As part of my New Year’s resolutions for our home, I am trying to try mix some small fun projects in with the big, expensive and laborious ones. So one of the first things on this list was hanging up the Moravian Tile that Mr. S. bought me for our Anniversary last year (or was it Mother’s Day). Moravian Pottery & Tileworks is adjacent to Fonthill (where we got married), so there is a lot of sentimental attachment to these, especially the one on the left, as it resembles Fonthill.

I picked up a frame at Ikea a few months ago (which appears to no longer be available). I liked that it had some dimension to it, so that the tile would be recessed in the frame. The first step was choosing a background paper. The frame came with either a white or black board as the backer, but I thought they were a little boring. So I went through a pad of scrapbook paper that I had on hand.

I tried a bunch of patterns including this crazy one but settled on this blue textured pattern instead.

I mounted the tiles with Scott Permanent Mounting tape (it is about 1/8″ thick and a little squishy) that I picked up at Staples.

I cut holes with an exacto through the paper to allow the tile to adhere directly to the backerboard from the frame. The tape claims that 4 pieces hold 1 lb so I should be well covered (I used between 2 and 3 on each depending on the shape).

I spent about a half hour on the project (not including going to the store to get the tape). I am pleased that the tile are up but I am not happy with the paper backing. It is a little puckered and the seams are visible. I think I am going to see if I can find a piece of scrap wallpaper or something and try again.  At least for now they are up and not sitting in the drawer.

Does anyone have any other ideas for mounting these?

Tunnell Fertilizer Sack

Today I thought I would share the end to a happy story. A while back we found 3 vintage burlap sacks stuffed in the top of the foundation when we were gutting and insulating the basement.  I wrote about them and plans to frame them (still on the to do list). Then a couple of months later I received an email from the great grandson of the founder of the company who made the fertilizer sack. He asked if I was willing to part with the vintage Tunnell burlap fertilizer sack. I gladly agreed, happy to have it return home. He had been searching for one for a long time and was excited to get it framed. Well this week I received an update! They framed both sides of the sack and had the red diamond on the back repainted.

Tunnell 5-8-7 Fertilizer Sack

Back of the Tunnell Fertilizer Sack (with the diamond repainted)

Pretty exciting! It actually cleaned up quite well. Now if I could just get around to framing the 2 remaining sacks. They only have printing on 1 side and the cabbage sack is ripped, so I’m not sure how I am going to deal with that. I think it may require gluing it carefully to a cardboard or foamcore substrate.

Cabbage Burlap Sack

Potato Burlap Sack

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I am looking forward to some time with the family.

Finished DIY Wine Rack!

It is finished! Yeah! After looking at options and more options, it is done and I love it. Of course I would have changed a few things if I had to do it over again, but overall it was pretty straightforward and I really liked how it came out.

AutoCAD Drawing of Space

I started out with this AutoCAD drawing above, laying out the wall.

Ikea BESTA Option

Then I considered this Ikea Besta Option (but was concerned that it could actually support the weight of the wine. Plus Mr. S. thought it looked too “kitcheny” and not rustic enough for our wood wonderland. Which lead to me looking for a design, only to be out of luck. So I ended up making up my own design.

Sketches for the Wine Rack

This is pretty much what I went with, with the toughest decision being whether or not to rout out the horizontal pieces and diagonal pieces. In the end I decided that the pressure from the diagonal pieces holding the wine meant that I really wanted a durable consistent joint in the corners of the main box, so it meant getting out the router to do it. I have to say that I have a love-hate relationship with our router. I love what it can do, but it is a beast, definitely designed for someone with big hands. It actually takes both Mr. S. and I to make the height adjustments, and it is very difficult for me to switch blades. Additionally, I can use it, but the on/off button is out of my reach, so I have to temporarily support it while I turn it on, which is annoying and a little bit dangerous. Ours is a Craftsman (although I think it should be call CraftsMANonly). We bought it on short notice at Sears years ago. I should have ordered a Makita one that had better features, but it meant waiting a week to get it in the mail, which at time was too long. This model was also less expensive. Oh, well, someday maybe I will get a new one, it is not like I use it THAT often. And I have other tools on my list first (i.e. a nail gun).

Materials

2-2x12x6′ (for the top and bottom). Look for pieces that are as flat as possible, to allow for a good fit.

1-2x12x8′ (4 vertical pieces)

3-2x8x6′ (for the back)

3-2x10x6′ (for the diagonals)

Wood Glue

Wood Screws (I used my 1 5/8″ deck screws)

Finish nails/brads

Tools

Circular saw for cutting the wood

Router for creating grooves in the wood

Directions

Step 1: Cut the 2x12s for the top, bottom & sides. The top and bottom are 6′ long, while the sides were 1′-11 1/2″ (to allow for a 1/4″ groove at the top and bottom)

Top and Bottom Boards marked for Routing

Step 2: Mark, tape (to protect the wood), set up the fence and Route the top and bottom pieces using a 3/4″ bit, set at 1/4″ depth (at 2′ intervals)

Mr. S. Test fitting one of the vertical pieces in the groove

Step 3: Test fit the vertical pieces. The 1x12s tend to be slightly bowed, so we found it worked best to start at one end and slowly push the wood into the groove (using a mallet if necessary)

Step 4: Glue and nail the top and bottom together. I pre-drilled for the nail holes to avoid spliting. You could also use screws, depending on whether they will be visible.

Box finished w/ Sam’s help

Step 5: Check to make sure that you are plumb. The easiest way to do this is to check the diagonal dimension of each of the squares.

Install the back of the wine rack w/ screws

Step 6: Cut the wood for the back of the winerack. Install with screws at each vertical and at the top and bottom. This is going to really help with the rigidity, so I made sure to use quite a few screws. You are also going to use the top one, to mount it to the wall. In my case I had about an inch gap between the back boards. I installed the top and bottom first (also to allow for any straightening) and then centered the middle piece in between.

Winerack w/ the first of the Diagonals in place

Step 7: I had roughly measured how long the diagonals needed to be (at least so I could pick up the wood). But for actual measurements, I measured each one individually (there was about 1/4″ difference amongst the 3 sections). First I cut the 3 long diagonals and test fit them in place. I used 1x12s just like the box. In retrospect I should have used 1x10s so that they would sit back from the face. I think that would create a much nicer look.

Step 8: Mark the diagonals (to keep straight which one is which) and pull them out and mark for the grooves for the shorter diagonals.

Step 9: Rout the grooves for the shorter diagonals. It is at this point that I was really hating the router. In this case we routed out only 1/8″ thick since we were routing on both sides of the wood.

Step 10: Reinstall the diagonals and measure for the shorter diagonal pieces.

Winerack w/ all of the pieces in place

Step 11: Cut the short diagonal pieces and test fit, one by one until they are all in place. I was planning on glueing/screwing these in place, but I decided it was better to leave them unattached. Then installation would be easier and if I ever wanted to replace the diagonals with shelves I could.

Step 12: Remove the diagonal pieces (marking them so you can put them back in the same spot). Predrill the holes for the mounting screws (we decided to drill behind the diagonal pieces). I also partially screwed the mounting screws in place, to make it quicker and easier to get it on the wall.

Step 13: Paint the wall behind (since there are openings in the back you will see part of the wall).

Step 14: Mark the wall. In our case I marked the bottom corners, using a level to draw a line for the entire bottom.

Step 15: Lift and screw in place. We are lucky because the walls are wood, so we could just use wood screws. If you have a drywall or plaster wall you would need to find the studs (similar to a kitchen cabinet). The advantage of this design is that you could mark your stud locations and use a longer screw at any location on the back, since it is nice and strong.

Winerack in Place!

Step 16: Finish the wood (this could also be done ahead of time).

Step 17: Place wine in rack! Yeah!

Winerack finished w/ whitewash & fridge and freezer in place

So now it is in and whitewashed! We also installed the freezer yesterday. It was a total pain, because the floor is very uneven and it required lots of shims (which is difficult when you don’t have access to the sides). The counter is arriving on Saturday. I still need to come up with a plan for the white door (which I hate). I am thinking of spray painting the plastic top and bottom and adding vinyl chalkboard to the face. I think once the wood counter is installed it will look much more finished. We also need to buy an upper cabinet from Ikea (to match the lower drawer unit) for the right side.

What do you think?

* To see all of the posts about our basement click here.

New TV Console/ Floating Shelf with Guitar Amps Below

It was a busy DIY weekend here! I think this is the most woodworking that I have done in a single stint in a LONG time, certainly in the last 5 years. The good news is that the TV console and the wine rack are done. I still need to whitewash the wine rack, but it is up and in place, which is great. I made the TV console on Saturday and whitewashed it Saturday night. Then Mr. S. hooked up all of the TV components on Sunday morning, so this project is actually complete! I spent most of the day Sunday working on the 6′x2′ wine rack, which I will write about later this week.

So anyway, back to the TV console. I have been tinkering with the design in my head for a few weeks, but Friday night I decided that it was now or never and spent some time drawing up the “perfect” shelf. I measured our new tiny speakers, the small computer (a mac mini with all of the hookup on the back), the giant power strip and some miscellaneous smaller bits. I wanted to minimize the dimension that it stuck out from the wall (since it is in a major pathway), while provided enough depth for the computer. I also needed quite a lot of space for allowing wires to go up and down and all of the plugs and electrical bricks. Somehow the idea of a sleek TV set up still seems pretty elusive. In the name of minimizing its size we don’t even have a cable box down here, and have to rely on the computer for everything (which is a whole different experiment).

Close Up of TV Consule

The Design

I decided to keep it simple. I went with a box with enough height on the inside to accomodate the speakers (I went with an inside height of 7 1/4″ to allow for the front cover plate to be a 1×8). The depth is 10″ including the mounting blocks. This allowed enough space for the computer and the hookups on the back (approximately 9 1/2″). I used 1×10 pine for the box (9 1/4″) plus the depth of the 3/4″ mounting blocks. The width is 44″. The TV is 42 1/2″ so I started with that width and added a little to make sure that I could fit the speaker and computer on one side of the wood cover plate. In the middle there is an 18″ wood cover plate to hide the 17″ power strip. It is funny that the power connection takes up almost 3 times the width of the computer. On the right side there is space for the other speaker and a little bit of miscellaneous storage.

Materials

1x10x10′ Pine (3/4″ x 9 1/4″ actual)

1x8x6′ Pine (3/4″ x 7 1/4″ actual)

Kreg Tool w/ Pocket Screws

Wood Screws

Glue

Masonry Nails (to attach it to the wall)

Total about $40

Kreg Tool for Making Screw Pockets

Instructions

1. Cut the top, bottom and 2 sides out of the 1x10x10′ (in our case: 2 @ 44″ and 2 @ 7 1/4″)

Side of shelf attached to the top with pocket screws

2. Use Kreg tool to make holes for pocket screws to attach the sides to the top. This way there are no exposed screws. I also glued the pieces together.

3. Screw the bottom with regular wood screws (since the bottom won’t be visible it doesn’t matter if they are visible).

4. Cut the back corner pieces and front cover piece out of the 1x8x6′. I used 6″ wide pieces for the back and 18″ for the front piece. I also cut 2 extra 6″ pieces for spacer to attach to the brick wall.

Shelf with the back pieces test fit in place

5. Test fit the pieces.

Back of Shelf w/ Pocket Screws Installed (upside down)

5. Using the Kreg tool add pockets in the 2 back pieces (I went with 2 on the top and one on the bottom). The back pieces will be supporting the shelf so I wanted to make sure it was totally secure to the shelf.

6. The front cover piece is to be secured later after installing the shelf to the wall.

Blocking/Spacer installed on Wall with Masonry Anchors

Installing it on the Wall

Our old brick wall is VERY difficult to  drill into. The Masonry Anchors we used require pre drilling 1/4″ holes to the proper depth. After blowing through more than one bit anchoring the TV we decided to align the holes with the softer mortar.

7. We decided where we wanted the shelf (high up enough to allow the amps to fit below and low enough to be able to use the keyboard on top).

8. I roughly measured the placement of the wood blocking with the mortar joint. Then we predrilled the holes in the wood with a wood drill bit. This left a mark on the wall and we drilled with a masonry bit.

9. We hammered in the masonry anchors through the wood blocking. This left everything a bit wonky, but we decided to proceed.

Shelf in place w/ Power Strip Slid Through the Rear

10. We screwed the shelf to the blocking. We actually had to do this twice because we released that the power strip needed to go through the back first (and the other end was located in the outlet above the TV).

11. At first this wasn’t as secure as I would have liked. Then I realized that by tightening the screws we had actually pulled the blocking away from the brick wall at the bottom (while keeping it tight at the top). The anchors were still secure, so I was a little unsure what to do. Then I tried a shim underneath the bottom of the blocking at it was suddenly nice and tight and secure. Phew! Just a little caulk to cover the seam and we were good to go.

New Shelf filled with equipment

Finishing

After the shelf was in place we used the gloss white to match the wall for the blocking on the back (along with the caulk). For the rest of it I white washed it similar to the walls. Then I let it dry overnight before installing the equipment.

What would I do differently?

After I do these projects there are normally a few things that I would do differently. The main thing is that I would have made the blocking for the wall smaller than the back corner pieces on the shelf. In the end they didn’t end up aligned very well and you can see one side of it sticking out if you are looking at the inside of the shelf. Otherwise I would have been more careful about the various plugs and making sure that I had put them through the rear of the shelf before installing it.

All in all this was a pretty easy and quick project. I think it is something that most people could do. It also cost less than anything  I would have bought at Ikea which is always a nice feeling.

Shelf w/ gap left at the rear for wires to run

Finally, I will leave you will a detail of the shelf and a sneak peak at the wine rack in the distance. Later this week I will break down how I made it.

* To see all of the posts about our basement click here.

TV Wall Before

New TV Consul/ Floating Shelf

Well the day has gotten the best of me! I had hoped to have instructions for our new TV consul/ floating shelf. Unfortunately it is only half done, so in the meantime I thought I would give you a sneak peak into some of the woodworking/DIY from the weekend.

Doesn’t that look better! (And, yes I am patting myself on the back.)

New Beadboard Doors for the Workroom

Until now we have not had any doors to our workroom in the basement. If we didn’t have little kids I probably wouldn’t worry so much, but since the doorway is on the way to the bathroom we decided that we needed to be able to close it off. It also will hide the hot water heater and boiler from view when you are coming out of the bathroom (bonus!). It is an odd doorway with lots of piping on the other side for our boiler and hot water heater. The head clearance is partially affected by these, so a full height door was not going to work. I also liked having only a partial height door to help with air flow.

Door Inspiration from Fab.com

I was a little stumped on what to do exactly. I was considering buying a premade door and cutting it, but after taking a look around, I couldn’t find anything I liked. Then I was looking at Fab.com for totally unrelated reasons and saw the picture above and was sold! The V in the top would allow the doors to clear the piping and it looked totally buildable. The doorway is approximately 32″ wide. I would loose 3/4″ for cleats on the one side (so I was at about 31″). I wanted to use the same beadboard that we had used elsewhere. It is a nominal 1×6. In actuality it is 3/4″x 5 1/2 (including the tongue) or 5″ on the ones where the tongue fit into the other pieces. So, if I used 3 pieces on each side of the door it should work almost perfectly (5″+5″+5 1/2″) x 2= 31″. If the dimensions didn’t work out I was prepared to rip a piece down to fit.

3 Boards Fit Together

1. I bought six 8′ boards. I only needed about 6′ but they don’t come in that dimension and I didn’t have the bigger SUV so using 12′ boards was out unless I wanted to make a separate trip (which I didn’t want to do). In the end 8′ boards were the better choice because I used the scrap for cross pieces. These are available at Home Depot although be prepared to go through a bunch of boards to get clean ones. The total was about $45 + hinges. I also bought 3″ gate hinges meant for outside (about $5 for a two pack).

2. I cut the first door pieces to 6′. Then I played around with the angle at the top to allow it to clear the piping. In the end I had it angle down a total of 8″ over the 15 1/2″. I marked it and cut with my circular saw.

Glue for the Joints & Deck Screws

First Door w/ Staggered Screw Pattern

3. Next I glued the tongue and grooves together and screwed in the cross pieces in a staggered pattern, making sure I had two 1 1/4″ screws in each piece. I made sure to align the cross pieces with the cleats that I had installed on the wall. I used my trustee star bit deck screws again here.

Second door

4. After testing it out in the doorway, I laid down the door and used it as template for the second door (checking to make sure it was reversed from the first one).

5. I cut the second door and glued and screwed the second door.

Testing the Door in the Opening

Testing the door to make sure it fits with the pipes

6. Now for the fussing. I brought the doors over and test fitted them. I quickly realized that I was going to need to cut down the tongues on the inside of  the doors (which fortunately can be done with a small planer).

Aligning the bottom of the door w/ the flooring

7. I then carefully installed the hinges. I first put down a piece of 3/4″ scrap to make sure that the door would sit well above the floor. I also aligned the bottom of the door with the edge of the flooring. Then I carefully marked the holes for the hinges and predrilled the holes.

8. Next I installed a couple of screws on each hinge (so that I could still tweak it a little bit).

9. After I had pulled, pushed and screwed, I planed the tongues on each side of the door to get a good fit. It is not totally perfect, but it is okay in my book.

Door from the Workroom Side

10. I still need to install a latch at the top and whitewash it to match the rest of the paneling.

I actually prefer the workroom side of the door, but it wouldn’t work very well to switch the doors, so it will be staying this way for now.

What do you think?

Next up is adding trim to the bathroom door.

* To see all of the posts about our basement click here.

Victorian Safe by Cary Safe Company Circa 1878-1929

Our giant Victorian safe is really a beast! Interestingly, we looked up photos of similar safes from Cary Safe Company over the weekend and we discovered that it should have wheels at the bottom, which must have broken off before it made its way into our basement in the 1970s. Wheels sure would have made it easier to move!

Cary Safe Company Ad from 1920

Since we have had the house we have only moved it a few feet. Once to allow the waterproofing contractors to get behind it, and secondly up against the wall. When the contractors moved it to its current resting place, I hadn’t finalized the size of the fridge and freezer so I told them to put it about 8′ off of the side wall. It ended up a little bit less than that, and now that I have my dimensions, we needed to move it about 3 1/2″ to make our panty/ wine storage area work and in preparation for the wood countertop. I was originally planning on having my contractor (3 of them) move it over, but I have been holding off calling them, since I want to give them a complete list of work to finish off the basement rather than having them come out repeatedly. So what to do?

Our Contrapsion for Moving The Safe

Mr. S. had tried shoving it with a hand truck with no success (it weighs about 1000 lbs). It also has almost no clearance below to make it that much trickier. I was getting ready to reluctantly call the contractor when Mr. S. mentioned it my brother-in-law Matt, who had a brilliant idea. Why not use a jack to push it? hmm….that sounds plausible and we own several hydraulic jacks. So on Sunday we pulled out the drawer unit and fridge and used a bunch of scrap wood and pushed it along! Starting from the right, we used plywood to protect the wall and help even out the load, the hydraulic jack (lifted up with some scrap wood). Then we used a 4×4 post cut to length. On the safe side we used some more scrap underneath to keep the pushing point up a few inches and a longer piece of scrap across the side of the safe. And the verdict? It was slow but it totally worked. First the wall pushed in about 1/4″ (as I was keeping my fingers crossed). Then the safe starting moving. We could move it between 1/2 and 3/4″ per session. Then we would loosen the jack and add an extra piece of scrap and do it again. So all in all I think we moved it in 4 pushes to its new resting place. The picture above is after we finished pushing it so there are 2 extra pieces of scrap on the left side.

Safe in its new resting place w/ fridge and drawer cabinet

Now we have the space left for the freezer and we are ready for the counter (which should be here in about 1 1/2 weeks).

Thanks Matt!

Tomorrow I will post up the design and installation of our new beadboard doors for the workroom, which I think came out quite well.

* To see all of the posts about our basement click here.