Projects at HomeRefurbers.com

20'x20' composite deck

JMG — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 22:51:18 GMT

This is a 20’x20’ platform style composite deck I built in the summerof 08’. The homeowner chose the redwood color from Veranda. The picture only shows a piece of it including the 4’x7’ platform leading up to the pool. The deck is only about 6” off the ground so the homeowner and I agreed to go without the handrail. In the end, the deck turned out rather nice.

New side yard fence II

3fingerpat — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:12:01 GMT

We were recently visiting our rental home in Southern Oregon and my neighbor was complaining about how the fence needed replacing. We were visiting because I was recuperating from rt shoulder surgery (I am right handed), I tried getting some local contractor bids, but that was taking to long. So my BIL (who has a bad back and is permanently disabled) decided we could do it ourselves. The 4×4 posts were pressure treated and in good shape, but the fence boards and railings were all rotted. I didn’t take any before pictures. In about 1.5 hrs we had removed the old fence and installed the new one. The railings are 2×4 pressure treated nailed to braces on the posts and we screwed the fence boards to the rails.

Going back up in August to have a new roof put on and replace rotted siding on the house, garage and some window trim.

Molding change

Rog — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 02:48:46 GMT

More photos of my slow but steady change from victorian style molding to crafsman style molding and the more cohesive color scheme. I have also been busy on Lumberjocks and Gardentenders so I have some sort of excuse for being so slow. :-} Rog

Entry & Staircase remodel

ChuckNorris — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:22:33 GMT

The entrance to my house was small and cramped. The original layout contained a large coat closet which used about half the entrance space. Full and half walls framed around the staircase added to the cramped “box-in” feeling. We were replacing the tile floor and thought this was the perfect time to uncluttered the entrance. I removed the closet and replaced both walls with an alder railing.
The wainscoting has since been repaired but I didn’t have an updated pic.

Deck for my daughter

Karson — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 22:29:49 GMT

This past week (2nd week June 2009) I went to my daughters to make a deck for the front of her house. When she bought the home the front deck and sidewalk had been patched and the corner of the deck was falling off.

I heavy wind came by a month or so ago and swung open the storm door and it hit the railing around the deck and broke it loose. We pulled both side of the railing off before they hurt someone. The front step was not built to the current code and it was very high.

So the need to replace the front steps. and a little work.

My daughter got the building permit and they wanted holes dug to 30” deep so she did that before I and her two brothers arrived.

We put cement in the holes on Tues night after arriving. It was hard on Wed morning so we went to buy the wood for the posts and beams under the deck The hurricane straps, joyce hangers and the cement to set the posts.

We completed the building of the frame on the first day. That night we bought the wood for the fascia boards and the deck surface.

We then mixed the cement to put in front of the steps and replace the patched sidewalk.

After installed all of the deck boards we went for the steps and railings. The deck surface was completed the second day.

That night we went for the posts and railings.

We started to build the steps, using all of the math that hadn’t been used in a while and following the requirements from the building office. All steps must be the same rise and depth and have a kick plate at the back.

Pictures were not coming fast at this point in the construction.

We set the steps three times. First too high so instead of lowering it we raised it even more. Of course we had it all screwed down before me measured.

The third time we put each riser in and then measured. It worked the third time. It didn’t require any re-cutting just changes in the attach point. I also had to cut a little more wood off the heal of the steps to make it fit around our new cement.

We put the railing on the left first. It was a full section. The railing on the front required about 3” to be cut off.

The right side required two sections. We cut 3/4” off one end and 20” off the other end, that centered the balusters between the posts.

The construction crew.

And who it was for.

The deck is 21” off the surface. The building code only requires railings if the deck surface is over 30” and so we opted to not put a railing down the step to give it a more open look.

The happy construction crew after three days.

Garage Storage

screwge — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:14:52 GMT

This is a storage loft I built in our garage so I could free up some floor space.

Fortunately I have 14’ ceilings in our garage and that allowed me to build this convenient storage area for my wife’s decorating stuff.

The basic construction is 2×6 with 5/8” osb. (inexpensive but durable) I didn’t want to have an outside corner post because it would interfere with the existing stairway, so I utilized the glulam beam to help support the loft.
I knew I wanted pull-down stairs but the big box stores didn’t have anything that would work.

I built the stairs to come down onto the landing of the existing stairs that go from the garage to the house. This allows my wife easy access to her stuff without having to move cars out of the garage. The hard part was trying to figure out how to allow the stairway to raise and lower easily. I tried and tried (unsuccessfully) to use pulleys and weights but it just wasn’t working. Then one night when I was in bed, I wasn’t able to sleep. So, I began to ponder my delima. Alas! I had a great Idea. My inspiration came from the garage door spring mechanism. I went down to a local garage door supplier and told them what I wanted to do. They promptly snickered at the idea but said they would be happy to sell me the parts.

It took a little time, but I got the spring tension and the cable mounting point just right. The spring has just enough tension on it that it holds the stairway up, but it can be easily pulled down and once it is in the lowered position, the stairway has just enough weight to hold itself down. Surprisingly the stairway can be raised or lowered with one finger!!!

One last note… the stariway handrail was made so that when the stairway is in the raised position the handrail provides a positive stop so that the bottom of the stairs doesn’t slam into the ceiling.

Basement Bathroom Renovation

BeachedBones — Thu, 14 May 2009 00:24:01 GMT

Finally it’s all done. Start to finish this took me just over 3 months of working sporadically on weekends and a few evenings. (It’s nice to have a second bathroom)

This is the completion of my blog series:

http://homerefurbers.com/members/BeachedBones/blog/series/41

All in all I’m really happy with the outcome. I managed to incorporate most all of my wish list. Radiant floors, slate, travertine, lots of white old school trim and wainscoting, pedestal sink, dual flush toilet, pressure balanced shower, jetted tub. I really like the shower/tub enclosure with the seat in back, lots of light frosted windows, tub to ceiling glass doors. The whole area is very warm and bright, and works as a great passive steam room. I considered installing a steam generator at first, but am very happy with the result I got, and if I had to do it over I would definitely pass on the steam unit again.

The tree house

printman — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:30:16 GMT

The kids climbed all the trees in the yard. finally I got the idea to make a tree house that could be moved to the new house in a year. This is what I came up with. I went to Rainbow and took some pictures because theirs comes apart in sections. They had some good ideas. What do you think?

Pergola Addition

ToddE — Fri, 08 May 2009 03:34:57 GMT

This is a pergola I added on to the old deck. I ran out of time when old man winter hit last year, so I am getting the hot tub moved as soon as it’s redone and then the final finish can be applied to the wood since it has set all winter. It is 12×24 and is going to be a great addition this summer. I will take a couple more pics when I am done with the rest of the back.

Wallpaper liner over paneling

thebaldguy — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 04:34:07 GMT

We bought a new house about a year ago and it of course needed major updating. In the living room there was some old paneling on the walls. We put a wall paper liner on over the paneling and then textured the liner and now it looks as if we sheetrocked and textured the living room. It turned out great. We didn’t have to buy sheet rock or worry about door jambs and baseboards not meeting up correctly.