^^ Great thread idea, with quality design, planning & reno. workmanship from all !!
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Homemade work bench for garage/workshop, I built in the 1990's.
- used free steel industrial warehouse racking (scraped at work) for the heavy duty frame
- 2" solid oak plank top...hardwood boards got thickness planed
- ends were cut down & rewelded, so workbench was at a comfortable height
Designed & lead our first house sun room (14x20') addition build, with skilled handpicked tradesman...finished up this summer.
(to maintain code plus quality, while trimming project costs)
- personally sorted out a unique venting problem, solving an Engineering dilemma, when vaulted ceiling doesn't allow for typical gable or roof vents
- 9 to 12 foot high angled ceiling made from cedar wood planks, was an added touch
- angled TV wall, allows driveway exterior access to the detached garage 2nd door
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Our doberman Amy's will be gone +4 years now...how the time flies.
We have lived in our former city house, past 32 years.
While Amy also enjoyed her last senior year, at the renovation job site most days.
- in essence, the fixer up project was Amy's second home / she never really left, the place...it was part of her makeup
Fond memories with Amy at the newer place, in her final year:
- like the day she escaped the house and waited contently for her Dad on the front cement porch, while I was off with the carpenter having a quick lunch for half an hour / we drive up the drive way, and there she is laying outside
(almost made me question, why I locked her behind the front door, in the first place)
- or the time she let one particular man (of questionable ethics) out of his car in the drive way but stopped him dead in his tracks, so he couldn't get to the front door...until I called her off & praised her for protecting me from potential business evils...LOL
Amy looked for and found an escape route (back left door open), because a sheet of plywood covered the front window.
- and she couldn't monitor the place or properly watch for her good buddy Dad, while I was briefly gone for lunch
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August 2014 we finally moved into our country property (on 1.13 acres), into the 1960's brick bungalow that's been under extensive renovation (off & on) over the last few years / former rental property (7 years), to pack rats...LOL...so an extensive gut & upgrades, was in order.
As a nice surprise for Mom, I designed a "
memorial Doberman wall" for our former girls.
Tanya (born 1977) and Amy - features include:
- Tanya's obedience trophy (1st place in class, after 18 weeks of daily training)
- two dog tags, from both former dogs
- Amy's favorite teddy, one of her babies
- Amy's special toy, a rubber moose (purchased at TSC)...and always hid from son's little dog Trevor
- Amy's urn/ashes & cast paw print
- Amy's last construction piece of scrap wood, for good chewing fun
- and finally a Doberman beanie baby, to complete the tribute
Incidentally, the vintage Big-Ben alarm clock, was from my granny's egg house, on their farm...I've saved it for 50 years.
The old Northern Electric long snout telephone, was purchased at a rural garage sale 25 years ago.
- stored in my garage, until I could properly display the old antique (guessing from the 1920's)
Mantle top ledge is from a black walnut board, that was basement air dried & planed 50 years ago...affixed to the hallway with a cut-off of white oak.
This saw milled oak plank was 60 years old, from the family farm & ends cut to length with Dads 1968 Pioneer chainsaw (w/visible burn marks)...power washed old grime off & small hardwood piece dipped in urethane (to keep the dried out bark intact).
Brick work is stacked slate (stone veneer) and PL glued in place.
This one construction project was a labor of love, and an honor to incorporate our fond doggy memories, into our newer living quarters...at the end of the hallway, right beside the master bedroom.
The custom doors I designed & had Mennonites make out of 2" thick solid cherry planks (heated shop dried, 2 straight years) with black walnut dowels.
- door jams are a combination of hard maple / cherry / cedar / & black walnut door stops
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Re - Our Airport brick bungalow property (1960's country home) - living room shot:
a) Hickory 6" wide plank flooring with 1920's Craftsman style reproduced hardwood custom mill work
- bare wood installed (PL glued & pin nailed T&G) / then all sanded (24 hour job), oil stained 2x and urethaned 3x
b) Two hardwood mantle ledges, from 60 y/o saw milled white oak plant (2" thick), from family farm.
- found in upstairs rafters of barn, stored for decades (board ends cut off with Dad's vintage 1967 Pioneer-Holiday chain saw / old growth wood has tiny dried out worm holes, pressure washed keeping original patina & urethaned without sanding or adding any stain / lower plank, for antique display - some treasured family heirlooms, to show case
The wide flooring boards were purchased from a rural sawmill, sized, tongue & grooved (all 4 sides) and rough sanded smooth...purchased unfinished.
My raw wood source isn't setup to pre-finish and apply topcoat wear layer, so after much studying & research, I took on this responsibility.
- for a period, looking at the raw floor (photo below)..."I thought I had bitten off more than I could chew"
I was looking for low VOC refinishing products, with outstanding wear resistance...like a gymnasium commercial product, in a homeowners application - but wanted oil base over water (for longevity) and something that wasn't being phased out (due to new environmental laws).
We rented a Home Depot sander & went to town, working for 2 very long days...and over $200 just in abrasive sheets.
- WHY OH WHY, came to mind...second guessing my earlier purchasing decisions (LOL)
FYI - Hickory is 41% harder than oak (dog toy friendlier), but more time to machine finish extra smooth.
- the bare floor was stained 2x with a pine resin blended product...variation in wood grain produced a translucent "3D" effect
- and top coated with cashew based urethane, for a high gloss finish...applied with a sheep wool bonnet
- 3 coats of urethane, and getting down the mopping/application method
- the finish was finally very consistent, absent of any dry non-shiny spots
The flooring job has turned into a nice focal point, in our home renovation...project had to turn into a labour of love.
- much too late to turn back...LOL
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Newer property on edge of city limits, has a long driveway / my 1992 John Deere 318 (low hours with original paint) and hydraulic drive snow blower, makes short order of country snow drifting.
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Current doberman Kelly (from top IL breeder) & sons little Trevor (YorkiePoo), waiting on Moms morning coffee run & TimBit treat.
- Mr. T showing off his squirrel bum / what a pair, of watch dogs (HeHe)
