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Terry Lobdell
Member
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Posted: Mon Dec 10th, 2007 05:27 am |
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Here is a wall mounted rocket box I put up in 2006. It is an experiment to see if there is potential for using cement blocks within a bat house as thermal storage and as actual baffles. You can see the bottoms of the 2 cement blocks within the core of the bat house. My hope was the bats would be able to grip the surface of the cement block.
In 2006 I only had use by one little brown bachelor, never observed roosting on the concrete.
In 2007 I had use by 3 little browns and at least one did roost on the concrete.
The outer baffle surface is one inch pine covered with pet mesh.
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Terry Lobdell
Member
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Posted: Mon Dec 10th, 2007 05:01 pm |
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Here is a view of the same house after I attached a multiple crevice landing pad of one inch rough sawn boards. This rocket box gets eastern, southern and western exposure to the sun.  Last edited on Wed Dec 19th, 2007 12:04 am by Terry Lobdell
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Terry Lobdell
Member
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Posted: Tue Dec 11th, 2007 06:49 pm |
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Here is another view of the wall mounted rocket box. I made it in 3 sections for ease of mounting since the 2 concrete blocks added much extra weight. The roof and landing pad are separate from main part.
The outer wood has dark brown latex stain. The east facing side is covered with pieces of plastic from 2 liter pop bottles for extra morning heat gain and weather proofing.
The plastic does not do much for the looks, but as a way making the bat houses last longer and providing some addtional heat gain I think it has potential in certain situations.
The house on the right receives regular use from 15 big brown mothers. I put some plastic on it as well because it gets somewhat shaded after the leaves are full on the trees. It is vented on the sides with aluminum soffit covering drilled holes.
In 2006 my entire big brown maternity colony (30 bats) often roosted behind the downspout in the corner on very hot humid days. My intention of having so many bat houses of different designs was to give them more options during extreme weather conditions. I think it worked because the downspout was only used by a few bachelors this summer. The maternity colony roosted mainly in houses with the back crevice vent. (see pictures of single crevice back vent house)
The two houses on the chimney I just put up this summer. They received minimal use I think due to low exit flight space.
The houses furthest to the right are just single crevice houses which recieved regular use from both little and big brown bachelors throughout the summer.
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Terry Lobdell
Member
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Posted: Sun Dec 23rd, 2007 04:23 pm |
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| I was hoping to get some comments on this type of house. Has anyone experimented with cement blocks as a componant in a bat house? I have observed where big browns will roost in attics clinging to cement block chimneys.
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kent borcherding
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Posted: Sun Dec 23rd, 2007 07:00 pm |
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Terry ,
I have not experimented with concrete in bat houses.
The Maberry bat house I tested with the sand added at the top encouraged bats to use the house.
You may have more success if the concrete was at the top of the bat houses. Possibly a flat cement patio block under the roof.
I have had success using 2x material for the inner roofs with cement board for an outer roof. The 2x material helps hold night time temps higher and able to control internal temps of bat house this way , at one site have been able to hold big browns in bat houses for 12 years.
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Terry Lobdell
Member
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Posted: Mon Dec 24th, 2007 05:51 am |
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| Kent, what specific type of cement board do you use? And do you treat/paint it in anyway?
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kent borcherding
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Posted: Mon Dec 24th, 2007 02:53 pm |
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Terry ,
I prefer the 50 year cement board primed gray.
usually available in 7/16" thickness up to 7 1/2" wide and 12 ft and longer.
the wider bat houses I buy a 4' x 8 ' sheet and cut to size with a cement blade in a circular or worm drive saw.
Paint the cement board latex dark brown and sometimes use black.
I buy a quanity and can"t recall cost. Must have been reasonable or I would have remembered.
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Joe Spencer
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Posted: Mon Dec 24th, 2007 04:20 pm |
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| No Terry, the only cement I have used is the Hardibacker board for baffles. I too have seen many big browns preferring chimney exteriors exposed in attics for both gripping and likely stable temperature options.
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Terry Lobdell
Member
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Posted: Mon Dec 24th, 2007 04:42 pm |
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| Thanks, Kent & Joe! Joe, how has the hardiboard worked out for baffles?
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Joe Spencer
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Posted: Tue Dec 25th, 2007 01:44 am |
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Seems ok however, I have not seen a preference from the bats for the hardiboard over rough 1" pine baffles in the house adjacent. 
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Terry Lobdell
Member
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Posted: Mon Apr 7th, 2008 12:44 am |
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Tonight I had a big brown roosting between the 2 concrete blocks in this wall mounted rocket!
This is a first for this house to have it used this early in the season.........I am hoping to get increased usage because the concrete blocks have a dual function as heat storage and as a rough surface for the bats to cling to.
The 1&1/2 X 8 x 16 inch blocks were fairly inexpensive too.
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IowaNate
Member
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Posted: Mon Apr 7th, 2008 11:47 pm |
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That's great news Terry! Looking forward to updates as spring continues and turns to summer. I also like Kent's idea for using a cement block as the ceiling for a house, then use wood for the actual roof. I think I have seen the same blocks you used for $0.99 each on sale before. I would love to find some 3/4" thick blocks to keep the weight down...then again I can always get a concrete blade for my saw and cut it in half.
Keep us posted!
Nate
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kent borcherding
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Posted: Wed Apr 9th, 2008 03:15 pm |
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Nate , it may be worth experimenting using the using the cement blocks for slanted baffles in a bat house.
Would be possible to build a 3 sided box and place the cement blocks at a 45 degree angle in the box , you could put some gravel behind the blocks to fill the space and hold the heat.
When you make the roof cut the sides of the box at a 45 degree angle and have 3/4" space between the angled cement blocks and the roof.
I really think a design like this is worth pursuing, I am going to construct one about 2-3 ft. in width and see if it is successful.
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IowaNate
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Posted: Thu Apr 17th, 2008 11:57 pm |
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| I would love to try a concrete slanted baffle design. I could easily use Tapcons to fasten the blocks to the wooden sides and back. But this house is going to get EXTREMELY heavy with just a few baffles. I am currently looking for some 3/4" x 8" x 16" lightweight concrete paving stones or blocks, and try a house with about a half dozen chambers at first. If anything I could make a wooden mould and use a mixture of sawdust and lightweight concrete to make the blocks.
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