Community Brag Posts

I wanted a tv/ fireplace for Christmas and my husband built this using your plans. I love it!

Built 3 shelves in pine with the same specs as the original plan. They're finished with a diluted Snow White milk paint stain.

This plan was easy to follow, accurate and came together in just a few hours. I used some reclaimed barn wood for the 2x6s and dog-ear pickets for the remainder.

I made it harder for myself than it had to be. I didn't follow the directions closely enough and cut the box ends at 5 1/2" instead of 5 1/4". That meant that the bottoms had nothing to press-fit against. So, I had to do a little workaround to fix that. I made a 1" shelf at each end of each box so that the bottom could sit on these little shelves. The upside to this mistake is that there was now a drainage slot all along the front and all along the back of each planter box. 

I stained and sealed it. Finally, I lined each planter box with weed matting that I'd cut to size and cut drain slits in. The matting doubles as a way to keep the planting mix from falling out of the long drainage slots while allowing water to drain through the little slits I poked in the fabric. (I poked drain slits only along the front edge so that water would drain into the planter box below instead of onto the ground.)

I'm happy with the plan and the finished planter!

When we moved into our new house, I figured it was time to replace my girls's mattresses on the floor with actual beds. so I set about making the twin storage beds with corner unit. I primed all the wood prior to cutting and assembling, and that made things go much faster. Assembling the corner unit was tricky, since i really didn't want to have sanding and much paint in their bedroom. (i loaded in the beds first and the corner unit a week later). I added trim that wasn't on the plan, and also used the magnetic paint on the center area, although it makes a weak magnetic surface. All in all, I LOVE the way it turns out and no one can believe that I built it and didn't buy it... (although it seems obvious to me when you look closely LOL)

These were so easy to make. I actually messed up on the smaller one and used the 2x4's on the legs. By the time I realized it, I had to use the 2x3's on the top. I just used more of them. It still turned out great. My wife had me make another one for an empty space we had. I used the same basic layout and just modified my length and width. Thanks for the great plans.

These four raised beds are just the beginning!!!!

This is the first of 3 raised garden beds based on Ana's plan found here: raised garden beds. My and our twin 5 yr old daughters' job this weekend is to fill them. CAN'T WAIT!

MODIFICATIONS
He added a board to the top to make them a little higher. Our first set of boards came from Home Depot, and this box came to around $30. The boards are really rough, so we may sand them a bit as we have little kids and don't want TOO many splinters. Our next 2 boxes will be made from materials from another chain here in Minnesota, Menard's, and they are much smoother (and cheaper - on sale this week for $1.50 a board!)

We also had a really hard time finding outdoor 1" screws, so he used 1 1/4" ones and didn't countersink them.

I am also planning on putting in some landscape fabric inside to help keep weeds out and water/dirt in, since the seams are porous.

Using Ana's 10 dollar raised garden planter box idea, I made my own using the cedar fence boards and then used 2 x 3 x 8 studs for the L corner supports and mid center support along with top rail. This photo is the first 3, I will have a total of 6 boxes. Will post more as I progress.

Fancy Farmhouse King Bed

I combined the Dorm Desk and Flip-down Children's art desk plans to make a perfect combination for my school work.

The Dorm Desk was designed to be used with bar stools, so it would be rather tall. I simply made the dimensions shorter to fit with a computer chair. I also tweaked the children's art desk a bit for use as a laptop desk, just took out the shelves and put a piece in to hold binders and whatnot.

Another note, most of the materials used were scraps from other projects, so the dimensions are a little different there too. For instance, I had some 6" strips of 3/4" plywood sitting around, so I used those for the shelves instead of 1x8's, and I used a piece of 1x12 for the front of the wall-mount desk instead of plywood.

The estimate cost is not at all what it would cost if you were starting from scratch. The only things I payed for up front for these two projects was the D-ring hangers for the wall-mount desk, a piece of plywood for he desk top, some tin flashing, and a 2x2 for the frame.

*the tin flashing I got ended up not being magnetic, which was disappointing, but it ended up working well with wet-erase markers (the kind teachers use on overhead projectors) so at least it still has a function. I may also end up puting a cork border around the edges so I can still hang things from there.

Hint: I used an old wallet chain for support on the wall-mount desk. I also found some left over hinges and a small clasp I had bought for a keepsake box I made years ago. If you're pretty handy, you probably have plenty of stuff you can use just lying around the house.

We bought this house about a year ago and we finally got around to removing this pointless niche!  The center divider and bottom were removed.  The cabinet and hutch were assembled seperately.  

This is still a work of progress.  I am looking for a nice decorative molding face for the top.  If anyone has any suggestions please let me know!  We will most likely paint it white to match the fireplace mantle.

The garage loft bed was inspired by the plans on your site. I beefed up the framing with 2xs and found siding panels at my local big box. 

Built the sewing table for my wife Penney. It has a work surface that is 36" x 60" and is 32" high.

Used 3/4" Baltic Birch and used premium pine to add edge banding. Used 1/4" plywood for a back to the sewing table to add strength and I think helps the look of the table. My Kreg Jig was used everywhere possible when assembling the case. Used full length piano hinges with #6 x 5/8" screws to attach the leaves to the table. Made the doors using premium pine with a plywood panel. For the legs, I used folding, locking leg brackets from Lee Valley to attach the 1-1/2" square poplar legs. The casters are 3" double-locking from Woodcraft. 

Went a little over budget, but it turned out very nice and she loves it. 

Thank you for the easy to follow plans.