Project ideas for the wood you buy at the ReStore
The Forest Grove ReStore usually has an inventory of new and used wood, both outdoor grade plywood and pressure treated wood. These aren’t just great for home renovations and repairs: they are also terrific for DIY projects, both functional and decorative.
For items that will be homes for wildlife and other animals, or that humans will be inside of for long periods of time (like tree houses), most sites say to use (outdoor grade) plywood, NOT pressure treated wood. According to NestWatch, there are no conclusive studies that determine whether residual fumes from paint or pressure treatment can harm birds or other wildlife and animals. In the absence of evidence however, NestWatch recommends using untreated, unpainted wood to construct boxes, and says cedar, white pine, and yellow pine are good rot-resistant choices. But pressure-treated wood and painted wood can be great choices for decorative projects.
Keep this in mind as you consider the following DIY building projects:
bird houses (both functional and decorative)
DIY doll houses
tree houses
playhouses
children’s play kitchens
bat houses
planters
X-shaped book or magazine rack
triangle wall shelf (hard to find these for purchase!)
The Internet is packed with DIY wood-working ideas and free guides to making all of the above and so much more: one of the best web site is 50 DIY Woodworking Projects for Every Skill Level from HGTV. Another site we love is palletfurniture on Reddit, where people share projects they’ve built out of pallet wood, and the resources we compiled in our blog Where to Find DIY Inspiration.
We’re going to focus on bat houses in particular, because people don’t often think about them as a DIY option. Building a bat house isn’t just nice for bats - it’s nice for YOU! Bats are an important part of a functioning ecosystem, and building a bat house and placing it in your yard invites bats to eat many of your unwanted yard and garden pests. Plus, their nightly displays of aerial acrobatics are fascinating to observe.
There is a bat house construction plan (PDF) from Bat Conservation International's website you can use to build a bat house of your own. Someone from the National Wildlife Federation wrote about using this construction plan and offers advice for using it: “Before I share my bat house building experience, let me say that I am no carpenter. This was my first time using a circular saw. Hopefully this can help even the least handy person build a bat house…Your goal is to make a bat house that mimics the space between bark and a tree trunk. That would be the bats' ideal nursery. That's why the space inside a bat house is very narrow, unlike a bird house which would house a nest. Bats like tight spaces. They also need it nice and warm for the babies. That's why we paint the box a dark color in most climates and why we caulk the sides to keep the heat in.”
Have you made something from something you bought at the Forest Grove ReStore? We would love to hear your story and see photos of your work! Please send information and a photo or two to photos@westtualityhabitat.org and we may feature you here on our ReStore blog and on our social media channels!
