Conference 7.286::home_work

    From my experience, the longest 4x4 I've ever seen was 16 feet
    long - and boy, did it sway in the wind!  My grandfather used
    to have purple martin birdhouses, and they were about 20 feet
    off of the ground - and the poles he used were big steel
    pipes.  I'm not sure how far down into the ground he went
    with them, but they were definitely cemented in, and the piece
    in the ground wasn't the same pipe as above the ground.  The
    piece in the ground was connected to the above ground pole
    by pipe joints.
    
    I would think the steel pipe would be better for that length -
    I'd worry about 50 pounds on top of a "waving" piece of wood
    that high in the air.
    
    Andy
    

    	Debbie,
    May I suggest that you buy 2 2X4X12' and 2 2X4X8' pressure treated
    lumber. Nail the 12' and 8' together. This gives you a 4' overlap
    on both poles.Now you have a 20' pole. dig a hole about 1.5' in
    diam. and about 3' deep. Put the house on the pole, use rope for
    guide supports and stand the pole up in the hole. mix up a batch
    of concrete and fill the hole. Let the cement cure and your all
    done. This is how I did mine. A note of caution. pressure treated
    lumber likes to warp. So nail them with bow in opposite directions.
    					Good Luck

I have purchased 20' long spruce 4x4's at Belletete's Lumber in Winchendon,MA.
I bought that length only because the sizes I needed to cut it to made it
more economical to do it that way.  I seem to recall that they had pressure-
treated ones also.

However, I agree with -.1 that 50 lbs on the end of a post that high would not
stay in the air long.  Go with the steel.


					-- Mike

    I cut the top off one of my trees and put the house on it. Boy,
    it was tough hoisting that bird condo up 20 ft. My concern now is
    that you need to clean them every year and placing a ladder against
    the tree will become more dangerous as time goes as the tree will
    continue to rot. BTW, What bird hole size did you use for the Martin
    house.? I only attracted a few last year myself.
    
    Mark

    Thank you everyone for your replies.  I never thought it would turn
    into such a big project.
    
    Re. .4  I don't know about the holes as I haven't seen the house
    yet.  I would be happy if I attracted only a few martins, but would
    also be happy if I got the swallows (which we have many of).  I
    think I'm going to put something in the BIRDS file.
    
    deb

    Being that you are in the area, call up Garboose Scrap metal in
    Gardner. I would guess you'ld be looking for steel/cast iron pipe
    about 1 1/5" dia. Buy the stuff in three different lengths to meet
    your total length requirements. I might submit if the pole is 7'
    in the ground, you might not need to cement in place. Dig down a
    couple of feet, and have strong/willing person drive the pole into
    the ground. Be sure to have extra coupling screwed to the pipe you
    drive into the ground. Remove deformed coupling and add the rest
    to the height you need.
    
    I suggest Garboose, as they sell the stuff by the pound which is
    much cheeper than buying new.
    
    dana

    There are commercially available telescoping poles that make cleaning
    out the house much easier.  Probably a bit more money than a 4x4,
    though.
    
    __Rich
    
    I've seen them advertised but I don't remember where, sorry.

    Have you considered using a telephone pole. No I'm not kidding.
    You can sometimes pick them up from your local electric light 
    department in many cases for free or at minimum cost. 
               
    dave

    I'd suggested the steel pole too. The telephone pole isn't a bad
    idea if you want to be a line-men(person?).
    
    Martin House should be cleaned out each year, they like to start
    fresh in the spring. They say once a pair moves in the will be back
    every year.
    I helped install one once, while living in Missouri. We used a steel
    pole that was 25' above ground and 4' below. It was actually two
    pole made into one.     
    
    We also welded a crank about 4' off the ground and a pulley at the
    top and ran a steel cable up and around. So it could be raised and
    lowered at will, to clean or store for winter. Also placed a X bar
    at the top, place to sit you know.
    Works pretty nice.
    (Of course the house has a hole in the center of it to make this
    all work)
    
    The bigest thing to watch for, once installed, are the black-bird.
    They'll crack the eggs and/or steal the young birds. .22 helps that
    problem though.
               
    Have fun, martin are very areo-dynamic birds in flight. But they
    do get up pretty early in the morning.

    Down Texas way they use the TV anti poles for the purple martin
    houses.  They are telescoping and are held togeather by a carter
    pin.

    Your pardon if this has already come up in the past 3800+ topics--
    too many to search.
    
    In an article about an old British house it mentioned various
    additions and other work done to the house since it was built.
    
    One of the items mentioned was a "dovecoat".  What is it???
    
    Thanks.
    
    						Don

    A dovecote is a shelter for doves - pigeons, if you're American.
    They were sometimes built into Victorian homes for doves kept
    as pets or for racing or shows.
    
    pbm
    

    A dovecote (sic, not dovecoat), or pigeon house, is not a dovetail.
    And during the war, they were a source of food.
    
    Erick 

    As I stated, the word was in a sentence listing modifications to
    the house (the Grange).  It was spelled d-o-v-e-c-o-a-t.  Of course,
    the logical thing would be a shelter for birds, but I figured that
    was too simple.  Hence the query.
    
    Looks like .1 has the answer.
                                                           
    Thanks.
    							Don