Home Improvement

Building a Picnic Table in One Day

July 7, 2016 by Ash 54 Comments

When we were getting our yard ready for spring, we took a trip to our local landscaping center to look at their plants.

On their patio, they had an array of beautiful outdoor furniture. Eileen sat down at a picnic table she liked, looked at the price (a very high $450), and said to me, “I bet you could make this.”

I nodded, thinking about all of the creative things Eileen and our son do in our yard, like having backyard picnics, bubble-making, and painting.

Having a DIY picnic table in the middle of the backyard would be perfect.

Plus, I’m always up for a good woodworking project.

Researching Picnic Table Plans

I did some research online for how to build a picnic table and ended up choosing the first one that came up – PopularMechanics.com.

It seemed simple to construct and the design plans were of a high caliber. The best part was that this picnic table plan called for using composite decking for the tabletop and seats.

This eliminated any concerns I had about having to use pressure-treated wood in close proximity to foods, or having to spend time staining or sealing the surface of the DIY picnic table.

Cleaning the composite decking on the picnic table would be a cinch too. It was a little more expensive than using real wood, but it was worth it.

The rest of the wooden picnic table (legs and supports) would be regular pressure-treated wood, so costs would still be low overall.

The specifics of how to build a picnic table is outlined pretty well in the source website, so I’ll just recap my picnic table building experience.

Overall, it was quite a fun project to work on, and best of all, I accomplished it all on a Saturday (albeit a long Saturday from morning to night).

DIY Picnic Table Material Order

I printed out the materials list from the website, and then I placed order on Lowes’ website for in-store pickup.

I normally don’t like doing store pickup for lumber because you are at the mercy of whatever employee is selecting your wood. This usually means a random assortment of quality, with crowning knotty boards.

However, I found an awesome deal on eBay for multiple $15 off $50 Lowes coupons, and they were valid online only. Using an Excel spreadsheet, I distributed all the materials across 4 separate orders to total just over $50 each.

Then I purchased 4 of the coupons on eBay for a mere $4 (coupon codes were emailed to me immediately after purchase) and placed four Lowes store pickup orders. Just $4 on eBay saved me $60. Not bad! The Lowes guys didn’t mind when I went to pick up the order either.

Here’s my car full of wood after the lumber excursion to Lowes (ignore the concrete and the pipes – they are for an upcoming shade sail project):

I did have to get some wood cut in the store for the picnic table. I ordered several 12 ft pieces of composite decking and I knew that wouldn’t fit in my car.

So I had an employee cut them in half for me. Having the store cut your wood is convenient, but it’s not always worth it.

Their cuts aren’t that accurate, and sometimes you have to wait a while to get help.

Additionally, there seems to be a trend starting in stores to charge you for too many cuts.

Always thinking of how I can save money, I brought a measuring tape and a handsaw in case I decided to cut the picnic table wood myself in the parking lot.

As it turned out, a thunderstorm appeared out of the blue when I got to Lowes, so that forced my hand and I had to have them cut it for me. They usually charge 75 cents for the cuts, but they waived it.

How to Build a Picnic Table

The first step in my how to build a picnic table project was to cut all the wood. So when I got home, I spent an hour cutting all the wood according to the plans. This hard work resulted in the picture below.

Doesn’t it look like a kit just waiting to be put together?

The next step in how to build a picnic table is to put together the picnic table’s legs:

Here comes the tabletop support:

Next up was the pair of seat supports for the DIY picnic table:

Here are the five pieces of the picnic table project that would soon come together to form the table’s skeleton:

I clamped some of the pieces together and picnic table project was now three dimensional:

With the seat supports attached, it was starting to look like a picnic table now:

Here I used a diagonal support beam to prevent the picnic table’s legs from shifting inwards:

Here I had to reinforce the structure with some 3.5″ galvanized carriage bolts to support the weight of people and tabletop loads:

It wasn’t too early to take the DIY picnic table for a test drive. Here I am taking a break from the work:

Finally, the crowning moment of the project came when I attached the composite decking on the DIY picnic table.

I highly recommend using a countersinking bit for pre-drilling the holes for the deck. I believe they make special screws for composite wood, but I didn’t have any.

At first, I used regular deck screws, and without a countersink bit, they did not look good after the head penetrated the wood.

Unlike real wood that compresses under the screw head, the composite material made a really ugly blemish on the surface.

After trial and error, I found the countersink bit did a wonderful job carving out a notch for the screws.

I used my router and a round-over bit to smooth/bevel the edges of the deck wood:

Finally I completed the DIY picnic table. Eileen helped me move it into the backyard. It was extremely heavy, but that was just a testament to its quality.

Here’s what the picnic table looks like in its element (notice our garden planter and rain barrel in the background).

The total cost of this professional quality DIY picnic table ran us $140, but that’s after a $60 discount via the $4 eBay coupons.

I estimate a pre-built picnic table of this quality would have cost a few hundred dollars in the store and even more at the landscaping stores!

If you are thinking about buying a new picnic table for your yard, instead learn how to build a picnic table with these plans and tips. We are absolutely loving the DIY picnic table, especially the composite tabletop.

Our DIY picnic table is already getting a lot of use and is sure to be a hit at our next BBQ.

Four Happenings from our Fourth – A DIY Holiday

July 4, 2016 by Eileen Leave a Comment

It’s been a busy holiday weekend over here.

We didn’t go to the beach like most do on the Fourth nor did we see any fireworks this year (although hearing them was a different story).

And, we certainly didn’t party like it was 1776.

Instead, we got a heck of a lot done off of our DIY summer projects checklist.

Finishing the Bookshelf

First, we wrapped up the window seat bookshelf project, which was my favorite of our DIY summer projects, so far. 🙂

This was a long project, being that a lot of the work needed to be done in the room next to where our little one sleeps.

With our downtime being his naptime and bedtime, the project was more drawn out than we had hoped.

After taking the above photo, I caulked a few last spots and put the last coat of paint on the shelves.

Here’s a selfie (or should I say shelf-ie) before I did some last few spots.

I’m just so pleased the shelf is done. Not only is another project checked off the list, but we have about 12 boxes from our move stacked in our mudroom that are filled to the brim with books.

We hadn’t unpacked them because we hadn’t a place to put them.

So, now we can finally finish unpacking from our move.

I’m so excited about that! (Now if only I could finish getting all of our pictures on the walls…).

Check out how the bookshelf looks completely finished and filled 🙂

A Picnic Table in a Day?

Just when I thought the weekend couldn’t get any better, Ash finished the picnic table that he started the same morning.

He built a picnic table in ONE day.

Crazy, right?! And, his post tells you how you can too!

Here’s what I saw Ash working on in the morning, when I snapped a few quick shots:

And, the same evening, a perfectly-built, sturdy picnic table was in our driveway.

I was floored!

But I shouldn’t be too shocked being that this is also the guy who single-handedly built a shed last summer.

We brushed the table off and moved it to the backyard, so we could put it use on the Fourth. Definitely a useful summer project:)

Fresh Veggies!

Our third item of the weekend was discovering vegetables in our garden! So exciting!!

Ash and I have been together over a decade, and this is our first garden.

This year, we have made a switch to clean eating and living a more healthy lifestyle.

I have been living by Anthony William’s book The Medical Medium, which is all about healing our bodies through what we are eating.

His information is life-changing, and he most prominently discusses just how amazing organic fruits, vegetables, and herbs heal our bodies.

With our new way of life, our beautiful backyard, and Ash’s talent at construction, we decided to plant a garden this year. Ash built a DIY planter box as an early summer project.

We hadn’t seen too much happening in the planter box…until this weekend. First we noticed a couple of hot peppers…

…then a few tomatoes, and finally some itsy, bitsy red and green peppers. It was a Fourth of July miracle!
I can’t wait to keep checking it, let alone harvest our fruits and veggies! If our garden is a success, I might have to help Ash build another DIY planter box next year.

Catching Some Shade

The fourth, and last project we had happening this weekend (other than some yard work) was installing a shade sail for our very sunny patio.

We were looking for a cost-effective way to throw some shade on our hot patio in the summer months, and we came up with this solution.

A shade sail is a weather-proof fabric that is held up by the house and a few poles.

It appealed to us because it’s quite modern-looking and not permanently affixed to the house. We didn’t get too far into the project, but we will keep you posted on how it turns out (update – check out the full tutorial).

Here is Ash double checking the measurements of the fabric, and Zeus who always seems to make his way into the photos 🙂

We didn’t have a conventional Fourth of July weekend, but it was a great one. We spent some time checking off a few projects, starting a new one, and of course, discovering our homegrown fruits and vegetables!

Above all, the best part was our family picnic on our new outdoor table – built in ONE day. I’m still impressed 🙂

Installing Kitchen Tile Backsplash

June 12, 2016 by Ash 48 Comments

In our previous home, we had painted blue cabinets and laminate countertops. We were in a rush to sell our home quickly (we sold our house in less than a week!), and our kitchen didn’t compare to some of the other neighborhood comps.

So, we had subway tile backsplash installed and the laminate countertops replaced. We hired a contractor to get it done quickly and because we didn’t realize how handy we were back then 🙂

Both the kitchen backsplash and the new quartz countertops made a huge difference in the kitchen; however, it was the tile backsplash that pulled the whole kitchen together nicely.

Accordingly, we were looking to do something similar in our new kitchen.

We had already gel stained the kitchen cabinets. We refinished the old oak to a modern-looking walnut with gel stain. The next phrase of our kitchen overhaul was installing tile backsplash.

This time around, however, we did not need a contractor. I made sure to watch our previous guy as he was installing the subway tiles in the kitchen, asking a lot of questions and trying to learn everything I could about how to install tile backsplash.

Luckily, he was a real sport about it, giving me lots of tips and tricks. And, I learned how to install tile backsplash. A tool that I could now use in our kitchen.

Therefore, I was confident I knew how to install backsplash and that I could tackle this kitchen project.

Here’s a before and after picture of our kitchen. The after picture has the gel stained cabinets and the tile backsplash. Such a big difference, right?

Deciding on the Tile Backsplash

The first step of this project was deciding on a tile backsplash.

Eileen always handles our designs. She wanted to find something that would bring together the granite countertop and chocolate cabinets, something that was modern-looking, and it couldn’t be “too matchy-matchy.”

It also couldn’t be too busy of a design because the countertops were already very elaborate.

After looking up tiles and prices online, Eileen decided Lowe’s had the best selection of tile backsplash for our kitchen, so she went to the store and took pictures of a few of the ones she liked.

Then, I superimposed the sample tiles to create virtual showrooms, so we could visualize our kitchen with each of the choice.

Eventually we settled on a natural stone tile backsplash for the kitchen.

Sold on sheets of 15 tiles each, we calculated how many sheets of tile backsplash we would need based on the approximate surface area of the wall.

We made sure to pad this number by at least two, to account for any waste factors.

Here’s Eileen holding a sheet of the tiles we chose for the kitchen backsplash:

Selecting a Grout Color for the Kitchen Backsplash

The next decision to make was selecting a grout color for the kitchen backsplash.

The grout is the filler material that goes in between the tiles. Grout comes in two types – sanded and unsanded.

When your tile spacing is less than ⅛”, you need unsanded grout.

Our stone tiles used ⅛” spacing, so we needed regular sanded grout.

Selecting a grout color was actually the hardest part of the the kitchen tile backsplash project because we kept changing our minds.

You don’t realize it but grout plays a big role in a tiled area, as one grout color can completely change the look of the area.

Once again we relied on our virtual showrooms of superimposed tiles to guide us on this decision.

We initially went with a dark-colored sanded grout, thinking it would match the cabinets; however, we changed our mind when we started using it because it was way too dark once mixed.

We ended up going with a grayish colored grout in the end.

Determining How to Cut the Tiles

Next, I needed a way to cut the tiles in order to tile the kitchen.

I remembered from discussions with our contractor friend that there were several ways of cutting tiles.

Option 1: I could use a hacksaw with a tungsten carbide blade. Although this was the cheapest solution, it seemed like a lot of work.

Option 2: I could use a manual tile cutter. It scores and breaks the tile for you. That sounded like a simple option.

Option 3: Then, there is a wet tile saw, which is basically a mini-table saw with a water reservoir to keep the blade wet and the tile dust to a minimum.

Coincidentally, Home Depot was having a Black Friday sale on wet tile saws, so it was hard to turn down the deal.

Admittedly, I would rarely use the saw in the future (how often am I installing tile backsplashes), but it was selling at half price and would greatly expedite progress on this project.

Pictured below is the wet tile saw ready for action.

Now, that we had our tile and grout selected (and a brand-new wet tile saw), it was just a matter of preparing the area in the kitchen and getting a mortar mix to bond the tile to the wall.

Prepping the Kitchen for the Backsplash

Prior to tiling the kitchen, I removed the small patch of red, pizza-kitchen tiles above the oven (pictured below) with a hammer and chisel.

Although they came off fairly easily and quickly, I had to be careful not to cause too much damage to the drywall beneath (the new tiles will need a sturdy and flush surface to adhere to).

Then, I prepped the area for the new tile backsplash by removing all the face plates from any electrical outlets/switches and covered the countertop with plastic.

Making the Mortar

We bought a bag of thinset, which is just a quick drying cement used for tiling.

It comes in powder form, and you just have to mix it with the right amount of water. The water/powder ratio is the trick to getting good workable thinset.

Too much water and the thinset is too runny and the tiles do not stick well to the wall during the drying period.

Too little water and the thinset gets too thick and causes difficulties spreading on the wall.

So I started with a few scoops of the powder and added in a very small amount of water. I used a paddle mixer attachment for my drill and a large bucket to stir the solution well.

My trick to getting the perfect thinset consistency was to slowly add in more and more water until I was comfortable with the result.

Once I mixed the right thickness, I let the thinset sit for 15 minutes. This wait time (called slaking) was an important step because it gave the thinset ingredients time to activate.

After the slaking period, I gave the mix one more stir, and it was ready to use.

It was time to start tiling the kitchen.

How to Install Tile Backsplash

Using a notched trowel that I purchased specifically for this occasion, I started spreading the thinset onto the drywall.

Remembering a tip from my contractor, I worked in small batches.

I only put on enough thinset to adhere one sheet of tiles at a time to the wall.

To apply the thinset, I scooped some onto a flat (non-notched) side of the trowel and spread it on the wall.

Once the thinset was spread evenly over a patch, I switched to the notched side of the trowel. I ran it across the thinset, leaving behind evenly spaced grooves.

The grooves are important to help the tiles stick to the wall. I placed a sheet of tiles on the wall and pressed each tile into the thinset.

The Importance of Tile Spacers

Here is where I made an incorrect assumption about tiling. I thought that because the tiles were already spaced on a sheet, I did not need tile spacers (little plastic wedges that help you keep your tiles evenly spaced).

However, once I adhered the sheet to the wall, shortly afterwards some of the tiles started to slide down the kitchen wall.

Luckily, I had some plastic washers that were ⅛” thick. I wedged those in between the drooping tiles to maintain the spacing.

So, I ran out later that day to get some actual tile spacers for the rest of kitchen tile project.

I also had an issue of drooping tiles, especially over areas with no countertop (like across the back of the stove). They just kept sliding downwards.

To solve this problem, I put temporary finishing nails below some of the tiles on the bottom row to give them a ledge to rest on.

However, the tiles above the countertop drooped too, and I could not have the tiles resting directly on the countertop, as I needed to have a ⅛” spacing.

Instead of using finishing nails there, I used some paint stirring sticks, which happened to be the right thickness.

At the time I thought it was a great idea, but what a big mistake it turned out to be. The next day when the thinset was dry, I tried to remove the stirring sticks. They would not budge.

They were embedded in the dry thinset, like the tiles above it. I had to use a chisel and a hammer to remove it, and even that did not do a great job.

I ended up having to use a special grout removal bit on my Dremel to grind out the wood/mortar mix in the groove between the tile and the countertop.

So note for future tile backsplash projects – always use proper plastic spacers rather than improvisation.

Making the Tile Cuts

Here’s a picture of one area of the kitchen wall, just after I applied the tile backsplash to the thinset:

By now, my newly purchased wet tile saw was really starting to pay off.

Cutting the tiles was a breeze, and all my cuts were very accurate.

Just like a table saw, I set the fence on the tile saw to the right distance, and slowly slid the tiles through the blade to cut them, guided by the fence.

There was practically no dust in the air, and it was fairly quiet. I could work in the garage at night and not have to worry about disturbing anyone with the noise.

Here’s a picture of me getting ready to cut one of the stones with the tile saw:

Most tiles just required one cut to fit a narrow gap.

However, several tiles required two perpendicular cuts, leaving behind an L-shaped tile. These pieces mostly wrapped around an electrical outlet or the corner of a cabinet.

To cut these, I held the tile up to where it was going. Then, I penciled in some notches on the surface to remember where to cut it.

The only problem I had with the tile saw was where the 2 perpendicular cuts met each other.

Since the blade was round, I had difficulty getting the cut lines to fully intersect without over-cutting slightly on one side of the tile (the side facing down on the saw table).

I dealt with this by making sure the back surface of the tile faced downward when cutting. The over-cut lines were not visible once the tiles were stuck to the wall.

It would have helped to have a tile snipper too.

I probably could have eliminated the over-cut problem by getting close enough with the wet tile saw. Then I could have broken off the waste part and then used a tile snipper to clean up the remaining piece.

Something to keep in mind for my next tile project, invest in a cheap tile snipper to work alongside the tile saw.

I started tiling on the area off-set by the fridge.

It was a small area, and when I was happy with that. I continued along the perimeter of the kitchen.

I finished installing the tiles in about 2 hours.

Eager to start grouting, I had to wait for the mortar to properly set, which meant letting it dry overnight.

Applying the Grout to the Tile Backsplash

The next evening, I started the grouting process.

I mixed the grout very similar to how I did the thinset. I added the grout powder to the bucket. Then, I slowly added in more and more water (mixing with the paddle) until I got a good consistency.

Afterwards, I let the mixture rest for 15 minutes to slake.

It was now time to apply the grout.

I really just used 3 tools for this process – a grout float, a sponge, and a bucket of water. I used the grout float to scoop the grout out of the bucket, and fill in between the tiles.

Also, I made sure not to get any grout into the spacing between the tiles and the countertop. That area actually requires caulking.

It would technically look fine if grout was packed in there, but there’s a good chance that grout would crack after some time.

I used a sanded caulk that was the same color as the grout.

After I packed the grout into the grooves, I let the grout sit for 15 minutes.

At this stage, the kitchen wall will look like a big mess, as the grout is wiped all over the tiles.

After the setting in period, I used a wet sponge to wipe off all the excess grout. I wiped a few tiles at a time, cleaned the sponge in a bucket of water, and repeated.

I saturated the sponge with water, but not enough so that water was dripping down the wall. The wet sponge is what really made the difference.

After wiping down the tiles, glimpses of what the final tile backsplash looked like started to reveal itself.

Next, I gave the DIY tile backsplash another sponge cleaning 3 hours later.

This time though, I completely wrung out the sponge before each wipe, so its just barely damp when wiping the tiles.

Also, its important to perform the wipes in one continuous motion, and not backtrack over already wiped tiles.

This last cleaning process is important to help reduce the amount of grout haze the next day when everything is completely dry.

The next day, I used a dry towel to dust off the tiles and remove any remaining haze. from the grout.

Here’s a close-up of the finished tile backsplash:

Applying a Tile Sealer

With the grout applied to the tiles, I had almost completed the kitchen tile backsplash.

Since the natural stone tiles were porous, I waited a few days after grouting and wiped on a tile sealer to help keep water out and protect the stones from daily kitchen use.

All in all, it took two days to complete the backsplash, and even though I learned a few things the hard way, I successfully installed the tiles in the kitchen.

Months later, the DIY tile backsplash looks the same as the day it first went on.

It’s amazing how much of a difference the DIY tile backsplash makes. It really ties the whole kitchen together.

In learning how to install backsplash, I used new tools and added quite a few skills to my toolkit. It was a fun project to work on.

If you are looking to install your own tile backsplash, it’s really quite simple – and it turned out amazing.

As for our kitchen, it is slowly coming together. The next phase of the kitchen overhaul is painting the window trim lighter to match the newly modern feel of the kitchen.

Then, installing some pendent lighting, and finally converting the desk area to a cabinet.

Check back for these projects, or check out our kitchen cabinet post to find out how our kitchen makeover started.

How to Professionally Paint an Old Wooden Desk

May 31, 2016 by Eileen 30 Comments

Years ago, I painted an old dresser white with turquoise knobs. It looked really cute, but it was apparent that it was painted – the surface wasn’t anywhere near the quality of the furniture you would buy from the store.

There are so many tutorials online about painting furniture, and so many say that you can skip sanding or priming. Here’s my advice – don’t skip sanding, don’t skip priming, and use a high-quality paint.

Lately, I had been in the market for a new desk in my craft room. I was determined to find a good deal on an old wooden piece and then figure out how to paint the desk like a professional would.

You see, my current desk was an old kitchen table. Ash was in the process of updating my craft room with beautiful built-in bookshelves and a window seat, so it was time for my kitchen table-desk to get the boot.

I didn’t want to pay $200 for a new, modern-looking desk, so I scoured a few flea markets and thrift stores. Finally, at a Habitat for Humanity thrift store. I found a brown wooden desk that I could work with. It was originally $40, but with a 50% coupon – I paid $20.

Being that my craft room would have mostly white furniture, I decided to try my hand at learning how to paint a desk like a professional.

How to Paint a Desk White

Below is a picture from before I started painting the wooden desk.

It’s not a great picture. It had only been in the garage for about two hours, and Ash had the desk covered with tools and wood from another garage storage project. (I should have taken a better picture, but I am always so excited to start my projects that I forget.)

Preparing the Wooden Desk

Before painting the desk, the first thing I did was remove the drawers and knobs. Then I cleaned the desk really well – wiping off dust and anything else that had collected on the surface.

The next step of the desk makeover was sanding it down. To sand, I used a random orbital sander with 80-grit paper. This got the desk down to the bare wood quickly. However, even though the desk was smooth to the touch, I probably should have gone over it with 220 grit paper afterward for a more fine finish.

Here is the desk after the sanding and before painting. Notice I put the feet of desk on pieces of wood to raise it up, so I could easily sand, prime, and paint the desk’s legs.

Priming the Wooden Desk

After I was finished sanding, I wiped the desk down again to get all of the sawdust off. You can use a cheese cloth for this or even paper towels. Next, I was ready for the primer.

Priming Materials

I had a 2-gallon bucket of indoor/outdoor primer leftover from painting the shed last summer, so I was all ready to go.

I used a large roller brush for the desktop. Then I used a small roller brush and a 1-inch brush for corners and tight areas.

In addition, I used an 1-inch foam brush for the rungs.

If you are wondering what the most challenging part of how to paint a desk is – it was painting the rungs. The rungs on this desk were in such close proximity to each other.

As soon as I would paint one side of the rung, paint would build-up on the bordering sides.

I would then smooth this, and once again, the bordering sides would have some build-up, continuing the cycle.

Thus, I had to very meticulously spend time painting the desk rungs, being careful not to use too much paint and being conscientious about going around and around to smooth everything.

If your furniture has a design like this, be sure to leave lots of time (and have plenty of patience).

Also, since the foam brush put on such a light coat of primer, I knew I would have to do at least two coats on the rungs of the desk I was painting.

After two coats of primer on most of the surfaces (I did 3 on the top of the desk as well as the rungs), I was happy with the results and continued on to painting.

Painting a Wooden Desk White

After priming, I was ready to start painting. I was already happy with how the white primer was looking and was excited to finish up the project.

Using a High-Quality Paint

For this, I used a high-quality enamel paint (urethane acrylic satin).

This type of paint differs from regular paint in that the paint pigments are floating in a urethane solution so it dries to form a very hard, protective surface – much like how polyurethane dries.

It is expensive (about $50 a gallon), but its recommended for furniture that gets a lot of use. (Also, I only used about 1/3 of the can painting the desk, so I had a decent amount left for future projects.)

Applying the Paint

To apply this special paint on the desk, I used a foam roller brush.

It is recommended to use a foam brush with this type of paint to give it a smooth finish.

If you use a regular nap roller (like the ones you use when painting walls), it will soak up and waste a lot of the paint, and it leaves a textured finish.

In addition to the foam roller brush, I also used a 1-inch foam brush for the rungs and tight areas.

I applied a thick topcoat on all of the surfaces of the desk, taking my time with the rungs.

After it dried, I put a second coat on the top of the desk only. This provided extra protection on this surface since it would get a lot of wear and tear.

Also, this probably goes without saying, but if it’s a windy day, paint your furniture in the garage if you can, so particles don’t blow and stick to your piece.

Here’s how the painted desk turned out:

The White Painted Desk

The surface of the painted desk had a nice protective enamel that made it easy to wipe, and it looked professional painted.

However, the painted desk still looked like there were ridges in the wood; it wasn’t a sleek, smooth finish like the brand-new furniture you buy directly from the store.

Don’t get me wrong, I was still very happy with the way the wooden desk turned out. However, in hindsight, when I sanded the desk down to the bare wood (even though the wood felt smooth to the touch), I probably should have gone over it with 220 grit paper for a more fine surface.

The 80-grit paper quickly got the old finish off, but the 220 would have given it a smoother seal.

I still loved the way the painted looked – it was a welcome addition to our bright, airy craft room, and I learned exactly how to paint a desk.

Here’s a side-by-side view of the before and after pictures of how to paint a desk. Not bad, right?!

Time & Cost of Painting a Wooden Desk

The time span of painting the desk was the course of a week – including dry time and airing out time. The paint fumes were not strong, but a little extra time never hurts.

The total cost came to $70. The desk was $20, and the paint was $50. We had previously purchased the primer and the painting materials, so that wasn’t a cost for us.

And, there was primer and paint leftover for the next project 🙂 If you are wondering how to paint a desk like professional, these tips and tricks should definitely set you on your way, keeping you loving your professional-looking piece for longer.

How to Install Shed Siding and Roofing (Phase 2)

May 22, 2016 by Ash 11 Comments

Everyone has been asking for the nail-biting conclusion on how to build a shed, so here it is! If you missed the first part, check out Shed Project Part 1.

My plan of building a shed from scratch has come a long way from some sketches on Post-It notes. I started on the shed’s foundation with concrete blocks. Then, I worked my way up through the shed floor and got the wall frame standing firm. If you haven’t read Part 1, be sure to check it out!

After a short break to work on some side projects around the house, it was time to continue building the shed so I could move the riding lawn mower out of the garage.

How to Build a Shed – Installing T1-11 Shed Siding

With the shed wall frame in place, it was time to install the exterior siding part of building the shed.

I used T1-11 plywood siding for my DIY shed.

T1-11 siding is very popular wood paneling siding for sheds. T1-11 plywood is thick enough to be used as the actual wall itself (versus using a thinner plywood sheathing and separate siding).

Also, T1-11 siding (similar to the T&G plywood used for the floor) also has special grooved endings to help the sheets overlap and make a tighter seal at the seams.

Installing the shed siding for your framed structure does more than just enclose it.

At this stage, the framed walls were still wobbly and were not square with each other. The shed siding corrects all of this for you.

When you install the first piece of shed siding onto each wall panel, you use that first piece to align the edge of the wall panel.

Once the wall panel is aligned with the shed siding, you nail them together and that wall panel is squared and locked in place.

Getting Ahead of Myself

Remember earlier when I said I used L brackets to tightly secure the 4 wall panels together, and it backfired?

Well, prior to installing the shed siding, my shed wall panels were not wobbly. They were held very firmly in place because of the L brackets at the corners.

It took me a few minutes to figure out why the walls were not budging when I tried to line up the edges with the shed siding. So I had to undo a lot of the L brackets from the corners to get the shed siding to install correctly.

Once the shed siding was up, I reinstalled the L brackets.

As for the window openings, I initially installed shed siding that covered them up completely.

Once the shed siding was securely in place, I used a mini circular saw to cut out the opening (I highly recommend a compact circular saw for your tool collection – it’s much more convenient than a full sized circular saw and also very precise).

I made another mistake related to the shed siding too. The wall studs in the panels are spaced 16” apart (pretty common construction standard).

The 16” spacing starts at one end of the wall panel. Yet, depending on the length of the wall panel, it could end abruptly, forcing you to place the ending stud at an arbitrary distance.

When installing the shed siding, you always have to start on the end of the panel where the 16” spacing begins (not where it ended prematurely).

Starting on the correct end of the wall panel ensures that every 4 ft wide shed siding sheet ends on a wall stud.

I luckily did this for the 3 sides of the shed. However, the right side of the shed, I did not start siding on the correct end.

Because of this error, I had several pieces of overlapping siding that did not have a wall stud behind it.

Lack of a wall stud at the seams meant there was no way to tighten the overlap between the shed siding sheets and left a gap for rain and bugs to come in.

So rather than re-siding that wall panel, I left it as is, and installed some additional wall studs to nail the seams into.

Rain, Rain Go Away

I worked on building the shed all by myself. Since it was a solo project, it took me longer to finish because it was just me building it. During this time, I had an issue with heavy rain water causing parts of the shed siding to swell and bulge and pull away from parts of the foundation.

After it had rained, I noticed that there were 2 slight dips in the flooring around the edges of the shed foundation that caused rain water to puddle and remain there.

In that same area, some of the shed siding was bulging on the outside. I did some research and found out that unprotected T1-11 plywood siding will start to warp if left exposed to standing water.

So this puddling water was warping my T1-11 siding.

My solution was to drill a few tiny holes into the center of the floor dips to let the water drain. After the next rainfall, I checked the shed and there was no more water puddles.

My T1-11 plywood siding has never warped since.

As for the existing bulges in the shed siding, I could not leave them like that because it would let bugs in. So I used a bar clamp to force the shed siding back into place, and secured it with a few nails.

Shed Roof Construction

With the plywood shed walls finally up, I could start working on the roof.

This was a big milestone for my DIY shed project as it meant the “drying out” period could start (when water stopped entering the interior, and it could soon become usable space).

How to Build Roof Trusses for a Shed

The shed roof required a number of trusses to be built.

The trusses are the shed roof framing, which are the triangular supports mounted on top of the structure that the roof sheathing or plywood is nailed into.

I had to build thirteen individual shed trusses to span the length of the shed.

Here is what the shed trusses look like up close:

In building trusses for a shed, I followed the directions in the shed plans to construct them.

My miter saw really came in handy for building the shed roof, as there were lots of angles to cut.

Where each segment of the truss met another segment, I sandwiched that part between two pieces of plywood and nailed it together securely.

I read a great tip online about constructing the shed trusses. Similar to the framed wall panels, I built them on the floor of the shed. However, this time I use the shed floor to make a jig for each truss.

I needed each of the trusses to be identical to the next. So I built the first truss carefully on the shed floor.

Once completed, I screwed scrap blocks of wood in the floor at strategic parts around the truss.

I lifted the finished truss up and a perfect jig remained on the floor to construct the next one. I didn’t have to spend time measuring and aligning the truss segments.

Next, I just placed each segment into the jig and secured them with the sandwiching plywood.

The blocks of wood screwed into the floor meant that the truss would be a perfect replica of the original one.

How to Attach the Shed Trusses

Attaching the trusses to the shed structure was not as simple as dropping them onto the top and nailing them.

Because of how they rest on the framed walls, there was not much surface area to work with to nail them down securely.

I did some research online, and a common technique was to just toe-nail the truss to the shed (drive some nails into the truss at an angle to penetrate both the truss and the shed structure).

I tried this, but I was not comfortable with the connection it made. There was too much movement, and it did not feel safe to leave it like that.

My solution was to use L brackets on the sides of the trusses and heavy duty 6-inch TimberLok screws driven in from underneath at an angle.

The screws were what really did the job. The L brackets really just held the truss in place so it was easy to drive in the screws. I love the TimberLok screws.

With all the extra TimberLok screws leftover from the shed, I use them in so many projects now (such as my folding workbench and sliding garage shelves) that require a really strong fastener.

Here is a view of the trusses from outside:

How to Install Roof Sheathing on a Shed

Next came the shed roof sheathing. I used ½” 4×8 OSB (oriented strand board) plywood for the shed roof.

The trickiest part of this shed building step was actually getting the plywood sheets onto the trusses. I would recommend getting some help for this part of the shed construction. The shed roof sheathing was very heavy and large to do by yourself.

I was very eager though to get the roof on, and unfortunately no one was around at the time to help. I went through several failed attempts to get the sheets up by myself.

Eventually the technique that worked for me was to lift each plywood sheet up and in between the trusses. This required quite a bit of strength.

Needless to say, I was very sore afterwards, but it was worth it.

Prior to lifting up the plywood sheets, I had screwed scrap siding into the overhanging part of the trusses, giving the lower trusses an edge.

This ensured that when I dropped the sheets onto the trusses, they would not slide off the bottom and fall to the ground.

One by one, I lifted and nailed each sheet down to the trusses in a staggered pattern provided in the plans.

Here’s a picture looking up into the trusses after the plywood sheathing was laid down:

Installing the Drip Edge on a Plywood Shed

With the plywood sheathing nailed down, I installed a drip edge on the overhang of the shed.

A drip edge is specially shaped metal flashing that helps keep water on roof away from your structure, and not run down the side.

Here’s a close up of the metal drip edge on the plywood shed:

Laying the Roof Paper

After the plywood sheathing came roofing felt paper. The roofing paper came in a large roll that I cut into 16 ft segments.

I started at the bottom corner of one side of the roof, and worked my way up. I nailed the roofing paper into the trusses using roofing nails with large plastic caps in the heads.

The caps really gripped the roofing paper without tearing it.

I also liked that the caps for the roof were bright orange. It helped me locate the trusses after the paper went on (it’s important to try and keep your weight above the trusses to avoid doing damage to the sheathing).

I covered both sides of the roof with paper and left the apex for last.

There was a little gap between the roofing sheathing at the apex where the two sides of the roof met. I was a little worried about leaks, so I thickened up the felt paper by applying two layers on the apex.

Here’s a picture of the apex with the extra layer of roofing paper (there are some shingles installed already, but I’m getting to that next):

Installing Shingles on the Shed Roof

After the felt paper, I moved onto the shingles. I’ve always wanted to work with shingles, so I was really looking forward to this learning opportunity.

After a lot of roofing research, I felt confident to proceed in knowing how to put shingles on a shed.

Coincidentally, part of our home’s roof was being replaced at this time by a roofing contractor due to a leak, so I talked to the guy for a little bit and he gave me some useful tips and confirmed that my plan for the shed’s roof sounded solid.

I bought 25-year asphalt 3-tab charcoal colored shingles from Home Depot.

I estimated I needed about 6 bundles of shingles. They are sold in packs called bundles, and each bundle covers about 33 sq.

The individual shingles are rectangular in shape with 3 tabs (as seen in the picture below):

The black line running across the center of the shingle is a tar line.

Shingles overlap one another, and when the sun heats up the roof, the tar line softens enough to adhere to the overlapping shingles.

Applying Starter Shingles on the Shed Roof

To begin installing shingles on the roof, I first had to apply starter shingles.

Some shingle bundles come with special shingle strips called starters that lack the 3 tabs and are just one continuous strip.

Because shingles always need to overlap each other, the first row of shingles on a roof needs a special starting strip, or else the tabs would rest directly on the felt paper below and expose it to the elements.

My shingle bundles did not have any starters, so I just made my own.

I used a utility knife and cut off the tabs from a few shingles. I cut just below the tar line.

Nailing Down the Shingles

With the starter strips made, I nailed them to the bottom edge of the roof, making sure the tar line was on the bottom.

I made sure to extend the shingles about an inch off the edge of the roof. This overhang is important to prevent water from running off the shingles and down the siding.

I know that the metal drip edge was installed below to prevent this, but this was just an extra measure of protection.

After the starters were installed, I was ready to install the regular tabbed shingles.

I overlapped the starter strip with the tabs from the other shingles and drove 4 nails per shingle just below the tar line (with two at the ends and two above each tab slit).

I worked my way across the shed roof to complete the first row. The last shingle in the row needed to be cut, but I left it intact for now, with plans to cut all the excess later.

To start the next row of shingles, I had to offset the first shingle so that the tab slits rested on the middle of a shingle tab below.

If I did not offset the starting shingle, then the tab slits would line up with the slits in the row below and increase the potential of water seeping through the shingles unto the roofing felt.

So using a utility knife, I cut off about 1/6th of the shingle.

I continued this process row-by-row until I got as close as possible to the apex of the roof.

Then I hopped over to the other side of the shed’s roof, and repeated the whole process (installed the starter shingles at the bottom, and worked my way up).

Here’s a picture of the shingles so far:

Finishing with a Ridge Cap on the Shed Roof

The last step to finish installing the shingles on the shed roof was to cover up the apex and form a solid ridge cap.

Once again, I had to cut the shingles to make special pieces for the apex on the shed roof.

Just like the starter strips, I cut off the tabs below the tar line.

Then I nailed each strip across the apex, perpendicular to the rest of the shingles on the sides.

As I worked my way across the apex, I overlapped each strip so each overlapping one covers the tar line on next one.

Here’s a picture of what the apex looked like after installing the shingles:Here’s a picture after installing the shingles on the roof (Eileen just put on a coat of primer on the siding too):

Priming and Painting the Shed

Speaking of primer, Eileen took care of all of the painting on the shed – from choosing the color to the last brush stroke.

And, painting the shed was a project by itself.

The shed took a lot of paint which we greatly underestimated. Here I was thinking how far a gallon of paint went on drywall when repainting a bedroom.

Needless to say, a gallon of primer barely touched the surface of the raw plywood siding on the shed. The plywood soaked up so much of the paint.

So, we went back and purchased a 5-gallon bucket of Zinnser brand primer. Eileen ended up painting the shed with 3 coats of primer.

After the primer, Eileen went on painting the shed with 2 coats of grey exterior paint.

The grey paint on the shed really made it pop, but more importantly, served as a thick protective barrier for the siding against water.

So in total, the shed required 5 coats of paint, taking about a week to complete.

It was well worth the time and effort though, and since Eileen did the painting, I could keep working on other shed tasks.

With the shed now primed and painted, next up was building a ramp for the riding lawn mower, building shed steps for the storage entrance, building doors, and installing the windows.

To keep reading to see how the shed turned out, check out the final post – Shed Project Phase 3 (Building Steps, Ramps, & Doors).

Refinishing an Old Telephone Table

May 15, 2016 by Eileen 25 Comments

With the warm weather, Ash and I have been working on so many projects – a built-in bookshelf in our sitting room, a planter box for our garden, painting an old thrift store desk, transforming a kitchen desk area to a cabinet, and refinishing an old telephone table.

Today I’m sharing how Ash and I refinished our old telephone table. I found it for $20 at my favorite flea market years ago and feel in love with its charm. I’d been wanting to stain it dark for years, but it fit in pretty nicely at our old house.

However, in our new house, our family room is much more modern looking, and this old telephone table stood out like a sore thumb!

Preparing the Telephone Table

I was excited to finally have a chance to redo this old telephone table.

My plan was to use wood stain, as we redid my nanny’s coffee table years ago with wood stain. It turned out beautiful.

The first thing I did was wipe it down really well, getting rid of any dust. Then I started to sand down table.

Here’s where I made my mistake. I didn’t sand it down to bare wood. I just did a light sanding, enough to give the stain something to stick too.

Mistakenly, I then moved onto staining the piece, and it was turning out horribly. Since I didn’t sand this old, weathered piece down to bare, there were lots of little knicks and grooves in the surfaces. The stain was filling these in, turning them almost black. So, the surfaces were looking spotty and uneven.

I figured that I now had three choices: I could switch gears and use gel stain like I did on the kitchen and bathroom cabinets, I could paint the table, or I could start over again and sand it down to bare wood.

I decided to sand it down to bare wood and start again. Here’s where Ash helped me. We decided to leave the rungs as is – they looked fine with the first coat of stain, and we were hoping they would blend in well with the second application of stain.

To begin the sanding, Ash started with the random orbital sander and 80 grit paper. However, the existing finish on the table proved to be very challenging to remove. The sander was doing its job but very slowly and burning through lots of paper.

After some experimentation with different tools, Ash found the best one to be the oscillating multi-tool.

Using a flush-cut saw blade, running the blade against the surface at the right angle scraped off the thick, difficult finish. It did leave behind a very ragged surface due to the oscillating action of the blade, but he sanded it down smoothly after with the orbital sander.

One caution about using the oscillating multi-tool is that Ash had to be careful to pull the blade versus pushing it through.

When he pushed the tool, it would sometimes snag a groove and start cutting deeply into the wood. The pulling action worked out best.

I made sure to wipe off all of the sawdust – using a combination of a cheese cloth and Ash’s Shop-Vac.

Staining the Telephone Table

Next, I re-gathered my materials for staining:

Dark Walnut Wood Stain – Minwax
Polyurethane – Minwax
Pre-stain – Minwax
Four rags (two per coat)
Foam brushes
Gloves

I prefer to stain wood using rags because the stain rubs into the wood better. You have less excess and build-up; however, I keep the foam brush around for hard to get to places.

Also, I grabbed our can of pre-stain since the wood was now bare. I used the pre-stain first, brushing it on with a foam brush and waiting about 20 minutes before starting to stain.

I used the first rag to rub on a nice coat of stain. Then, I started with the seat and worked my way around.

Since I was working in the hot sun, the wood was absorbing the stain faster than usual. So, I needed to wipe off the excess before I finished the whole piece. I used the second rag for this, lightly brushing it along the surface. Don’t skip this step – or you will end up with globs.

Also, make sure to do a good job removing the excess around tight areas – like where the rungs meet the table. Otherwise, you will end up with ugly, globby lumps.

Even though I used the rag for most of the staining, I took out the foam brush to get the really tight corners or spaces. Be careful with the foam brush because it holds a lot of stain and drips easily and messily.

After I was done staining and removing the excess, I did a quick scan to make sure I didn’t miss any drips. I let it dry until it wasn’t tacky anymore.

Then, I put on another coat.

Sealing the Stain with Polyurethane

After I was done with the two coats, I was pleased with the results. So, Ash put on a coat of polyurethane.

He used a foam brush, going along with the grain of the wood, and carefully making sure there were no lingering air bubbles on the table’s surfaces.

He let that dry overnight and then did another coat. The refinished telephone table was almost done.

Completing the Refinished Telephone Table

The last step was choosing a new knob at Home Depot and screwing it into the drawer.

We let the refinished telephone table air out for a few days. Then, we moved it back into our family room.

Here’s a before and after picture of my charming newly refinished telephone table.

Since we had all of the wood staining materials in our garage, the cost of refinishing the telephone table was $2. Just the cost of the knob. 🙂

The time of project spanned about a week or so, due to the dry time between coats and the couple of days we let it air out. While the refinished telephone table was drying, Ash and I had other projects we were working on – like a desk update.

Overall, the telephone table update was quite an improvement. The dark stain modernized the old table perfectly. I’ll be on the lookout for my next flea market find 🙂

How to Fix Up an Old Lawn Mower

April 24, 2016 by Ash 12 Comments

As the days warmed up and the grass started growing again, it wasn’t too long afterward when it was time to awaken my riding mower from its slumber. When a nice sunny day came, I went out back to the shed, hopped on the mower and turned the key.

Nothing happened. I turned the key again, and again. It was just making a whirring sound. I couldn’t even try applying the choke because the engine was not even trying to turn over.

After trying a few more times, I was dismayed.

I knew I would have some trouble starting up the mower after the winter break, but not like this. It was clear that today was not the day for mowing. It was time to do some investigation and perform some mower maintenance.

I bought the used riding mower on Craigslist last summer. I got a great deal because it was 20 years old and was showing a lot of cosmetic wear. However, the previous owner kept up with the maintenance, and it ran pretty well for its age.

I was also not too of how to fix a riding lawn mower because I had confidence in my repair skills (having brought some old push mowers back to life at my previous home with some replacement parts).

How to Fix an Old Riding Lawn Mower

To prep for my maintenance project, I tracked down the mower manual online, located the consumer replaceable parts and ordered them online.

Then I put together Ash’s grand maintenance plan for reviving your riding mower, as outlined below.

1. Spark plugs and battery
2. Oil filter and oil change
3. Air filter and precleaner
4. Fuel filter
5. Clean out mower deck
6. Replace mower drive belt
7. Lubricate
8. Check tire pressure

Here’s a picture of the left and right side of my mower engine, with some of the areas above outlined:

1. Spark Plugs and Battery

The first thing I did was check for activity in the spark plugs.

Using a special spark plug socket, I pulled one of them out, still connected to the battery, and turned the key. There was no spark. I tried another spark plug that I knew was working (from my push mower), and still no spark.

This led me to believe the battery was low on juice. I had a 12 volt car battery charger, so I was going to try recharging it. It made sense that the battery would be low as the mower had not been run for a few months.

Before I recharged, I wanted to rule out a bad battery (incapable of being recharged). I tested the battery with a volt meter and got 12.4 volts which was actually normal. Any lower readings (especially in the 11 volt range) would have suggested a bad battery.

So I hooked up the battery to the recharger, setting it to 10 amps with an automatic shutdown on full charge. An hour later, the recharger said the battery was ready. I hooked it back up to the mower and tried starting the engine. Still no luck.

So Eileen picked up a new mower battery for me at Lowes (they seemed to have a better selection than Home Depot). I got a 275amp battery (suggested for mowers up to 21hp) making sure that the positive terminal was on the same side as the old battery (or else the wire hook ups would not reach). Here’s a picture of the new battery installed:

Here’s a picture of the exposed spark plug (which I was able to remove using a special socket):

We did bring in my old battery to Lowes for recycling. They give you a small discount (which covered a core charge fee for a new battery purchase).

We also picked up two new spark plugs. I installed the new battery and spark plugs and tried starting the engine…

Success!

The starter motor did not hesitate at all. The flywheel immediately began spinning, trying to start the engine. It did take a few tries to get the engine running, but eventually got it going. That leads me to the next maintenance steps.

2. Oil Filter & Oil Change

Now it was time to change the oil and oil filter.

I located the oil drain plug and setup a funnel and plastic container to collect the old oil. I then removed the oil dipstick from above, loosened the drain plug and out came the oil – pouring out slowly.

When the oil stopped coming, I screwed back in the plug and went to work on the filter. I put a rag under the existing filter to catch any oil that would spill. I twisted the filter and pulled it out of the mower.

Good thing I had the rag in place because a lot of oil came out of the filter. I grabbed the new oil filter, put a little oil on the gasket and screwed it into the mower.

Now it was time to pour in new oil. I poured nearly two quarts of 5W30 oil (picked up at the nearby gas station) down the oil dipstick hole, pausing every now and then to take a measurement with the dipstick to make sure I didn’t overfill.

Here’s a picture of the new oil filter and drain plug:

3. Air Filter and Pre-cleaner

Next up was the air filter and pre-cleaner.

It’s important to have a steady flow of filtered air entering your engine. Disruptions to this flow can lead to lack of power, excessive fuel consumption or problems starting up.

You can normally clean out the old filter, but I had no idea how long the existing one was in there. Therefore, I disposed of the old one and replaced with a new one.

Accessing the filter was easy. I just removed a wing nut and the metal housing. The air filter itself is just a cylinder with wire mesh and a paper filter.

The pre-cleaner is a piece of sponge wrapped around the filter. I unpacked the new pre-cleaner, and following the installation instructions. I moistened it with some motor oil and wrapped it around the new filter. Then, I replaced the old one on the mower engine.

Here’s a picture of the new air filter and pre-cleaner installed (without the metal housing so you can see it):

4. Fuel Filter

Now for the fuel filter. It’s recommended that you change the fuel filter on your mower once every season.

There can be lots of impurities in your gas tank (think about all the times you opened the tank lid for a refueling with grass still settling from the blades), so a season of mowing can clog up your filter.

Using the mower manual, I located the filter on the engine. If you’re having trouble finding yours, just follow the fuel line from the gas tank to the engine. The fuel filter is along that line.

To remove the filter, I first clamped the fuel line in between the filter and the tank. I didn’t want fuel dumping out of the tank once I removed the filter. I also put a container beneath the filter to catch any excess gas stuck in the line and filter.

Then I removed the hose clamps holding the filter in place and pulled off the fuel line. Luckily no fuel leaked out. The tank must have been nearly empty. I then attached the new filter, making sure the arrow indicating direction of fuel pointed towards the engine.

With the fuel lines clamped back onto the filter, I removed the temporary clamp pinching the line and installation was complete.

Here’s a picture of the new fuel filter installed:

At this point, the engine was now ready for the upcoming season. I turned the ignition key and the engine fired up without hesitation.

I didn’t even have to apply the choke. Then, I let the engine idle for 10 minutes to make sure it ran okay and didn’t have any fuel or oil leaks. After, I took it for a test drive, and it drove like a champ.

5. Clean out mower belt

Now onto the mower deck, which was giving me some trouble. While mowing the front lawn, I noticed a lot of squealing noises coming from the belts in the deck. Also, the collection bags were barely filling with grass. It got so bad that I actually had to disconnect the automatic bagger because the tubes were getting clogged with grass.

I switched to side discharge for the grass, which meant I spent a lot of time raking up the grass when done. Finally, a few times the engine actually died with the blades engaged.

After inspecting the mower deck, I concluded that the three problems I had stemmed from a worn mower belt and debris wedging against the belts. The debris particularly was causing a lot of friction with the belt and putting strain on the mower, causing the engine to stall out sometimes.

This also impacted the bagger because the blades could not spin at full speed and expel the grass fast enough. The belt also had clear evidence of being worn down. There were lots of cracks, and I was surprised the belt hadn’t broke already.

Removing and Cleaning the Mower Deck

To address my mower deck issues, I first removed the deck from the mower. It was not that difficult.

Following directions in the manual, I located and removed some retainer springs holding the deck pinned into the mower chassis. Then I slid the deck out from under the mower.

Here is a picture of the deck removed from the mower.

Technically I didn’t have to remove the mower deck to replace the belt. However the debris was really hard to reach and was easier to remove this way. I also wanted to take the opportunity to inspect the blades and underneath the deck.

Once I opened the deck, I removed all the debris with ease. There was a lot of it too, from packed dirt to wads of dried leaves. I could see why the belts were making so much noise. I’m sure it was a fire hazard too, with friction from the belts heating up the dried leaves and possibly igniting them.

Soon the deck was looking very clean. I flipped it over and inspected underneath. It wasn’t too bad under there. I just used a flat screwdriver to scrape off some grass patches that have been building up over time.

Sharpening the Mower Blades

When I checked out the blades, they were extremely dull. The sharp part was actually round and smooth. All this time mowing the lawn, I could have just whacked the grass with a baseball bat.

So I removed the 3 blades with a socket spanner, clamped each one in place and sharpened with my Dremel and a grinding stone bit.

After I sharpened both ends of the blade, I stuck a bolt in the blade to see if it was properly balanced. If either side of the blade dipped, it meant the blade was imbalanced and would cause a lot of vibration when spinning. Luckily, I did the job evenly when sharpening and the blades were balanced well.

Here is a picture of a blade clamped down right after I finished sharpening it (see how the sharpened part gleams):

Here I am reattaching the sharpened blades (I made sure to wear gloves so I didn’t cut myself):

Here’s a close-up of the mower deck showing some of the debris that I had to remove (it was a lot worse before):

6. Replacing the belt

Now to address the worn out belt. I took a picture of the belt route with my phone and then removed it. I installed the new belt matching the route from my picture.

Mower deck maintenance was now complete. I slid it back under the mower and reattached the retainer springs to secure it to the chassis. I started up the motor and engaged the blades. Nothing happened. Oh no, what happened? The blades did not spin.

I looked underneath the mower and discovered the belt had too much slack. I compared the new belt to the old one and saw that the new one was slightly bigger. Unfortunately, this model mower did not allow you to adjust the tension in the belts, so the new belt was unusable for me.

I ordered the correct part number online, but it was a third party belt. I should have spent the extra money for a factory replacement instead. Disappointed, I put back in the old belt, so I could at least use the mower and ordered a factory belt in the meantime. I’d install it in a few days when it arrives.

Let that be a lesson, be wary of third party replacements especially when the price looks too good to pass up.

7. Lubricant

I had almost completed my maintenance plan. Then, I applied all-purpose grease to a few key areas on the mower.

I used the mower manual to identify these areas, and applied grease where needed. A few areas also required silicone lubricant, which I was lucky enough to have a spray can of (I use it to keep my foosball table rods spinning like new).

I broke in the new lubricated parts with a drive around the yard, making sure to turn the steering wheel a lot. The neighbors must have worried what state I was in zigzagging the mower across the yard!

8. Tire Pressure

The final step was to check the tire pressure. I grabbed a pressure gauge from my car’s glove compartment box and compared the mower tire pressure to recommended specs in the manual.

They were a little low, so I used a bicycle pump to bring them back up to the correct PSI. Low tire pressure will cause excess drag when driving, and consume more fuel, so it’s important to keep your tires properly inflated.

Finally, the mower was in proper working condition for the new season. I documented what parts I replaced along with the date. This way I would remember for next season the parts I replaced.

Not everything in my maintenance plan needs to be done every season. I just wanted to hit all my bases this one time, since I had no way of knowing what the previous owner did.

If you are in a similar position, wondering how to fix your old riding lawn mower, then go through the above checklist. It’s been tried and proven.

Look out tall grass, I’m ready for you this season!

How to Sell Your Home in Less Than a Week

April 18, 2016 by Eileen 110 Comments

In the weeks leading up to putting our house on the market, Ash and I worked tirelessly getting our home ready.

As parents of a little one, we did not want our house sitting for the market for weeks, let alone months. Therefore, we did a great deal of packing, updating, cleaning, and staging in order to sell our home quickly.

Once ready, our home sold four days after it went on the market (after a weekend of showings).

It was an amazing moment knowing that our hard work got us exactly what we wanted. Our goal was to sell our home in five days or even a week, so we were thrilled after it sold in four days.

How to Sell Your Home Quickly

These five tried and proven tips are amazing and helped to sell our home in no time. These ways to sell your home quickly will definitely have you on your way to signing papers 🙂 Here’s exactly what we did that working amazing for us.

1. Pack, Pack, Pack

If you are looking to sell your home quickly, our number one recommendation is to pack up two-thirds of your things. It sounds like a lot – but you will be packing up anyway, and I assure you that your home will sell more quickly.

With our home, we had a lot of things. Our walls were covered with pictures, there was furniture everywhere, closets were stuffed to the brim, not to mention all of the baby things.

We needed to empty out to make our home look more spacious, to depersonalize, and to properly stage it in order to sell our home quickly.

Packing can be really overwhelming, so read on to see exactly how we packed up our home, in order to get it ready to quickly sell.

Start with the Pictures

First, I worked on the walls. I took down most of the pictures, leaving a few here and there to stage it. I probably had about 15 picture frames up in the living room. With these, I took them all down and then rehung up 3 simple pictures symmetrically above the couch.

I did, however, really like the gallery that I had in the kitchen – it looked modern and cool (see below), so I left that as it was, just swapping out the personal photos for scenery photos.

Simplify Furniture

Next, I removed clunky furniture – extra chairs in the corners, extra dressers in the bedroom, and any other kind of filler furniture. For example, I took everything out of my dining room except for the dining set and the hutch (see below pictures – don’t mind our pets).

The rooms looked more spacious, less “lived in,” and people could walk around more easily. Emptying out some of the superfluous furniture definitely helps sell your home quickly.

Declutter Cabinets and Shelves

The next step of project “sell our home quickly” was to start packing up dishes, knick knacks, extra kitchen gadgets, and smaller picture frames. For instance, our bay window was filled with personal picture frames. So, I packed them all up and put a plant there instead.

Also, I wanted our cabinets and bookshelves not to look stuffed. When people look at houses, they open cabinets, closets – everything. It all needed to look organized and roomy. You don’t want prospective buyers to see a cabinet full of shoved, mismatched Tupperware.

This was around Christmas time, and we ordered a lot from Amazon and Kohls (great Black Friday sales!) , so every time we got a delivery, I would empty the box of my new purchase and then repack it up with the above items.

It was really efficient for me to pack this way because with a baby that wasn’t sleeping that well, I didn’t have a lot of time other than a few minutes here and there.

Also, packing can seem like a lot of work, but it’s work you have to do anyway. So packing ahead of time gives you a jump start on the work you would have had after you sold your house.

Empty Closets

Next up was our closets, and they were maxed out. We definitely need to pack and organize them to get our house ready to sell. So, I packed most of the things and organized the rest.

For our clothes, I packed up things that were out of season. It was winter, so I packed all of my dresses and summer things.

Our walk-in closet still looked terrible, so I organized all of Ash’s and my clothes in rainbow order. It’s amazing how much neater and less chaotic this small change made our walk-in look. I love the way things look arranged in rainbow order, and it definitely put us on the path of organizing our chaos to sell our home quickly.

Baby Basics

As far as the baby things, they were everywhere. With our plan of wanting to sell quickly, we put as much away as we could. We didn’t use the pack n’ play very often, so we folded that up and put it away. Because our son was using his bouncer a lot, we found a place for it in the downstairs closet, where we could easily take it in and out without overstuffing the closet.

Basically, all of the baby things would be put away for showings, other than what was in the upstairs nursery.

Luckily, we had a huge attic and nearby parents to help with the storage. We also had a few places where we could still put things: we had two couches with storage underneath that held a lot of last minute things that were laying around. You could always rent a storage unit too – but packing up beforehand is a critical step in selling your home quickly.

With our house looking less lived in and 2/3 of our stuff packed up, we were definitely on the right path to selling our home quickly. Read on for more ways to sell your home in less than 5 days.

2. Make Easy, Manageable Updates

In the midst of packing up, we also made manageable aesthetic updates in order to sell our home quickly.

You don’t have to be a DIYer to make upgrades, but fixing little things here and there definitely will help you sell your home quickly.

These updates can be little things that you have been meaning to fix before selling your house. Or, they can be quick swaps that make a huge difference.

Replace Simple Items

In wanting to sell our home, we tried to replace simple things around our home that looked dated. For example, we replaced old rusty air vents that were very visible. We replaced beat up switch covers for shiny new ones.

We also purchased some items to make our home look more modern. We bought a few old light fixtures that were more modern and replaced these.

Additionally, we bought a kitchen table that worked with the space better than the clunky one we had before. We knew could take this with us when we moved.

We also repainted some areas. Our kitchen was blue overload, so we did a more gray shade.

These aren’t great pictures – but it shows the changed light fixture, new table, and lighter paint color in the kitchen nook – all small things which made a big difference.

Our realtor even commented how perfect that table was for the small space, without even knowing we had just bought it.

So, take a look around your home and see what simple changes you are comfortable making in order to sell your home quickly.

Freshen Paint

Prospective buyers have troubling imagining themselves living in a home that needs work, so we wanted to make it look as perfect as possible. If you have any crazy colors – like a bright red wall that stands out, it might be a good idea to paint it a neutral color.

In our house, I gave the rooms that needed it a fresh coat of paint. I also did a fresh coat on our front door and back door. Of course, I got a little carried away and repainted baseboard and chair rails in our downstairs too to make them brighter and fresher.

Easy Maintenance

I had taken so many pictures off the wall that there were an abundance of nail holes. Fixing these is not only a nice thing to do for the future home owners but it makes the walls look so much nicer. So, I filled all of the old nail holes and then painted.

Then, I filled the gaps between the old crown molding pieces that the previous owners had done. I caulked and painted these. We also fixed up old grout in the bathroom that wasn’t visually pleasing with a little recaulking.

These were all simple things to do – they didn’t cost anything, but it definitely made our home look really nice. All these things definitely helped to sell our home quickly.

Pantry Upgrade

Additionally, Ash put up the French door pantry in the kitchen, which was a quick weekend project. It previously had dingy curtains and looked awful.

I can’t believe we didn’t think of the French doors sooner. They turned a little nook of shelves into a modern-looking pantry.

You can make yourself go crazy doing all of these things.

Remember you can’t do everything, so be reasonable about the small upgrades that you can make without making yourself go nuts. Any small updates will definitely help.

3. Stage Your Home

As our updates were nearing completion, we started to stage our home in order to sell the house quickly. This is such an important step in the whole process of selling your home. You want the prospective home buyers to feel like they could live in your space. And, all of the packing you already did will help you stage because there will be so much less to stage.

Brightening Dim Spaces

In order to make our home shine, we wanted to let as much natural light in as possible. First, we took down the dark curtains from both our bay windows to let a lot of light in. We left the curtain rods up, but it definitely brightened up the whole downstairs. Natural light is the best.

We put some brighter bulbs in dark spaces, like in our laundry room and kitchen. We apparently had dim lighting in both areas and hadn’t realized. Our realtor pointed this out (keep reading for more on this), and it made a huge difference.

Arranging & Rearranging

Part of staging your home is arranging furniture. We rearranged our living room and our bedroom to allow easy flow of people. When selling your home, you don’t want prospective home buyers to feel cornered or stuck or trip on a piece of furniture. You want your living areas to feel open. We also added a few plants to windowsills. Beautiful greens definitely add a lot to a home.

In selling our home, we arranged all of the shelves neatly. Already having personal photos removed, there was less to work with. Therefore, in the nursery – for example, we got creative and printed some Pooh sketches from google and used color-coordinated children’s books to replace some of the personal photos that we took out.

Setting Up the Outdoors for Staging

Remember, in selling your home the outside is important to stage too. We put down fresh mulch in our backyard and cleaned up the flower gardens. Then, we set the chairs up on our deck to look inviting. We had the porch cleanly swept.

In the front yard, we put new solar garden lights for nighttime showings and cleaned up the flower beds too.

And, we put down a colorful carpet and brightly colored pillows in our dingy, old sunroom. New pillows are a great way to stage any room, as you can bring in new colors or accentuate the colors you have.

What about the dog?

We hid all evidence of our dog – the dog bed, toy bones, crate – everything! He’s a very clean dog that doesn’t shed, but we wanted to make a good first impression on prospective buyers.

We know this information would be disclosed, but we didn’t want anyone put off from our home during first impressions.

The Best Scent for Staging a Home

Prior to showing, we opened the windows and let the fresh air in. We didn’t bother with any candles or scents or cinnamon in the microwave – just some lemon cleaning products and fresh air.

4. Clean Until Your Home Shines

To sell your home quickly, make everything sparkle. In our home, we wiped down the windows, furniture, counters, the bathrooms, so that it all looked shiny and fresh.

I remember we went to see one house and there were bagel crumbs all over the counter from someone’s breakfast. Instead of noticing their kitchen cabinets or view from the window, I was fixated on those bagel crumbs. It just looked sloppy! Making everything neat and clean is the way to go.

Before the few showings we had, I would get everyone into the car – Ash, our son, and our dog. And, then I would run back in to do a quick look at how we left everything.

In the below picture, you can see the natural light coming in, the spacious areas to walk around, the few pictures on the wall, and the clean, shiny surfaces. (In hindsight, I would have painted that window trim white!)

5. Use a Great Realtor

Last, we found a great realtor, who most importantly helped us price our house right in order to sell our home quickly. We spent time with him looking at the competition and the prices they had or were looking for. We also went into a few open houses that were in our own neighborhood, seeing our competition.

Then, we came up with a price that we were comfortable with from the start. We didn’t overprice our home; if a house is overpriced (even with the intent to drop it later), it can deter buyers.

Additionally, before our house went on the market, our realtor suggested some things to make the house more appealing: the rug in our bedroom needed to be stretched, the roof needed a cleaning, and a few other smaller things – like the rusty vents and brighter lighting that I mentioned above. These feedback from the realtor helped us to decide what upgrades were needed prior to showing.

Make a Home Binder for Your Showings

When we moved we left all of the gallons of paint that went with the rooms in the house, labeling the cans with the room that it belonged in.

We also made a binder that had all of the work that we had done at the house with the company’s name. For example, we replaced our kitchen counters with quartz, so we left all of the paperwork (marking out our personal information). If the new owners wanted to add on to the kitchen, they would have the company that we got the quartz from.

We gave this to the new owners on closing, but in hindsight, I wished I had left a binder with all of this information (including paint chips) on the kitchen table for prospective home buyers. I think it shows that you really took care of your house well – which is something that every home buyer wants when they are buying a home.

Download our home improvement binder for free printables below.

Four Days Later…

With all of our hard work, we got great feedback on our house. We heard it was easy to show and that other realtors wished some of the homes they were selling were staged like this. Yet most importantly, we had an offer after only one weekend of showing! (And, if we waited one more day before accepting, we would have had another offer too.)

Anyway, as a final piece of advice when selling your home, you just have to believe that your hard work will pay off. There are so many houses on the market that are cluttered, in need of upgrades, and not easy to show.

By following these steps, you can easily set your home apart and know exactly how to sell your home quickly – just like we did!

How to Transform Thrift Store Chairs

April 1, 2016 by Eileen 67 Comments

Every time I go to a flea market, a thrift store, even Home Goods, I come home with chairs.

I just love chairs. They can dress a space up, accentuate certain colors, bring back a classic look – they just bring so much personality to a room.

And, I love how easily you can redo them. With a little spray paint and new fabric, you can easily bring a chair new life.

When we were planning to move out of our old house, we had accumulated so many things that Ash told me I wasn’t allowed to bring home any more chairs (or books but that’s a different story).

He was right, as we had enough seats in our house for a Sunday mass.

Before chairs were off limits, I cleaned up a few flea market finds that are now household favorites.

Here’s Ash and I at one of our favorite rummage sales, sitting on the two chairs I later fixed up.

Each of these chairs cost less than $10, which was a steal!

Below is a better picture of the two chairs. The one on the left is an ice cream chair with a wooden seat. Although white, the chipping paint revealed that it had previously been red.

My thinking was to bring back the red with a cranberry color. My grandma had ice cream chairs in that color, and I love little reminders of her.

The one on the right was a purple-ish tan with an old, dingy cushion.

My plan was to make this more modern looking, as I wanted to use this chair for my make-up vanity. I was thinking a dark bronze color.

Preparing for Painting

I decided on spray painting the chairs. It would be easy and spray paint comes in so many colors.

First, I took the seats out of the chairs pretty easily by unscrewing some bolts.

Then, I put the chairs back together without the seats, in order to spray the whole chair.

When painting, I threw down an old shower curtain.

Spray Painting Chairs

After preparing, I applied one thick coat of spray paint on each chair.

The vanity chair looks darker than actuality in these pictures. It’s more of a deep bronze than a black color.

While the paint was drying, I went to work on the seats. The ice cream chair seat was an ugly and uncomfortable wooden circular disk. Here’s a reminder of the what the “seat” looked like:

Choosing New Fabrics

For the ice cream chair, I chose two fabrics that I loved from Joann Fabric.

They were very different patterns because I wasn’t sure which would look better. (I’m very visual and need to see how things would look. It probably would be weird if I carried the chairs through the store holding fabrics up to it – so I just bought my two favorites.

So, I decided at home that the navy blue paisley pattern on an off-white background was the winner.

I loved how the cranberry color contrasted with the navy in the pattern on the finished product.

Here’s a close-up:

Replacing the Old Fabric

To attach the new fabric, I put the current seat on top of the fabric and cut a large square around it.

When cutting, I gave myself about three extra inches around the seat.

Then, I wrapped the seat loosely with the fabric and added stuffing – the white fluffy cushion material (pictured on the floor below).

Next, I pulled the fabric over the underside of the disk and used my staple gun to give it a tight wrap. After screwing the bolts back in, I had a brand new looking seat!

Here’s a before and after of the ice cream chair. I was so pleased with it! My grandma would have been too 🙂

As for the vanity chair, I chose a turquoise and ivory pattern that worked well with the dark bronze spray paint.

This chair already had a cushion, so that saved some time.

In putting this chair back together, I simply wrapped the fabric tightly around the existing seat, used the staple gun to secure the fabric, and then screwed the seat back in.

The chair was looking good – and it worked perfectly with my make-up vanity.

Here’s a before and after of the vanity chair.

Time and Cost of the Chair Makeover

The total cost of making over both chairs was less than $30, including the chairs, stuffing, and fabric.

The time spent working was less than two hours. The longest part was the dry time.

I love how both of the chairs turned out – especially the ice cream chair.

It’s a piece of furniture I will definitely chair-ish 🙂

A Space-Saving Kitchen Spice Rack

March 29, 2016 by Ash 42 Comments

I love to cook, and I use a lot of spices – from sweet Hungarian paprika to spicy Jamaican jerk seasoning.

You name it, I most likely have it.

Eileen, on the other hand, loves to bake – so on any given day, we have all the ingredients to make anything chocolate chip bundt cake to spicy Bahamian chicken.

Unfortunately, with such a large spice and baking collection, it was getting very difficult to find something when we needed it.

We were storing all the spices in a corner cabinet, and they took up the entire cabinet. We tried everything for organization – a spinning rack, a mini spice organizer – nothing seemed to save us space or time.

When making a meal, I would have to dig through everything to find what I needed. And Eileen wasn’t happy when she was looking for cinnamon or baking powder, and it was shoved behind the seven spices I used the night before for taco seasoning.

Planning the Spice Rack

Shortly thereafter, we were having dinner at a friend’s house and saw their spice solution.

They were utilizing a 6-inch gap between their fridge and the wall to fit a movable spice shelf, mounted on wheels.

I thought it was such a brilliant idea. I googled the idea later that night and saw it was a very popular spice storage solution.

There were lots of incarnations on Pinterest. I was set on incorporating a similar design into my kitchen, but I wanted to take it up a notch.

I didn’t like the wheeled shelf design. It would limit you to one massive shelf. Also, without some type of track system, I thought the shelf would be wobbly.

After some thought, I settled on 2 independent spice shelves mounted to the wall on drawer slides.

Aside from the drawer slides, I had enough scrap wood in the garage to build my design.

I didn’t really plan this project out much (aside from basic measurements of available space), mostly winging it as I went along. Nonetheless, the sliding spice rack turned out well.

How to Build a Sliding Spice Rack

I started off building one of the shelves. First, I fabricated a box with ¾” thick boards and nailed a hardboard composite backing. I then made some compartments for organization.

I averaged the sizes of my spice jars to determine a good depth and height for the shelves.

Here’s an early picture of the shelf unit:

Determined to re-use scraps from the garage, I attached some wood trim to serve as fences to prevent the spices from falling out.

Also, I couldn’t just attach the drawer slides to back of the shelf structure in the picture above.

I had limited space between the wall and the fridge, and fitting the spices with a drawer slide behind exceeded my available width.

So my solution was to mount the drawer slides above and below the shelf, being almost flush with the shelf backing.

I attached a piece of 2×4 to the top and bottom of the shelf to serve as a mount for the slide.

I then attached some plywood to the front of the shelf and screwed on a handle.

Then I mounted the two drawer slides to the wall, and attached the shelf. The slides were attached directly to wall studs.

I also had to make sure that both slides were equally level. Any discrepancies in the slide angles would most likely result in a jamming drawer.

Here is a close-up picture of the mounted shelf with some spices in it (notice the repurposed wood trim):

Here is a picture from the back, showing how I attached the drawer slides to the DIY spice rack:

I built the second shelf much like the first. However, I increased the height to make the most of the available space.

After mounting this shelf, I painted the front facing plywood, blending in to match the color of the kitchen (see pictures below of the completed spice rack).

Using the DIY Spice Rack

The sliding spice rack turned out great. We adapted the top shelf for our most frequently used spices, while the lesser used ones ended up in the bottom shelf.

Whenever we needed a spice, I just pulled out the appropriate drawer and located it instantly – very different from before!

I should mention too that the corner cabinet that previously held all of our spices was now completely empty, giving us more space for all those pesky tupperware containers.

Anyone have a good storage solution for those?!

Time & Cost

Building the spice rack took about one weekend, and the total cost was less than $50 because of all the scrap wood I used (my estimate is about $70 if you are buying all the wood from the store).

The spice rack became the hit of many parties.

Our friends were always asking about those mysterious handles next to the fridge, and were amazed when the handles revealed a plethora of spices.

Our next door neighbors noticed the spice rack when we were moving out of the house and were fascinated with it, saying, “Forget all those updates you did, this is what sold the house!”

(As an aside, we replaced that dingy pantry curtain with French doors before we moved, check it out here).

If you are looking for a solution to your spices, building a sliding spice rack could be the answer 🙂