Pileated Woodpecker Birdhouse
This box also accommodates screech owls and kestrels.
Build it with cedar, pine or most any softwood. Choose wood stock that is rough-cut on both sides so birds can grip interior and exterior surfaces.
Make a 10″ by 10″ floor (inside dimensions) and a 24″ floor to ceiling height (inside front). Cut a 4″ diameter entrance hole located 21″ above the floor (to top of hole). Drill or cut ventilation openings in the floor and under the roof.
Secure a hinged roof in closed position with shutter hooks. Or make a fixed roof and Side Opening Doors.
If full width wood stock is not available, use two 1″x 6″, or 1″x 8″ boards. They usually vary from 5 1/4″ to 5 1/2″ wide and 7 1/4″ to 7 1/2″ wide. Cut panels to width and secure well.


Reinforce with chamfer strips (inside) or batten strips (inside or outside) fastened perpendicular to vertical panels.
Plywood consists of glued, thin laminated panels. They are strong but prone to deterioration from moisture even when surfaces and edges are sealed with paint.
Always use corrosion resistant screws and hardware. Drill countersunk pilot holes in primary work pieces. Drill regular pilot holes in secondary work pieces. This reduces a tendency for wood to split. It also makes for easy assembly in minutes with a power or hand held screwdriver.
Extend the back wall panel beyond both top and bottom. Drill pilot holes in these long panels for mounting. Drill an extra mounting hole inside the box just under the roof. Stagger these holes so that all are not in line along a single wood grain. Holes in line with grain can weaken and cause wood to split.
For pileated woodpeckers, mount this box with the entrance hole facing south or east, 20 feet or higher on a tree in a forest, forest edge, or grove.
Installing a box 20′ high or more in a tree is an awkward process and dangerous. Installations out of reach and further should be installed and maintained by trades people with the right equipment and experience: carpenters, electricians, line workers …
Birds that Nest in this Birdhouse
Pileated Woodpecker Birdhouse
This box also accommodates screech owls and kestrels.
Build it with cedar, pine or most any softwood. Choose wood stock that is rough-cut on both sides so birds can grip interior and exterior surfaces.
Make a 10″ by 10″ floor (inside dimensions) and a 24″ floor to ceiling height (inside front). Cut a 4″ diameter entrance hole located 21″ above the floor (to top of hole). Drill or cut ventilation openings in the floor and under the roof.
Secure a hinged roof in closed position with shutter hooks. Or make a fixed roof and Side Opening Doors.
If full width wood stock is not available, use two 1″x 6″, or 1″x 8″ boards. They usually vary from 5 1/4″ to 5 1/2″ wide and 7 1/4″ to 7 1/2″ wide. Cut them to width and secure well. Reinforce with chamfer strips (inside) or batten strips (inside or outside) fastened perpendicular to vertical panels.


Plywood consists of glued, thin laminated panels. They are strong but prone to deterioration from moisture even when surfaces and edges are sealed with paint.
Always use corrosion resistant screws and hardware. Drill countersunk pilot holes in primary work pieces. Drill regular pilot holes in secondary work pieces. This reduces a tendency for wood to split. It also makes for easy assembly in minutes with a power or hand held screwdriver.
Extend the back wall panel beyond both top and bottom. Drill pilot holes in these long panels for mounting. Drill an extra mounting hole inside the box just under the roof. Stagger these holes so that all are not in line along a single wood grain. Holes in line with grain can weaken and cause wood to split.
For pileated woodpeckers, mount this box with the entrance hole facing south or east, 20 feet or higher on a tree in a forest, forest edge, or grove.
Installing a box 20′ high or more in a tree is an awkward process and dangerous. Installations out of reach and further should be installed and maintained by trades people with the right equipment and experience: carpenters, electricians, line workers …
Birds that Nest in this Birdhouse
Pileated Woodpecker Birdhouse
Birds | Birdhouses | Plans | Home

This box also accommodates screech owls and kestrels.
Build it with cedar, pine or most any softwood. Choose wood stock that is rough-cut on both sides so birds can grip interior and exterior surfaces.
Make a 10″ by 10″ floor (inside dimensions) and a 24″ floor to ceiling height (inside front).

Cut a 4″ diameter entrance hole located 21″ above the floor (to top of hole).
Drill or cut ventilation openings in the floor and under the roof.
Secure a hinged roof in closed position with shutter hooks.
Or make a fixed roof and Side Opening Doors.
If full width wood stock is not available, use two 1″x 6″, or 1″x 8″ boards. They usually vary from 5 1/4″ to 5 1/2″ wide and 7 1/4″ to 7 1/2″ wide.
Cut panels to width and secure well. Reinforce with chamfer strips (inside) or batten strips (inside or outside) fastened perpendicular to vertical panels.
Plywood consists of glued, thin laminated panels. They are strong but prone to deterioration from moisture even when surfaces and edges are sealed with paint.
Always use corrosion resistant screws and hardware. Drill countersunk pilot holes in primary work pieces. Drill regular pilot holes in secondary work pieces. This reduces a tendency for wood to split. It also makes for easy assembly in minutes with a power or hand held screwdriver.
Extend the back wall panel beyond both top and bottom. Drill pilot holes in these long panels for mounting. Drill an extra mounting hole inside the box just under the roof. Stagger these holes so that all are not in line along a single wood grain. Holes in line with grain can weaken and cause wood to split.
For pileated woodpeckers, mount this box with the entrance hole facing south or east, 20 feet or higher on a tree in a forest, forest edge, or grove.
Installing a box 20′ high or more in a tree is an awkward process and dangerous. Installations out of reach and further should be installed and maintained by trades people with the right equipment and experience: carpenters, electricians, line workers …
Birds that Nest in this Birdhouse
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