Heath Outdoor Products AH-12D 12 Room Aluminum Purple Martin House

I have had this exact birdhouse for 12 years and am very happy with it but a very high snow storm this winter bent the pole over and then the house crashed to the ground. When I ordered a new pole, I decided to order a new house to the one that took the tumble. As everyone else stated, this takes a few hours to assemble because of the nut/bolt assembly system. It comes knocked down as a series of panels. They fit together very well and as long as you follow the instructions, it goes smoothly. If you are impatient and clumsy, don't get this item as it will make you a blood donor with the many exposed sharp edges during assembly. Once together, it's a very solid and well made item. My first martin house is still in fairly good shape, though the finial is gone. We have a large property and open field in a wet area where bugs abound, so the martins just love this area and you can watch them swooping over the field for hours gulping up bugs. When I mow the field, the martins are in a non-stop dive bomb at my tractor because I kick up so many bugs it's like an all you can eat free for all for the birds. Patience is a virtue in assembly. The end product will make the investment of a few hours well worth it, but it does take time so don't plan on knocking this down in an hour unless you've assembled hundreds of these before. The nuts and bolts are tiny and the assembly is awkward to handle while putting it all together. This will last well over ten years and the only threat to it's longevity is wind and something falling on it.

1-2 hours for assembly, as others have said. I was prepared so not an issue. note that this comes with a round flange for mounting on a pole...not all poles fit and not all poles are round! I had bought a nice telescoping pole ( royal wing brand from Tractor Supply) , and found it was triangular. I purchased an adapter / converter which it fit in the flange, but the round section of the adapter was not long enough to accommodate both levels of this house, only one level. so I recommend buying a round pole.

As the other reviewers say - it does have a lot of parts! But, if you take your time, and don't get frustrated, it goes together pretty easily. I got the 18 room model, so after the first tier with the roof (which was the most challenging), the others went together easily. I don't know yet how long this will last, but it looks great so far!

I agree with other reviews... assembly is a frustrating nightmare. Make sure you have free time, good eyes, a partner, some bandaids, and lots of patience handy. We got the 18 room design, so after we figured out the general pattern it was just more of the same over and over. I wish we had known from the start that the floors do not all lock together!! If you have multiple levels, they are each mounted separately. We were able to eventually figure this out, but it would have been nice if that was the first line of the directions and the whole thing would have made more sense as we were going. There was obviously little to no effort put into the assembly instructions. "Pole" is spelled "poly" and "locking" is spelled "looking," so someone obviously didn't proofread or they weren't fluent in English. If you have at least an average IQ, you can can probably figure this out. But be prepared for a lot of frustration and maybe some trial and error along the way. My husband and I eventually gave up on the directions and figured it out ourselves. Looks nice when finished and seems like it will hold up well. Nice Christmas gift for my 70 year-old mother, who has everything and wants for nothing. Good luck!

Sturdy. Pain in the butt to assemble top. The first one I purchased is still working 40 years later.

Took four hours to assemble the three story house. Got the Heath pole, and together it was a disaster waiting to happen (that did happen). It wasn't up a week. Couldn't get the pole together without major filing and machining due to bad seams inside the poles. The wall thickness is so thin it's not enough to support this house. One average storm and the whole thing came down, bending the pole at ground level. The plastic perches are a very bad design. Won't stay on, IF you can get them on. Bought two poles - one is going back after not being able to get it together. I'm a mechanically inclined and determined individual. You get what you pay for and it's not worth what I paid for. Just aweful - looks good, but should be put on a shelf and admired, only. Pay attention to the other negative reviews - I should have but thought I could make it work.

Very poorly written instructions which were missing several steps. I had to “wing it”, which made it impossible to assemble fully. The edges are like razors and there are sooo many pieces. It looks like the picture, but plan on at least 3-4 hours to assemble.

THIS IS THE SECOND HOUSE I HAVE PURCHASED. A LITTLE HARD TO PUT TOGETHER BUT FUN... ONE NEGATIVE, THE PLASTIC LEGS THAT ARE ON THE FLOOR WILL EVENTUALLY GET WORN..I SAND DOWN THE PART THAT GOES THROUGH THE HOLE, DRILL A SMALL HOLE THEN PUT A SCREW AND WASHER TO HOLD IT TO THE FLOOR. WORKS GREAT AND I DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE STEPS FALLING OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEASON. pic 2 ADDITIONALLY I DRILL A HOLE THROUGH THE MOUNTING POLE AT THE TOP WHERE THE CAP IS. THE PLACE AT 3 FOOT ROD THROUGH IT, THEN PUT THE CAP ON. THE BIRDS LOVE IT. LEAVES ABOUT A 1/4 INCH GAP FROM THE ROOF OF THE HOUSE AND THE CAP... ALSO I PLACE ONE OF THOSE SCREW TYPE HOSE CONNECTORS AROUND THE POLE WHERE THE BOTTOM OF THE LOWER HOUSE SETS NEXT TO THE SET SCREW. ONE LAST THING I MARK EVERYTHING WITH SHARPIE SO WHEN I TAKE IT APART IT'S EASY TO SET UP AFTER CLEANING ETC. NOTE.... 2/18 Have had the house up for couple of weeks. First Scouts arrived 10 days ago,,, bad wind storm,, the top coupula blew off, called Heath, sending a one,,, no charge,,, Add put in set screw to the roof,

Takes a bit of time to assemble...lots of parts..about 1 hour. Lokks like it will be a great addition to attracting purple martens....will find out nest spring!

took over 4 hours to put together. Do not loose a screw as there are no extras!

This bird house was easy to build. We found a video on YouTube that we followed

other than taken at least 8 to 10 hours so far so much hardware missing nuts and bolts part #WT000/WT001/locking bolts for flange stabilizer/WJ005 stabilizer clip and hardware tried contacting no reply so far. the method of assembly sucks and the instruction is even worse need to have set up before the house martins arrive early april

Took several hours to assemble looks beautiful.But got it too late in the year waiting for bird tenants maybe next spring