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October 31st, 2020

Using Reclaimed Wood For a Birdhouse

"You can make a difference in your local community by taking wood out of the trash and making something special out of it. The difference you make will benefit everyone. All you need is a few pieces of old wood for your project and you can create something exciting and recognizable, such as a birdhouse."

An Amazing Alternative to New Wood

Reclaimed wood is any type of wood that has been salvaged from a dumpster, landfill, trash can, pallet yard, or wood pile, and then re-purposed for a different cause. Reclaimed wood can be an amazing alternative to new wood, and anyone can easily salvage discarded wood and give it a whole new look. Any type of old wood that has been laying around for months, even years, is often weathered to the point that is beautiful in its own way. It can make for a really nice birdhouse project.

Custom Projects With Recycled Wood

A birdhouse designed to look like an old country store is a good example of how reclaimed wood can be used to create something really special. You can see it in the details of the windows, molding, rails, patio and more. Preparing old wood that would otherwise end up buried in a land fill involves nothing more than sanding the surface and applying a fresh coat of paint. The wood used in this particular model came from reclaimed wood from a wood pile next to a construction area.

Wood can also be re-purposed from deconstructing other wood structures, such as cabinets, furniture, wood boxes and pallets. It's all about DIY these days, and you'll be surprised at what you can do with an old worn-out piece of wood after a little sanding. Even without any sanding, reclaimed wood has potential for a uniquely weathered and antique look.

Where can reclaimed wood be found?

You can find discarded wood in many places around your community:

  • Roads & Curbsides - Often you will see unwanted furniture, shelving units, and other wood structures abandoned on the side of the road or on curbsides. Reclaimed wood can be sourced from old furniture and other objects that are unwanted and no longer being used. Any object that is constructed with wood boards or panels can be taken apart with some physical effort. Furniture, cabinets, bedframes, picture frames, pallets and wood boxes are things that are made from wood sections that can be taken apart and re-used. Regardless of how the wood is held together, (i.g., nails, screws, staples or glue) it can be separated with a hammer and crowbar.
  • Industrial Waste Wood - is always generated during the process of manufacturing of new homes. The construction sites of tract houses will always have an industrial size dumpster(s) on or near the construction property. Industrial waste wood is usually found in solid board form, even plywood and particle board. Pine lumber is the most common wood form used in the home building industry. You will often find it in wood piles that are clearly visible in the front area of a house structure before it is tossed into a large dumpster.
  • Lumber Yards & Home Improvement Centers - Reclaimed wood can be purchased from retail establishments such as local lumber yards and home improvement centers. The cost varies depending on the company, wood species, age, and availability. Altogether, the money you spend should always be a little less than you would pay for new wood.
  • Alleyways - There's nothing wrong with cruising the alleyways for dumpsters and trashcans loaded with discarded wood. Be mindful, however, that residential alleyways are in-between homes where residents like to enjoy peace and quiet.
  • Dumps & Landfills - It is not suggested that you visit dumps or landfills only for the reason of removing discarded wood items, but if you're on your way there to dump your trash, it's worth looking around anyway.
  • Pallet Yards - Pallet yards typically buy and sell pallets in high volume. Although visiting a pallet yard for wood might seem like an unlikely solution, it might be worth the effort if the owner is willing to sell you pallets in small volume. Pallet yards are where you are going to find pallets constructed with different sizes, thicknesses and species of wood. Their policies and prices will differ from one to another.
  • Scrap Yards - Scrap yards are usually for unwanted items composed of metal, not wood. However, if you deliver unwanted items to a local scrap yard, you may even get paid for your metal items and then you can look around for some old wood at the same time. Going to a scrap yard just to look for wood can obviously be a big-time hassle, but it might be worth it.

Occasionally, other materials can be salvaged that are needed to complete a birdhouse project. Nails and screws can sometimes be found still embedded in old wood. Nails can be extracted from wood with a hammer claw, and screws can be unscrewed with a Phillips or regular screw driver.

The Downside of Reclaimed wood

If you decide to find the wood yourself, be prepared to spend time and effort to find, separate, grade and re-finish. And there is always a chance that you might not end up with quality material that looks good for your reclaimed birdhouse project.

The Golden Age of Tract Housing

There was a time in America when construction companies were using sprawling land areas for tract housing. These tract housing sites were subdivided land areas containing rows of new houses going up at the same time. Early in the post-war era, the housing industry was paving the way for Baby Boomers to move into their own home in wide tract areas of new homes. They weren't exactly dream homes, although they may have been the home of their dreams, they were more like "cookie cutter" homes. And the "cookie cutter" neighborhoods were the beginning of the "suburbs," a recognizable facet of the American sub-division, or "suburbia."

The architecture was standard, uniform, with green lawns surrounded by white pickett fences. A dog in back, a cat in front, yes, nice on the outside, and the neighborhoods were nice and clean too, but the interior floor plans were the same. When local kids invited their friends over, they could find the bathroom and kitchen without any help.

Tract housing evolved out of the late 1940's when the demand for cheap housing greatly increased. Large numbers of identical homes were built faster and cheaper to meet the growing demand. It wasn't uncommon to see rows of houses all going up at the same rate. The average time it took to build a typical family home was about 30 days, and it was common to see stock piles of discarded wood out in front of each of the homes. The piles were often mixed with other building materials, but a few of the common ingredients were 2x4's, 2x6's, 2x8's, plywood, and a other standard wood forms.

A woodworker's paradise!

For freelance woodworkers, it was a "free-for-all." Yes, it was a woodworker's paradise that lasted for years. If you were a hobbyist and needed wood but didn't want to pay for it, there were common construction sites in rural areas with industrial-sized dumpsters filled with discarded wood material. In the outer areas of American cities, there were new neighborhoods popping up, which meant there were piles of wood everywhere. For hobbyists, it meant enough wood for their woodworking projects - rustic furniture, birdhouses, bird feeders, yard signs, etc. Even remodelers were able to find dimensional wood that could be modified and resized for custom jobs.

It went on for decades, from the WWII era all the way into the 2000's. Although the cookie cutter reputation started to decline around the late 1980's, the idea of tract housing kept it's relative pace. But when 2008 came around, it seemed that it was the end of an era.

The Game Changer

The 2008 recession came on suddenly. It seemed there were only a few financial experts that were sounding the alarm bells, and so when it hit, it was a rude awakening for most everyone. At that time, it seemed like the tract housing glory days were gone for good, even though some still say they might return. 👏

Looking back, even the glory days had problems, and when other facets of the American economy were booming, the housing industry still had it's ups and downs. But regardless of the negative impacts, the tract housing swing seemed to make a comeback every time, and in part due to the determined American worker who had a strong will to succeed and prosper in lieu of adversity.

Although the classic subdivisions are no longer being built in the same style they were back then, our economy is still breathing and growing steadily, but by different ways and means. Changing consumer habits and shifting demographics have pointed homebuilders into a direction that points away from the earlier cookie cutter mentality.

Conclusion

Choosing wood that might otherwise be lost forever can easily be turned into something special. It's easy and takes little time. Happy wood hunting!

Next, read about How Does a Bird House Help The Environment?»

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