Long sideboard.
I was trying to use the google sheets cabinet calculator that Ana posted and found that others were accessing and editing the master at the same time. I thought perhaps a Microsoft Excel version of the calculator to download may be useful.
I wasn't able to upload to this site so I've created a Brag Post to link to it on my site.
UPDATE: Ana's website has been updated and the file is now an Excel Spreadsheet which can be downloaded.
We needed some way to organize shoes, coats, book bags and the the things that need a home when you have 4 kids. I found the plans for the Braden entryway units and I loved them! I showed them to my husband who built them for me one Saturday afternoon. We decided to use piece of paneling for a wall on the back of the lockers and used MDF for the shoe bases since we wanted them to be sturdy. I painted them Valspars "Tidal Teal" and then technique glazed them with a black brown color. I LOVE THEM! They are colorful and fun and so functional. I love this site and have many other projects for my husband to build as long and I get to do the fun part, PAINTING!!
Sat, 06/28/2014 - 18:42
This was the first piece of wood work that I have worked on since I was 19; however, your site is so filled with such beautiful work, that I just had to make something.
Luckily we were in need of an entryway--a place to sit and tie shoes, hang coats, and have cubbies to store hats, mitts, scarves, as well as my gardening tools!
I modified your Braden Entryway Collection to fit the space I had, but I hope you agree that it turned out quite nicely, despite my novice alterations.
I'm very fond of the look and smell of bare pine, so the piece is only finished with Tung oil.
Thank you so much for such a rich site, and for an incredibly detailed 'how to,' I don't think I could have managed without it. I wish I could send a picture to you, but I have yet to figure out how to do that.
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 needed a garden shed (for potting supplies) and a dog house, but I wanted it to look good. I started with Ana's plans, but screwed up a cut and was too lazy to go to the store, so I modified the plan a bit - also we didn't want a lot of venting off the roof.
OUR MODIFICATIONS:
NO BACK WALL - I did not build a back wall, as we pushed it all the way up to the house. (You need to check your codes for this if it's allowed. The way I'm integrating mine w/o breaking the exterior waterproofing of the house and it's unconditioned made mine OK)
DOG HOUSE- I cut away a hole for our dog between the battens. And as you can see - he loves it. He's got his Coolaroo dog bed inside. We also added a 'ceiling' to the lower dog house half, that divides the gardening storage from dog house. The large shelf inside that acts as a dog house ceiling, and above are my un-used pots, hand tools etc. (no worries no chemicals with the puppy)
PAINTED EXTERIOR- I painted it red to match the house, and will also be putting garden pavers in front of the doors.
ROOF- We did put an underlayment down on the roof before the asphalt shingles.
LESSON LEARNED- If your dog is a Mama's boy like mine, he may try to climb a ladder to remove you from a roof which he has determined is not OK for you to be up there.
*One concern is - most sidewalks slope away from the house, so we had to shim the sill plate so front of the shed doesn't lean outward causing the doors to pull open constantly. As you can see from the photo I still need to flash at the roof where we cut back our houses' battens.
COST- We live in CA - and this project was more expensive than anticipated, our lumber/roof shingle costs were around $270 alone, and keep in mind we didn't build a back panel. I have very little scrap left over too. When I was nearly done the hinges were an additional $15 a piece, $10 for the latch. And we had the primer and paint in the garage. Underlayment for roof, I already had in the garage too.
TIM-: I started this project on a weekend, but it ended up taking longer; probably because I didn't block out the weekend just for this project. I spread it over the course of a month, so hours wise it probably wasn't as bad as it felt... You do need two people though, and that's where I ran into some trouble, I kept trying to work on it when my husband wasn't home. Probably 24hrs, 3 easy going days. Could probably be done in a weekend if you were dedicated and didn't get distracted (or screw up a cut like I did, which sent me to the drawing board to fix my mistake)
I was looking for a wooden parking garage plan for my little guy, but couldn't find one! I looked a bunch of the dollhouse plans for inspiration and found a wooden toy garage online that I based my plans on. I still need to add the ramps and a few more parking spots, but my son loves it! It has an elevator (need to refine it) and helicopter landing zone!
Fri, 06/28/2013 - 20:14
What a great idea. This would be a nice gift too. Nicely done.
These are great chairs! Easy to build, comfy to sit in. Check out my blog post for more info.
Mon, 06/24/2013 - 10:59
Beautiful chairs Hillary!!!! I love the green!!!
Thanks so much for building and bragging!
Ana
Fri, 06/28/2013 - 15:58
I'll be making four of these this week in turquoise to match the little ones I made for the kids. Yours is an inspiration!
Sun, 05/10/2015 - 05:17
Are these kid size or adult, and where are the plans for them....
thanks bunches,
Debbie.
Easy to build, easy to customize, perfect for totes
I love having this new addition! Freed up space in my small shop and now it’s more functional and organized. I followed the plans with modifications in the leaves using scrap 1x’s (which I may decide later to change to 2x4s but I had 1x’s on hand) instead of the brackets and then the extra 1x’s holding on the leaves so they would fall flat to the sides. Love it!
I took your plans for the beginner book ledges and modified them for our 90 degree space. I had to learn about mitre and bevel cuts so that was fun.
I also learnt that when the wood is slightly warped it pays to be attentive to the eventual install and how stress will flow through the work.
Spend some time on pintrest and made this nice Cupboard hard to find the right plan but its my first furniture so freebasing and a few misstake later.
Thu, 03/11/2021 - 06:08
No glass, replace with barn door look. Fix the bottom to look like dresser bottom.
As a complete beginner in wood working (unless you count a year of woodshop over a decade ago), I decided that building a cart for the miter saw I just bought would be a great first project. So what did I do with that brand new miter saw? I left it in the box and made all of the cuts with a circular saw. Not sure what I was thinking there...
I mostly followed the excellent plan provided here but used wooden arms to prop up the wings in order to save on cost. I got the idea from the folding sling chair plan. It took quite a few screw ups and adjustments of the lower support bar before getting one of the wings level but I got it eventually.
Update 8/20/13: The miter saw has been a joy to use with the cart and the big flip up wings provide a ton of really convenient work space in addition to stabilizing 8 ft boards for cutting. I added a sliding drawer and some utility hooks for additional storage.
Thu, 08/01/2013 - 08:10
I originally just had a 2x2 and two blocks to hold up the wings on the cart. They kept falling out, so I replaced them with hinged arms, which were a pain to fit and install, but they work well. Your approach has the same advantage of hinging the support arms: the wood can't fall out and it looks way simpler to install than my system.
One hint if you try Nermell's approach: Flip the cart upside down when you fit and install the support arms. I did all kinds of complex sketches and measurements, then realized it was just faster to lean the support bracket at roughly 45 degrees, then I installed the two block (one on the side, one on the wing) to hold the bracket in place. Flip the cart over, and your wing will sit at a perfect 90 degrees to the sides of the miter saw cart.
Board and batten makes such a huge difference in any room for very little money and I knew this is just what we needed for our very small but very tall half bathroom. We did have to modify our boards at the bottom and cut them at an angle to meet our baseboards but it is still perfect. Such an easy way to dramatically change a room.
Sat, 08/06/2011 - 13:41
What a beautiful transformation! I went to your blog and loved how you've put aside a little money each month to improve your home. Beautiful photos too!
Sat, 08/06/2011 - 13:57
Thank you, Ana! We wouldn't be able to stay on that budget if it wasn't for you and all of your ideas! You've really changed how things are done at our house. We no longer "have to buy it right now"...but take our time to see if we can do it on our own and make it ours. That is a very powerful thing!
Fri, 08/12/2011 - 04:41
My husband and I just had to build a few walls to cover in a new furnace and duct work. Neither of us wanted to deal with the mud, tape, and sanding that would surely follow. So I suggested that we do a paneling like yours. I used furring strips vs. typical pine or moulding. It looks great!
Thu, 08/18/2011 - 13:47
I loved the bathroom so I checked out your blog, We have a mudroom followed by a small bathroom and then a small laundry room. I love your mud room area and the stripes, we are totally going to use your ideas to spruce our place up!
Inspired by Ana’s island plans with a few of my own tweaks.
My daughter wanted her room redone for her tenth birthday. We decided to go big with Ana's storage bed plans. I had so much fun building this and really learned a lot. It took me three months to find enough spare time to finish it, but it was worth the wait.
Mon, 11/07/2011 - 19:24
You did a really great job building the storage bed. I am in the process of building this same bed for my teenage son, only I'm not building the towers. Finding enough time to actually get a project finished is nearly impossible when you only have a few hours here and there! Your daughter will love all the extra storage space as she gets older.
Tue, 11/08/2011 - 05:19
Thank you very much! For such a large project, and only the second piece of furniture I have made, I couldn't be happier with the results.
I love our table and bench (and high chair). It's working well for our family and I had a lot of fun building and finishing it. Thanks for the plans, Ana!
I don't think I made any modifications to the table or bench, but I used 1x3s for the high chair instead of 1x2s.
Sat, 09/01/2012 - 19:57
Like to know how to build a farmhouse dinner table. Do u have plans for one or know where I can get one at. I love the country look and that what I looking for. Thank you
OK, I think this build may be my biggest project yet! It is definitely the heaviest. With the strong winds we can get here in Florida we needed substantial outdoor furniture.
I did make some modifications along the way measurement-wise so the sofa would fit my front porch better. All in all, this took 2 full days. I built the sofa first, stained it the next day and then decided (due to trying to get stain in all the nooks and crannies) to stain the chair pieces first before putting it together.
I am so happy with the results and so far, almost a year later, this furniture looks great and hasn't moved an inch in any of the thunderstorms we've had! Thank you Ana!!
I liked the lines of the Extra Tall Bar Stools and I changed the plan to fit my needs. I made them 24" to the top of the seat and both stools are constructed entirely out of 2x4s (except the seat, of course!).
When the Covid quarantine hit we decided to build a greenhouse - it's been on our To Do list for 9 years. The DIY Greenhouse was the first design I found via Google search and it looked so easy and has all the materials listed so we just had the materials delivered and dived right in! It took us 5 days, about 4 hours per day. The smartest thing we did was borrow a mitre chop-saw. There's a lot of 22 degree angles to cut. Other than that it was easy peasy as long as you follow directions. Also got a skill saw blade that cut both the plastic and the tin. It cost us about a grand Canadian, but the closest kit I found online was smaller and was $1500 US. I'm already growing stuff in it and the temperature here in Northern BC gets below freezing at night (around -1C) but everything is ok. The current temp outside is 15, but it's 30 in the greenhouse. We cut a few vents in the back wall panel to allow for airflow and I'm going to purchase a solar muffin fan to move the air a bit. Highly recommend this unit!
Seen these plans a couple years ago and finally have gotten around to making a set. This was a fun and really easy to follow set of instructions and I think they turned out really nice.
Jeff, with LaBrie Family Woodworking LLC
Great plans and a fun build. I made some modifications. My drawers are 1.5” high and 10” long. It allowed for 6 drawers. Overall height is 13.75” and length is 17.5”.
I used rabbits and dados rather than butt joints. There is flocking in the drawers.
