Build a Cedar Bluebird Nest Box from One Fence Picket

Build steps

1. Know what you are comparing. The ready-made box in this comparison is the WHITEHORSE cedar bluebird house (model EABL), $39.95 in its maker's own online store on November 7, 2026; that is a sale price (regular $59.95), and shipping is added at checkout on orders under $50. It is made of 3/4 in (19 mm) untreated western cedar and has a steel ring around the entrance hole, a 1 in (25 mm) wooden predator block and drain holes in the floor. It comes without a pole or mounting system. Your build uses a fence picket that is only 0.575 in (14.6 mm) thick: thinner wood insulates less and may not last as long, and it has no steel ring.
2. Know what you actually pay. Bought in whole packs, the picket ($4.28 at Home Depot) and a 1 lb (0.45 kg) box of about 196 coated exterior wood screws ($9.97 at Home Depot) come to $14.25 at the prices checked on November 7, 2026: about $14. The picket price was read from Home Depot's brand page for one store and the screw price from the product page; prices differ per store, so check them at yours. A 45-pack of stainless screws at Lowe's, used in an earlier version of this guide, showed no price and was not available on November 7, 2026. Coated screws in cedar can discolor or rust; stainless steel is the more durable choice, and the NABS plan allows both. One box uses about 25 screws, so the box leaves plenty for more boxes. You also need exterior wood glue for the two-piece roof if you do not have it yet: a bottle of Titebond III (8 oz, 0.24 L) was $7.49 at Home Depot, so the cost line adds about $7.50 for glue if you don't have any. If you build several boxes, the picket plus 25 screws at the box's price per screw come to $5.55, about $6 per box. Sales tax and shipping are extra; online and in-store prices can differ.
3. Measure the picket first. The cut list needs the whole picket: about 71 in (1.80 m) of its 72 in (1.83 m), which leaves just under 1 in (24 mm) to spare. Before you cut, measure the actual width (5-1/2 in (140 mm) is the nominal size), the thickness (the store page gives 0.575 in (14.6 mm)) and how far the shaped dog-ear corners reach. If the board is narrower, make the floor and the other pieces narrower to match; if it is thicker or thinner, work out the floor length again as described in the next step. If the dog-ear reaches further than about 1 in (25 mm), it ends up in the back edge of one roof half, which only affects the looks.
4. Cut the pieces. The measurements follow the North American Bluebird Society's 2020 bluebird nestbox plan (NABS), adapted to the thinner picket. Trim the square end straight, then cut in this order, allowing about 1/8 in (3 mm) per saw cut: floor 4-5/16 in (110 mm) long; a block of 22 in (559 mm) for the two sides, split with one slanted cut from a mark at 12 in (305 mm) on one edge to a mark at 10 in (254 mm) on the other, so each side is 12 in (305 mm) at the back and 10 in (254 mm) at the front; front 10 in (254 mm); back 12 in (305 mm); two roof halves of 11 in (279 mm) each, with the dog-ear end as the last piece and its cut corners at the back edge of the roof. All pieces are the full 5-1/2 in (140 mm) width of the picket. The plan uses 3/4 in (19 mm) boards and a 4 in (102 mm) floor: the floor fits between two boards, so its length is the board width of 5-1/2 in (140 mm) minus two board thicknesses. With 0.575 in (14.6 mm) wood that is 4.35 in (110.5 mm); cut the floor at 4-5/16 in (110 mm), a hair short rather than long, giving an inside floor of about 4-5/16 × 5-1/2 in (110 × 140 mm). The plan's roof is one 10 × 12 in (254 × 305 mm) board; here two halves are glued into an 11 × 11 in (279 × 279 mm) roof.
5. Drill the holes before assembly. Entrance hole: 1-1/2 in (38 mm) in the front, sanded smooth. The plan also allows 1-9/16 in (40 mm), meant for Western and Mountain Bluebirds and according to the plan fine for Eastern Bluebirds too. Drill it so its bottom edge sits about 5-1/2 in (140 mm) above the top of the floor, with its center at about 6-1/4 in (159 mm). The plan does not label this height: it is read from the 5-1/2 in (140 mm) measurement under the hole in the NABS drawing of the front, so check the plan (see Sources) before you drill. The plan also shows an optional oval hole; this guide uses the round hole. Ventilation: three 1/2 in (13 mm) holes in each side, just below the roof, drilled at an upward angle; in colder areas the plan says fewer or none may be needed. Exit ladder: saw shallow cuts (kerfs) across the inside of the front, below the hole, so the young birds can climb out; the plan gives no number or depth. Pre-drilling: the plan suggests a 3/16 in (5 mm) hole in the outer board and a 1/8 in (3 mm) hole into the inner board for every screw.
6. Drainage: holes or cut corners in the floor. Give the floor a way to let water out. For drainage this guide follows the NABS Nestbox Recommendations factsheet (revised January 2018), which recommends either cutting the four corners off the floor ("dog-ears") or drilling or cutting 1/4 to 1/2 in (6 to 13 mm) holes in the floor. Do one of the two before you fit the floor. The 2020 plan sets the floor about 3/4 in (19 mm) up from the bottom edges of the sides; keep that.
7. Assemble the box and glue the roof. Glue the two roof halves edge to edge with exterior wood glue; the plan names Titebond III for joining roof boards. Join the panels with #8 × 1-1/4 in (32 mm) exterior-rated screws (coated deck screws or stainless): the plan calls for about 20, plus 2 pivots and 1 latch, so count on about 23 screws per box. Make one side a door: two pivot screws go through the front and back near the top into the door, so its bottom swings out. To latch it, drill through the front into the edge of the door and close it with a screw (the plan uses a duplex nail). The plan gives no clearance for the door; check that it swings freely before you fit the latch. The roof gets a slope of 20° from back to front, with about 5 in (13 cm) of overhang at the front (the plan has 6 to 6-1/2 in (15 to 16.5 cm)) and about 2-3/16 in (55 mm) at the sides.
8. Optional: a predator block. The ready-made box has a 1 in (25 mm) wooden block around the entrance hole. In this build a predator block is optional: if you want one, you need a small extra piece of wood, because the picket has no wood left for it; that extra piece is not in the total. A steel hole guard like the ready-made box has is not part of this build either.
9. Mount the box. On a tree or fence post you need only two more screws from the same pack, but that is not the mounting NABS or NestWatch advise. NABS says mounting on tree trunks is not recommended because it makes the box too accessible to climbing predators, and that a box in an area with climbing predators (such as raccoons, cats and snakes) needs a predator-resistant device such as a baffle or a Noel guard. NestWatch advises a metal pole with a baffle and says to avoid mounting on trees or fence posts because of raccoons. This guide does not protect a tree or post mounting against predators. A pole and baffle cost extra and were not priced for this guide, neither a ready-made pole with baffle nor a homemade pole from 1/2 in (13 mm) conduit with pipe straps. Note that the ready-made box does not come with a pole either.
10. Check these points yourself before you buy. The picket price was read from Home Depot's brand page and the screw price from its product page on November 7, 2026; both can differ per store. The ready-made box was on sale in its maker's store, and shipping is added there on orders under $50. The price of a pole, its straps and a ground stake was not checked. The height of the entrance hole is read from the plan's drawing, not from a labeled measurement. The plan gives no door clearance, no number or depth for the kerfs and no screw count per joint. The actual width and thickness of a picket and the size of its dog-ear corners were not measured for this guide. Check current prices at your store, and remember that sales tax and shipping are not in the total.