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Discover the expert in you.
You don't have to be an experienced woodworker to build a hutch of which you can be proud. Stock or modular cabinets come in a plethora of sizes and designs made to fit together seamlessly. In fact, some hutches you might find in furniture stores are built this way.
Toys to build cognitive skills in toddlers will help your child develop at an early age. Find out about toys to build cognitive skills in toddlers with help from a health coach qualified in women's health specializing in preconception, pregnancy and postpartum coaching in this free video clip.
Cabinet end-panels have exposed faces that are highly visible. There are two types; custom and modular. Custom end-panels are 3/4 inch thick and part of the cabinet construction. Modular panels are 1/4 inch thick and overlay the sides of existing cabinets after they are installed. End-panels for base cabinets have a 3-by-3-inch notch cut from one bottom corner for the toe-kick -- the place where your toes slip under the front of the cabinet. Upper cabinet end-panels do not have a toe-kick.
If you're one of the many people who enjoy reading in bed, you could make this relaxing activity more convenient by adding a bookshelf over your bed. You could install a single shelf holding a few books or a number of shelves to hold a bigger collection, which would be interesting from a decorating standpoint and help comfort the sleepy bibliophile. Along with custom shelving, you could add lighting using one of several easy options.
Use shelf pegs to build cabinets with adjustable shelves. It's an affordable way to add movable shelves to almost any cabinet. Shelf pegs install into drilled holes in both sides of the cabinet. They typically have a 3/8-inch peg with a 90-degree lip to provide support for the shelf. The cabinet is assembled without the shelves, which are added after the cabinet is assembled. This makes the cabinet lighter and easier to build. Typically, shelf peg cabinets are only used on upper cabinets, although there's no reason why you can't use them on base cabinets.
Building a box to photography shiny objects in will give you much better control over the way your subjects are lit. Build a box to photography shiny objects in with help from an experienced professional photographer in this free video clip.
Building electronics shelves in an existing NOOK is something you can do right from the main "Applications" window. Build electronics shelves in an existing NOOK with help from an electronics expert in this free video clip.
Wall units can be used to store books, display art or crafts, show off pictures or hold electronics such as televisions or stereos. They can also function as a room divider or privacy wall. Using stock bookcases to construct a wall unit will allow you to create a unit that fits your space and needs perfectly. It may also provide a cost savings over purchasing a wall unit or having one built to order.
Having plenty of storage space is important to any kitchen, as there are many dishes that are useful, but not always needed on a daily basis. Storage cabinets can help keep a kitchen organized by providing a place for these dishes, as well as giving them protection from damage or breakage. It is possible to build these cabinets in a matter of hours, saving money and enhancing the overall functionality of the kitchen.
Building a simple wood rail for stairs to a basement is a great way to make the area as safe as possible. Build a simple wood rail for stairs to a basement with help from a Foreman for Lighty Contractors in this free video clip.
Building a wood wedge door stop is a great project that you can undertake right at home. Build a wood wedge door stop with help from a Foreman for Lighty Contractors in this free video clip.
So you have successfully replaced your brake pads -- along with the rotors, if needed -- and your ready to call it a day, but if you think the job is done you couldn’t be more mistaken. You may have fresh pad and rotors, but you must burnish the brake pads so that an even layer of pad material is transferred to the surface of the rotors, otherwise you could end up with a slight jitter or vibration when you apply the brakes. Burnishing your brake pads is a pretty simplistic process and is also known as brake pad break-in…
One great way to build your fighting stamina and have a little fun at the same time is through Shadow Boxing. Build your fighting stamina with Shadow Boxing with help from a fitness industry professional in this free video clip.
Creating a wood carving in Illustrator will require you to get comfortable with something called the transparency panel within the program. Create a wood carving in Illustrator with help from a well-versed web, graphic and illustrative designer in this free video clip.
It's hard to build a house without an accurate set of blueprints. Find out how to draw blueprints to build a house with help from a registered interior designer in this free video clip.
A slip-seat box is a metal box made to hold a CB radio and other electronic equipment. Truck drivers will keep a slip-seat box for transporting their personal electronic equipment from one company truck to another. Slip-seat boxes are meant to be lightweight and easy to transport. Slip-seat boxes can be purchased from companies that specialize in trucking and CB equipment, or you can make your own custom slip-seat box for a fraction of the cost.
When building a wood truss porch awning, homeowners have the option of permanently installing the fabric awning or installing removable awnings so the porch cover may function like a pergola when desired. Wood trusses are installed with either joist hanger brackets or hurricane brackets. Joist hanger brackets mount the trusses flush with the top of the ledgers; hurricane brackets mount the boards on top of the ledgers. Check the building codes in your area to determine if it's OK to use mounting bases to install posts on the porch or if you must dig holes for post installation.
Knocking together a simple A-frame box from a few studs is the foundation for a number of useful projects. Such a box can become storage for a motorcycle or an ATV, and with a clear plastic coating it can serve as a cold frame for starting plants early. Younger children can use one for a playhouse or fort. This A-frame box uses two-by-fours that are 4 feet long, but you can vary the size and dimensions to meet your needs.
Because of the copper in their evaporators and condensers, along with the cast iron typically used to make motors and compressors, air conditioning units are extremely heavy for their size. Their weight creates a risk of catastrophic damage, and a potential for injury to occupants, should a roof-mounted unit come free of its stand and plummet into the building below. Building a roof-top air conditioner stand from scratch is therefore not recommended. However, numerous licensed companies manufacture dedicated equipment specifically for mounting air conditioners on roofs; installation practices for these stands have many common factors.
Decks and pergolas are often combined to provide outdoor living space. A deck is a raised wooden floor, either freestanding or attached to a house, while a pergola is a sort of semi-roof with interlaced beams that provide some shade without blocking light or air. Pergolas are often used as arbors to support climbing vines or flowers. The two structures share construction elements, such as support posts and wood framing, so they can be easily built together. Check your local building regulations for any permits or restrictions before starting this project.
A deck with sweeping, rounded steps makes a statement indicating you have advanced carpentry skills, along with a flair for design. Your challenge is in planning the framing to support the curving steps as much as the execution -- and your carefully sketched deck plans are key. You'll install posts outside the central rectangle of the platform to support the steps and long deck boards to create the curved shapes.
A walkout deck stands outside the front of a building and allows access from a front or back door to a raised platform where you and your family can enjoy the sun, have a BBQ or just relax with a good book. Decks can be used to entertain in all kinds of weather, but hiring a contractor to build a custom deck for your home can be expensive. You can build a walkout deck over a long weekend and enjoy a relaxing addition to your home for years to come without breaking the bank.
Installing a furnace in your attic can save space in other parts of your home and give the heat more direct access to the home's ventilation system. However, it may also increase the risk of ice dams. An ice dam forms when heat escapes through the roof, melting snow and ice, which then freezes once temperatures drop. Water pools up behind the ice dam and may enter the home through the roof, damaging roofing materials, which may necessitate expensive repairs. Building a tight box around an attic furnace will likely violate building codes, which often call for several feet of…
The cantilever, essentially a projecting beam or joist supported at one end, allows bridges and balconies to jut out into space in a gravity-defying manner. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s famed structure Fallingwater, for example, makes extensive use of cantilevers. To create a more attractive floating appearance, you can cantilever a deck very simply by setting its support beam back a few feet from the front of the deck.
Alcoves in the wall of a room often prove a hindrance when arranging bed furniture, but building a bed nook into the wall optimizes space, freeing the floor for activities or furniture. In many rooms, closets jut out from the wall, leaving a recess that is ideal for a bed nook. A frame is built between the two walls to support a mattress and trim options help to achieve a built-in look. Dormer spaces also work well for building bed nooks. Depending on the size of the alcove, the space may accommodate a twin or full-size bed.
The wall bed is the space-saving solution for small rooms and guest rooms that must serve double-duty, such as for a home office or play room. This type of bed often tucks away into a hole cut in the wall, but it may also tuck inside a cabinet. Using a cabinet reduces the amount of demolition work required for the job, at the same time eliminating the risk of cutting through electrical wires or plumbing pipes hidden inside the wall. Mounting bookshelves to the wall on either side of the bed cabinet gives the cabinet a built-in appearance.
Expanding your existing deck is easy if the local building department allows you to connect new framing directly to the old structure. However, if your deck wasn't designed to handle the loads of the new addition, you might need to perform extensive renovations to create an addition. The easiest way to extend a deck is resting one end of each new joist on an existing beam; the remaining ends of the joists span to a new post and beam frame. Although the new and old joists won't align, the difference is not discernible after you cover them with decking planks.
Building a deck in your backyard can provide you and your family with a place to gather and enjoy spending time outside. Many times, decks are attached to the house, but this can be a complicated process, as you'll have to remove siding from your home and make a secure connection between the deck and the house. Another option is to construct a deck that isn't attached to the house, using a concrete post in each corner to support it.
Creating a deck from stucco offers a decorative and sturdy addition to a home. In the modern building era, stucco is often used as a decorative finish to walls. The mud-like material is applied to the exterior of concrete walls for appearance only. But in days gone by, stucco was used much the same as concrete is today. It is still possible to build decks and patios with the right stucco mix. Consult with your local building supply retailer for the sturdiest stucco mix available.
A wood deck can be a great addition to any home. However, any construction that must be placed on a beach or other sandy plot of land can pose a challenge. Fortunately, a deck can be constructed using posts that are anchored in concrete. Concrete-anchored posts are used in constructing piers and buildings in sandy areas; this type of foundation provides a secure footing for a deck.
Curved deck foundations require careful planning, as building permits departments closely check your design for safety, note the authors of Black and Decker’s “Advanced Deck Building.” You may need the help of a designer, architect or engineer to create clear, precise drawings. These drawings include the locations of your support posts and beams, and your joist spans and spacing. Once you have an appropriate design plan, you can follow standard deck building techniques to create your foundation, with some tweaks to the joist installation.
A deck can add outdoor living space to a house. Decks can be fastened to a house wall or freestanding. They can be built low to the ground or be elevated. A deck should be placed in an area with good drainage, built high enough that any water runoff can flow freely beneath it. A 3-foot-high deck allows good drainage and in some cases may provide storage underneath for objects and materials that are not subject to water damage. Decks should be built with pressure-treated pine or lumber like redwood or cypress that resists rot and insects.
A strong substructure is critical to having a safe deck. The deck platform rests on the substructure, and if any portion of the underpinnings is weak then the deck may collapse under the weight of the people on top. Precast concrete piers allow you to build a strong, reliable detached deck up close to the home with a minimum of labor and time.
Make the most of your backyard by adding a deck. Low decks require a base of support and outer layer of decking, which can be stained or painted after construction. A 9-foot-by-12-foot deck comes together in a day of work and forms the perfect base for sitting and relaxing, catching up with friends or entertaining at a garden party.
Before the advent of Microsoft's shadow filters for Internet Explorer or the addition of the box-shadow property to the CSS standard, you would have to individually edit your images in a graphics program to add drop shadows to elements on your website. Now, however, you can use several coding options to produce the same shadows to objects and make them appear in front of the page in IE.
When you think of a log cabin, you may think of a Montana ski lodge or an old-fashioned pioneer home, but the basic log cabin's rustic design can be used for simple out buildings like a shed, too. With just an afternoon of your time, you can construct a three-sided log shed with an open front for your backyard, no matter what style home you own. Use common garden logs, which are slightly flat on all four sides, so they stack easily.
A railing enhances a deck and makes it safer, especially if the deck is elevated. Railings can be made in many styles, with straight posts, rails and spindles or with carved or turned elements with rounded edges in varying lengths. Railings can be made of the same wood as the basic deck and finished with the same stain or preservative, or they can be made of other material and painted or finished in a contrasting style. Railings should be matched to the deck and its use; a big deck that needs strong railings can use 4-by-4-inch spindles.
Using corners in a room can sometimes be frustrating because of the limited options available for decorating. One solution is a corner bookcase, which can turn the area into a storage space for knickknacks and books. Instead of building a basic wood corner bookcase, try something different. A wire frame corner bookcase is not as heavy as a wood bookcase and can be a focal point in a room. With a few items from the home improvement section of the store, this bookcase is built and in place in one afternoon.
A wine fridge is a handy appliance to add to the home bar. This type of fridge is commonly deeper than other types of refrigerators since it needs to hold wine bottles stored lying on their sides. Building a wine fridge into a cabinet under the home bar requires a few steps to complete. Working carefully will result in a professional looking finish on this project.
A yard swing is a type of swing that is similar in appearance to a porch swing; however, a yard swing is intended for use on a patio or lawn rather than under a porch. Because a yard swing will be exposed to the elements on a far greater scale than a porch swing, a wooden yard swing frame must be constructed using a wood species that is resistant to rotting. A yard swing frame may also require a canopy to be installed at the top of the frame to protect the user of the swing from excess sun exposure.
Baseboard radiators are an eyesore in most homes and are difficult to decorate around. The space above the heater is normally wasted and furniture pushed against the baseboard radiator prevents the use of the heater. Building a baseboard radiator cabinet transforms the space around the radiator into a useable space. This covering also prevents paper and toys from being pushed against the radiator, which can cause a fire. The cabinet also directs heat away from the wall and into the room’s center.
Add extra room onto your existing outdoor living space by giving your grill a deck of its own. By building a simple freestanding deck for your backyard barbeque, you can free up patio space to add a small water feature, chairs or a small dining set. Because fallen embers and dripped grease can cause a wood deck to catch fire, place a grill mat under your grill before you light it up. To make an 8-by-10-foot deck for your grill, you will need intermediate carpentry skills and a helper.
Collecting the proper amount of material before beginning a construction project ensures you don't have to interrupt your work to buy more partway through the project. However, buying too much material wastes money and can take up space in your home after the completion of the project. The amount of material you need to build a 10-by-30-foot wood deck depends upon the design of the deck.
A wood-fired oven is a luxury that most people don't have access to at home, but you can build your own barbecue oven out of concrete blocks with a poured concrete base. Concrete is an ideal material, because while it is cheap and easy to work with, it still retains heat well, creating a thermal mass to bake with.
If your home’s lot is angled because of the presence of a hill, everything you do outside is shaped by the hill’s slope. This includes building a deck. As long as you start out by building your deck’s foundations to handle the challenges of the slope, you can safely add a deck to your home.
Built-in bookcases provide an attractive way to store and display books, decorations, board games and any number of other household items. They also utilize space that would otherwise be wasted. Instead of making a built-in bookcase with fixed, permanent shelving, you can install hinged shelves. This will allow you to fold down the shelves when they are not in use. Hinged shelves are ideal for homes and cottages that are only used part of the year.
Most exterior decks have dimensional lumber as their flooring material, instead of plywood. Plywood does not usually have the kind of moisture resistance needed to function as a finished surface. For homeowners intent on building a plywood deck, however, marine plywood -- which has a much greater resistance to moisture than regular plywood -- makes a serviceable decking material. It comes in 4-by-8 panels, holds paint and stains well. Although more expensive, its increased durability makes up for the extra expense. Building a floating deck with a foundation of precast concrete makes construction much easier.
A cabinet with sliding doors can be built using standard DIY equipment by cutting two grooves into the wood that forms the top and bottom of the cabinet. You can then stand wooden doors in the grooves to hold the doors in place when they are open or closed. The doors will slide along the length of the cabinet in the grooves, allowing easy access to the contents of the cabinet.
Constructing an arched wood door involves many of the same steps as creating standard door. The side panels must be cut shorter than on a standard door, but cutting rabbets to allow the inner panel to slide into the door is the same. The top edging panel is wider on an arched door in order to allow for the arch itself to be cut into the panel. This process requires a reciprocating saw such as a jigsaw for fine control over the shape of the arch.
Adding a bookcase to your home office, living room or den can help reduce clutter in your home by providing a place to efficiently store books and decorative objects. It can also serve as a visually pleasing accent to your home. Although bookshelves are typically rectangular, you can opt for a curved bookcase to increase visual interest. Building a curved bookcase is a more involved process than building a linear bookcase; however, the added aesthetic value can be worth the extra effort.
