Community Brag Posts

Rustic X Coffee Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 05/23/2016 - 12:40

This was my first DIY project and it turned out perfect. Thank you for the plans! Took me about two weekends. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$200 because I did not have all the tools
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Jacobean over Classic grey with two coats of Poly finish
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Rustic X Desk

Loved this plan from the moment i watched the video! This is the first time I truly needed a plan right when Ana posted it. I trimmed the 2x4's down to 3 inches. Sanding each single wood piece down as I went really helped. Love this website so much.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
Under 50 bucks I think
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Provincial
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Great Countryside Greenhouse

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/20/2023 - 08:04

Had a bit off a mate doing this project due to damaged deliveries but looks good and is solid. Used 3 x2 for the rafters and bitumen sheets for the bottom. Two 3x2 strangers on the top rafters has it's seriously open too the wind. Misses loves it.

Welshsmoker

Comments

blue loft bed for 8 year old

we have finished my sons room, it has taken us nearly a year but this bed looks fantastic and is much sturdier than the ones you can buy!!!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
£200 GBP
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
PAINTED AND VARNISHED
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Farmhouse Bedside Table

Submitted by jager456 on Tue, 02/25/2014 - 11:55

Slightly changed the plans by adding the exotic wood 'Purpleheart' to the top and drawer fronts.

The tapered legs added some elegance but were very difficult to make, as it was my first time trying it.

I used furniture grade Select Black Label Pine which was costly, but I wanted a good contrast between the white pine and purpleheart.

No stain, just clear lacquer to maximize the color.

The pieces of Purpleheart cost was about $60.00, added to the select pine cost.

This is a great plan that you can modify slightly if you want. We now plan on making a much simpler and smaller one for our bathroom.

This one will probably end up in our living room instead of the bedroom!

Thank You Ana for a great plan!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$160.00
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
3 coats Brush on Watco Clear Satin Lacquer lightly sanded between coats w/220
then rubbed out with 400 grit wet/dry and final coat of Minwax Paste Wax.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Scrap nesting box

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 05/28/2016 - 12:05

We built our nesting box from scrap wood we had from an old barn we tore down and other scraps from previous projects. The dimensions were modified based on the width of the wood we had on hand. It's not very pretty, but it was free to make and will be inside a chicken coop. Our chicks are scared of it right now, but they are only 8 weeks old and not laying yet. I'm sure they will like it when they get used to it. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
Free
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
None
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Farmhouse King Bed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/11/2020 - 07:20

The plans, as always, were very easy to follow. I couldn't be happier with the results. For anyone looking to build this plan, I highly recommend picking up a Kreg jig. For the couple of places you'll use it, it makes a huge difference.

Estimated Cost
$400
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Pre-stain, Minwax Jacobean stain, Watco Satin Wipe-on Poly
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Small Shiplap Fireplace Wall

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 10/26/2023 - 19:06

I copied Ana’s fireplace insert design. So easy and looks amazing.
It’s my favorite so far.
Thanks Ana!
Al

Comments

Kennel

Submitted by KaraBoo on Wed, 05/16/2012 - 04:25

I'm fostering two mastiff puppies and they quickly outgrew the old plastic kennel they were sharing. So, I built them a new and improved kennel! It's so much nicer than that old one and looks great in my living room. The puppies appreciate the additional room, too! Now hopefully a family comes along soon to adopt them before they outgrow this kennel, too! :)

Building this kennel was the first time I used a Kreg Jig. I LOVE it! I will be using it a lot more on future projects.

I put a stop plate on the inside of the door frame so that the door stops right where it should to latch it and not swing inwards.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$60
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

furniturelady

Fri, 09/13/2013 - 20:41

Just wanted to say that I just started fostering and have a German Shepherd/Border Collie mix that came with a large wire crate. If I keep up with this fostering, I think I'll need a small, medium, and large one! Love it, thanks for posting....I'll be buying more lumber again.

Emerson Buffet

Submitted by haus3755 on Sat, 03/01/2014 - 21:19

I installed the shelves and the center dividers with dados. I suggest planning ahead for your hinges, I had a rough time finding the perfect hinges for some reason.

A big, big, BIG suggestion though, is to stain BEFORE assembly!! I nearly destroyed the piece with the difficult staining in the inside corners. It is very difficult to keep stain even in them. I used General Finishes "Black Cherry" water based stain, the first time using a water based stain. I found it very unforgiving and it left bad blotches, brush and rag marks. I topped it with General Finishes Arm R Seal.

In the end, this came together well enough that I felt a little guilty for not using better lumber than pine. It's nice enough, I think, to warrant spending a little more on quality hardwood.

Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Black Cherry, waterbased
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Rustic X Coffee Bar

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 07:47

My birthday present from my hubsand. He built it following Ana's plans, then I stained it in Sunbleached by Varathane. I had him make the top shelf higher than her plans called for, though, so that my KitchenAid mixer would fit.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
less than $100
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Sunbleached stain by Varathane
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Rustic X Console

Submitted by Tandi43 on Sat, 03/21/2020 - 12:10

Have a long wall and this was perfect!  I love everything about it!  I enjoyed working with miters for the 1st time!  FUN!!!! 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$75
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Varathane Briarsmoke and Clear Satin Eurathane
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

TV Console to match Coffee Table

Submitted by Bunnie1978 on Sun, 05/20/2012 - 19:48

I made this TV Stand for the family that bought the coffee table that I made before. I loosely based the design from a medley of things on the site, but ended up drawing up plans myself in Sketchup.

This took a while because I had to think through alot of the design things - like how to best do the glass panel doors and how to compensate in the plans for some bowing in the plywood.

It is basically a plywood box, trimmed out like most of the things we DIYers do.

My biggest challenge in this project was cost... I severely underestimated how much it would cost me to build it, so I ended up with only $50 profit on the job... Does anyone have suggestion.. if you are building things to sell them how do you price your products? Just curious.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
250
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Golden Pecan with Red Oak accenting the edges.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

spiceylg

Mon, 05/21/2012 - 09:42

Love this, really great job! As for pricing, I wish I could give you great advice, but I know there can be a lot of variables, such as cost, hours spent, overhead, etc. I know you should at least price the cost of materials and double it at the very least. If you want to consider your time spent, etc, it would go from there. There are some good articles available on-line.

Bunnie1978

Mon, 05/21/2012 - 18:35

I will do some research online. For quotes I've been giving since I realized that I was not going to profit on this work was exactly that... take a complete materials cost breakdown and just double it. I'm finding though that I have much more work available to be done than I'm ever going to have time to do....so I think that I will start going a little higher once I start needing more work. Really what I need is more time to do the work. I think I could do well if my son were in school but he isn't yet, so the only time I can work on these projects is during the weekends when he is gone. That means I need to get about $200 profit from one weekends worth of work to pay my bills. :)

Tasha Cordel (not verified)

Mon, 05/21/2012 - 08:34

Amazing work. I agree, cost is a tough one. I always figure out my materials and charge for full sheets and lengths, then add 20% to cover screws, glue and anything I missed (kind of a OH cover). I figure out my hours, and charge those back at whatever "rate" I would be charging for the piece....try your best to pad these a bit too. I worked in estimating for several years; so you kind of get a feel for it after awhile. Good Luck!

I LOVE the finish on this and your coffee table; mind sharing your technique??

Bunnie1978

Mon, 05/21/2012 - 18:45

There are more factors than just materials... also have to consider how much money I need to make within the month to pay rent. :)

For the finish, I sand everything down completely working my way up to 220 grit. I used Minwax Golden Pecan with a thin layer using a foam brush. I let that dry completely, without removing the excess. Then I use a cloth and my finger tip with Minwax Red Oak and dip the cloth in my stain, then rub it slowly onto the edges, rounding them out a bit. I go slowly so I can blend it in because I don't want any sharp lines. I also use the darker color to accent some of the knots. My basic idea is that each board has darker ends/edges and is lighter in the middle. This part of the job is the "artistry" - the rest is all pretty straightforward. The poly is the hardest part for me.

By the way, I advertise my work with that coffee table, and I have had a tremendous response to it - in large part due to the finish. Everyone loves the finish.

I got the idea from the 20 second tidy up table here on this site.

What I love about it is that it ties together all the other different wood colors in my living room. You know when you go get a rug with multiple colors or a pattern to tie everything together that would otherwise seem mismatched? THAT is what this finish does for a room. :)

Garden Box

Submitted by Medickep on Tue, 03/04/2014 - 13:38

With Spring near I decided it's time to finally make some vegetable boxes. These plans were super easy, and easy to add a few little features.

I live in Oregon and even though cedar is tough, with all the rain we get, the color fades fast!! I was also worried about the inside rotting away from the solid like you see at the bottom of a fence!

I was surprised there weren't a million different stains that were "Organic" with that be so popular. I new my kiddos would eat most of the stuff before it made it into our house, so I decided to leave the inside natural and line it with heavy duty visqueen.

I stained the outside to protect the wood, using some Australian Timber oil I had left over from another project!!

Estimated Cost
20.00 for two
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Austrian Timber oil on the pout side, natural on the inside.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Starwars AT-AT Walker toy

We couldn't find one in the store and my son wanted one for his birthday. I found an example online of a starwars themed charging station and he has played with it for years. Used some scrap wood and most of the cost was hardware and accessories.

Estimated Cost
$40
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Modified Sandbox with built in seat

Submitted by niki on Tue, 05/22/2012 - 17:57

"Cellar? What cellar? We don't have a cellar... Oh, you mean the new sand box! Here, let me get some shade too."

I'm not sure why, but I can never seem to follow plans exactly. I guess that's not entirely true. I CAN follow plans exactly, but I almost never do. Maybe it's some sort of passive rebellion or something, but I usually have to put my own spin on the things that I build. Sometimes it works out in my favor. Sometimes not. This build was a little of both.

I decided to only build one bench in our sand box. This cut down on a lot of supplies. By making it longer a single bench and making it longer, it covers about the same amount of square feet, just in a rectangle instead of a square. When pricing lumber, I noticed that 2x8's were cheaper than 1x8's. So I went with those instead. It can't hurt to beef up the sides a little, right? This required some easy calculations on the cut list. I also decided to use 1x6 fence planks instead of 1x4 whitewood or pine. The fence planks were cheap, and I figured they would look nice in the back yard. They are also naturally pest and rot resistant. They required extra sanding to take the rough off. However, this is one place that I'm thinking the modification didn't work in my favor. The fence planks are not as thick as the whitewood. This combined with the increased length makes the the top pieces feel pretty weak. I put a little support piece under the bench. I'm quite sure the bench would not have held up well without the support.

Because this is an outdoor piece, I dry fit everything, and then stained everything before assembling it, to make sure all of the edges were well protected.

Cost breakdown (not including canopy)
Fence planks $14
2x8x8 $11
hinges $9
handle $2
stain $10

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
About $50
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Preserva-wood in Pacific Redwood color (aka the cheapest outdoor stain I could find)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

tnavis

Thu, 03/07/2013 - 08:49

I just love the changes you made to this sandbox! Can you tell me what you used for the construction of the canopy? Thanks!

Washer & dryer pedestals

Submitted by Nursesb on Fri, 03/07/2014 - 02:44

My hubby built this from saushas washer/dryer pedestal plans. He modified it a bit because we needed the storage taller underneath for shoes and baskets. Our closet is right by the front door and it was always a mass of shoes in front of the washer and dryer that you couldn't shut the door! It works great. We have beautiful hardwood floors (that was my hubby's trade for 12 years) and didn't want to cover them up either:)

Estimated Cost
About 10$
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Grey paint from ACE hardware. Name "seal point".
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Industrial end tables

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 06/06/2016 - 21:30

Saw the basic 'c' looking shape end table on Pinterest, but it didn't have any plans. So I drew up my own plans, used different types and dimensions of lumber, and added the black iron pipe to our design to truly make it our own.  These took my quite a while, and were a lot more expensive then I wanted them to be. So these will probably be staying in my home. Lol

Estimated Cost
Lumber was about $125 (used special laminated shelving)
Pipe and fittings were about $50
Total around $180-200.
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Jacobean and Minwax Polycrylic
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments