Making a free-standing perch?

[new 2 pfowl]

...what about...just a hammer?

 

[MinxFox]

I had no experience with this sort of stuff until I got into peafowl. It really isn't that hard once you understand what you have to do and the materials you need. FrenchBlackCopper's instructions are good and definitely go for treated wood. Like he said it will have a slight green tint. We used yellowwood treated lumber. I had issues using a cross post design, so I re-did one of the roosts. I had no help, and I am a young adult lady so you can do it! You just have to tell yourself you can. I was able to re-do this perch because I kept at it. It was very hard getting that long plank into the ground and standing it up straight as well as avoiding getting it caught on the netting. I put nails in on both sides of the horizontal plank where they perch. I drove them in sideways. Make sure you are using new nails it sure makes a difference using good nails versus old bent or blunt nails. You could even use an electric drill if you have one or can borrow one from someone. I am guessing you don't need the perch to also hold up netting, so you probably won't have to worry about pushing up the netting and snagging on it. Make sure you have a step ladder. Depending on the height of the perch, it can be hard to hold your arm up high and hammer but if you are level or slightly above where you are hammering it works best. The sackcrete is easy to use. Just don't breathe in the dust. You just pour it in the hole evenly and add water like what FBC said. When Aaron and I used it we were worried if we added too much or too little water, but it turned out just fine. A post hole digger will make it easy to dig the hole for the posts, but you can always use a shovel. The key is to just go for it and not psyche yourself out.

Re-done perch




This is how the perch was originally. Falling apart - for several reasons.

 

[Garden Peas]

...what about...just a hammer?

New2, there are these REALLY cool stores... Bright orange paint, marked THE HOME DEPOT on the outside. If you find orange too jarring, there are these other stores... nice blue signs, white lettering that says "LOWE'S" in a non-jarring shade of blue.

Not only do they sell nails (to go with your hammer), they sell screws (which hold things together much better than nails), and these really cute little battery-operated (cordless) power drills that make putting in screws a breeze. The cutesy power drills are easy to hold and operate, even if you have banged-up, arthritic hands and not much strength in them. Since they are cordless, they are ever so handy for doing things outside where there is, astonishingly, a remarkable lack of power outlets on trees and fence posts (who knew?). The next thing you know, you find all SORTS of things around the house that need drill holes put into them. ESPECIALLY if one happens to be moving....

While you are in the battery-operated tool section, you can peruse the wide selection of battery-operated (cordless) saws, ranging from circular saws, through jig saws and chop saws... heck, if you wanna go wild, they even have teensy-tiny battery-operated chain saws (who knew?).... Just perfect for trimming up stray branches and even chopping off a two by four board in a pinch. The battery-powered chop saw will also cut through metal, in case you happen to find a need to do surgery on a chain link fence... that top rail cuts okay if you have the right blade.

Those nice stores often times have some nice, helpful folks who can talk you through a project (okay, so sometimes you gotta sort through to find them), and they even have SATURDAY MORNING classes... which teach grownups and even kiddos how to do basic stuff with simple tools.

Life is an adventure... live large. Wear gloves. Watch your fingers... you'll be feeling proud of your project in no time

 

[zazouse]

...what about...just a hammer?

Well not sure about your home depot but at ours some of the men will cut the wood for you right there in the store ,so you could see if there are men there like that tell them what you need (a 4 to 5 four saw horse that is 4 foot wide) made with them brackets)

 

[zazouse]

I had no experience with this sort of stuff until I got into peafowl. It really isn't that hard once you understand what you have to do and the materials you need. FrenchBlackCopper's instructions are good and definitely go for treated wood. Like he said it will have a slight green tint. We used yellowwood treated lumber. I had issues using a cross post design, so I re-did one of the roosts. I had no help, and I am a young adult lady so you can do it! You just have to tell yourself you can. I was able to re-do this perch because I kept at it. It was very hard getting that long plank into the ground and standing it up straight as well as avoiding getting it caught on the netting. I put nails in on both sides of the horizontal plank where they perch. I drove them in sideways. Make sure you are using new nails it sure makes a difference using good nails versus old bent or blunt nails. You could even use an electric drill if you have one or can borrow one from someone. I am guessing you don't need the perch to also hold up netting, so you probably won't have to worry about pushing up the netting and snagging on it. Make sure you have a step ladder. Depending on the height of the perch, it can be hard to hold your arm up high and hammer but if you are level or slightly above where you are hammering it works best. The sackcrete is easy to use. Just don't breathe in the dust. You just pour it in the hole evenly and add water like what FBC said. When Aaron and I used it we were worried if we added too much or too little water, but it turned out just fine. A post hole digger will make it easy to dig the hole for the posts, but you can always use a shovel. The key is to just go for it and not psyche yourself out.

Re-done perch




This is how the perch was originally. Falling apart - for several reasons.

Long screws and this would not happen also an added security would have been some heavy duty zip ties around the area screwed together