Tag Archives: home furniture

Billiam’s List: Patio Dining Table

16 Saturday Aug 2014

Posted by in Home and other Repairs, Rural life, Uncategorized, Wood Crafts

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Turning back to wood after the tie-dye fiasco we had much better success. My niece will be in town Labor Day weekend and for that special event I decided to unveil the new backyard to the entire family. The only small problem with this is that the patio isn’t finished. I still needed a table and more chairs. This is a bbq event and it’d be nice for the family not to have to sit in the hot gravel. I also had wanted to build a cabinet around an existing old table, and a counter top for meal prep by the grill. If all John and I had to do every day was dink with the patio all these things might get done in spite of the Arizona desert summer. Unfortunately, John doesn’t get enough time off, and it’s way too much for one old woman in this heat. Best we’re going to do is the table and more chairs. The rest will have to wait until the temps dip back down into the low 90s and preferably the 70s.

We decided to tackle the table first. I’ve gotten so good with the chairs that I can whip out two a day by myself, even with frequent breaks to rest my back and hips. The table is too big a project for two hands and we wanted to succeed at something new to get that curtain out of our systems.

2x4s make GREAT, heavy duty, stand up to the test of time, furniture and they’re the cheapest wood buy out there. However, here are a couple of things we’ve learned about them: 1. They’re cheap because they are generally used where no one can see them and it doesn’t matter if they’re warped, twisted or bowed. You have to lay them down flat and be sure they stay flat on on four sides.  You can actually go through a whole stack of 2x4s at Home Depot in order to find twelve straight boards. 2. Once you’ve checked them thoroughly for chewed up spots, warps, twists and bows, you need to use them within a very few days or they will get warped, twisted or bowed even in the dry desert.

The plan for this table is fairly true except that we found the overhang to be less than 2 inches on all sides of the table top. You can find the shopping list, cut list and instructions here: http://www.morelikehome.net/2012/10/day-18-build-homestead-dining-table.html

diningtablecuts

The table looked like a large, fairly complex project, until we saw the cuts laid out on the ground like this. These are the boards, cut and ready for an 8 foot table. Seriously. That’s it. There are ten 8′ boards still in the garage, but if you get 8′ 2x4s you don’t need to cut them.

Because this table will be painted (I’m almost as sick of stain and urethane as I am of dye.), I was not going to waste time with a ton of pocket holes. However, if you prefer staining pocket holes are your best bet so you don’t have to worry about screw heads showing everywhere.

We began with a basic frame to hold the table top. Just a big rectangle with the side boards attached to the ends of the front and back boards.

diningtableouterframe

Into this outer frame, we added 4 support boards.

diningtableframefinishedThe plan for this table calls for two legs at each corner. This adds to the stability when you find a team of percherons to drag this massive table from one place on the patio to another because it’s not about lifting it, and it also adds a bit of architectural interest to a simple design. Because the extra set of legs attach to the table top (this time we did use pocket holes) and to the leg support board, we added them to the frame last.

diningtablelegsOnce we attached the leg support board and the stretcher, we could attach the second set of legs, and all but the table top was done.

diningtablelegsstretcherThis shot of the table top part of the build is interesting in a couple of ways. 1. Like duct tape, baling twine has a billion uses around here. In this instance, it is being used as a simple twist style clamp to hold the boards together at each end so they could easily be screwed into the frame, and also because we waited too long to use these boards and a couple of them became slightly bowed to the side. This straightened them right up and kept them from moving while the boards were attached. 2. That legitimate store bought clamp you see on the left was used to tame the boards that were twisted and warped when we left them in the garage for a couple of weeks after purchase. Because there was little room for the boards to attach at the outer edge of the table top, we did drill pocket holes about every 15 inches so that the boards could be attached not just to the frame, but to the adjacent boards as well.

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Several views of the finished table. Once the chairs are completed all the wood furniture will be sent to the barn where we will learn how to use the paint sprayer.

patiodiningtablefinishedpatiodiningtablefinished3patiodiningtablefinished4We got a late start on this table which added to the heat exhaustion problems. Because apparently aliens have developed an insatiable taste for 2 1/2″ screws, John had to run to town for a bucket load and we didn’t start cutting until a little past noon. The patio temperature had us both running and dunking in the pool every time our clothes dried out which was about every 20-30 minutes. I personally guzzled 3 liters of water and a gigantic fountain diet coke in 4 hours and still got a heat headache. In spite of plastering spf 80 sunscreen on my skin, I still managed to burn red, or I guess it could have been bake red. But, in spite of the heat we managed to get this table done from cutting to ready to paint in a little less than 5 hours. That’s how simple it was.

DIY Sofa/Daybed

14 Saturday Jun 2014

Posted by in General Farm Stuff, Home and other Repairs, Wood Crafts

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Needing a sofa for the den, I’d been looking around for inexpensive ways to build one that would be nice looking, yet be nearly indestructible. You see, again, we’re real people and this house is lived in pretty hard. We also have indoor pets who, despite their small size, can find ways to destroy just about anything. Thankfully, we’ve always had a sense of humor about the chaos, sort of. William used to laugh a lot more than I did when viewing a little dog sitting amidst a pile of chair stuffing, “We can’t have nice things” he’d giggle, while I’d be envisioning doggie handcuffs and mugshots. Bless him, he always was the “better half” of this relationship.

I’d already begun building a patio sectional from plans here: http://www.morelikehome.net/2011/06/our-new-outdoor-sectional.html and had built a very nice patio work table with plans on that same site. Loving the work with inexpensive 2x4s I went back to that site and found plans for a “Simple Modern Sofa” http://www.morelikehome.net/2012/10/day-31-build-simple-modern-sofa-with.html

So, we went to work. First, John started cutting the 2x4s according to the cut list on the plans, and while he was cutting, I drilled the appropriate pocket holes. This way, by the time John was finished cutting the boards, the pocket holes were almost done and within a few minutes we were ready to start putting the frame together. We didn’t speak aloud the niggling feeling that “Wow, this is pretty big”, and trusted the plan, which clearly said “Simple Modern Sofa”.

sofaback2Here you can see John assembling the back of the sofa, drilling into the pocket holes. That blue handled clamp you see is a truly nifty device from Kreg called a right angle clamp. It is built so that one jaw of the clamp is pointed so that it fits down into a pocket hole and holds both boards firmly to prevent movement.

I recently heard that the average height of humans these days is around 5’3″. This would explain not only why I have trouble finding size 12 jeans that don’t hit above my ankle, but also why so many furniture plans seem more suitable to children than to my 5’7″, mostly leg, frame. Having been unhappy at the height of the patio chairs in the sectional plans, we added a few inches to the height of the sofa. We should have added fewer inches, because I didn’t take the depth of the cushion into account.

sofaslatsJohn is adding the seat slats for the sofa here. We had finally begun to mention, in passing, “hmm.. this is pretty big”, and at one point I, half jokingly, said “Well, if it’s too big for the living room you could replace the cheap daybed you’re sleeping on with this.” We weren’t deterred. I needed a sofa darnit, and the plan said, this is a sofa.

sofafinishedBecause I am sick to death of staining, waiting, urethaning, waiting, sanding, waiting, urethaning, waiting, etc. We chose a lovely brown paint, Glidden Stewart House Brown, which looks like devils food cake batter in the can, and goes on the color of Hershey’s Syrup chocolate. The chocolate references are important as well as accurate.

The finished “Simple Modern Sofa” looked great on the enormous patio, as you can see in the photo above. We had to open both sides of the patio door in order to schlep it inside where it magically doubled in size. If anyone would like to buy a gorgeous, sturdy daybed with room for a trundle underneath, just let me know, I happen to have one. I’d be willing to trade this great twin sized bed for a dachshund proof sofa.

In the meantime, I’m going to need a great deal of chocolate in order to live with a bed in my den.

 

DIY Billiam’s List Patio Chair

25 Sunday May 2014

Posted by in General Farm Stuff, Home and other Repairs, Wood Crafts

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Working strictly with the 2x4s that were included in the Craig’s List haul several months ago, I built a patio chair this weekend. You folks could do this in just a few hours, but I have to take frequent and extended breaks. Even with breaks, I’m a hurting unit right now and will need to take a couple of days off. However, as I recline with my bottle of Tylenol, binge watching Netflix, while my back and hip realign themselves, I will be smiling with pride, because this is the first of our many projects that I built entirely without help.

The original project plans, not using 2x4s, by Ana White, can be found here: http://ana-white.com/2010/05/plans/simple-modern-outdoor-sectional-armless-section

The above plans were modified for using 2x4s which changes the “cut list”. If you plan to make yours out of 2x4s, which to me are sturdier as well as less expensive, use the cut list on this page: http://www.morelikehome.net/2011/06/our-new-outdoor-sectional.html

To the above cut list, you should add another 2×4 cut to 21″. As you will see in my photos, the chair really needs another back board midway between the top of the back and the back of the seat. This board is not added to the 2×4 cut list, yet it is shown in her photos of the finished sectional.  Ana White’s page doesn’t show this board at all in her diagrams and only shows cushions resting against the back, which doesn’t look comfy.

patiochairsectionseatbottomFirst I put together the seat using the Kreg Pocket hole system. This photo shows the pocket holes at each end of the seat boards. This is the bottom of the chair seat which will be unseen unless someone turns the chair over to check my handiwork and that someone will likely not be invited back anytime soon. Using the pocket holes on the bottom saves you from screwing in from the top to attach everything, leaving visible screws if you care about things like that.

patiochairsectionalseatThis is the top side of the chair seat. See? No screws. It’s magic! This technique also seemed to make the seat very easy to attach to the support frame.

patiochairsectionalsupportAlthough neither of the above sites mentioned it, I used pocket holes in the support frame, not only to attach the frame to the front and back of the chair, but also to the seat boards. I placed three pocket holes along the top edge of each support board as well as the side and front aprons. I laid each piece out on the chair seat and marked where the pocket screws would connect to the seat and then drilled the holes. This took all guess work out of attaching the seat and, again, left no visible screws in the top of the seat.

Ana White’s measurements for the distance between the side apron and the seat support boards is only 3 inches. This is fine until you have to attach those support boards to the back apron. By then, you have all your side aprons and seat support boards firmly attached to the front apron, the seat, and the front legs. I saw this problem coming, so I added another inch and a half between the sides and the supports to allow for the drill. That still was not enough room for my small hands and my Ryobi drill to get between the boards and attach them to the back apron. I would suggest you leave at least 5″ inches of space between these boards.

patiochairsectionalbackIf you are making this chair from the 2x4s, remember that many of the measurements change. Be sure to check the site for the 2×4 built sectional for these changes. For instance, the back seat board for the 2×4 plan needs to be 13 and 1/2 inches from the ground, rather than the 15″ shown on the Ana White plan. One day, I’m going to do the smart thing and print these plans out so that I don’t have to burn wheelchair batteries running back and forth to my computer to double check! I did double check the measurements and instructions each step of the way, and wrote myself about a dozen sticky notes, so I didn’t have any major oopses. Also, you can really see in this picture that another board across the back is needed.

patiochairsectionalfrontHere is the finished patio chair. The plan is for a sectional which I hope to build. Ana White’s page shows how to attach the pieces to each other. To me, that defeats the purpose of having a sectional, so I’m not going to attach each piece. This way, if I need extra chairs by the pool or by the fire pit, I can just swipe a couple from the sectional.

Remember, this is reclaimed wood from Craig’s List. The boards are not perfect and, therefore, neither is the chair they’ve been used to build. If you’re using reclaimed wood, prepare for a few surprises. The board you cut so precisely to fit, may have just enough of a mild twist or bow that it doesn’t fit the way you expected. This is what they make wood clamps, power sanders and cuss words for.

 

 

Wood Patio Table/Work Table DIY

20 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by in Home and other Repairs, Uncategorized, Wood Crafts

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Our back patio is approximately 48 feet long by 12 feet wide. One end is open and the other end adjoins a wall. Having such a large patio is great on one hand because of the outdoor space it provides. On the other hand, however, that’s a long space to fill up! Our back door leads down onto the patio at about the halfway point. Being an entry way to the outdoor room the patio will eventually be, the steps will naturally bisect the space into two halves. Rather than trying to tie the entire long patio together like some sort of banquet hall, it seems natural to me to make two areas.

The grilling  and main dining area will be on the north, open ended side. The sitting, socializing, and sipping tea or cocktails side will be the southern end with the wall. I thought this a natural set up because aftah all, that’s what we do in the south, we sip sweet tea or cocktails and socialize. Actually, my real reason is that the grill should, of course, go on the open ended side of the patio so that the smoke can waft out and away from the patio, and go up the street to make my neighbors drool.

pationorthACK! Don’t look at the mess. This is why people never see pictures of the north end of the patio when I’m out there taking pictures of the pretty plants. This is the end with the big grey plastic monstrosity holding the pool tools and toys, the grill, and a table where we pot plants. Consider this the before picture and try to imagine an outdoor kitchen and dining area here instead of the current clutter.

patiosouthThis is the south side of the patio, with all the pretty plants, and Belle the barn dog who is currently being employed to keep the rabbits and squirrels from devouring the pretty plants. She’s a bit of a micro-manager when it comes to supervising the projects though. This area and the garage are being used as work spaces for our projects. This patio is closed due to construction

The southern end of the patio has that big blank beige wall, and a tiny door to the master bedroom in the corner. I have planned to build a seating area with two storage benches and two chairs, but I hadn’t decided what to do with the big blank wall. Briefly, I considered painting a mural. Then I remembered that I would have to live with whatever I painted. That caused a cringe. As I was surfing through decorating and DIY websites, I came across the use of mirrors outdoors.

Several years ago a friend gave me a large framed mirror that she could no longer use. I knew I could use it, I just didn’t know where to hang it so that it would reflect anything in my house that I wanted to see twice every time I came in the room. When I saw the patio mirrors on the internet, I knew just what to do with the big blank wall. I can’t just have a big mirror on the wall, so we’re building a small table that I can use to work on the patio projects. Once the patio projects are finished, I will paint the table and place it under the big mirror, and fill it with plants, candles, and whatever pretty stuff I think might be safe there.

patiotablejoiningWe decided on this simple project not only because it is functional and I needed a table, but also because we wanted to practice our pocket hole joinery technique before moving on to more complicated projects. We first pre-drilled all of the necessary pocket holes for the frame boards. After that, joining the pieces went faster than assembling any furniture I’ve ever bought in a box.

patiotableframeThe completed table frame is also much sturdier with our pocket holes than anything I’ve ever put together out of a box. The screws hold fast without using glue!

patiotableWe were going to use pocket holes to attach the table top and the only thing that stopped us, as usual, was that we didn’t have enough screws. Instead, we drilled in from the top to attach the boards. If this had been a project I planned to stain, I’d have probably waited and bought more screws, but because we’re leaving it unfinished to use as a work table and, in the end, will be painted, I’ll just fill the shallow holes around the screws before I sand and paint.

You can find the plans for this project, along with 30 more things to do with 2x4s here: http://www.morelikehome.net/2012/10/day-30-build-2×4-craft-table.html

 

Billiam’s List Patio Furniture

08 Tuesday Apr 2014

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My husband was a big man. He was 6’4″ tall and weighed 300 lbs.  We wanted nice patio furniture, but couldn’t find a thing that we thought could handle over about 200 lbs. We decided we would have to build our own and that project went on his To-Do list. We had built shelves, we’d stained and installed our own baseboards and we’d built our own storage chest ottoman. We’d built them together, but he was always the brains, strength and know-how behind each project.

I decided to tackle one of the building projects he’d wanted to do and my son, John, and I made another storage chest ottoman, using the old one as our guide, for the den.

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After we got that basic box and lid figured out, we got cocky and started making plans for all the great furniture we’re going to build. I also started looking at Craig’s List for less expensive materials because even though building that ottoman was less expensive than buying a good quality one, it was still too expensive for me to continue buying all the materials at Home Depot. I checked Craig’s List twice a day for 3 days before an ad appeared. An elderly man was selling a side yard full of all size lumber for 60.00. Soon I had a side yard full of lumber in my pick up truck and on the way home. While we were making plans for that lumber, another ad appeared on Craig’s list. This time a fellow was selling used cabinet doors 2.00 ea. I took one look and called. Came home with a pickup bed completely jammed full of oak cabinet doors of varying sizes. With some of the smallest doors I made this planter box.

cabinetdoorplanterdoneFirst I sanded the old cabinet finish off, then painted with green house paint on the frame, painted with Behr Apple Butter paint on the insets, then sanded over the whole thing again to expose some wood. Then I went over each door with Min-Wax Espresso stain and let it soak in for about 10 minutes before thoroughly wiping the stain off. After that cured and dried I applied 3 coats of Spar Urethane to hold up in the AriDzona heat and sun. We put casters on the bottom so we can easily roll it out of the way or into a different spot after it’s filled with wet dirt and plants.

Then we got really cocky and decided it was time to try building a storage bench. We used the same paint/stain technique and used larger cabinet doors. This required a little thought because we were trying to build the bench to fit the cabinet doors, so none of the online plans we had found earlier on were useful to us. We plan to build at least one more of these benches. They will have cushioned tops, much like the storage chest ottoman, but the cushion and cover will have to be of weatherproof materials. We believe we have a handle on a brilliant weatherproof cushion cover (brilliant in all ways, including cheap to free), but need to find an inexpensive source of mildew and mold resistant foam. See the post about the Techno-clutter for another great use of the reclaimed cabinet doors and lumber.

storagebenchThe other project we’ve done so far for the patio is a coffee table made of four inexpensive craft store crates and a square of reclaimed plywood. I stained the crates with Mission Oak stain and gave them 2 coats of Spar Urethane.

cratecoffeetablefinishedI still have oodles of wood and cabinet doors left. Plenty for another bench, a picnic table, a surround to hide our messy bbq grill, several more planter boxes, a nice wooden bench with a back, and several other projects that are rumbling around in the back of my mind. All for about 160.00 thanks to Craig’s list, some elbow grease and ingenuity.