Group leaders: Help shape the pilot Concept stage · No orders or payments
Make Birdhouses Join the build
Illustration of an adult and child assembling a wooden nest box from pre-cut panels.

Pre-cut birdhouse kits for families and groups

Real
woodworking.
No workshop
required.

The Backyard Box is being developed for families, first-time builders, Scouts, classrooms, libraries, and anyone who wants the satisfying part of woodworking without owning a table saw.

Tell us what you’d build Explore the group pilot

A short first-party form goes directly to Dan. No account, tracker, database, or mailing list.

Original concept illustration · Physical prototype in development

01

Prepared
Planned pre-cut, pre-drilled, and clearly guided.

02

Evidence-led
Dimensions and instructions reviewed before sale.

03

Made to maintain
Cleanout access and replaceable parts.

The simple idea

We do the shop work.
You get the build.

No cutting station required

The panels are planned to arrive shaped and drilled, so the project starts at the workbench instead of the lumber aisle. The target is an adult-guided build centered on a Phillips screwdriver.

More than a craft shape

The design brief calls for a sloped roof, drainage, ventilation, cleanout access, a rough interior climb path, sturdy screws, and no outside perch.

Ready for another season

A useful nest box should be inspectable, cleanable, and repairable. The guide is planned to cover placement, monitoring, seasonal care, and replacement parts.

Design principles are being developed from species-specific guidance, including Cornell Lab NestWatch’s features of a good birdhouse. Final dimensions and claims will follow prototype review.

The founding product

The Backyard Box

A straightforward first nest-box kit, designed to make a real build feel approachable and worth keeping.

Cut · Drill · Number · Pack

Prototype brief

Planned inside the box

  • Pre-cut and pre-drilled untreated wood panels
  • Exterior-grade or galvanized screws
  • Clearly numbered parts and illustrated steps
  • Species, placement, monitoring, and cleanout guide
  • A path to repair or replace a part
Founding price target $39

Target for demand testing, not a final offer. Shipping and final specifications will be set after the packed prototype is measured.

Build one. Or build together.

A small project with group-sized potential.

Make Birdhouses is exploring supervised build formats for Scouts, classrooms, libraries, nature centers, homeschool groups, and community build days.

One builder

Backyard Box

Target $39

One planned kit and one complete guide for an adult-guided family or first-time build.

I’d build one

Build together

Two-kit set

Target $69

Two planned kits for siblings, grandparents, gifts, or a side-by-side afternoon.

I’d build two

Pilot with us

Group pack

Target $249

A planning target of ten kits plus a facilitator guide. Group size, age guidance, timing, and contents still need supervised testing.

Explore the group pilot

All prices and pack contents are planning targets used to test interest. No orders or payments are being accepted.

Open prototype bench

Free 3D-printable prototypes have their own bench.

Download seven direct ZIP packages for habitat work, geometry, M3 hardware, cleanout access, and a removable-cup window-feeder concept.

Full-scale printable Backyard Box shown closed and with its cleanout side pivoted open.
Four house packages Geometry · M2 · M3

Backyard Box test models

Start with a 36% geometry model, practice hardware at small scale, or inspect the guarded full-scale X1C layouts.

Use guide for a window-pattern spacing stencil, nest-box opening gauge, and field-photo scale.
Three utility packages Habitat · Cleanout · Feeder

Habitat tools and birdhouse accessories

Print the new three-tool Habitat Utility Pack, inspect a nest-box maintenance scoop, or test a removable-cup feeder concept.

Seven direct downloads

See every file, limitation, and build note in one place.

No checkout, account, or email gate. Choose a package only after reading its intended use and pending physical checks.

Open the free 3D library

An idea worth returning to

It started with a woodworker’s observation.

Most people don’t have the tools to shape wood. They do have enough tools to assemble something meaningful.

Dan Cary wrote the first Make Birdhouses business plan in 2014: cut and shape the hard parts, ship them flat, and let customers create the finished house. The factory-sized plan was too much, but the core insight still feels right.

Now the idea is coming back smaller, more honest, and ready to be tested one good build at a time. Read the full story and review gates.

Help shape the first batch

Who would you build one with?

Your answer is more useful than a generic signup. Tell Dan whether you are interested in one kit, two, or a group pilot—and what would make the project worth doing.

Simple by design: this form emails your response directly to Dan. It does not create an account, add you to a marketing list, set cookies, or store your response in a website database.

Prefer email? Write to dc@dancary.com.

Before you ask

A few honest answers.

Can I buy a kit today?

Not yet. The site is collecting qualified interest while the physical prototype, instructions, packed cost, shipping, warnings, and delivery plan are tested. No payment is being accepted.

Are the 3D print files really free?

Yes. Seven experimental packages download directly with no checkout, signup, or email gate. The plastic house models are not validated for occupancy and must not be installed for birds. Start at the free 3D-print library.

What tools will I need?

The design target is a Phillips screwdriver as the primary tool, with an adult guiding the build. The final tool list will be published after supervised prototype sessions.

Is the kit safe for birds?

The prototype brief uses practical nest-box features from authoritative guidance, but the product is not yet making a final safety or performance claim. Intended species, dimensions, mounting, placement, and maintenance instructions must be reviewed before sale.

Is the wood sustainable or FSC-certified?

No certification claim is being made. The goal is to publish specific, documented facts about the actual wood species, treatment, source, hardware, and packaging once the supply chain is chosen.

Can my troop, class, or community group help test it?

Potentially. Group leaders are especially useful at this stage. The group pilot page explains what is planned and what still needs to be validated.