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Official Pit Home Improvement/DIY thread

ImTheCaptain said:
Built some new shelves for our basement this weekend. Ain't pretty but functional, plus my wife and i managed to complete the project together without strangling each other.
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Shelves look great, and congratulations on a successful joint venture.

Any reason why you didn't make them the full width of the space they are sitting in? Full wall to wall would limit the options for stuff falling into the small spaces between the shelves and the wall.
 
The biggest reason is that we don't have a saw (yet), so we had to rely on rough measurements and letting Home Depot cut the boards for us. To be honest, it was our practice run for a larger shelf set in the other half of our unfinished basement. This one is free standing but next time we might try building the next set into the basement wall.
 
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KitchinDeac said:
Planning to build a new shed/playhouse combo in my backyard this spring. Anyone been down this road, have suggestions, plans, tips, etc.? Wife has requested that it appear "quaint."
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That is a tough combo. One thing to be careful about is to make sure the shed/tool storage part is completely separate from the playhouse part, by something (walls, locked doors etc.) that the kids in the playhouse will not be able to overcome. Typically an outdoor shed has sharp tools that children should not be playing with.

You and the wife are on your own for properly defining quaint for you. Big box stores sell pre-made sheds, either put together or as kits. [Edited to add:] I'm not much of a fan of the metal ones. They are steel, and tend to rust at the bottom in any wet (non - desert) climate. Also, the steel is pretty thin and will dent easily.

Check local building codes (if any) in your area regarding such outbuildings. You will probably want it on something to keep the wood parts from touching the ground. Something like concrete blocks if it is a "temporary" structure or a poured slab or at least concrete footers if "permanent."

Where my father lives, a temporary structure didn't need any building permits, so he has had a "temporary" shed that is the size of a garage for 20+ years. (it's gonna need a new roof soon!)

Think about whether or not you want electricity in the shed before you build. The "how you get it there" may influence your choice of location. These days though, the battery operated LED lights are a viable option for enough light to see what you are doing at night.
 
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ImTheCaptain said:
The biggest reason is that we don't have a saw (yet), so we had to rely on rough measurements and letting Home Depot cut the boards for us. To be honest, it was our practice run for a larger shelf set in the other half of our unfinished basement. This one is free standing but next time we might try building the next set into the basement wall.
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Yeah, that makes sense. If you do go the build to the wall next time, check the floor to make sure you don't have unevenness near the wall. Some basement floors get poured with a slight rise or drop at the junction with the walls. Also, concrete block corners are notorious for not being the same as you go up. If you are building wall to wall, 1/8 or 1/4 inch difference is highly annoying, so measure a lot. The old carpenters adage "measure twice, cut once" definitely applies.
 
KitchinDeac said:
Planning to build a new shed/playhouse combo in my backyard this spring. Anyone been down this road, have suggestions, plans, tips, etc.? Wife has requested that it appear "quaint."
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Does your HOA have an architectural review process?
 
My next 2 projects, which will likely be done simultaneously:

A console table as a birthday present for my sister in law (scoring major points with the wife for this one). She wants one just like the picture below, and fortunately I've found some plans online to do it. I'm making it out of red oak.

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And then a hall tree for our home. Our kids love to scatter their backpacks and coats all over the house, and we want something to help organize that mess.

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Do you need a biscuiter (sp?) for the first one? Trying to figure out from the picture how those trim pieces above the drawer are connected. Unless it is one piece with the leg running over the top of it.
 
2&2 Slider To Leyritz said:
Do you need a biscuiter (sp?) for the first one? Trying to figure out from the picture how those trim pieces above the drawer are connected. Unless it is one piece with the leg running over the top of it.
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The proper nomenclature is "plate joiner." ;)

I tend to use dowel joinery over biscuits, mainly because I have a killer doweling jig.

The trim piece above is affixed using pocket hole screws in the plans I found. I actually plan to rout the back of the leg and use one solid piece across the entire width of the table. Much cleaner and very structurally sound.
 
LK, both of those pieces are awesome.
I can't wait to have a house/garage/etc so I can start building some things. I fully intend to make a 'hall tree' for our first place. As much as i'd like to do it with a nice-grained wood, it'll probably have to be something paintable (ie: cheaper).

Makes me wish I was back in NC just a little bit; my dad has all of the tools to do things right.
 
Going to attempt to make 2 side tables over the next few months; should be interesting.
 
lbE08 said:
I fully intend to make a 'hall tree' for our first place. As much as i'd like to do it with a nice-grained wood, it'll probably have to be something paintable (ie: cheaper).
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Hardwood veneer plywood is reasonably cheap and fine for staining. Lowe's and Home Depot both carry Birch, Oak and Maple veneer plywood. I suggest using 3/4" thick, cabinet grade sheets. It should run anywhere from $50-75/sheet. You can trim the edges out using iron-on edge banding and it will look like a high priced, finished product.

All kitchen cabinets are made from veneered plywood or veneered mdf.
 
Liquid Karma said:
I didn't build those yet...I will be extremely pleased if mine come out looking that well.
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right, I knew those aren't yours; more commenting on liking the style of them.

I know I can do veneered stuff, and eventually I'll probably get there. At least for the first few items though, I'll probably do painted pieces since they offer more forgiveness.
 
lbE08 said:
I know I can do veneered stuff, and eventually I'll probably get there. At least for the first few items though, I'll probably do painted pieces since they offer more forgiveness.
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If you watch for sales, good quality hardwood plywood isn't that much more expensive than fir plywood. I would hesitate to use Oriented Strand Board (OSB) or Fiber board even if you want to paint it. The surface imperfections will never allow the piece to look good, no matter how much work you put into finish/paint.

Make friends with/find a good cutter at your local lumber store. Those plywood cutting panel saws can be amazingly accurate if you do your homework on needed dimensions.
 
Deaconblue said:
If you watch for sales, good quality hardwood plywood isn't that much more expensive than fir plywood. I would hesitate to use Oriented Strand Board (OSB) or Fiber board even if you want to paint it. The surface imperfections will never allow the piece to look good, no matter how much work you put into finish/paint.

Make friends with/find a good cutter at your local lumber store. Those plywood cutting panel saws can be amazingly accurate if you do your homework on needed dimensions.
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Yeah, and that's where the lack of storage space comes into play right now (aside from the fact we live in an apartment).
I definitely wouldn't use OSB, unless that was the specific look I was going for (I've seen some cool effects done with it), and if I went with MDF it would be in conjunction with other actual wood.
Again, talking years down the road here.
 
Some pics of the 8 foot wide entertainment console I built for the kids' play room. Sorry for the low image quality.

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And the latest....I wrapped up the hallway console table for my sister in law. Here are some pics (more to come later).

The legs are poplar and the rest of the wood is douglas fir. I worked really hard on my joinery skills on this one and put the router to work. My goal was to avoid using any screws except for the hardware. The entire thing is held together with really precise joined cuts, wood glue, and finish nails.

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With the drawers installed. I later added faces to the drawers that are flush with the face of the box.

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The finished table loaded into my wife's SUV for the drive down to Atlanta to deliver it to her sister as a birthday gift.

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