Community Brag Posts

This was my first project without a set of plans, and all I had was a pitiful hand-drawn diagram and a lot of good ideas from prior Ana-White projects/plans (Google sketchup seems beyond my intellectual capacity!). I started with a spare piece of cherry that I wanted to use somewhere, so it became the basis for the top of this office shelf unit. I had to go with the dimensions of the cherry, so everything was built around that.

I used maple plywood for the base and sides of the cabinet, and pine furring strips for the frame/edging. Then, once I had the entire unit put together, I decided that I would like to stain just the frame. I had to take the whole project apart (all 51 pieces), stain the frame/edges, varnish the interior portions of the maple, and re-assemble without ruining the finish.

I try to never use glue because it's the one action that can't be reversed. I made a critical error on this (in a rush) when I installed the lower shelf in the wrong place and glued in a panel that hid all the screws. I thought the thing was totally ruined. My husband suggested adding a 2nd divider and calling it a "design feature". It saved the whole project.

Once re-assembled, I didn't want my Kreg holes to show, and I haven't had much luck with the Kreg plugs. So, I added a mitered frame around the insides and stained it cherry to match the edges.

Minwax didn't have a water-based cherry that I liked, so I mixed my own out of various water-based stains. That process took over a week to get just the right tone. This was the first time I've used Minwax Polycrylic, and I will be using this product forever...it is fantastic.

I used Anna's design to create an 8' tall cabinet with a weathered finish. The inspiration was a reclaimed window frame.

We have been stalking ana-white.com for awhile and making a few projects here and there. we made the $10 ledges to fit over our entertainment center. When we found the plan for the cedar planters we thought they would be a great little storage area for all of the little junk around the house. We made 6 of these planters out of 3 cedar planks and modified them to fit on the $10 ledges (which are actually made with a 1x6 to allow for more things to be able to fit) so they wound up more rectangular than square.

Sorry for the crappy I-phone pics!

Instead of building a free-standing, 4-poster Pergola, I attached one side directly to the house. There are various Pergola design types and shapes. Simply Google for "pergola" images and decide which design you like best, or combine design ideas together (as I did).

Couple things to consider:
A: Is your Pergola more for decorative purposes or actual shade?
My design was more for actual shade (but with a decorative design), which is why I added the 1in x 12in x 12ft Pine boards between the cross beams at the very end (last picture). If your design is more for decorative purposes, you can space out your support beams and cross beams wider (using less wood and money).

You can also choose to use 2x4s as your support beams with 2x2 cross beams on top (essentially furring strips) either close together or spaced farther apart. This would also reduce the overall cost of your Pergola and make it much lighter as well. I chose to use all 2x6s for both support beams and cross beams.

B: What path does the sun follow across the sky over your Pergola?
If the sun passes directly over your Pergola and you want a lot of shade, you'll obviously need to consider this in your design (i.e., more cross beams that are close together).

C: Do you want your support beams and cross beams to inter-lock (by cutting square notches and assembling them like linking logs), or simply stacked on top of each other? (Again, Googling for Pergola images will help you see the differences in designs.)

I chose to interlock all of my beams by cutting notches and fitting them together. Obviously more time consuming to measure each notch, cut, and chisel them but the stability of inter-locking beams should hold up a little better in the strong winds of Las Vegas.

HOW TO (abbreviated)

Overall Pergola Dimensions: 10ft Height, 12x12ft

Tip: Paint or stain all your wood prior to assembly. Much easier. You can always touch-up scuffs and scrapes after it's built.

1. 2x6x12 installed directly onto the house (thru the stucco into the studs) using 3/8in. x 5in. lag screws. (Tip: Seal the top edge of the 2x6x12 that's against the stucco so water doesn't run behind it and down into the lag screw holes.)
2. Install the 2x6 Double Shear Hangers (as many as you need for your design)
3. 4x4 post anchors secured directly into the cement patio using Tapcon 3/16 in. x 2-3/4 in.cement anchor screws.
4. 4x4x10ft posts screwed on top of the anchors. Ensure level on all sides (use a partner to help hold the posts).
5. Attach the front and side 2x6 beams to the 2 posts (again, use a partner to help hold posts while you're up on the ladder screwing your beams to the posts)
6. Attach the remaining 2x6 support beams.
7. Attach the 2x6 cross beams on top (whether you inter-lock them by cutting notches or simply resting them on top, be sure to toe-nail screw them in with 2in exterior screws).
8. Lay 1x12x12ft pine boards on top in between the cross beams and secure with 2in exterior wood screws.
9. Construct the post bases ("sleeves" or "leggings") which greatly adds to the look, as outlined in the "Weatherly Pergola" plans.
10. Touch-up paint / stain any areas you need.

I designed this desk from another desk I built. With this one, I wanted the overall foot-print smaller but still something that was able to organize all our office stuff and be able to close everything to keep it clutter-free. We have a small apartment, and although this desk is about the size of an up-right piano, it works perfectly into our living space!

I made it out of raw hardwood (Ash) and because I knew just the wood alone would make this desk heavy/bulky to move I made the top hutch removable. It's held in place by wood pegs (dominos). All the shelves are adjustable and the drawers are full-extension (something I've never had - wahoo)! The drop-down door is help up by 2 pull-out boards on each side (my first desk had chains). I spend a lot of money on this desk because I knew it was a chance in a lifetime to make and wanted it to be perfect and something that would last generations.

I built the main carcass off of plans/measurements I designed, but then all the insides, drawers, shelves, doors, etc where made as I built (because just a millimeter difference in building changes everything)!

If you want more pictures/descriptions of the building process I wrote about it in a 4-part series on my blog.

We added some height and width and a fifth shelf. So pleased with the outcome!

I couldn't find any plans on here for a simple outside trash bin so I drew these up and it turned out great
I used 12 1x6x6 fence pickets like you use for privacy fences they were 1.75 each and one 16 foot 2x4 and 1 10 foot 2x4 the trash bin is 3 foot tall and a 3 foot square

Made the kennel following the Large Wood Pet Kennel End Table plans as a gift for my mother in law, put a 1x2 rim at bottom cut to 1 1/4" to allow for a pan/liner to be slid in and out as needed. Mother in law was surprized and Extremely pleased.