I’m trying for the strangest post for the month of Oct. To get to the point, I have new construction and somehow a bird got up the eaves and into the house. I’m getting ready to finish a bathroom and there is a gap in the drywall. The bird flew into the gap and into the wall cavity( maybe it thought it make a cool nesting spot). You can hear it flutter.
What would you do? let the bird die and hope the smell isn’t to bad or pull off the drywall which has the first coat of mud and remove the bird.
I didn’t think this was possible, maybe I should play the lotto today.
Replies
I'd be a good guy and open up the wall to take the poor bugger out of it.
And I would be doing it now, rather than posting questions on the forum.
Martin
Edited 10/7/2007 5:33 pm by myhomereno
I was thinkin about drilling a hole with a hole saw hopefully the bird comes out. I was hoping there's a way to get the thing out w/o replacing a sheet of drywall
Go bust it out, you may come back as a trapped bird in your next life.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"If you want something you've never had, do something you've never done"
Go bust it out, you may come back as a trapped bird in your next life.
Not to mention wallowing around in a wall of insulation!
“Some people wonder all their lives if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem.” Reagan....
Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor. -Truman Capote
I'd cut the SR open and get it out.
You know you goinna have to anyways! Other wise, the stink gonna kill you back.
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
Maybe the rafters above have birdmouths....wink. Is the bird in a wing of the new house....another wink
Get the bird out.
Runnerguy
Problem is, when birds get trapped they get stupid. They can never, eg, figure out that they have to fly DOWN to get out, if they're trapped up in the truss area. You'd think they'd fly toward the light but they don't.
So bite the bullet, cut open a good sized hole, and get the bird out. It's only drywall, and, since you're mudding anyway, it won't set you back much time-wise. Good opportunity to practice your drywall patching skills.
Shouldn't be necessary to pull down the entire wall unless that seems to be the simplest approach.
Or just cram a cat in there.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"If you want something you've never had, do something you've never done"
Ahem....got time for a story?Too bad - I'm gonna tell it anyways....When we first got married, we rented a house that was a pretty good modular unit on a full basement. I paid part of the rent by finishing off the laundry room in that cellar.DW was doing day care there and when the time came for the cat to pop out a litter of kittens, she decided things were a little too noisy with all those kids running around. She found a way to get way back up in over the drop ceiling in that laundry room to drop them.So after about a week or two, we decide that leaving her to raise them there was not going to leave things smelling very good in the long run, so I start to cut a hole in the SR neaby.I guess that made them all the more nervous so they retreated away from my activity towards a wall. The wall between the laundry and a bathroom. I had not done full fire-blocking, so down they went. By time I got to the litter, half of them were at the bottom of a stud space and the mama Cat was prowling back and forth with murder in her eyes for moi.We got her and half the litter in a nice comfy quiet spot in a corner of the garage settled in with her making noises that you wouldn't expect from a cat that translated roughtly to "I'm gonna get you, you dirty low down m@!43%f*#3@! if it's the last thing I do!"Then I went back in to open up the SR at the bottom of that stud space. Of course it was behind the washing machine, so I had to pull it out first,and after the operation was done, put a quick patch on the wall again before pushing it back in.I'm too old for all that excitement now. Be easier to just move and let the next tenant wonder where the smell came from...LOL
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
LOL.
I was about 5 when Dad was getting his gear packed for a band job, he played keyboards in a jazz combo. Anywho, as he went to roll out the Leslie cabinet and big azz amp he noticed the cat inside the amp....along with 7 kittens.
Being as he hates cats he was just gonna dump them on the floor, but my Mom made it pretty clear, that was not an option.
He wound up having to move the PIANO into his van, vs. a smaller electric keyboard..and not just that Friday night, but the next night and two weeks after that!
Behold the power of Puzzy. (G)Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"If you want something you've never had, do something you've never done"
Non destrutuctive fix to remove bird.
Let him do most of the work - this should be a life lesson for him.
Since the bird got into the wall in the first place there must be a fair sized opening at the top.
Get a couple bags of perlite (garden center). You are going to need a fair quantity.
Dribble the perlite into the cavity a pint or so at a time - the bird will shake the mixture off of himself as you dribble it in.
Eventually the bird will be high enough in the cavity (standing on top of the perlite) to jump out of the hole through which he entered.
When the bird escapes you can either leave the perlite in the wall or suck it out with a shop vac.
Jim
Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
Make it simpler, just fill the cavity with urethane foam.
If your view never changes you're following the wrong leader
First, blank the gap that he flew in. then cut a hole down low, behind the future baseboard. Bird walks towards the light. You are a savior and will be rewarded someday.
Do you know what stud bay it's in? Is there a block at half height?
Cut 4" hole in the DW at the bottom of where the bird is.
Here's the trick, hold the saw, not knife, so your cutting a 15* - 30* mitered 4" plug out.
With a new knife blade, trim the fuzzy edges of the outer paper off the wall and plug.
Mix water with a bit of Elmer's white to thin it down to milk, not cream, viscosity. Use that to paint the cut edges and let it dry tack free.
Butter the edges with DW mud and push the plug in the hole till it's not proud.
Tape and mud.
SamT
Uh, shouldn't he take the bird out somewhere in there?
If your view never changes you're following the wrong leader
He's smart. He can figger it out.SamT
I know this is an old post, but thought I would share my idea. I’m renovating a basement and a bird got stuck between the walls. I have drop ceilings down there so I was able to use a mirror and a flashlight to see the bird. It didn’t have enough room to fly out so I figured it could climb out if it had something to hold on to. I used a long rope with a metal chain attached to one end (as a weight). I slowly lowered it down to the opposite side of where the bird was sitting. Then I tied the top of the rope to the ceiling joist (so that the rope was not slacking and felt secure). The next morning I found the bird at the door window, so I let him out. I was very happy that the bird was safe and that I did not have to make a hole in my new wall.