Apartment Dwellers

Submitted by traceynp on Mon, 11/28/2011 - 16:55

I live in an apartment but really want to build the corner bed and hutch set for my son. I would be a newbie DIY-er and do not know if I am being unrealistic to attempt this in an apartment. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions for those of us who live in apartments but still want to build (no, I can not use a friend's garage)????

chunga

Wed, 12/21/2011 - 17:51

I am an apartment dweller, I set up shop in my dining area/kitchen. It's a little inconvenient, but I make it work. I literally have to set up my entire shop and take it down every single day, time consuming, but worth it. No table saw for me :(

claydowling

Mon, 12/26/2011 - 16:08

I've seen a lot of posts on other sites from apartment dwellers who use mostly hand tools. There are a few reasons cited:

1) Less noise to bother neighbors

2) Less space required

3) Faster setup and teardown

starfairy1980

Sun, 10/07/2012 - 13:48

Hi,
I'm also in this same situation. My son and I live in a town home. We have a small yard, but no where I can or would want to store tools.

I'm going to get most of my boards cut at home depot, and I guess I'll get a handsaw for the boards I can't have them cut.

I've never built anything, so I hope I'm not in over my head.

claydowling

Sun, 10/07/2012 - 19:03

Avoid getting wood cut at a home improvement store. Employees of those stores have posted here before about some of the challenges you face. First the saws are horribly abused and probably out of square. Second, the staff cutting it may or may not be qualified to make the cuts.

The only cuts you can't make with a hand saw are for breaking down sheet goods. You can buy an inexpensive circular saw and follow the awesome instructions from Kristen at http://pinktoesandpowertools.com/2012/01/07/how-to-cut-plywood-with-a-c… to make the cuts yourself. Trust me that it's completely worth your time. Also, spend the money for a good blade for the circular saw. Good saw blades cost, but good saw blades are totally worth the money.

Danielle. (not verified)

Fri, 12/28/2012 - 11:50

I have a big dining room, although it is now occupied by the huge table we built. For that project, we had the boards cut at the lumber yard, but now that I have a saw in the mail I plan to use daytime hours when my neighbors are at work. I have finished my projects outside in the summer, but in the rain (and now snow) I will probably open all the windows and take a walk or put a coat on in the house to avoid fumes while pregnant. My next problem is that we glued and screwed our table- the table is way larger than the doorways so we will have to chop off the legs when we move.