Creating a Workshop & Home

[EddieWalker]

Next project to get done before carpet gets here and Steph moves in is the master bed. With a small room and a queen sized matress, we decided to put the bed in the corner. I'll crawl over, while she gets the edge.

She gave me a few pictures of beds she likes and some height requirements. She likes a tall bed. I also wanted to mazimize storage underneath.

Here's the framing.

 

[EddieWalker]

I used MDF for it's paintable finish. I love to work with it, but only after that first cut when it gets down to a managable weight.

All my tables are either being used or buried under other things. I got this idea to use my truck bed to support the material as it comes off my table saw.

 

[EddieWalker]

Here's the bed before paint.

 

[EddieWalker]

For mazimum storage I was going to build some drawers under the bed. The largest drawer glides I could find were just too small for what I wanted. Then in the shower it hit me, don't build drawers, build a wagon that will roll under the bed instead!!!

I was looking at different sets of dolly wheels when I noticed these. They are appliance rollers rated at 1,200 pounds and only 1 1 /2 inches tall.

I also used 3/4 plywood for the box due to the heavy loads I expect to put in them.

 

[Junkman]

Great minds must think alike... The only difference is that I cut a hole through the wood and bolted a round electrical box to the center beam with lag screws to hold the fans weight. I didn't want to gamble that the movement and weight might pull the wood off the ceiling and have it crash on the glass shower stall or tub. I would put some wooden guides on the floor to keep the rollers from going off to the side when they are pulled out.... Make a sort of raceway that they will travel in. Looks like you are making warp speed progress. Junk....

 

[EddieWalker]

For maximum storage I was going to build some drawers under the bed. The largest drawer glides I could find were just too small for what I wanted. Then in the shower it hit me, don't build drawers, build a wagon that will roll under the bed instead!!!

I was looking at different sets of dolly wheels when I noticed these. They are appliance rollers rated at 1,200 pounds and only 1 1 /2 inches tall.

I also used 3/4 plywood for the box due to the heavy loads I expect to put in them.

 

[Defective]

Gotta love them spiders...

 

[EddieWalker]

Looks like that photo didn't turn out.

 

[bgoodman]

Looks like that's big enough for Paul Bunyan to use...

 

[AndyM]

Any updates? There's a lot of folks following this thread.
Hopefully you were spared by Rita!

 

[EddieWalker]

Andy,

Thanks for asking. Mostly I've been making the inside of the house livable. Getting things painted and installed. None of it is very interesting, just time consuming.

Here's a pic of the bed all finished nice and pretty.

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

Here's two pics that are kind of out of sequence. I found them on Steph's camera that I didn't know she took.

Sanding ceilings is something I truly hate!!! I've used the pole sanders with un-acceptable results. The only thing that I really like for sanding joint compound is a wire screen sander. It's super fast and leaves a great surface.

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

With gravity, everything sanded off the ceiling must fall down. Unfortunately, I'm what's directly under the ceiling when sanding. hahaha

During this time, I kept the AC turned off and changed the filter every day.

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

The family room turned out better than I'd hoped. The beams and wood ceiling really have that wow factor I was trying to get. Than Steph's furniture gave us some color and filled in the space real nice.

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

This is the other end of the room. It's not a very large family room at 18 feet by 15 feet, but the open ceiling really helps make if feel larger.

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

The kitchen is open to the family room. The breakfast bar is 7 ft 6 inches long. This is as close to a dining room as we have. hahaha With only a thousand square feet of living space and 3 bedrooms and two full baths, we had to cut what we could. Mostly we eat in front of the TV anyway, so it wasn't a very dificult decision to make.

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

Some of you have commented on how lucky I am to have found such a hard working girlfriend as Steph. Not to rub it in, cause she really is the hardest working person I know, but she's also a fantastic cook. She loves to cook fancy meal, experiment with new ones and bake sweats. She made chocolate chip cookies from scratch last night. Yeah, I realize I'm very fortunate to have met her.

She wanted a nice kitchen so she could do all her cooking without being crowded. We figured out a design that we liked to make a nice kitchen that was very functional in a small space. This kitchen is 8 ft 4 inches wide and 11 feet long.

Not only was space a concern, but the budget called for as little money as possible. I used Mills Pride cabinets from Home Depot with a ten percent off cupon they provide at the post office when you change your mailing address. That really helped.

I also used the same Home Depot ten percent discount at Lowes for the appliances. They will honor all their compititions coupons.

We stained the floors and put tile on the counters. We haven't decided on what to use for a backsplash yet, so that's not finished yet, but otherwise it's all done.

The total cost for this kitchen, including appliances, cabinets, counters, plumbing, electrical and paint is under $4,000.

Not bad,
Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

As for Huricane Rita, we didn't get any damage. She was a tropical storm when she hit our area that droped 2 inches of rain with around 40 mph winds.

The night before she hit we did have an incredible sunset!!!

Eddie

 

[Tim_in_IA]

Eddie,

I had to laugh when I read about the 10% coupon. I did the same thing when I made our kitchen but my cabinets alone were 6k. You should have seen the girl that had been helping me put the order together. She just about fell off her chair. That kitchen looks amazing. Great work.

 

[dholly]

Kitchen looks great Eddie, I see many fine meals in your future! I also see, unlike your container barn apt., that Steph has kicked the computer desk out of the master bedroom to make room for her vanity... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif