Community Brag Posts

I wanted to build an L shaped outdoor bar with a 2 post pergola over the grill.  I couldn't find any plans online that would fit the space I had, so I decided to build it myself with custom dimensions.  The top bar is approx. 7'3" across, and 15" wide, while the distance from the right edge (next to the house) to the end of the bar is approx. 9'1".  

I framed it with PT lumber and the 2 pergola posts are sitting on top of the pavers and supported internally within some of the framing studs.  Since the pavers sit on top of concrete, I didn't feel the need to dig up the existing pavers and achor them in the ground.  

I used hardiboard for the exterior and tiled the lower section of the bar.

For the actual high bar top, I wanted to do something unique, and found a 900 year old scrap slab of Cypress at a local lumber yard.  One side was smooth, but underneath was gouged out from different saw cuts and very uneven.  I screwed a piece of 3/4" PT plywood underneath and trimmed it with 1-1/2" Cypress.  I stained the whole thing with a dark honey colored stain and put a generous amount of poly on it once it was dry.  There are a few cracks and nicks on it, but once it was stained, it looked awesome.  

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Thanks for the plans Ana!

I stuck to the design but changed the dimensions to suit the space and the boxes we intend to store. This made the shelves 7.5 feet high by 8.5 feet wide. The timber was supplied in 17’ lengths so this also meant very little wastage. The frame is composed of 2x4’s, the shelves are 4.5 x 1.5’s  - as I wanted the shelves slightly shallower this meant I could get away with three boards for each shelf instead of 4 as on the plans. 

For the short cross pieces I used woodglue and screws – to attach the long shelf pieces I just used screws. I predrilled holes in the first piece for each of the screws, but I didn’t drill a pilot hole in the next piece, the screws were self-tapping and didn’t need one.

The back wall is concrete block and I screwed each upright to the wall using wall plugs and screws. I’ve 2 young children and as the shelves are quite high I was afraid they might climb on them and tip them over otherwise. The attachment to the wall definitely makes the whole thing feel much sturdier – the structure is completely rigid.

The only real issue I encountered was that some of the boards were slightly twisted or warped – and I had to apply some force to keep everything square when I was gluing up. Overall I’m very happy with the end product, and found it reasonably easy to put together. Now its time to put the shelves to good use and start tidying up the garage!

It seems like organization is always a work in progress especially in my one car garage shop. Honestly it took years to realize what I needed to customize my space in order to organize things. I've built bulky work benches out of 2x4s and plywood. I've rearranged the work space over and over again over the last few years and finally came up with my own system

The miter station is a life saver. I had one of the fancy ones with the foldable wings but didn't like it. The object of it was to be able to fold the wings down for storage but I never did and it caused other space saving problems. Now I can easily store all of my small tools and woodworking knick knacks all in one spot. You can find plans for these if you google miter station, but take my advice and custom make one that fits all of your needs. There's a spot for my vice and speed square too. Things like that make it count.

The router table is probably my favorite tool in the shop. You can do so many things with the router table. I started out with just a top and a base and worked from there. Now everything router is in the cabinet ready to go.

Everything is on wheels. Us military guys and gals have to move around a lot so we have to plan for that. Now everything can just roll up the ramp and in to the truck.

Take some time and think about the efficiency of your shop space. How does everything flow? Or do you even flow at all? I used to woodwork myself in to a bunch of brick walls and now I don't.

Thanks for checking it out
Patrick

We needed a compost bin to replace the pile forming in a corner of the yard. We referred to it as "The Buffet" to reflect how much our new puppy enjoyed digging through the scraps. 

I I substituted cedar fencing to top the bin instead of the plastic sheeting. I just liked the way it looked and it was more cost effective. The most difficult part of the project really is wrangling the chicken wire. It's sharp!

A shape chicken coop built in just two days about 9 hours east to do. But heavy to move but everyone is loving it!!!!

This is our first woodworking project! My husband and I decided to build a bookshelf because my old store bought flimsy bookshelves didn't make it into our new home. They completely fell apart. Needless to say, with 16 boxes of books sitting in our bedroom, we were well motivated to build this bookcase!

After finishing my boys' new John Deere room and tractor bunk bed (also posted), I saw this plan and thought it would be the perfect thing for some extra toy storage.

Yes, I know, barns are supposed to be red. Everything else in the room is John Deere green and I had paint leftover, which is not cheap. So green it is! I used my new paint sprayer for the first time on this project and am thrilled with it. I would recommend it to anyone who dislikes painting as much as I do. I bought the Wagner Flexio 590 which comes with a detail sprayer as well as the full size and I'm very happy with both.

Thanks to Ana for the well laid out, easy to follow plan and also for helping me create a big boy room that my boys love!

When I decided to build a woodshed I was freaked out because I've never done anything even remotely like this.  I struggle with precision and patience, which made this project seem overwhelming as I knew I had to do a lot of prep work to properly level the ground, measure the wood, learn how to operate a saw, calculate angles to cut, etc...  I did a lot of research online and found this simple blueprint a great starting point.   I made some adjustments since i needed a much bigger shed, it's 11.5' x 7' x 7'.  Also, I already had the wood resting on pallets so I just build this shed around the wood with no built in floor.  Overall, I'm thrilled with how it turned out!