Fun Family Project: How to Build a Bat House

By: Chrystle Fiedler, This Old House online

Shopping List

Supplies You Will Need

1. 2-by-4-foot section of ½-inch exterior-grade plywood

2. One 6-foot 1x2

3. ½-inch deer netting

4. Exterior latex paint (black and another dark color)

5. Low-VOC adhesive caulk

6. 1-inch deck screws

7. ⅜-inch staples

8. 3½-inch deck screws

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Tools List
Tools You Will Need
- Measuring tape
- Straightedge
- Combination square
- Spring clamps
- Safety glasses
- Jigsaw
- French curve and circle templates
- Drill/driver fitted with ¼-inch drill bit
- Caulking gun
- Paintbrush (2-inch)
- Foam roller (4-inch)
- Scissors
- Staple gun
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Photo: Wendell T. Webber

Introduction
Overview
Steps:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12

11: Hang it up!

1. Measure and cut the plywood

Using a tape measure and straightedge, mark up for cutting a 2-by-4-foot piece of ½-inch exterior-grade plywood: You’ll need one piece that’s 2 feet wide and 26 inches long and one that’s 2 feet wide and 22 inches long. Clamp the plywood to a worktable. Make sure you have on safety glasses, then use a jigsaw or a circular  saw to cut the plywood.

To parents: Using a jigsaw is definitely a job for an adult. But take this opportunity to teach your kids saw safety so they’ll be ready when they’re old enough.