How to Build Front Panels on a Bat House

Video Transcript

"In this step we will be caulking and adding the front panels to the bat house. So you get your caulk gun, you cut a diagonal across the very tip of it so you get just a little bit of caulk out of it. Then you apply the caulk to the front panel just along the edge, squeezing just a small bead on the sides of your bat house. Don't forget when you are finished to relieve the pressure off the tube of your caulk so the material does not continue to travel out the end. To set the first panel on the bat house, you must remember that you are going to have an angled top on it. So to set that first panel, take the top and set it in place, and set your first front panel on it, and push it down. You will notice that there's a small gap here between the ceiling and the first panel. This is so the roof has a place to run across to it. Then you will screw the first panel onto the side wall. Again, remembering to only draw the screws down until they are flush with the top. The next panel fits tight against the first panel, and you also screw it down. You must remember that when your drilling these holes, you must be in the center of your side rails. So be sure you line it up with the center of your side rails, three-quarters to one inch in from the edges. That leaves the third panel. The third panel goes on and must have approximately a quarter of an inch gap between the second panel and third panel. This is for ventilation into the house for the bats, and then screw it into place. You may have the caulk ooze out of the side. If you do, you can wet your finger and just rub it along the side, being careful not to get any splinters from the wood, or you can take a rag, wet it, and wipe it along the side to remove any excess caulking from both sides. That is how you attach the front panels to your bat house."