Duck House made from pallets - estimated $100

[ChickInDelight]

What kind of person builds stuff from free wooden pallets? I am fat and old with no fine motor skills and ADHD. I squeeze a nickle so hard, you can hear the buffalo squeak.

I started with 8 free pallets and hardware from Restore to make this octagon. It is not plumb. It is not level. It is, however, sturdy:

Notice, the preliminary inspectors seemed concerned about the stump that would not come out easily. I decided it is not sharp, and my ducks free-range all the time, so they are accustomed to natural obstacles.

I am going to use shutters for the door. I am going to put chicken wire on the panels beside the front door. (Hardware cloth is too expensive. I have chicken wire.) I believe this will work because the ducks will go to the back of the house; the coon will have to reach far to get beyond the pallet; lights and sounds nearby deter coons.

The roof is going to be a challenge. Planning would require this old soul to sit and think. Lumber and paint from Restore is on the back porch waiting for experimentation.

Posting this photo invokes peer pressure. Witness woman battle a shortage of power tools and geometric ability.

 

[Gotta Love the Drake]

Cool. Looks good.

 

[Gotta Love the Drake]

What kind of roof will work on an octagon? The only thing I've seen on buildings that shape (few and far between) are basically domes. Wouldn't that be hard to do out of wood?

 

[Gotta Love the Drake]

Well, I guess it actually would be more like pie wedges that come to a central point, or nearly so. I looked online, a lot of them have a little cupola on top.

 

[ChickInDelight]

After anguishing about the complexity (and EXPENSE) of building a real roof, I am going to see how a tarp and bungie cords work.

I have a heavy tarp. I am going to put a concrete block in the center than holds a post about a foot higher than the walls. On the post, I shall nail a circle of wood. Then, I shall drape the tarp over the top and fasten with bungies.

I think this will work because the house is under 100+ year pine trees, so rain (and occasional snow) are light in that area.

Foxes are prevalant here, but they seem to go for what they can quickly and easily snatch. I don't believe Mr. Fox is going to hang around to figure out how to gain entrance.

[Insert picture of me here in the miserable cold, wind, and snow, cursing the tarp and trying to build a real roof.]

 

[jerseygirl1]

I think it looks great!

 

[Omran]

I know it will be fantastic very nice start.

 

[ChickInDelight]

Thanks for all the encouragement!

It is raining here for the next few days. Since I overdid it yesterday, I suppose the break comes at a good time.

I decided that instead of using bungie cords on the top, I am going to use the boards I already purchased from Restore to tack the tarp down onto the pallets for a nicer top edge. For the top circle, I am going to use a plastic snow disk. I am hoping the silver tarp looks more like a dome.

When we get high winds, these old trees tend to lose big branches. Fortunately, we had near tornado winds recently, so most of the dead branches were pruned by mother nature. I could lose the tarp, but still, the cost of replacement combined with my non-builder-ability makes this a solution worth trying.

Of course, in my mind, this is a duck palace - Taj Mahal!

The reality is rarely as good as the fantasy.

 

[annie3001]

i think its a fantastic idea!!!!! great build!!!

 

[clubby]

I love your humor ,it made me smile this morning when i needed it most ,thats exactly they way i do things ,i look around see what i have and take it from there ,no plan no skills and an inability to get things square ,the best present i ever bought for myself was a cordless screwdriver .
Im looking forward to seen the finnished product.