Mason Bee Condo...

     Kelly and I spent the weekend finishing the trim work on our basement.  While we were cutting trim in the garage I found a slab of wood left over from the table project.  (Do you get the feeling there are a lot of projects at our house?)  Since the wood is untreated, I figured it would be perfect for a mason bee house. 

     I started with a 3 1/2  x 4 1/2 inch slab of untreated wood.    My loving husband cut the top at a 35 degree angle.  I sanded it down some. 

    I used a 5/16th drill bit for the nesting holes.  I went in about 3 inches.   A bit of advice, after carefully drawing a grid for the holes, stick to the grid.  Deviation from your lines affects how neat your rows are.  Luckily, I don't think mason bees are picky about uniformity in their condos. 

     The red roof was an accident.  I was painting the basement trim and painted the roof before I realized what I was doing.  Since that is an interior paint and of course this is going to be outside, that could be a problem.  I used wood glue to attach the roof to the top of the condo.  Then just to make sure it made it though the winter, I put a couple of nails in with the nail gun.  


     All that is left is to attach a sturdy hanger to the back.  I will be putting it up on a south facing post in the orchard.  I had one at our old home and the mason bees loved it.  Even though we have two hives, you can never have enough bees.  I'll probably make a few more before the summer is over.  Overall, the project took about 1 hour.