is heavy, it may simply rest on top of the birdhouse, making it simple to lift off for cleanout at the end of the season.  

 

TIP: To ensure the roof stays in place, apply hot glue to the top edge of the birdhouse at each corner, immediately place the roof on top and hold until the glue hardens.  This will keep the roof in place for the summer.  To remove the roof for cleaning, simply pry the corners gently with a screwdriver.  The hot glue will give easily.

 

Leave your birdhouse natural or add accents with exterior latex paint and mount on a wooden platform on a post or fence.  Use the hot glue technique here also to hold the house in place for the season.