Shit you built with your own two hands (picture thread)

[dan_pdx]

A designer I work with came up with the idea to use these plastic ceiling tiles on a barn door and spice cabinet door. It was a fun little project that required different methods from normal cabinet door construction since the panels are 3/4 high. I rabbeted the rails and style stiles so that the thin plastic lips could go behind and stay secure.

The stain is matched to the existing cabinets and the finish is waterborne poly, my favorite thing to spray. Lacquer is just too rugged so I avoid it whenever possible.

Nice, finished product looks great

[paulster2626]

Might as well share my backyard transformation. We've had a massive deck in our backyard forever (there when we bought the house) and I was sick of having to stain it every x years, and it's also hot as balls back there in the summer so the space is kinda useless. We need a pool, and if the Paulster's gonna have a pool then he wants a cabana as well. Mission is to make blender drinks all summer and be able to listen to/watch baseball games in the pool.

Started this last August, and wanted to get everything done by May 1. Some finishing touches happen weekly but we're there for the most part and the new backyard is awesome.

Hope these albums link properly, pretty much have the whole process documented:
Part 1 here: https://imgur.com/a/c0Iz2FL
Part 2 here: https://imgur.com/a/5zU0Ngl

Basically went from this




To this:

[RootSkier]

Damn, that looks great. Is that the front or back yard? I am surprised that works with setbacks etc.

[paulster2626]

Damn, that looks great. Is that the front or back yard? I am surprised that works with setbacks etc.

backyard. We have small lots here in the suburban wasteland, but I am fortunate to not have anyone behind me (storm water pond/greenspace).

Setback for pool is 4' minimum from property line, and 2' from property line for a structure. Bylaws say you need a permit if the structure is over 100 square ft, and mine is 12' x 10' so yes it is but I didn't get one. If anyone came by to care I could probably do some funny measuring and play dumb.
You also need a permit for any deck attached to house but I didn't get one for that, either. Obviously got a permit for the pool and equipment though since I didn't make that myself. Bylaw officer came by to check that out and looked at it for like 2 seconds and signed off. Didn't mention the new deck, or the obvious footings for the cabana that were there at the time.

There is also some ambiguity as the setback for a structure doesn't specify if it's 2' for the walls or the entire overhang of a roof. At any rate, it's all done to code or better so I'm not too concerned. Up here where I live, permits aren't really obtained for the DIY crowd - you just better make sure it all meets safety requirements or you can get fucked later on.

Learned a ton from making this thing. Prior to this I could build a deck and do some framing and basic electrical but that's it. During all the different phases of construction neighbours would ask "where'd you learn to do this?" and I'd answer "I don't know how to do this at all!"

[AdironRider]

Nice work!

I want a pool something fierce but even my wife, who is usually the enabler of such grand ideas with no actual justification, said it was crazy so no pool for me.

[paulster2626]

Nice work!

I want a pool something fierce but even my wife, who is usually the enabler of such grand ideas with no actual justification, said it was crazy so no pool for me.

It's only really been a month with it now, but I can tell you that having a pool does a number on your liver and bank account (aside from initial expense). You want a cold drink ALL THE TIME and my trips to the beer/liquor store have doubled.

Only reason we finally pulled the trigger is after my mom died in 2019 my dad said he's chip in some money to help us finally do it. Can't imagine doing it all ourselves, whole thing cost about $80-90k no thanks to high lumber prices.

[RootSkier]

No glass in the pool!

[paulster2626]

No glass in the pool!

Yes I just noticed that sneaky bugger. Ladies have acrylic cups, but that m-fer snuck in with a corona...

Beer bottles have to have a koozie!

[riser4]

Nice work!

I want a pool something fierce but even my wife, who is usually the enabler of such grand ideas with no actual justification, said it was crazy so no pool for me.

A pond would be good for you.

[YoEddy]

... whole thing cost about $80-90k no thanks to high lumber prices.

Great execution on a terrific idea, but Fuuuuuuuck me $80-90k?!. There obviously isn't enough detail in the before and after photos, and what all you have into the addition because that number is shocking as hell.

[Skidog]

Great execution on a terrific idea, but Fuuuuuuuck me $80-90k?!. There obviously isn't enough detail in the before and after photos, and what all you have into the addition because that number is shocking as hell.

pools cost big bucks. Ill bet it was $60k pool alone...

[old goat]

pools cost big bucks. Ill bet it was $60k pool alone...

Then there was the $10K he paid the two ladies to pose in the pool. (Nice work btw)

[The Tortoise]

And it's in Canadian dollars.

[paulster2626]

Great execution on a terrific idea, but Fuuuuuuuck me $80-90k?!. There obviously isn't enough detail in the before and after photos, and what all you have into the addition because that number is shocking as hell.

Did you check out the links to the albums? Do they work?
Part 1 here: https://imgur.com/a/c0Iz2FL
Part 2 here: https://imgur.com/a/5zU0Ngl


All in CAD, including tax (which is 13% here):

Pool was $53k. Those stairs all the way across are extra, plus a quality salt water + mineral system, water feature, heater, safety cover all adds up. This was with a "premium" builder since they were the only ones who even bothered to come give me a quote last spring. COVID was already having an effect on supply and demand. This spring I have friends getting quotes starting at $65k and this is for 2022 construction. Insane.

Electrical work for pool another $2k - I did not do this myself.

Landscaping was $23k. Yard is kinda slanted so the pool is lower than the cabana and thus a small retaining wall needed to be built and large decorative stones put in. This added $5500 to the original cost. I did not do this myself, either.

Footings for deck and cabana were a bitch. Rented one of those trailerable augers and my dad and I wrestled with it for 7 hours digging 6 holes. It's all fucking clay and large rocks back there. Awful. Had that thing jammed up down to the handle for an hour - eventually got it out with muscle and water. I will never dig another hole again for as long as I live. Cost for all this wasn't bad like $200

The small deck was like $900 in lumber (should've been half that in a normal year) and $900 more for the fancy glass railing thing. Built it myself, decks are fun.

Cabana build - lemme see if I can remember this right...
Initial lumber for frame and fence boards outside was $1400, all PT and again would've been 1/2 that cost in a normal year.
Roof trusses I had made because I'm too stupid to figure out a hip roof myself, and the truss company does all the engineering diagrams and whatnot should you get in permit trouble. This cost me $1200, and again was about 30% higher due to lumber prices and high demand (they actually thanked me for the small job, though). Putting them up was fun because a friend showed me what the hell those HIP-VAL marks on a speed square are actually for.

Plywood and materials for the roof was another $600, learning shingles and underlayment and starter strips was a good time. I think I enjoyed this part the most.

Electrical for the interior was about $200, no big deal there. Did this myself (I ran a conduit back to the house when the landscapers were doing their thing).

Interior work - tongue and groove. Had to buy wood in 2 batches. First batch was $4.50 each piece. Yikes. Spent about $700 the first go. Then I needed more, and the price had increased to $6.00 - a buck a foot, for m-fing tongue and groove.... crazy (it's now $6.38 https://www.homedepot.ca/product/irv...ing/1000441097). So another $300 no big deal. Staining the walls was a pain (gotta stain 'em before you put them up), and I used a router on the joints in the ceiling for a refined look.

Beam across the top is just a 2x6 piece of pine I had kicking around, finally saving money!

That maple slab I used for the bar top was from a friend's dad who has a mill, so that was fine too. Just spent $100 on epoxy from amazon.

Add in about another $1k for the fridge (used on kijiji), plants, plastic glasses, TV, mount, fancy HUE lights, and what are we at?

<adds it all up...>

$85,500. I am now $30k in the hole when all is said and done. $GME to the moon I hope.

[GiBo]

Looks nice Paulster.

I don't allow glass past the patio. If you get broken glass in the pool you're draining it. People think I'm being anal, but it's my pool, my rules.

[paulster2626]

Looks nice Paulster.

I don't allow glass past the patio. If you get broken glass in the pool you're draining it. People think I'm being anal, but it's my pool, my rules.

Good point. That guy with the bottle is a notorious breaker, too. I need to keep a better eye out for shenanigans.

[Thaleia]

Absolute baller set up, congrats. If you ever need a house sitter..

[Not DJSapp]

Walnut and Maple entertainment center complete. I was probably in over my head again, but I think it turned out fine. Going to take a break from the big furniture projects because it's going to be a hot ass summer.

Lessons learned: go slow and glue up flat panels; the smaller the better because the belt sander sucks to fix it. Probably would have done better if I cut them to length first instead of gluing 8'+ panels and cutting those down. I really wanted the grain to match going across and was scared I'd lose it if I didn't. Cutting the dado grooves is way, way better when you get the width right because plywood is stupid at 23/32nds. Beware the table saw goblin that will change your blade angle by 0.1* during lunch. 3M Cubitron II sandpaper is worth its weight in gold. The sheet of 120 grit was sanding like new right up to the point the velcro backing gave out and that took a long ass time to happen.

[paulster2626]

That looks awesome.

[dan_pdx]

Yeah, really nice work DJ.

[Core Shot]

A pond would be good for you.

I have a pool and a pond

That joke never gets old

I still let everyone use my pool

[old goat]

Beautiful work--especially building something that big as a single unit=--not easy to do accurately. I have an entertainment center about that size I made in 3 pieces except for the top. It's a breakfront (the center section is deeper than the side sections) so doing it in 3 pieces was more natural. Not to mention my weak back and narrow doors and halls I had to move it through. And the less than level floor.

I assume there's a wider door than the one in your picture.

The undersized plywood problem is a pain in the ass.

[snoqpass]

Cutting the dado grooves is way, way better when you get the width right because plywood is stupid at 23/32nds.

You can get router bits undersized to match the plywood it makes dados easy

[Not DJSapp]

You can get router bits undersized to match the plywood it makes dados easy

It's ok, I learned that one on the bookcase project and suffered through it. My dado blade set can do 23/32; building up the shims instead of just blades and chippers is annoying but it fit like a glove this time. A 23/32" straight bit would be nice though, I didn't love doing the stop dados on the table saw.

The piece is 6'6"w, 27"h, 24"d so you can just walk it though doors. And up stairs.

[house]

Weird plywood sizes and all other dado/grooving needs are much easier to handle with a kerfmaker. I just got the most Chinese sample available and it works great. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08F25X12K...ing=UTF8&psc=1

I cut the dado for the top crossbar on these racks with a kerfmaker and a box joint (flat top grind) blade.



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