Location: Home » BirdHouses » S & K PBH-12 12-Family Martin House

S & K PBH-12 12-Family Martin House

Brand: S & K Mfg.
Category: Lawn & Patio

List Price: ~~$44.99~~
Buy New: $39.95
as of 7/30/2010 15:08 MDT details
You Save: $5.04 (11%)

New (3) from $39.95

Seller: Mason Warehouse
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

17 reviews
Sales Rank: 21401

Country: USA
Shipping Weight (lbs): 8
Dimensions (in): 18 x 19 x 20

MPN: BH12
Model: PBH-12
UPC: 646969814977
EAN: 0646969814977
ASIN: B00004ZBQN

Availability: Usually ships in 6-10 business days

Features:

•	Houses up to 12 purple martin families
•	Snaps together in minutes with no tools required
•	Slightly sloped floors for drainage
•	Measures 18 x 19 x 20 inches and weighs 8 pounds
•	Made of UV grade polypropylene copolymer plastic

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S & K BN-16 16-Family Martin Barn

Heath Outdoor Products Deluxe Painted Purple Martin Decoy w/Mount #PMD-1

S & K Telescoping Pole for Martin House - 15 Foot

Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
The best martin house in the industry, the 12 family purple martin house is made of polypropolene copoly plastic. It can be easily maintained by using the S & K Quad-Tel Pole. The entire house snaps together easily with no tools required and is conveniently maintenance free. When used with the quad-tel pole the house has a lifetime warranty. Enjoy the pleasure a unique and well designed Martin house offers as a comfortable home for our feathered friends and enjoyable entertainment to the avid martin enthusiast.

Amazon.com Review
Designed for use with S&K's telescopic poles, this durable, lightweight birdhouse provides shelter, space, and privacy for nesting purple martins. Easy to assemble, the house includes divided compartments for up to 12 families, with enclosed keyhole-style entrances measuring 2-1/4 inches in height and width. Protected from rain by overhangs, the compartments are 6 by 6 inches with 3-by-6-inch railed porches and white front panels to increase entrance visibility. Though the house does not include the porch dividers recommended by some experts, it does have slots in which you could fashion an adaptation. While no martin-nesting structure is maintenance free, S&K cuts down on the work with slightly tilted floors for drainage and hinged front panels for end-of-the-season cleanup. --Emily Bedard

Customer Reviews:

Showing reviews 1-5 of 17

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The house is only part of what you need . . . February 23, 2010
Que Tal Carolyn (Now living in Illinois, formerly on a boat in the Sea of Cortez)
We bought this house from a local store. We don't have it up yet (the ground is still frozen solid), but I wanted to post a few comments on what we know so far (I'll write more this summer after it's been up a while):

This house is made by S&K. While it's not strictly required that you use the S&K pole, the house is designed to fit on it. After assembling the house, we're definitely glad we got the matching pole. Use either one of the following:

15 Ft Telescoping Pole for Martin House
12' Telescopic Pole

Both these poles telescope so that you can clean out the house and check the nests.

As for the assertion that the house "snaps together in minutes," well . . . I guess that's true if you count that high! It took my husband about two hours to put together, primarily because the interior panels have stamped "cut outs" for tabs, and these were only stamped about halfway through and he had to trim each one with a knife. Not really a problem, just time consuming. As noted by other reviewers, the instructions are NOT real clear -- read them through a few times before beginning the assembly.

We still have to dig the hole, mix concrete, etc. It's not like just hanging a bird feeder or a "typical" little bird house. This is definitely a "project" and not a whim!

The pole has to be set in concrete in your yard. If you want to take the pole down over the winter, you'll need a pole sleeve, which remains in the ground and sticks up just a little when you take the big pole down. This can be ordered directly from the manufacturer -- ordering information is given in the box.

All the references I can find say that 6x12 inch compartments are better than 6x6 compartments. This house is designed so that you can have either size compartment -- but, of course, with the larger compartments there are only 6 rooms. However, to have the larger compartments, you have to block off half the doors (so that enemies can't come in the "back door"). You can either use duct tape or you can order door covers directly from the manufacturer with information given in the box -- these cost $12.95 plus shipping.

One note -- contrary to the picture shown here, the openings are the new crescent "starling resistant" shape -- while this won't totally eliminate starlings taking over the house, it's supposed to significantly reduce the problem.

Those same references say that to establish a colony, it's good to place a purple martin decoy on a perch on the house. Yep, these have to be purchased separately. The perches are available from the manufacturer (info in the box) as are the decoys -- or you can buy the decoys here:

Purple Martin Decoy

All this starts adding up! We bought the house itself on special at a local store for $25 -- but now have spent more than $100 in "extras" and we still have to buy a bag of concrete. We like birds, so we're not begrudging the expense but it's definitely more costly than we anticipated.

Another point -- we had always believed that purple martins ate a lot of mosquitos. After buying the house, we discovered that new research shows this isn't true -- they mostly eat other insects. So much for our natural mosquito control!

5 out of 5 stars

S & K Martin House January 25, 2010
D. Edgin (Tennessee)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Good house, made of plastic, should last 5-6 years. You get what you pay for. Understand you need a pole for the house which doubles the cost. Do your research! The house needs to go up in the early spring. Last year I purchase the house and assembled it. Then I had to go and get the pole. Instructions can be confusing. I used bolts purchased from a local hardware store to attach the house to the pole and used bolts in assembling the two piece pole instead of the plastic clips which can easly break. When I got the pole I was short on the clips. Called S&K and they quickly sent me the plastic clips at no charge (good customer service) but I still went with the bolts. I put the house up late in the spring as was concerned it went up to late in the year however I was lucky and the Martins quickly moved in. I have a small farm with some animals thus I have a lot of flying insects. Once the Martins moved in there was a noticable decrease in the insect population. Didn't have a problem with barn swallows trying to move in with the doors assembled correctly. Highly recommend getting the additional perches even though they are cheap plastic. Make sure your pole is securely installed (I attached mine to a sturdy fence post). I live in a windy area and the house handled the winds but you could see the pole bend in the wind so the pole must be securely installed. Overall, it is a good inexpensive Martin house made of plastic which should last 5-6 years.

5 out of 5 stars

12 Fam Martin Home December 31, 2009
G. Harris (Garden Grove, California USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

This device was purchased as a Christmas present for my sister who lives in New Jersey and loves birds more than people.

She actually phoned me on the day the house arrived to extoll its virtues such as the quality and the fact that it is produced in the USA. She thinks it will outlast her!

5 out of 5 stars

This house was a snap to put together. Product is as it appears in ad. December 30, 2009
toad lady (New Jersey)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

This birdhouse is not only great looking,but a snap to put together. It arrived in perfect condition and in time promised.Will enjoy for many years...I love it!!!!!!!!

5 out of 5 stars

CC June 8, 2009
CC (Missouri)
Easy to put together, just make sure you have a triangular shaped pole from S&K to put it on. We had Starlings checking it out immediately, so be sure to leave the crescent shape for the opening if you want Martins. Martins moved in within hours !!

Showing reviews 1-5 of 17

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