Trio Castle Retrofit....

[DornCounty]

Very nice Dorn!
That does look a lot better without that tree.
I wonder if you'll get any more "assistance" from your secret helper this next season....

Haha.. that drove me batty. I have some stickers on the bottoms of the houses with my cell number.. so hopefully that issue is handled.

[DornCounty]

Here is the castle with the roof taken off. The lift cable is attached here. 6 slot headed screws hold the roof section on. New screws will be installed when reassembled. The roof is in decent shape. A few of the fasteners have lost their plating and are starting to rust. I will prime and paint them with metallic paint. All in all this house is in great shape for being outside for around 20 years.




Here is a photo of the disassembled house. Cable, winch, and pole mount insert will be replaced. The next step is to hole saw the expanded compartments.

[DornCounty]

At this point you are ready to start cutting the holes in the dividers.

I use a 2 1/2" holesaw.. I would be comfortable with any holes size 2" and bigger. Here is my setup. I use a bit extender to be able to get the proper angle on the divider.




There is some debate about the proper placement of the opening in the divider. I prefer a lower opening so the young can have free movement from chamber to chamber prior to establishing the ability to jump or fly. I do exclusively use SREH so a lower hole opening is not a big issue from a security standpoint. The SREH's are going to greatly restrict the ability of a predator to reach the opening. I also place the opening towards the "back" of the divider to further reduce the likelihood of something reaching in to get the young. Here is the hole cut prior to sanding.

[DornCounty]

the next step is to file/sand the cut hole so PM's are not cut or injured on the metal.

I use 100 grit sandpaper wrapped around a PVC pipe piece to do the bulk of my sanding. occasionally I will have a stubborn spot that I use a file on, but generally this process only takes 5-10 mins per opening.



Here is what a sanded hole looks like after the opening has been cleaned up.

[Matt F.]

Great posts Dorn!
Very informative, with the step by step rundown of your Castle improvements.

[DornCounty]

Here is the house all painted up ready for porch dividers and doors.

I used a "fine" grade steel wool to rough up the surfaces for the paint, then wiped the surfaces down with a slightly damp cloth. I used an ACE brand hunter green Gloss spray paint. Took about one full can.

I also primered the top that is eventually covered by the roof for some added corrosion protection. That area seems to not be as high of grade of aluminum and tends to pit out and open up. The bottom of the house was also painted with white spray paint.

[avesrun]

Thanks for the post Dorn! If I have time between now and early March I've been seriously considering painting a couple of trios. Appreciate the painting tips, color etc. Looks like you didn't have to do much masking. The green portion was spray paint too i take it. Ever painted the other models of trio? There's know way at this point I will disassemble. Wouldn't it be better to do the pre-wired own with mineral spirits instead of water? I'm sure you waited till all was plenty dry. Anyway, thanks again.
Tim the overthinker.

[BuddyS]

Hi Dorn. I picked up a castle just like yours in this post. I have a detached hinge wire and can't figure out how to re-attach it since I can't get my eyeballs inside the door. The wire is straight so it slides right out. Any help would be appreciated.

[DornCounty]

Thanks for the post Dorn! If I have time between now and early March I've been seriously considering painting a couple of trios. Appreciate the painting tips, color etc. Looks like you didn't have to do much masking. The green portion was spray paint too i take it. Ever painted the other models of trio? There's know way at this point I will disassemble. Wouldn't it be better to do the pre-wired own with mineral spirits instead of water? I'm sure you waited till all was plenty dry. Anyway, thanks again.
Tim the overthinker.

Yes mineral spirits would be better. I waited probably a week before I painted so it wasn't an issue. But yes you are correct.

[DornCounty]

Hi Dorn. I picked up a castle just like yours in this post. I have a detached hinge wire and can't figure out how to re-attach it since I can't get my eyeballs inside the door. The wire is straight so it slides right out. Any help would be appreciated.

Does the wire have a threaded end?

[Dick Sherry]

Great job, Dorn, on refurbishing that Castle! You should have some very well protected martins in that house.

[BuddyS]

no threads, just a piece of wire. Did they originally have threads?

[DornCounty]

no threads, just a piece of wire. Did they originally have threads?

Not 100% sure.. I'll look at mine tonight. I haven't broken a castle down that far. Tried to get the manual from nature house and look but they are not public access right now.

[BuddyS]

I have the manual in pdf format. email me at buddysowell@gmail.com and I'll send you a copy.

[daveh]

Buddy, are you talking about the small rod that attaches in the doorway and hinges the door? If it is, that rod just slips into 2 holes on each side of the doorway. the way the walls are built keeps the rod from falling out, so no threads or nuts are needed.

dave

[BuddyS]

Buddy, are you talking about the small rod that attaches in the doorway and hinges the door? If it is, that rod just slips into 2 holes on each side of the doorway. the way the walls are built keeps the rod from falling out, so no threads or nuts are needed.

OK Dave thanks. This particular rod must be a bit short or maybe the wall is bent. If the rod sort of wedges into the angled holes, I probably just need to bend back the top part of the wall where the holes are.
Thanks again and btw I do have a pdf copy of the owner's manual if anyone wants a copy.

[DornCounty]

Buddy, are you talking about the small rod that attaches in the doorway and hinges the door? If it is, that rod just slips into 2 holes on each side of the doorway. the way the walls are built keeps the rod from falling out, so no threads or nuts are needed.

OK Dave thanks. This particular rod must be a bit short or maybe the wall is bent. If the rod sort of wedges into the angled holes, I probably just need to bend back the top part of the wall where the holes are.
Thanks again and btw I do have a pdf copy of the owner's manual if anyone wants a copy.

buddy here is link to the manual with some graphics. http://www.naturehouseinc.com/images/pd ... c24ins.pdf

[tonyg]

You've been busy Andrew! Excellent work! Where will this one be placed at in Parsons? 32nd Main?

[DornCounty]

You've been busy Andrew! Excellent work! Where will this one be placed at in Parsons? 32nd Main?

This one is going at 18th and Corning in front of the museum. That's were it came from.. a tree was removed and it will go there.. that will put this castle in a row with 8 other trio mK12s.. One other unmodified castle still stands there. I want that area to be the biggest of the public colony due to the big sign being there and the amount of space it has. that's also the location where I believe the colony started and where the KS governor came to raise a house.

[DornCounty]

Here I have drilled two 1/8" holes in preparation for riveting of the porch dividers in place




Here is a porch divider slide next to it's future mounting position. notice that I made the divider long enough it is held in place on it's end by the porch rails... also made it tall enough that it is held in place by the floor support above. By doing this only 2 rivets are needed for a very stable divider. The dividers were made of small gauge aluminum stock from a roll. This can be purchased by the foot at most hardware stores.