Cheaper Than Store-Bought: Build A Birdbath On A Budget With Old Blocks & A Lid

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Bird watching has been making a surprising comeback as a peaceful pastime, and what better way to attract birds to your yard than with an inviting birdbath? Birds rely on clean sources of water for drinking, bathing, and cooling off in the heat, and turning your backyard into an avian waterpark will help create a bird-friendly garden. While store-bought traditional birdbaths tend to be costly and unwieldy, there's an easy and cheap way to build your own birdbath on a budget from materials you likely already have lying around, or can easily acquire from your local hardware store.

All this simple DIY requires is some concrete blocks and a trash-can lid, as demonstrated by Facebook user Lori Kay Brown. If you happen to have any leftover pavers from a garden or driveway project, these will work perfectly. If not, you can also pick up something like these Pewter Concrete Retaining Wall Blocks from Home Depot for $2.37 each. Just be sure to figure out how tall you want the bath to be first, as this will determine the number of pavers you need. For the trash-can lid, metal lids will likely be more aesthetically pleasing than plastic ones. That being said, it's important to remember that heavy metals such as lead, zinc, and copper can be dangerous to birds, so make sure you check what the lid is made from before you use it.

Before you start construction, you'll want to make sure you're not putting your birdbath in the wrong spot. If your goal in building the bath is to boost your birdwatching entertainment, make sure you position the basin in a place that you can easily see from the comfort of your home. You should also bear visibility in mind when considering the height of the bath. Next, lay the pavers in a cylindrical shape, with the spaces between the blocks in each new layer offsetting the spaces in the layer below. Keep adding layers until you have achieved the desired height, and then place your upturned lid on top to form the basin.

Once you have your rudimentary structure, there are ways to add flair to the birdbath itself without having to spend too much. The example above features a solar-powered water fountain (a similar version can be sourced from Amazon for just $8.99). If you want to introduce some color into your design, you could try lining the bottom of the bath with colored glass gemstones (which can be acquired for $8.09) that will reflect light with a bit of sparkle.