Status: Completed
Seagull Chimney Defence
Making chimney pots slightly less attractive to seagulls
Summary
Seagulls can be thugs. Apparently the UK has at times had 9% of all of the worlds nesting seagulls (Larus Canus), and in some seaside towns in West Wales, that’s believable. Whether you like or dislike seagulls, when they choose your roof as a home it can impact your household through noise or their marks left on your solar panels.This project was to build a galvenised steel frame to make chimney pots less appealing a roost for seagulls.
The Design
This design was drawn up based on the clients original plan, with a grid of steel rod thin enough to be awkward for the average seagull to perch on, and apertures small enough to avoid the birds poking through and nesting against the frame.
The Build
I started out by laying out a square on the ground and constructing a square of metal flat bar, using a template screwed into a sheet of OSB.
From this I approximated the top center point as a guide.
And then set about buildling out the grid framework with 6mm steel rod. Each rod needed bending independently at first, but once I had one spot on I could replicate it for the other 3 sides.
As I went I tacked everything in place, adjusting a few welds where things had built up outside tolerances.
As I got nearer the end I had to tweak a few elements to ensure everything was as straight and square as could be. This was easier said than done, as every single weld you completed seemed to tighten the whole structure. Here I’ve got it fairly square, with only a few adjustments left to be made.
Here I added the first fix of a top plate around the axle which would end up holding the weather vane.
The whole framework eventually got galvenised, here it is on collection, being weighed:
Lastly here are some shots of the fitted outcome. The welsh dragon weather vane and the galvenise worked really well together. Let’s hope the gulls don’t like it.
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