J'acuzz

The husband wants a hot tub. Actually, he wants a pool, but will settle for a Jacuzzi...

A few years back, I was at a home improvement show and they had these really cool "portable" hot tubs. I can't remember the price, but they were pretty inexpensive. They were filled with air and were supposed to be light enough to put on a deck and they were "totally acceptable to landlords and building managers."

Thinking back on it, I realize that last line was B.S. as NOTHING is ever "totally acceptable to landlords and building managers."

The subject of hot tubs came up again with some friends recently and few days later, I got a text from a friend: "Amazon is having a sale on hot tubs!" Amazon sells hot tubs?

Low and behold, they do! Those portable ones! Definitely NOT recommended for decks and apartments.

The best part was that the Coleman was on sale for less than $300!  With FREE SHIPPING to boot!

The Husband is happy!

I'm happy!

We've sat in it about three times in the last five days. It really is quite relaxing. It works well, and if we keep using it on a regular basis, we can think about upgrading to a more permanent tub. Perfect for two, three is fine, four is manageable--but not great, beyond that: no. Just no. 

I've been on an anti-Coleman rant for a while, but this gets me back on the Coleman train again... we'll see how well it does over the next year.

Let me know if you have a brand you like (or dislike). 

Have a great weekend! 

Spring Flowers

We did a little gardening a few weeks back and I thought I would share. 

First some flowers for the front porch... I love those little pots!


The Husband Rearranged the furniture: SO much better!


The Husband filled every pot we had with flowers.


Here's my Instagram "filtered until near death" image of the back.
We had dinner out there with my sister and it was perfect for cocktails and dinner!

Happy Summer!

Potting Table

I didn't take a lot of pictures during the process for this... D'Oh!

I had a computer desk I had long since stopped using and had put to use in my garage as a quasi-workbench. Once I got my workbench built, the desk went outside as a quasi-potting bench.

From the "Workbench in the Garage" era.

I remember my parents' old potting bench in their backyard, assembled by my grandfather from found materials. It was battered and old... but really neat. 

I decided to create something similar from found materials. A few 2x4s, a couple of extra composite boards, a nail gun, a few pocket holes, and a whole lotta barnyard paint later: a potting table was born! The nice thing is that I can use the former slide out keyboard drawer to hold tools!

I learned a few things from this project:
1) don't improvise and
2) slow down when painting, otherwise it will go everywhere.

It's not going to hold much, but it's form over function for this...

Meanwhile, The Husband made a bird house! 

Still under construction in this pic, it's pretty adorable.

More! More! More!

I decided I needed to add some shelves for storage to my workbench. I like having everything in reach. I removed the peg boards that held all my tools (it bugs me that every time I touch them, the pins pull up and fall off.  However, when I started removing the pins, THAT'S when they wouldn't come out!)  I got to use my trusty Ryobi tools (love them SO much! I even bought two more batteries, because I need extras for no other reason than I like having extras).

The shelf was pretty straight-forward, but my math skills were put to the test for the braces. Angles... why did it have to be angles?!  So much trial and error... mostly error. Also, I used my Kreg jig for the cross-supports, but the Kreg bit is really long and there was not enough space to drill the screws in properly. It's too bad they don't have a half-length bit. I ended up adding a bunch of extra screws for support. 

The white bins with the blue above were leftover from a project inside the house. I used them in the closet in the guest bath but replaced them with sliding shelves. I don't think I'll keep these here, either. The bins need to be covered (SO much dust) and transparent so I can see what the heck is in there.

Note the transparent bins below. I need more of those.

It's slowly looking a bit neater. I got all my Ryobi tools hung up. I bought these really cool hooks, but the screws they came with were disgustingly cheap. I sheared off the heads of them three times. 

The black bar on the table top is an LED light fixture which I will install at a later day (tomorrow?), I was tired... 

On a weird note: my circular saw is not doing well. It's not cutting. It's not smooth when I turn it on, often sounding like it's grinding. I'd be surprised if it's under warranty... or if I could find any of the original purchase information from Home Depot, so I may have to chuck it and buy a new one. They aren't super expensive, but it feels like such a waste. I can't seem to find anything online that tells me what the problem could be. That's tonight's project... 

Workbench Part Deux (Part Two!)

Previously...

It's done! I finished on Sunday. I made one stupid error: I didn't line up the support post to ensure that the side supports were true to the wall, so it's slightly off. So the board on top doesn't line up quite right. If you look closely, you can tell. I'm not that worried. It's level! That was my concern, because the floor isn't. 

I'm pretty happy with the added storage. I have a bunch of paint cans that I need to find a nice cool place to store them, so this will help. 

I bought those black bins at Home Depot and they fit pretty well. I know that OSH has a lot of different sized bins and that will add a lot more storage. 

Project #2 complete. Lessons learned: measure again and again and again!

Why Have One Workbench When You Can Have Two?

So the corner in the back of my garage is kind sad. I put up some pegboard and thought that meant I was organized. But the cruddy table I was using wasn't doing it and the new workbench I made (which I LOVE) was not the best place to build certain items because the garage itself is not level.*

I did not have plans, I decided to "wing it". An idea I do not recommend. I measured 20" from the floor so I could slide my shop vac under, but set the top of the bottom shelf at 20"... dumb. It wasn't until I was sweeping up tonight that I realized what I'd done. We really do learn from our mistakes!

It's been raining a lot lately and the wood was wet. I've had it drying in the garage for about four days, but it's still not dry. My circular saw did not like cutting through it. I made it work. The support posts were a bitch to cut, but I think they give it a very sturdy look. There are so many screws in that thing (I love overkill!).

My Kreg Jig worked flawlessly--I love that bad boy! And all my Ryobi tools were perfect!

The red carpeting is from my camping days.**  I used it to kneel on so I didn't destroy my knees any more than they already are.

It's level and that was my biggest concern. I did a little more work after these pictures, with the cross supports

The tops of the shelving go in tomorrow. The big problem will be cutting the wood around all the posts. Now that will involve some very careful planning...

*The structure is level, just the foundation sunk--I'm on a hill and the garage is at the bottom. When the house was remodeled, they also took care of the garage. I'd say it's about 70% new materials, with true walls and a level roof... it's the floor that's been a bother.

**More like glamping: The group I camped with had a full outdoor kitchen (with steam tables, and a butane powered oven), as well as a full bar! We used to feed over 100 guys breakfast and dinne! Since I needed power for my CPAP, I had an Aerobed and an electric blanket. I was also in a 10-man tent for just myself... I had a sitting area AND a dressing area near my sleeping area. We did camping right! 

Click HERE to see how it turned out!

Workbench Project... Done!

Finally, it's done! While it is far from perfect, it really helped me hone my skills with my Ryobi circular saw, the jig saw, and impact driver. Tools are fun! 

I think the top may need another sheet on top--something thin--to make it a smooth surface. There is a slight bow on the edges of the MDF pieces. If I were to do it again, I would get one sheet... but jeez, that one sheet would be HEAVY!

Initially, I wanted to include my miter and table saws into the design, but I feel I would have lost a lot of the table top space I need. However, I found a rather cool idea on the Family Handyman site: Heavy-Duty shelf brackets to add various attachments. They called it "the Swiss Army Knife" of workbenches. While the workbench is technically complete, it does give me some ideas for a few additions!

(c) Family Handyman

Workbench Update

Nope. Still not done. In my defense, it's been pouring and getting out to the garage is a battle to stay dry, plus work has been busy, but mostly because I didn't feel like it.

However, I started briefly yesterday but quickly noticed the screws I've been using would not work for the wheels. So another trip to Home Depot was in order. 

As you can see, I successfully mounted the wheels... and they work REALLY well! Nice smooth ride! The locking mechanism on each works well, too. 

I did have one minor (read: "Holy Crap! This is bad!") moment. For the bottom shelf, I measured from the bottom when I attached it to the legs. Neglecting to remember that the legs might not all be exactly the same length. Before I applied the wheels, I noticed the leg lengths were 29.5", 29", 29" and 28". OOPS! I was not as careful as I thought. So I used my circular saw on three of the legs, bringing them all to 28". However, when I measured the lower portion of the bottom shelf to the footing, the measurements were: 3", 3", 3", 5.5". Yeah... 

Needless, to say, it looked seriously caddywompus. I pulled out my screws (good thing I didn't glue anything) and moved everything into proper place. 

Then I added the top, which I will use my trusty circular saw to look pretty... probably next weekend. 

I threw the bottom shelf boards down just to see what I'm dealing with... I've got to figure out how I'm going to measure and cut those to fit around the legs. I'm sure there's an easy way, but I'll be sure to implement the most convoluted and time-consuming method. 

I'm sure there are many of you out there reading this (okay, one, maybe?) thinking that I really need to measure better. I do. I wasn't exact on this project for a number of reasons. Mostly because I don't have a proper workbench to build anything... and the garage floor is seriously (and I mean seriously) not level. The previous owners rebuilt the garage but left the foundation slanted. While the roof is level, the flooring is not, so it kind of throws everything off. My "thinking" (using the term loosely) was that if I made a decent, but not perfect, workbench, I could then build decent projects from that. Yeah... looking back, not one of my best ideas. Learning process... 

And it continues... 

New Year... New Project

I decided I needed to work on some built-in shelving for the house. I need something for my office and then a much larger project for the den/family room. I've been planning in my head for months and I finally have written it down. Now, I just need to confirm with the measurements. I'm used of winging it on things, and you can't just wing it with building cabinets. Thankfully, there are tons of items on Pinterest to help. 

However, before I can start building cabinets and shelving units, I need a solid workbench. I have a smaller bench and a decent old desk that I've used for projects in the past, but I need a good sturdy workbench to really make it all come together.

I figured the long MLK weekend would be perfect and it would mostly be completed by Saturday, with final touch ups on Sunday. I found a million great workbench ideas on Pinterest, and while I didn't have exact measurements, I knew what I wanted.

Home Depot was great in that they cut up a bunch of lumber for me. The guy there was not that precise in his measuring and cutting. I had twelve 96" 2x4s that I wanted in three 32" lengths. I figured after the cutting, I would get two 32" lengths and one 31.5" lengths. They were all over the place. I ended up with 34 close to, but not exactly 32" boards and six 64" boards. I brought them home and prepared to start work in the garage.

And then I tried to get into my garage...

Talk about a disaster! I spent Saturday cleaning out my mess in the garage. A summer and winter of shoving stuff in there without caring left the place a mess. Then the winter wind and rains added a ton of leaves and some extra moisture to the mess. It took almost all of Saturday to get it ready for my build.

By the end, I laid out a few pieces of lumber on the ground, just to get a feel for what I was getting myself into. (And to make it look like I did something!)

Looks like I did something other than just stacking lumber on the floor, right?

I got my new Kreg Jig out and started drilling. Let me just say, that thing is freakin' amazing. Easy to use, great cuts, made for solid construction. I thought it would be good, but it exceeded my expectations! 

Kreg Super Cool jig!
(No compensation for praising their awesome product)

I finally got to use my Craftsman Workbench, which worked out fine. It's not my favorite thing in the world, but it held up and made the process a little easier. Let's just say it's a little rickety.

I also got to use my Dewalt clamps... the really long ones! The lumber wasn't quite as straight as I thought, so the clamp helped when I needed to bring a few pieces together so I could drill, baby, drill! Those worked out great. Definitely worth the money.

Clamp and L'il Workbench working together...

This is as far as I got today. I'm trying to decide if I want to incorporate my table saw and miter saw into the table. Once that decision is made, then I can add the top and bottom boards for work and storage, respectively.  I also need to buy some wheels so I can move it about easier. 

My garage floor is not level, so I need to find a level spot in my backyard to make sure it is level before I put on wheels. I may do a built-in along one of the walls, which will also double as a bar for the back deck. That's all part of my future projects.

I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out. It's solid--and will be even more so once I get the top mounted as well as the bottom shelf. 

I promise more pictures when it gets finished.