Community Brag Posts

THE MOTIVATION
After a recent washer outage (that I was ultimately able to repair myself), my wife and I talked about eventually replacing our front-loading washer/dryer set.  One of the bullets I hate biting is paying the exhorbitant prices for the matching pedestals for new washer/dryer sets.

Having just bought a good set of cordless powertools, and having watched my father when I was a kid build countless household fixtures, window dressings, furniture pieces, etc., I decided to try my hand and construct a permanent platform for our current washer/dryer set, thereby eliminating the need to ever buy manufacturer pedestals again.

The existing pedestals were a standard 15" high, with a storage drawer, which we felt was still not high enough for comfort.  And, the washer pedestal drawer was entirely inaccessibl due to the 2" walls on the washer drain pan, so its drawer was totally useless, wasted space.

And, lastly, we really wanted more space for clothes baskets full of laundry, which we generally stacked (full and haphazardly) on top of the machines.

THE CHALLENGES
The largest challenges were mainly logistics, and gravity.  The washer/dryer would have to be unavailable for at least 2-3 days while they sat disconnected in the next room waiting for their new home.  So I coordinated with the family so they'd know when they needed to have their laundry done, or tough it out until I was done.

There was no way to know for sure what the drain connection for the washer pan looked like until I got the washer out.  So it was a small gamble that I'd be able to get the parts needed to extend the drain pipe up to the new platform right when I was ready for them.  Fortunately, this was no issue at all.

The biggest challenge turned out to be toward the end when it came time to lift our 230-lb. washer onto the new platform.  I seriously considered disassembling the washer to the point that I could remove its molded concrete counter-weights, but instead (and arguably stupidly) elected to use a large hydraulic car jack to raise the washer.  This ultimately worked, but I have to STRONGLY ADVISE AGAINST trying this.

THE SPACE
Our laundry room is also the "mud room" between our kitchen and the garage.  It is only large enough for the two machines, and the walk way between the two doors--in total, about 70.5" square.  Building the platform from wall-to-wall made the most sense, and minimized framing by fastening edge framing directly to the wall studs. 

THE PLAN
Pretty basic:  2x4's all around for the edge framing--back and sides fastened directly to the wall studs, and front 2x4 supported by two, notched 4x4 legs.  3/4" plywood for the subsurface, and 1/4" laminate faux-wood flooring on top (left over from reflooring, so it matches the floor below).  Bore holes for the washer pan drain and the dryer vent.  1" quarter-round molding on the sides, and 5.5" face piece flush with the top of the molding across the front (spare lauan I had looks perfect).  I also made a point of putting the machines on the platform before the face piece since it might have been in the way or damaged.

Anyone will tell you that it's best to at least sketch out what you want to do so you can minimize surprises, forgotten parts, etc.  I, of course, did virtually none of that, and made several course changes and corrections along the way.  For this project, I was lucky that I didn't need to backtrack at any point, and probably won't learn this lesson any time soon anyway.  However, you SHOULD.

TAKE-AWAYS
The main mistake I made was while gathering the platform dimensions for cutting the plywood.  It was only blind luck that kept me from having to do it more than once (and having to buy more than one 4x8 sheet).  I know that it's actually very unlikely that two adjacent walls are perfectly square, so I made a point to measure the width between the walls at the back and at the front--and, sure enough, found a 1/8" difference--wider at the front.  But when I measured and marked the plywood for cutting, I measured both distances from the precut edge, and then cut.  By doing this, I inadvertently assumed that one of the back corners was perfectly square. 

What I should have done was used a carpenter's square in each back corner to extend a square line from the back edge to the front, and then measured from the square lines to their respective side wall.  This would have accounted for neither back corner being square.

Fortunately, my mistake wasn't big enough to keep the plywood from fitting, but it was very, VERY close.

GIDDY
I honestly couldn't be happier with the finished project (or more smug).  We've raised the washer/dryer 9" higher than they were (24" off the floor), and we now have basket storage underneath all the way across.  I placed two 24" plastic cabinets on top, which still leaves room for the detergent right over the soap inlet on the washer.

And, most importantly, I got to use every powertool I own.  Kinda beats "the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" thing, huh?

Fabulous home gym by Nailgun Nelly!

*Incorporated and modified the grand waterfall console plan

I am not a carpenter, I do not even have a tape measure. I got tasked by my leadership dothan class to build a farmhouse table for the academic dream room which is part of the Bright Key Program. Which is being renovated at Honeysuckle Middle School. Found your plans and got inspired. One glitch they wanted this table to be able to sit fourteen chairs. So I had to make a few adjustments like increasing the main boards to twelve foot. Because of your plans, many urban middle schoolers will have a place to get tutored considering cafeteria tables are so expensive. I am a believer of your plans. The positive feedback I received was well worth my time and would not of been a sucess without your plans. I did mine with pocket holes as well. 

Built the porch swing and was inspired to build the glider frame by another "Brag Post" Looks great and fits perfectly in my back yard!

This is our 2nd project - we liked building the bookshelf so much, we decided we're gonna keep going and need a good workbench. Got these plans from the Family Handyman Website (http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-Projects/Woodworking/Workbenches/how-…). They claim the cost to be $50, but it was closer to $80 for us - still a GREAT project and easy to put together with the nail gun.

I took a woodworking course through the community college and built this cedar bench for my front porch. I learned so much throughout this process and am proud of how it came out. I am now building up my own arsenal of tools and supplies. I can’t wait to choose my next project!

Plans from myoutdoorplans.com/2x4benchplans

Instead of building a free-standing, 4-poster Pergola, I attached one side directly to the house. There are various Pergola design types and shapes. Simply Google for "pergola" images and decide which design you like best, or combine design ideas together (as I did).

Couple things to consider:
A: Is your Pergola more for decorative purposes or actual shade?
My design was more for actual shade (but with a decorative design), which is why I added the 1in x 12in x 12ft Pine boards between the cross beams at the very end (last picture). If your design is more for decorative purposes, you can space out your support beams and cross beams wider (using less wood and money).

You can also choose to use 2x4s as your support beams with 2x2 cross beams on top (essentially furring strips) either close together or spaced farther apart. This would also reduce the overall cost of your Pergola and make it much lighter as well. I chose to use all 2x6s for both support beams and cross beams.

B: What path does the sun follow across the sky over your Pergola?
If the sun passes directly over your Pergola and you want a lot of shade, you'll obviously need to consider this in your design (i.e., more cross beams that are close together).

C: Do you want your support beams and cross beams to inter-lock (by cutting square notches and assembling them like linking logs), or simply stacked on top of each other? (Again, Googling for Pergola images will help you see the differences in designs.)

I chose to interlock all of my beams by cutting notches and fitting them together. Obviously more time consuming to measure each notch, cut, and chisel them but the stability of inter-locking beams should hold up a little better in the strong winds of Las Vegas.

HOW TO (abbreviated)

Overall Pergola Dimensions: 10ft Height, 12x12ft

Tip: Paint or stain all your wood prior to assembly. Much easier. You can always touch-up scuffs and scrapes after it's built.

1. 2x6x12 installed directly onto the house (thru the stucco into the studs) using 3/8in. x 5in. lag screws. (Tip: Seal the top edge of the 2x6x12 that's against the stucco so water doesn't run behind it and down into the lag screw holes.)
2. Install the 2x6 Double Shear Hangers (as many as you need for your design)
3. 4x4 post anchors secured directly into the cement patio using Tapcon 3/16 in. x 2-3/4 in.cement anchor screws.
4. 4x4x10ft posts screwed on top of the anchors. Ensure level on all sides (use a partner to help hold the posts).
5. Attach the front and side 2x6 beams to the 2 posts (again, use a partner to help hold posts while you're up on the ladder screwing your beams to the posts)
6. Attach the remaining 2x6 support beams.
7. Attach the 2x6 cross beams on top (whether you inter-lock them by cutting notches or simply resting them on top, be sure to toe-nail screw them in with 2in exterior screws).
8. Lay 1x12x12ft pine boards on top in between the cross beams and secure with 2in exterior wood screws.
9. Construct the post bases ("sleeves" or "leggings") which greatly adds to the look, as outlined in the "Weatherly Pergola" plans.
10. Touch-up paint / stain any areas you need.

I used pocket holes to hide the screws. I made an ottoman out of the outdoor coffee table plans to my dimensions that can be used as a coffee table when we need it.

Modified the classic bunk bed plans to fit crib size matresses for our 1.5 & 2 year old girls, loved how my toddler bunk beds turned out! 

I made this cabinet to house my murphy bed.  I used the Toy or TV Armoire plans as a start and adjusted the measurements as needed.