Day Five (Sunday)

The plan: Finish the project...
Nope, not quite. We got the tar paper laid out and the shingles on. Finished up a couple touch up spots with the house wrap and installed the door. I also installed 2 vents and a skylight. We are not running power to the shed. I got vetoed on that idea. I am however going to get a couple solar spot lights to add some light to the yard.



At the very least we had to get to this point of the project. We are now expecting cooler weather and rain all week. With the shed wrapped and shingled, it should be fine in the weather.

Side Note: It was windy all week during this project. That didn't help anything.

Day Four (Saturday)

This is the day I had hoped to get the entire project done. It didn't happen. I had some help from a couple neighbors and we got a lot done. We got the roof up, building wrapped and the window cut out and hung. It's definitely taking shape.


You can't see the window but it's there. We didn't cut the wrap yet.

Day Three (Friday)

On this day I got the sheathing up with a little help from my neighbor. That's all I got done visually. I spent more time thinking about the roof. The shed was looking a little taller than I was hoping. I was thinking about changing the roof style to a standard pitched roof. Not my ideal choice but I needed to try to find a way to lower the finished height. To be continued...


You'll notice the "foil" exterior. This is for a couple reasons. It's called a radiant barrier. This is supposed to act like insulation for a fraction of the cost. It also means while I'm in the shed I don't have to wear my foil hat.

Day Two (Thursday)

I started the day cutting all my pieces to get the walls framed out. I also spent some time figuring out how I was going to frame out the roof. Once that was done, I put it all together. In this picture you can see all my framed out walls. You'll also see my sample frame in the background for the roof.

Day One (Tuesday)

Current project- Shed

Day One- Foundation and Floor.
I broke ground on this project at around noon, once the sun had time to warm things up a bit. I think the hardest part of this project was leveling and positioning the foundation blocks. That took most of my time today. Once that was done, I started framing out the floor. It was smooth sailing from there. All in all I worked about 6 hours today. I think the hardest part is behind me now. The next thing that I think my be a challenge is the roof. We will see. I hope to get that started/ done on Saturday. (if I can find some help)

About the shed. The plan is for an 8x12 barn style. The height has yet to be determined. The doors I got are 30"x 80". They are standard entry doors. I need to modify them into french doors. I am also putting in a window and a skylight. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Note: This post will be updated with pictures once I find my card reader.

Entertainment Center

This is a picture of the most recent project I did at work. (aside from the boring everyday cabinets) This entertainment center was quite fun to build. To the right you will see large openings. The bottom will house a pull out drawer kind of thing that holds 4 folding TV tray tables. There will be a door front on it and above that is another door with a couple adjustable shelves. Not sure the size of the TV going in it but its pretty big as you can see from the opening. This is the only picture I have right now. If I can snap another one before it goes out I will. Its stained now and it looks pretty good but you wouldn't find the color in my house. Its looks a bit pink to me. Maybe its part of my color blindness but that's what I see. I'll update if I can get another good picture.

In case anyone is wondering about what kind of wood was used. Its Hickory/ Pecan. Don't know the color on the stain. I'll have to ask my boss. Til next time...

Todays Project

This past week has been a little bit rough. Its really true, you don't realize how much you use something or miss it til its gone. We have been without a microwave for a week. We don't know what happened to our microwave but for some reason it got hot but food didn't cook. So we had a decision to make. Pay the $75 trip charge and hope that it was under warranty or shell out the $200 for a new one. Since the warranty was only going to cover 1 certain part and we would have to take time off work or go another week without it; We opted to just buy a new one. I just got done installing it. I bitched and moaned about it because I have a headache, had one all day, but its up and done. It was actually quite easy to replace. Pretty much just took the old one down and popped the new one in its place. So I honestly didn't have anything to bitch about, just didn't feel like doing it. Anyway, as I said, its done and we can now eat our leftovers. Good thing too because we went out to dinner with some friends and I have some leftover pizza that is really good.

In other news, We just finished fixing Jess' car last weekend. I played mechanic again. Seems to be becoming a habit. Maybe I'm turning into that grease monkey my dad was trying to make me after all. Now, only if I had paid closer attention to everything he tried to teach me. However, I think I've been doing pretty good. I've called him a few times asking questions and advice. Jess also helps by looking things up on the net.

So last weekend I did a transmission service, changed an ignition coil, an o2 sensor and Jess did the spark plugs, pretty much on her own. We also had to change a wheel baring which turned into a little more. With the tire and brakes off we noticed the axle was busted too. Fortunately I work next door to a mechanic shop so we bought the parts and they installed them for us. A wheel baring is not a DIY job. You need certain tools for that job. Once that was done Jess got an alignment done and that was it. Now her car runs better than it has since she bought it. Oh yeah, she got new tires too. Life is good.

98%

Thats what I'm calling it, 98%. Some of you know I've been working on a major home improvement project for the last few weeks. Its now done enough for pictures and moving in. I say its at 98% because I still have to add the crown moulding in both rooms and the light fixture in the office. We also have to do a little touch up painting. Other than that its time to move in and enjoy it. Just a quick recap on what was done: We ripped out the carpet and put down a nice heavy duty vinyl floor. (one that will hold up to the 3 dogs) Its nice, looks like wood. I also converted the Office from just an office to an Office/ Guest bedroom. The guest bedroom you ask? Well that is now our gym. The BowFlex and the treadmill now have a real home. Whoo Hoo!! Still need a few things in there too but that will take a little more time. Nothing major, just a tv and a mirror. Anyway, now off to the pictures. Enjoy!
"Z"

Snow!

Just a quick post to show a picture of the Front yard project covered in snow. This was taken the next day so some of the snow had already melted. Just thought I'd share.

Front Yard Project

I know, its been a while since the post where I said I was going to take and load pictures. Well, I did take the pictures but never got around to posting them here. Well, today is the day! These are the 2 best pictures of the project. If you want to picture the before image... just imagine nothing there but the tree. Thanks again to all who helped with this project.

"Z"

The Bar

Here is my favorite and most important of my past projects. The Bar, simply put. This has been a huge addition to our house. We enjoy having parties and entertaining so this is quite nice to have. This particular picture is from our wedding party. The bar was fully stocked with beer and liquor as well as decorated for the event.

Future plans include a new kitchen to match the bar. I'm going to be adding more cabinets than we have now with granite counter-tops. There will also be an island and much better lighting. The plan for this project is the spring. Hope it all works out.

Adirondack chairs

This is one of my past projects. I made them a couple years ago and the set on the left are now sitting in my front yard. They are not my own design. I followed some plans from one of my woodworking books. I plan to make new ones at some point which would be my own design. Maybe when I design my back yard furniture. Unfortunately the chairs on the right were destroyed by my dogs. They decided to make them chew toys.

Little by little I will start posting past projects. Thanks

Coming Soon!

I've decided to add a new feature to my blog. I'll soon be posting pictures of my recent and past projects. It will take a little time to find them all and get them organized but I'll get them up here for everyone to see. I'm hoping this will also help me take more pictures of the things I do so I can put a portfolio together. They will be found under this label. Til then, Take care!