I’ve never seen a tree explode like this!
Lightning Meets Tree
Converting a Sunroom into an Outdoor Gym Area
I had a sunroom that was over 20 years old, leaked, and it’s foundation had been shifting for several years. I never used it, so it was time to go. This project started in April and though we’ve been using the area for weeks, we finished up last night by moving rocks back in place.
The first step was removing the sliding glass door and putting in a big window.
I hired a company to come in with a Bobcat and hydraulic breaker to remove the 7+ inch concrete slab and posts.
After that was out, I was able to fix up the roof line and put siding on the house.
They did do some damage to my gutter drains, so I made a repair there.
Still had to remove a bunch of sand from the area, so I rented a small dumpster and we hauled a lot of buckets.
My inspiration for the project was this setup I saw online. I mapped out my own layout.
I did a rough sloping job and then we dug three holes four feet deep.
Ordered some materials from Menards, and ended up having to get another 10 bags of cement.
My buddy Kevin was a huge help, getting the two 16 foot 6×6 posts installed. Each one weighed about 190 pounds!
Then Brandi and I were able to install the 12 footer on our own. Between the 3 posts we used 1,500 pounds of concrete!
I painted the posts and leveled the ground as best I could.
Put up the bars, top caps, and painted wall ball targets.
Some of the early plans were to get thick rubber playground flooring tiles, but we eventually decided it wasn’t worth the cost. Used pavers instead.
Turned out great and we’ve been using the outdoor space for one or two workouts a week. It looks good and is a much better use of the space, which wasn’t getting used at all before and had become an eyesore. Now I can finish the inside wall of the house!
Hand Truck
Last winter I picked up this hand truck for $5 on Facebook Marketplace.
This weekend I cleaned it up, painted it, and replaced some parts. Looks and works great now! Just in time to move a couple sets of washers and dryers.
Ominous
Mtn Dew Baja Punch
You can tell there is flavor there trying to be a tropical punch, but it’s a missed right jab when combined with the Mountain Dew. I wouldn’t get this again, so I’ll give it a 3/10.
Hopefully the Baja Flash will be better.
Sub Nine
It’s been a good start to the year on the golf course and my handicap is under nine for the first time.
DIY PVC Cap
After taking down the sunroom (still a work in progress, which I’ll eventually post about), this pipe for a downspout was no longer needed. I temporarily covered it with a bucket to keep the critters out.
I needed a PVC cap to fit either the inside diameter of 4.5″ or the outside 5″. None of the local hardware stores carried the right size though; their inventory jumped from 4″ to 6″. I took a scrap piece of treated lumber and made my own cap.
Mtn Dew DEW-S-A
They combined Code Red, White Out, and Voltage for this patriotic flavor, aptly named. The White Out was my favorite alternative Mountain Dew flavor, but they don’t carry it anymore. When I first tried the DEW-S-A it seemed to have an odd aftertaste and I couldn’t place it from the 3 flavors. I got used to it after a few sips and it ended up being a solid drink, earning a 7.5 out of 10.
Pallet Wood Bedroom Art: It Was All a Dream
For years I’ve wanted something to hang above my bed. I always thought a large black and white photo would be cool, but never looked for something. A couple of weeks ago I got an idea to make an art piece, so I went through my wood rack and picked out some pallet wood.
I swapped out some pieces and then sanded off most of the dirt and rough edges.
Testing whitewash during the bathroom shelf project paid off on this one. I knew I wanted a backing of gray primer before applying white paint with the scraping method. I went real light with the gray.
Below are the pieces after the first coat of white.
I think I applied three coats to get the look I wanted. I used wood glue and pin nails to attach the horizontal pieces to the verticals.
My original plan was to have my 10-year-old niece write lowercase cursive letters that I’d paint on, but she couldn’t get the proportions right with big letters. I found this cool stencil at Michael’s for $8.
I did a bunch of measuring and used blue tape to map out the word placement.
Then I did a quick test with pencil on kraft paper to get a feel for the letter spacing.
I painted 3 different letter widths (A, I, and M) on a piece of cardboard and cut them out. This was the mask I used over the top of the stencil to prevent overspray.
Finally it was time for the nerve-wracking part of actually painting on the words. In order to limit the possibility of smearingn I did one letter, hit it with a blow dryer, and moved to a letter on the next row.
All that was left was to drive some screws in to the back, wrap wire between the screws, and hang it on the wall.
I love it.
Easter Basket Crates
After Mom saw the mini crate I made, she asked me to make a few larger ones as Easter baskets. She still likes to make up baskets and hide them for anyone who is visiting for the holiday. Here’s my basket from many years ago, which still gets used.
Since my nieces were spending the night with me a few days after her ask, I thought I’d surprise her by also having some pieces for the front of the baskets. I grabbed some patterns online, cut them out with my band saw, sanded the edges, and gave them a base of white spray paint.
Then I let my nieces paint them.
I had some old trim and other scrap wood I cut to width.
Then I cut everything to size.
Mom brought some felt for the bottoms, so I attached that to two outside pieces for every bottom with spray adhesive.
The assembly of the crates was quick with some glue and pin nails. Then I quickly sanded all of the edges to soften them.
I gave the painted pieces a couple of coats of clear matte to protect the acrylic paint. Then attached them to the crates with more glue and pin nails.
