Community Brag Posts

This was our first build from this website and we are so pleased! Having seen very involved plans on an Australian website for a similar sandpit, I was so pleased to come across this version, with its far simpler design!
We wanted a slightly bigger sandpit, so I needed to do some modifications, and while I was enlarging it, I also converted to metric sizes, and designed specifically for the timber I knew I could buy locally (very obscure and inconsistent seeming German sizes). So the end result is a 1.5x1.5m sandpit, that has so far had 6 kids playing happily in it at once!
I've put in the drawings I used, and the cutting list for larger sizes in case anyone else is working in metric, or wants a bigger size!
Our other modification was to offset the shorter sections of the base to run along the front plank of the bench seat - there were two main benefits for this - we need a lot less sand, as there is none wasted under the seat, and the seat is supported and can't bow downwards!
The dimensions and layout we used are in the images.

Supplies

Timber
2 - 200 x 40 x 3000mm
6 - 120 x 24 x 3000mm
1 - 80 x 50 x 3000mm

Hinges
12 - 140mm long (the original design had 8, we went with three per edge to allow for the extra width)

Self tapping decking screws
18 - 5 x 80
48 - 5 x 50
96 - 3 x 20 (or enough for your hinges, depending on the design)

Paint
3 - 375ml PU Acrylic Paint, suitable for exterior use (top planks and seat supports)
1 - 750ml PU Acrylic Paint, suitable for exterior use (base)

Weed matting and staple gun

Sand
I calculated I would need 20 x 25kg bags - in the end we needed 11 - don't ask me where we went so wrong!

Cutting list

2 - 200 x 40 x 1500 (long sides of base)
2 - 200 x 40 x 1415 (short sides of base)

12 - 120 x 24 x 1495 (top slats - just under half a plank, to allow for waste)

4 - 80 x 50 x 245 (armrests / seat braces)
4 - 80 x 50 x 495 (back supports of seats)

I gladly paid 5 Euro for the wood to be cut in Hornbach - it should have been more than this, but the guy was generous!

12 hinges (the original design had 8, we went with three per edge to allow for the extra width)

On Sunday we had the idea, on Monday I drew up the plans, on Tuesday I went shopping! Once all our wood was home safely, we sanded it down - most edges weren't badly finished, but there were a few splinters that needed getting rid of!
The next two nights Mr W gallantly set to work with the paint brush. After two nights, the wood all had two good coats of paint and we were ready to start assembling on Friday.
I pre-drilled the base of the bench before the second coat of paint - three holes for each butt joint - with some careful measuring this made screwing the base together really easy!
The top planks were also pre drilled, but there unfortunately my tiredness made me make mistakes, and some had to be re-drilled! Spacing the planks out took a lot of time, but I am glad I made the effort. I used cereal box, and experimented with different numbers of layers - I knew I wanted a theoretical 5.4mm gap, but it took some time to get the right number of layers of carefully creased and concertinaed card!

Having got our spacing wedge sorted, we screwed the blue planks in place at either end of the base. We then assembled the green seat section, and the blue/yellow back rest. Following a tip from the comments section, we added the hinge to the seat/back combo first, as this ends up being on the underside. Once those two hinged sections were made, they were then laid in place on the base (card wedge spacers in place) and then the final hinges added. The final assembly took about 5 hours - but this was partly because we started outside, then had to move everything inside when a huge thunderstorm rolled in!

The next morning we got busy with the staple gun and tacked weed matting over the base, then it was hauled in to position and filled up! For us getting this done and dusted was important, otherwise it could have dragged on a lot, but we are terribly proud that it was done in less than a week from being fist conceived!
I hope the metric/enlarged plans are of use to someone else too. One other idea we had, which we didn't get round to building in, was a support bar to be fitted when you close the pit, so the kids can play on top as a stage when it is not being used for a sandpit!

I built this desk so my son would have a place for his old school tv and to do his homework! It was super easy and I love how the finish came out! His room is a huge work in progress but this is the first step:)

We love this fence refresh from the previous owner's solution to enclosing the pool equipment and a/c unit! It was the first time we fastened something to our house - drilling through stucco in the process. That was a big deal for us diy-ers! We made the frame out of 4x4's (which ended up being the most challenging part to the whole thing), applied the horizontal fencing boards and then used one of those $15 fence hardware kits - it was a great project that has made a huge difference in our backyard. Yay!

SUCH a great project for my first ever build! The plans were so simple and fun to follow. I altered them slightly to measure 50" long so it would fit perfectly in my entry way. I used the Varathane wood stain in Dark Walnut. Can't wait for my next project! Ana, thank you for giving first time builders the tools and confidence to build beautiful furniture!

This was my first big furniture piece that I've built. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I used 5/4 poplar for the tops instead of the 2x10s for the table and 2x6s for the benches that the plans called for. Finished the tops with Minwax Early American stain then 3 coats of satin oil based polly. Finished the bottoms with water based Minwax tinted River Stone then coated with water based polly. 

We decided to make our bench 5.5 feet long, without a supporting middle piece. Inside the top storage there is a middle piece of wood supporting the top. So far this is holding up really well and seems very sturdy so I am not worried about the length. The plans were relatively easy to follow, and having the wood cut at the store helped although it was not 100% accurate. For us, the wood alone cost around $100. I also chose to paint the top rather than staying the entire thing, which ended up adding to the cost. I would guess that this entire bench cost around $150 to make, including supplies and paint, and multiple weekends work since I was working only during our twins nap time. But totally worth it! We are getting so much use out of this, and it gets complimented every time people see it.

This is the nightly sleeper for our 6yo (queen) and 4yo (twin) boys, but we have in-laws who visit from out of town frequently and we also wanted a place to allow them to be comfortable as couples.

To accomodate adult headroom on the queen, I raised the entire loft 7" (72" high) and to fit the queen beneath, I had to lengthen the loft rails by 9" (84" long). To fill the resulting gap, I just used some 39" scraps of 2x4 and 2x6 overlapped to create a 4x10 landing which actually ended up a cool addition since it gives the kids a spot lower than the mattress to make the transition from the ladder to the mattress. It also has given us adults a spot to sit off the mattress while comforting them to sleep when needed, so we don't end up waking them when we leave.

I based the height of the queen legs (made four of them) off the size of a standard storage tote, which was ~13". We can fit 12-16 totes of clothes or other random storage under the bed as a result. The queen frame was just a simple 64"x84" rectangle out of 2x6s with 7 2x4s used as crossbeams to hold the mattress.

Note on the mattresses - these 8" memory foam mattresses are just as comfortable as our expensive name brand king mattress, but MUCH cheaper!

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-8-inch-Memory-Foam-Mattress-Multiple-Sizes/47826185

Despite raising the loft, I kept the height of the stair platform the same, but just added a second 'ladder' rung to get up to the loft (refer back to the 4x10 landing spot on the loft). To keep with the using available storage space theme, instead of attaching the stairs permanently, I used 1"x4" hinges to that we could swing the stairs up and put 4 more storage totes under there. (However, we quickly found that the kids liked that area as a 'fort', so we've left it open for their use.)

In the picture, you'll note there are four treads/steps on the stairs because I thought to myself "little feet, little steps" would be better. I soon learned that the littles are more than capable of using adult sized steps while adults nearly killed themselves coming down the little feet, little steps. As such, I ended up removing one of the middle steps and moving the new singular middle to a spot between the other two. Much better, stay with 3 steps.

While the queen can stand alone, I still attached it to the 'legs' of the loft so that our rambunctious boys didn't 'sweep the leg' and bring the whole thing down on themselves while under it.

It took a while to come together and made several modifications but it is a great coop and was a major selling point of the house when we were relocated.  I had added a main tray under the roosts and a door to srape the poop out.  This made keeping the coop clean very easy.  

 The project was used using the same plans but I extended the floor to be 6 feet wide vice 4 feet the additional 2 feet provided the perfect amount space I wanted. I also added an extra windows  to get cross ventilation.    I also insulated the coop and put paneling on the walls and lenolium on the floors.  I dropped the back wall sheeting 1.5 inches for additional airflow since the shed doesn't have a ridge vent.   The plans are easy to follow and easily adaptable.