Community Brag Posts

I really enjoy making this bench. I build them out of cedar and vary from 4’-6’. My customers love them. Simple prep work consisting of planing all boards to same dimensions can save a lot of time in sanding. Building 3 more this week. 

Thanks for the plans, Ana!

Chose the small firewood shed project as a "template" if you will .. built this to house our garbage cans and eventually put a gate on it to "help deter" the Florida black bears (we do multiple things to keep them at bay) but this will also just be a nicer looking way to keep the cans outside.

I modified the floor since the firewood shed had a floor that was suitable for, well, firewood but not so much for rolling garbage cans. Had to leave the one slat off the back for the depth of the can which I didn't completely account for in the beginning. Overall, still need to paint it and water seal it but happy with how it turned out.

Cost: $45
Made this bench smaller than the plan so it measures 48" X 18". Using it in a spare bedroom so it will eventually get stained to match the wood furniture.

Well...this was pretty much all done by me.

I am really not liking how many bad boards there are at the store. It takes forever to find a decent board. I had some of my x12s measuring closer to 11 (yes I know they aren't 12 inches).

The door is a little wonky but if it bothers me too much I will just replace it with a curtain on a tension rod.

I love the yellow and I am very proud of myself :)

I didn't have a Kreg jig (too expensive for us right now) but it would definitely have been helpful...

I modified this plan to use wood that I had and also a piece of kitchen counter top that was left over from my daughters new house.  

I made this a little bit taller and left off the doors since what we really needed was more bookshelf space. I'm very happy with the way it turned out!

We built this table for my brother and new wife's wedding present. We modified it to use as an outdoor dining set. Instead of using the 1x10 for the tabletop we used 2x6's and for the legs we used 4x4's. We attached the top boards with a Camo fastening system we used last year on our deck (works great to conceal the screws). I stained the frame in Behr Cordovan Brown and the top boards in Behr Cedar Naturaltone. It was our first attempt at building a table and I think it turned out great, only problem was giving it away!

So my son needed a bunk bed and we came upon the sweet pea bed. It was too girly for him so we decided to go with a theme that would be timeless, something he wouldn't mind having when he is 18 (or older, he is 10 now). What is better than Mario! (We are a house full of gamers, my 17 year old is super jealous of this bed lol). The build was fairly easy and the plans were straight forward enough, the time consuming part was the painting (without all the painting we could have probably build this in a long weekend). We changed a few things, like not arching the top windows, adding the 4 inch 2x4 squares to the top to give the castle look and stairs are made to look like stairs from the side so we stepped out the banister instead of angling it.

Aiden's Clubhouse.

I can't even believe I was able to build this! Everyone thought I was crazy for undertaking such a huge project. I made it a queen size because my son would always sleep in my bed anyways... so I just gave it to him. The bed took 4 weeks because I could only work on it on Saturday afternoons. The first week, I made a frame with cleats on the wall. The second week I built the house and stairs. The third week I built the slide and did some of the painting. Today, I finished painting and trim.

I did modify the plans and merged the plan for the slide into my plan, which was a last minute addition. As such, I had to "measure-and-cut-as-you-go" build this bed. I would highly recommend to anyone considering such a task, don't do that. Make a plan, cut all your wood, paint before assembly, and stick to the plan. My stairs all lift up, and under the top landing there is also a cut out inside Aiden's clubhouse-you can see it behind him in the picture below. Also under the slide is a cut out for storage. I have not done anything with the inside of the clubhouse yet. Someday...

I designed the bed specifically so that I could take it apart if we ever move... we live in an apartment. The stairs/stairwell are only connected to the rest of the bed with a single screw. The other wall is a bit more difficult to remove, but not impossible.

I learned a few things doing this, that I want to share with you all..
1. The Kreg-Jig is the best thing ever.
2. I LOVE LOVE LOVE power tools.
3. 4x4 sheets of MDF are difficult to carry upstairs by myself.
4. I can do anything.

I hope you all like it. This was my son's 4th birthday present and he really loves it.

It isn't finished yet though. The far wall in the room is about 2 ft away from the bed, and I haven't decided what to do with that side of the bed, so it's still plain. I would love some ideas! What do you think?

My mom was looking for a new outdoor table, and asked me to come up with something. I found the link for these plans (http://www.thedesignconfidential.com/2011/04/free-diy-furniture-plans-t…) to knock off Restoration Hardware's $4000 Provence Beam outdoor table. Overall I liked the plan, with the chunkier look of the 4x4's. But there were a lot of errors in the diagrams, and the finished height is 34" which is ridiculously tall for a table. So we took it apart and cut the legs back down to change the finished height to 30". We chose rough-cut cedar for it's look and outdoor properties, not wanting to use treated lumber for a dining table. We couldn't find 2x10's like the plan, so we substituted seven 2x6's just like Ana's plan, but left a 1/2" gap in between so water can drain and not pool on top and rot the wood. Also, since we were working with 4x4's for the legs, we chose heavy duty lag bolts instead of screws to join them together. I love the finished look they give. Overall it's a sturdy, yet lightweight table that my mom loves and has already used for entertaining!