Community Brag Posts

We needed a compost bin to replace the pile forming in a corner of the yard. We referred to it as "The Buffet" to reflect how much our new puppy enjoyed digging through the scraps. 

I I substituted cedar fencing to top the bin instead of the plastic sheeting. I just liked the way it looked and it was more cost effective. The most difficult part of the project really is wrangling the chicken wire. It's sharp!

 The project was used using the same plans but I extended the floor to be 6 feet wide vice 4 feet the additional 2 feet provided the perfect amount space I wanted. I also added an extra windows  to get cross ventilation.    I also insulated the coop and put paneling on the walls and lenolium on the floors.  I dropped the back wall sheeting 1.5 inches for additional airflow since the shed doesn't have a ridge vent.   The plans are easy to follow and easily adaptable.   

A 30" tall bar stools inspired by the plan simplest stool.

We followed the plans for the A-frame chicken coop very closely, and then modified it a bit at the end.

1. Trim was added to two doors on each side, as suggested. They are secured with latches at the top, more to keep them from falling open than to keep critters from getting in. We used 2x4x10's instead of 2x4x8's on the middle horizontal rail, giving us foot-long handles on each side. My husband and I are able to move the coop about 15 feet at a time, which is pretty good considering it is STURDY!

2. We used 1/2" galvanized hardware cloth instead of chicken wire, as suggested by one commenter (and lots of others in blogland).

3. I cut 1/4" plywood to fit the loft space and coated it with vinyl stick-on tile. This should make it easier to clean. We didn't screw down the plywood, so if we have to, we can remove it to hose it off/scrub it.

4. I cut a triangle of plywood to make an egg door at the end of the roost. It hinges at the bottom (with a 2x4 ripped into a 1x4 to cover the hardware cloth and provide a mounting spot for hinges) and latches at the top. I plan to use cotter pins or something to secure the latch. There is also a piece of untreated 1x4 held in place with tabs at the egg door to prevent bedding from falling out once it's converted to the nesting box (I'm planning to get pullets, not ready to lay yet, so they won't even have a tempting nest box)

5. There was no bottom door in the plans (to allow free-ranging), so I cut a piece of 2x4 to make a triangle against the bottom (same size as the egg door). It folds out (just like the egg door) and will allow the chickens easy access to the yard. We do have hawks in our neighborhood so free time will always be supervised. We also have a dog (who I coaxed into the coop for the main picture, haha!) who will need supervising. She's been around chickens before but you never know what will make her turn on them!

6. There was also no roost in the plans (although if you look at Ana's coop, there is a 2x4 across the middle of the side walls). I had a leftover closet rod, so I mounted that in the covered section parallel to the ladder. The ladder was shifted to the side. For the ladder, I just used a piece of cedar fencing and cut 2 48" dowels into 4 pieces each, and secured those with screws from the underside. I hope my chickens will be able to get up the ladder!

7. I also made a tube feeder from PVC and a dog bowl, and am working on a nipple waterer. Will update post when those are finished!

Now I just have to get some hens! I've been searching craigslist and can't wait!

This is my version of the Large Modern Porch Swing. I did a couple of things different. I wanted a nice finish so I cut everything to length then did 3 coats of high gloss exterior paint. It feels pretty indestructible and I know it's covering all the surfaces well.

Since I painted everything ahead of time and I liked the finish I thought about the screws and nails and was able to assemble it using only screws and having none of them visible. I pocket drilled most of them, although without a jig so they're actually toenailed. The seat slats are screwed down with angle brackets underneath and the back slats screwed from the back side. That way there is no need for finishing nails or wood filler.

Other than that's it's pretty much to plan. The structure we have may have been for a swing at some point so I had a pipe to attach to. To be extra safe I doubled up the rope and used a pedigree cow hitch. It's very sturdy and if and one line breaks there is another piece as a backup.

I'm really happy with how it turned out. Out of all the porch swings I've seen this one best suits our style and taste.

Built my wife a bench and coat rack for our mudroom also a bench for garage. 

This has become my dream sewing/craft desk!! This project took about a week from start to finish (with work days in between). The shorter portion of the desk is used for my machine and sewing. The taller portion is used as a cutting table. The plans (dimensions) were tweaked some to get the perfect heights for me :).

My Girls are having an american girl doll christmas this year. They're each getting a doll, with cars, horses, clothes, gymnastics bar, whatever you could want to go with it, lol. I decided last minute to make this closet for them as well to help organize their stuff. I made it 2" taller and added some more shelves. On the two little shelves, I am currently making a box out of the plastic embroidery sheets (I'm embroidering it with pink satin ribbon, instead of yarn to make it prettier). Walmart had a bunch of shoes for these dolls for just $1.50 a pair so I got them a lot of shoes for their stockings and needed little bins to hold all the shoes they are getting. I had fun building it. Because it was last minute and because I still need to install the quarter round on our laminate floor (hopefully before christmas), I was making this as quick as possible to I opted to not do the star cut out and just spent the $5 more to get the two handles. I also did easier hinges. We only have the washing machine for these dolls so I didn't need all the room on the bottom.

Used square laundry baskets instead of regular rectangular baskets. The square ones aren't as deep but are a bit taller so I had to modify the plans. I added a backsplash and some wooden tags to the baskets to designate them for certain colors. I also added some decorative trim and finished the bottom in a gray stain and used white chalk paint for the top.

This is a table and bench that I built for our patio!

I'm so happy that I found the plans for Ana's miter stand and rolling carts!  It was just what I needed for my garage shop... so everything can be organized and stored compactly but things can pull open and expand when I have a project (which is all the time, actually).

The actual miter stand was super easy to build - the carts took a few days working non-stop (when the kids permitted).

I made a few obvious changes from the plans:

-made deeper shelves on one of the carts

-added drawers on one of the carts

-added ped board on the end caps of miter stand

Something I didn't consider before building this was the slope of our garage floor.  There's a 3" difference from one end of the legs to the other so I had to use riser blocks to get everything perfectly level.  Unfortunately there's no way to level the carts as they aren't stationary but they slide in/out just fine.

I'd recommend this build to everyone!  Check Home Depot clearance often for deals on plywood!

This is a sample of what I have done using Ana's plans. Thanks Ana!!! I will be posting my entire kitchen Reno in the near future.

Made four pull out drawers with full extension soft close drawer slides.

Two shallow ones to store large items in and two deep ones to help hold pan lids and frying pans.

I used select pine for the sides and routed a slot for a 1/4 inch plywood base.

I put the pocket holes on the inside so less visible.

I love the library cart idea, but needed something for my 4 yo and 7 yo crafter/artists to use to keep their supplies on hand and contained. I modified the cart to have 2 shelves (not angled). The top shelf is converted to a tray to keep supplies stable as the cart is moved around on its wheels. Stores in the closet and can be pulled out to use.

I added crown molding to the bottom of my ten dollar ledges to add a little fancier look.