Community Brag Posts

I love Ana White's 2x4 sofa project. I chose a couple of upgrades: bought redwood 2x4's and a pocket-hole jig to reduce visibility of screw holes and, of course, installed the additional side and back rails. I finished with Tung oil and then read the directions on the can afterwards: 'This product is intended for interior projects only!' Oh well.

We ordered these cushions: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Arden-Selections-Plush-BlowFill-Sapphire-Blu…
which were rather expensive but I read too many negative reviews from customers who bought and used cheap cushions.

This was the perfect project for a retiree with too much time on his hands and some basic building skills.

Thank you for this!

Michael Smith

I used Ana's planter box plans and I designed and built the bench out of pallet wood, and purchased the power coated trellis's and custom fit then to the planters.

Building this project and sewing the cushions was like a love letter to my family. I made them a year ago while on a high dose of Prednisone for my asthma and chronic pain (so helpful!). I finally felt capable of doing something that would bring our family together outside. A year later it continues to serve us well.

The instructions for the sectional were very well done. Super friendly and made me want to keep going! I used black analin dye to stain the wood. Swoon!

For making the cushions:
- I relied heavily on Sailrite's resourceful web site & tutorials for their thorough and detailed instructions on making cushions, cutting foam and sewing piping.
- Home Depot has the best pricing on foam.
- Used the brand 'Cushion Qwik' Silk Film (Amazon) to wrap the foam so they can withstand PNW rain.

Not quite finished but love the table already. Trying to decide how to stain/paint it. The Kreg jig was a must for this project. It was my first of hopefully many! I used cedar for the 4x4s and 2x6 top pieces. The 2x4s are treated lumber (only because there were no more cedar ones....apparently lumber is getting hard to get lately!!!). Anyway....thanks for the great plans and motivation for this project.

Hi Ana and Family,

I mostly followed your plans for my remote Alaska property outhouse build, with slight modifications. Our property is 7 miles from any road (and 2.5 hr drive from Anchorage) and I typically go there in the winter via snowmobile (December-April). I built this on my back deck in Anchorage and then took it apart and transported it in sections (back wall, 2x sidewalls, floor parts, door, roof parts, seat parts). It took me 5 trips to get it all up to my property from the truck at the trailhead via snowmobile!

The hardest part was digging the hole under 5 ft of snow! I cut several dead spruce trees in the area I planned to situate the outhouse and started a big fire (really big). We kept that going until we had melted out about a 15ft wide area down to bare soil. The next morning, while the ground was still warm from the previous evening's fire, we dug the hole (only about 3.5x3.5ft). Then I cribbed in the hole with old cedar fence slats to help prevent the inevitable ground cave-in that we often see with soil melt and rains in Alaska. Then, I pieced the outhouse together, with the frame sitting on small pavers.

I used a combo of T&G pine and cedar for the walls. I used metal for the roof. As I built this in January and February over several weekends (in Alaska), it was very cold and I would take the pieces inside and paint/stain them. As such, this basically took me all winter from start to finish. It doesn't take that long if you build it on site in warm weather. Once transported to the cabin site, it took parts of 3 weekends to get it in place and useable, including site prep. I've still got a little touch-up work to do (e.g., window for light in winter and bird block to keep the spring and summer nesters out). I put some anti-slip tape on the frame so that I don't slip on the frame base.

There is some waste wood if you follow the plans directly (especially 2x6), but I am using that to build a small firewood cover at home. This was not an inexpensive outhouse even without pandemic prices (I could have chosen a less expensive siding), but I wanted a nice outhouse and I'm very pleased with the outcome, so it was money well spent. Great plans! Thanks.

Altered the Beginner Farm Table plans to use 2x8s for the top and 4x4s for the legs. I used pocket holes for the table. I followed the bench plans almost exactly, adjusting slightly for the 2x8 tops. I am a beginner and I did it myself! The table and bench are beautiful and sturdy! Thanks Ana!

I made these two Ana White outdoor end tables for my patio. Next up will be the matching coffee table

This was the very first project that my husband and I have ever built and it came out exactly as planned. We followed the instructions exactly as written and I’m in love with this table.