Question: Depth of WOOD entrance holes?

[salandry54]

Hi! My husband and I have had much success using a Coates Suites (aluminum) house for a few years now. For Christmas this year, my husband surprised me with a beautiful cedar house he built himself -- with the crescent SREH. All seems great, except I have 1 question...what is the maximum DEPTH of the entrance hole allowed?? With the aluminum house, it was so thin and we added the padding for wing-entrapment.
Thanks!

[RC Moser]

I have found in the pass crescents cut into 3/4" thick wood may have to be tappered on the back side of the entry. If the crescents (half moon srehs) are exactly to spec. then it may be problem. Do to the thickness may require them to be little bigger or tappered. I would tapper and not make them bigger if PMs can't enter.... Maybe other will repond being it's been about 8 years since I had to do it on my 3/4" thick doors with srehs cut into them which I now have replaced them.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Your house is beautiful. Your husband does wonderful woodwork

Some of the commercially made tunneled entrances have wing entrapment guards as part of the entrance hole, they are slightly over 1 inch thick on the wing entrapment guards that fit perfectly over the entrance hole (as a part of the entrance). The martins can get into them, the martins use them, they are very starling resistant and there is no problem. These wing entrapment guards use the clinger entrance which I have, but some others are available in other style holes. Thus, your wood thickness may actually be a good wing entrapment guard.

In the past, people thought that the martins could not enter when using a thick board as RC has posted. This appears to be wrong, and maybe it was just thought to be a problem in the past. I think that they will work and be very starling resistant. I actually have not used them however.

From your photo, there seems to be about 1/2in of space between the porch and the bottom of the entrance. It is usually recommended that this distance should be 1/8inch or less. Your house may allow starlings to enter, and if it does, you may need to raise the porch. However, just maybe, the wood thickness will help keep out the starlings.

[John Miller]

Emil, I'm double checking...uneasy with expecting martins to easily pass through a 3/4 inch wooden crescent.

I'm holding an S&K ultimate tunnel...was sent to me for display at educational events. The guard inside is one inch wide and flush --giveor take a hair -- at the top of the clinger entrance, but the clinger entrance is one-eight off the floor, so the height inside the tunnel is tunnel is 1 3/8 and the floor is ribbed. this may allow a lot easier entry than passing through 3/4 inch thick wood that's 1 3/16 high?

John M

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

John, it may become necessary to taper the bottom, then it would match the factory produced entrance which stops wing entrapment, and which is very starling resistant because of the thickness. These are untested ideas

If you taper the bottom, then you will need to raise the porch to 1/8inch or less

[barry resvick]

Im strarting to believe Emil on this subject.I think alot of the hype about wood being too thick for them to enter was circulated by people who sell the SREH plates.More and more im viewing pics of landlords,some of them super colony status,that are cutting the sreh right through the existing 3/4 inch wood.I'm in the process of building an t-22 Ghost House and will be doing a post once i get some concrete evidence as to how they navigate the 3/4 inch thick sreh.I will be tapering some of them and leaving some without the taper.

[Archer]

Beautiful house, I love it. When I built my t-14 I had the same question and never found an answer that I was satisfied with, so I decided to hollow out the back side of the entrance with a circular saw. The martins approved and have no trouble entering.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24987943@N ... hotostream

[John Miller]

Note that Emil said one may be able to just taper out the inside bottom... this sounds like a good first step. Would be a lot easier than tapering all around, I'd think.

[Keith]

The time I made a T-14 we used a router (before assembly) and tapered the back side of entrance leaving about 3/8 inch thickness that the Martins used with no problem.
Keith

[barry resvick]

Nice job you did with the router Keith.Have you ever had wing entrapment issues?I think the only way i could use a router for that would be a router table

[salandry54]

Wow!! Thank you all for the quick and informational responses!! Will take them under advisement. BTW, still waiting for 1st arrivals here in Jeanerette, Louisiana. They arrived around Super Bowl Sunday the last 2 years, but nothing yet.

[Archer]

Nice job on the router job keith, that looks professional! How did you get the groves into the porch landing?

[daveh]

I have a T14 and a North Star. The T14 has 3/4 inch thick doors and the North Star has 1/2 inch thick doors. I use the metal starling resistant adapter plates the PMCA offers in the Market Place, about 50% crescent, and 50% excluder. I just cut out rectangles in the wood doors, a little larger than the entrances and screw the entrances over the holes. I didn't taper or do anything fancy on the inside. The adapter plates do have about 1/2 inch of space below the entrances so occasionaly starlings do get in but it's few and far between now. Since trapping and shooting starlings, It's a minor problem. There has never been any problems with martins going in or out of these entrances. I might add, there has been maybe a half dozen wing entrapements in the T14 since '06, the first year for that house. Last year was North Stars first year and no problems.

dave

[Keith]

Barry, I began with a 3/4 inch material for the doors and didn't have any wing entrapment and usually associate that problem with thin plate entrances.
Archer, I did the grooves with the table saw using a molding head attachment. This was done on a longer piece of wood before cutting porches for safety reasons. I understand from others that grooves are not needed for the Martins to enter.
Keith

[barry resvick]

I totally agree with you Keith,wing entrapment usually envolves two birds fighting on the inside with one backed up against the entrance.With the sreh cut into 3/4 inch material basically you've just created wing entrapment protectors.If the entrances are wide enough that a wing cant get caught,then i can see how it would be eliminated.I plan on obtaining one of the 1 3/16 wood bores and creating my own.

[Leandortree]

salandry54,
That is a beautiful job your husband did on that house, he is very crafty, and a lot of love went into it!
Beautiful, good luck with it!

[JL Murray]

That is a very neat looking Martin house i really like the looks of it. your husband did a great job.

[MB12RING]

Looks like a very predator safe house... 6 compartments total?

[salandry54]

Well, they arrived this morning! Have not seen them enter yet...fingers crossed!!

[salandry54]

Thank you for the positive responses ... my husband is humbled! Yes, 6 compartments -- suites with screws to hold the front panels that flip up for nest checks/cleaning. Lots of perches. It is painted the color of our house and has the same roof pitch too. Made from cedar. Looks great from the road! BTW, my husband is a sugar cane farmer and made this with no formal plans. He is currently remodeling our master bath with all wood trim around the whirlpool tub and built the vanity from only a photo I gave him. He built the bed in a weekend for New Year's too. I am very proud! (BTW, I gave him all of his tools for gifts! )