Community Brag Posts

This was built mainly as a place to bring our pond plants in for the winter. After looking at various kits we decided this was the best option for us and much cheaper.

The size was increased to 12 X 12 and the walls/ceiling were increased another 15" in height over the original plans. An entryway was added to block the cold wind as our original barnstyle door wasn't tight enough and ended up being too drafty. Also added an RV type autoswitching propane system and blue flame heater for backup. For the winter months we insulated the lower portion of the interior walls with spun fiberglass and 6 mil film stapled over it. 

This is a very utilitarian version that serves our needs well. Great original plans and easy to build.

We have considered buying a cedar-lined chest to store blankets, towels, etc. for many years.  However, we couldn’t find one that came close to matching the Knotty Pine bedroom set that we had in our master suite. 

Hence, our design criteria was quite simple; match the bedroom set and have a chest sturdy enough to support our Beagles as they peer at the squirrels outside the window.

We used plans / ideas from several different chest designs which were readily available on the internet.  Most of those plans were using hard woods such as oak.  Those plans called for a hard wood framing with ¼” oak plywood for the panels.  Since we needed to use Knotty Pine to match the bedroom set, we used 1” Knotty Pine for framing and Knotty Pine ¾ ply w/ Kreg Screws and copious glue to strengthen the construct.  We finished it off with locally available 3/8” cedar T.G. planks.  It is very heavy and very strong!  This project was done entirely w/ Kreg Screws and no router rabbeting for the panels.

We learned the following while doing this project:

·      When using soft woods, always put the power sander on the wood before you start the sander.  Otherwise, you can get scratching / sander burns that don’t present themselves until staining begins.

·      While very strong, ¾” plywood is very heavy!

·      When using plywood, it is recommended that you stain both the visible and non-visible sides of each piece where glue is not to be applied.  Otherwise the chance for delaminating increases dramatically.

60 hours work and $350 to build.   

So a few notes... We added a base of 2x4 pressure treated wood footing around the entirety of the greenhouse which should help keep it from rotting? Blocks are an alternative here. Our lumber store didn't carry the right size of tin sheets so we added a 2x10 at the bottom which seems to work and still look okay. We picked up a 30" metal screen door there which should assist in keeping out the critters and allows us to lock out our small kiddos who might wreck the plants :) This is a great plan!!! Thank you so much! Oh - materials ran about $700 including screen door? We went through about 4 1-pound boxes of sheet metal screws and at least a large box of 3" screws?? and 2 small boxes 1.25"?? If you cut you pieces right you may end up with an extra 8' clear sheet of corrugated plastic? We spent about 20 hours building just the greenhouse but we had hauled a lot of stuff to the site by hand... We are new to carpentry and pulled this off so anyone can do this!! Dremel tool works for cutting plastic, but not as good as the tin!! Good luck and cheers!

Table and bench before we finished it

I wanted to build a structure for the kids to play in and on. I used the playhouse deck design and made it 8 feet by 8 feet. The "roof" is removable to provide shade when it's sunny. It's just 2x2 and a tarp - pretty simple, but it does the job. I used treated posts, dog eared fence boards andlots of screws. I stained and built the walls in my garage before assembling it. Once all of the wood at been stained, it came together pretty quickly with the grandkids help...Lol

This build was our first one. I completed all the cutting and putt together while my better half completed all the staining and weather treating.

I loved the plan of the cooler table, while looking at that one i saw a modified version that was longer and had 4x4 for legs...

i choose that design due to the weight of the table and figured 2x4s just wouldn't be sturdy enough for the extra length my girl friend wanted.

I wanted to use our laundry basket dresser as a collector for dirty laundry in our bathroom, and wanted it to have doors so it would blend in better. I also made the shelf above for our towels. It is painted white with a faux-zinc finish on the top. I made the top slightly larger so it would overhang and added cute little bun feet. My talented friend Carli helped me build the doors (and by helped I mean I handed her things while she impressed me with all her tools and skills!) and frame.

Two tone 3 ft long slat bench

my mailbox was hit by a vehicle so I decided I wanted to do something creative/different but also didn't want to spend much money as it may just get taken out again in the future :)

this is a good project to get kids to help you with

instead of cutting into the concrete easement, I installed 2 post bases & locked them with sleeve anchors.  They're sturdy enough but will give if hit again.  drilling the holes for the sleeve anchors was the hardest part of the project.

I used a left over 4x4x8 for the posts, scrap 1x4s, 1x2s up the sides (1/2" gap between boards), and a 2x4 scrap to attach the mailbox.  I eyeballed the width between posts using the mailbox itself. I left over stain from another project (almost bought a quart of oops paint at HD)

I figure the total cost would have been about $100

It's a super easy project that took about 4hrs. I've already had a couple of neighbors come by to take measurements to try something similar.

FYI: USPS guildlines for installing a curbside mailbox: https://www.usps.com/manage/mailboxes.htm

When I saw Ana's plans I had to make this table for my home. I like the rustic look, and so I distressed the wood using a steel wool and vinegar solution. I modified the top by using four 2x8's and one 2x10. Otherwise everything is the same. It turned out great and everyone who has seen it at my home loves it.

I made the mod bar and made some adjustments for what I needed. DIdn't need alot of wine racks. Getting the drawer on the slides was a real challenge. I added some trim that's hard to see in the pic. I will add another pic when I get it finished and in the house. Just used plywood and pine boards, and stained it with Golden Oak.

My two girls (9 and 12) share a room and their dressers (cheap from Ikea) were not only taking up too much space, but also falling apart!

I used Ana's closet organizer plan as inspiration for this, adding more shelves since they won't have any drawers to use.

All of their clothes fit (though its tight!) and they each have their own space, plus much more space to move in the rest of the room.

I made a google sketchup file to work with, but I'm not sure how to upload it?

Basically, I just bought 7 1x12 boards (6' length).

I used 4 of them as uprights: one on either side wall because I couldn't find any studs!?

Then one more is the top shelf (for storage of things they don't use often)

Then the final three were cut to make the shelves - I had very little waste.

One 6' wood dowel (1.25" diameter) for the closet rods. I screwed them directly into the vertical supports instead of using a bracket.

Additionally, I used a couple small 1x4 scraps to make a toe-kick for the middle bottom shelf and a brace at the top. I was going to use the top brace to attach the whole unit to the back wall, but it ended up being too tight a fit and too heavy to pull out to drill into it :) So I think its stable for now at least!

I chose to leave it unfinished because I was in a hurry and the boards I got (at Lowes) were really clean and smooth to start with. The girls have been using it for a few months so far and I don't see any problems with it (splinters, etc.)

I managed to get a picture while it is tidy (hardly ever) and also a picture of the curtains I made to replace the doors - much easier to see the whole space now, and still close it up when (always!) its not tidy.