It feels like real stone but from looking at the back it's clear that it's a composite material of some sort. It was there when we moved in so there is no way to tell for sure, so I'm just extra cautious about it. We're going to have it removed and replaced with tile and an LED fireplace. We've never used the fireplace and there are so few opportunities to use it here in Arizona that it's just a waste of space.
lol I agree unless you live up north in AZ like I do there arent many times of the year when a fireplace is useful. Though since you mentioned tile, I wonder how well ceramic tile would hold up on the wall. I could use grout for extra support I just dont know how well it would hold.
No advises from me as I am inexperienced in this department but I do have a lot of appreciation for your hard work. Hoping to build a bird room for my birds too some day and I’ve definitely taken great amount of inspiration from you! Keep up the good work!!!
Thanks! I figured I wasn't the only one who wanted to create a room for the birds so I wanted to record my progress here so people could know what works well and what doesnt. Some day when I have a different property my dream is to make one large thermoregulated building with multiple rooms to hold all my animals (tortoises, iguana, macaws, vacation dog kennel). The bird room would be in the center and the walls around it would be half solid half glass so you can see into the other enclosures. Our current HOA doesnt allow large buildings on our property so we are working with what we have for now. Someday I hope to make it happen.
Some more things I have been thinking about lately:
1. I want to add a water fountain inside the building in one of the corners so the birds will always have moving water to play/bathe in.
2. I want to add some wall mounted gravity feeders modified as a foraging contraption for the birds when I go on vacation.
3. I am thinking of ways to minimize the work for my bird sitter when I do leave on trips. We have a few planned this summer so I am trying to get all of this done by then.